oldy moldy

When I started [student] teaching in 2011, I felt like one of the biggest things I had going for me was my youth.  I was only 9-10 years older than my students, so I could totally relate to them.  I still feel this way (I'm only 25!), and I always try and find some way to connect what I'm doing in the classroom to something in the real world that my kids can relate to.

"I'm hip.  I'm with it."

What's that?  You'd like some examples of my alleged hip-ness?

-We talked about similes recently, and instead of using boring examples, I turned to my girl Miley.  "I came in like a wrecking ball..." (Don't worry, there were not any accompanying pictures or videos.)

-I have a classroom Instagram account where I post pictures of what we're doing, helpful study tips, and homework reminders.  Oh, and I use emojis like whoa.

-When we were discussing types of conflict a few weeks ago, I used The Hunger Games to explain the different variations (i.e. Katniss v. President Snow/the Capitol is an example of man v. society).

Earlier this week, I designed a lesson over expository free writing that I thought was another example of me being in tune with "kids these days".  The other English teachers and I gave our kids 3 prompts to choose from, and I showed some video clips and pictures that went with the prompts to get their creative juices flowing.  I was feeling very confident about my lesson!

"7th graders?  No problem."

Well, there's nothing like a bunch of middle schoolers to bring you right back to reality.  It turns out that some of my example choices were (gasp!) dated!  In fact, I referred to some things that they had never even heard of!  How is this possible!  I am OLD!!

So, in an effort to make you feel old too and to help myself feel better, I'd like to share what/who my students didn't know about.

1) Gilmore Girls

This show was on the air from 2000-2007 when my kids were still drinking out of sippy cups, but it is one of my favorites.  I have all of the seasons on DVD and I watch them all the time, so it broke my heart to hear that my students, especially the girls, didn't know about Lorelai and Rory.  Let's get this show back on instead of whatever crap Disney is showing these days.

2) The Brady Bunch

I know this show is super old, but I grew up watching re-runs on Nick at Nite.  Is that not a thing anymore?  The Bradys are iconic...how do kids not know about Marcia Marcia Marcia??  These are the things that keep me up at night.

3) Presidents George Bush & George W. Bush

Obama really has been President for too long.  Is this how people older than me feel when I admit that I don't know very much about Carter and/or Reagan?

So to sum up, I'm old now.  I'm off to try and figure out how tumblr works and to scour the newsstands for the latest issue of J-14.  Please tell me that still exists...