The other day I was called the “hip” teacher on staff.
For what seemed a long time I was the youngest teacher at my school. That definitely isn’t the case anymore. So, my student’s reassurances that I am fresh and cool still (they wanted me to judge the meme costume competition) made me wonder how much longer I have in this role.
I think it’s my public Instagram account that keeps me relevant, but as Facebook is now the “old people” social media platform, I question Instagram’s lasting power. Will I change with the times? What trends will I subscribe to, and which ones am I going to just not get?
This year during one of our professional development days we listened to a webinar delivered by Dr. Shimi Kang regarding development, technology, and computation skills. One of the things that was interesting was her explanation of why students engage in seemingly ridiculous behavior, like the Tide Pod Challenge.
She said that the teenage brain is geared towards risk taking, novelty seeking, and peer admiration. Obviously, teenagers can engage in these things in both positive and negative ways. Eating a tide pod is a pretty negative way of getting a hit of dopamine in your brain, but if we look at the teenage brain at least we can kind of justify the behavior.
Still seems like an experiment in Darwinism but, whatever.
Another thing that I struggle to relate to is the obsessive behavior kids have over celebrities. But, then I remember what I was like in middle and high school and my intense love for Orlando Bloom. All the hormones.
One of the things that Dr. Kang said was that social media is not social bonding. I somewhat disagree with this. Though I don’t think online connections can replace IRL ones, I do believe that in cases of students feeling disconnected from their surrounding peers, their online friendships are the lifelines that keep them going. As someone who engages in social media and has online friendships, I can understand students feeling more connected to their online life then their real one, especially if they struggle with bullying or fitting in.
As I work at an all-girls school (though that’s changing! I’ll write a blog post about that later) beauty trends are inescapable. I don’t have a hard time keeping up with these, so much as find it interesting how things ebb and flow. For example, when I was in high school, low rise jeans were the thing. I would have never been caught in high waist pants, but truly I hated having to hike up my jeans all the time, or worry about bending over. Now, jeans are much more reasonable. So, that’s nice. But 18 year old Kim would have laughed at the fashions of today.
As I work in a high school atmosphere, toys aren’t so much something I encounter, though right now students are really enjoying the new Harry Potter game. Which is fine, because Harry Potter will forever be something I can appreciate.
I guess that’s it! If you could comment on some of the trends you encounter or see kids/teens engaging in I would love to have a conversation about them!
My last two Teacher Tale posts can be found here:
KP’s Teacher Tales #21: Meme Day
KP’s Teacher Tales #20: Dress Up Days