Why do kids come to school? This is a seemingly simple question, but is actually much more complex. The answer is not what you think. We interviewed 12 students from around the Emporia Middle School to get their true opinions. Each and every student has a different opinion on what encourages to keep their grades up, or plainly just come to school. It may be sports, theater, music and maybe the pressure of your parents. As a typical 6th grader, your parents want your grades to be in good shape. We interviewed four sixth graders here at the Emporia Middle School to answer these questions.

To start off, we interviewed Lexsey DeWitt who is on the Aqua team. She is very friendly and open to helping others. These were her answers.

What encourages you to come to school everyday? Is it sports, education, etc.?

Lexsey: My teachers, Mr. Skiles and Miss Mason, are very energetic and make learning fun. They aren’t boring and encourage you to learn.

Do you actually enjoy learning? Or is it something that is forced?

Lexsey: I like learning.

Do you think you will play a sport in 7th and 8th grade for EMS? Do you think this will affect your grades?

Lexsey: Yes, I intend to play basketball and volleyball. No, I don’t really think it will.

Lexsey is a kind, energetic person and she’s always there to help fellow students. She is a good friend and we enjoyed interviewing her for our story! Secondly, we interviewed Taygen Wilson, a 6th grader on the Lime team. Taygen seemed excited to be picked to interview. Here are some of his answers we got.

What encourages you to come to school every morning? (Is it sports, education, etc)?

Taygen: Probably education. I enjoy doing math, in fact.

Do you actually enjoy or like learning? Or is it something that is forced?

Taygen: I like learning because it’s important to get a good education.

Do you plan to play a sport in 7th or 8th grade? How do you think it affects your grades?

Taygen: Probably basketball probably will make them up because you need good grades to play sports.

Taygen seemed like he is very excited for his future here at EMS. We hope he goes on to be successful, not only in the classroom but on the court. It seems that Taygen has good self motivation, but everyone can improve!

Thirdly, we interviewed the well-mannered Darian Chadwick, also on Lime team. She is a kind, and positive girl that was very happy to answer our questions. It seemed that school is a good thing to her, not a burden.

What encourages you to come to school every morning? (Is it sports, education, etc)

Darian: Spirit Squad, I like to learn, see my friends, teachers, and I like sports.

Do you actually enjoy or like learning? Or is it something that is forced?

Darian: Yes, because teachers can make it fun, and it can be interesting.

Do you plan to play a sport in 7th or 8th grade?

Darian: Yes, I plan on playing volleyball and basketball.

From the sounds of it Darian is excited to play some sports. I think this is a great motivator for any student! Learning seems to come easy to Darian, and we hope she has a great rest of the year here at EMS. Lastly, but most definitely not least we interviewed Carlos Cruz.

What encourages you to come to school every morning? (Is it sports, education, etc)

Carlos: Education because I wanna go places and get a good job.

Do you actually enjoy or like learning? Or is it something that is forced?

Carlos: Yes, I get entertained in learning, after I know how to do it I like to do it even more.

Do you plan to play a sport in 7th or 8th grade? How do you think it will affect your grades?

Carlos: Maybe basketball. I think this won’t affect my grades because when I usually miss something, I usually get it done. I email my teachers, then get the assignment. I get the project done fairly quickly.

Carlos seems to really enjoy learning and likes new things. I think that he will go somewhere in life with this liking! He had very good manners and was a pleasure to work with.

In the end, we enjoyed interviewing fellow students here at EMS. Don’t fret, of course! The second part of our Extracurricular series is coming out soon! Next, we are publishing a story featuring 7th graders, so stay tuned for the next week’s edition!