My father was a high school teacher, but his first job was middle school. He (so I'm told) couldn't wait to get out of there. And that was in the late '60s. I've heard similar sentiments from current MS teachers.
It is a difficult age group, and they never change. Until you come to terms with that, it will drive you crazy. Eventually, MS students move on to high school and things get better. But, as long as there are middle school students, life is drama.
Perhaps things get better in high-school, especially by junior year, when they begin to realize they have futures ahead of them so they'd begtter crank up on their PSAT's. Oh, and there's Driver Ed., too.
I went to junior high in Texas, grades 6-8. Now they call it middle school here, although it's still grades 6-8.