
In this age of new technologies, trends, and social media, it’s getting harder for many teachers to keep student’s attention, interest, and appeal to them. Many have tried to just stick it out with the same methods they’ve used or what was taught to them, others however, have taken it upon themselves to become more… relatable.
All across the school, teachers have decorated their rooms and doors with a variety of memes to grab student’s attention in class or walking through the halls, most of which include useful information and warnings, such as memes about turning in homework on time or not having your phone out.
Memes become popular rather fast and lose that popularity just as quick, for example, something popular this month will be completely obsolete the next, so keeping up with memes isn’t easy, and most teacher’s memes were commonly popular in 2008 – 2010. Is the outdated nature of these memes leaving them a target of mockery by students instead of conveying their message in a funny, relatable way? Possibly, although either way, they are doing their job and drawing attention.
“I feel they’d be good if they were current, like if a teacher used “dat boi”, or Harambe it would be funny, not 2012 memes or earlier,” said Alex Ferreiras.
That seemed to be the general consensus of those I talked to, that memes would be more effective if they were current, so to help this case, maybe yearly updates are needed.
Another thing teachers are picking up on is all the slang and actions students express on a daily basis. The “whip” and more recently the “dab” crazes spread fast, and students were doing it all throughout the school. Some teachers knew about them and didn’t care all that much; however, some were curious about these new trends. Last year I walked into my English class to see Ms. Kelley looking quite excited as she told me she had learned how to do the whip, and she even did it to the music and all, yet afterwards, some of the students that had gotten there early informed her it wasn’t quite right, so we spent the time before the bell showing her how to whip.
Once the dab became popular, that started a whole new trend of trying to get your teacher to dab, and surprisingly, many have succeeded in this. Just like with students teaching teachers in the ways of the dab and whip, students often have had to explain slang since there are new ones as often as memes. For example, “lit” had to be explained to quite a few teachers, and a few more have started using it.
These trends may seem rather cringe-worthy at times, but they have brought a lot of fun to the teacher-student dynamic, and it’s also quite entertaining seeing a teacher dab or whip or use slang like “yeet” or “lit”. It gives them a deviation from their professional demeanor, and can honestly improve how students see their teachers, and make the students feel more comfortable interacting, seeing a more fun, and in this case, relatable side.