Headbanging to the Pumpkins

Headbanging to the Smashing Pumpkins on my way home for fall break, a thought came to me. I started thinking about the numerous teachers I have had throughout the years. There were those who pretended they were hip and young (using phrases like “I’m pretty fly” or “fo’ shizzle”). These were the teachers that got laughed at. Then there were the teachers that I could never picture being young. They were the kind of teachers who frequently shook their heads and said “teenagers” disparagingly. But the teachers who really stick out in my mind are the ones who remembered being young without trying to cling to youth.
One thing that every teacher should learn and remember well is that growing up is tough. There are so many challenges you face outside of the school room. Life goes on outside of class. Remembering this, a teacher can integrate the real world into their classroom. They are able to capture and hold attention because they understand their students. They remember sitting in a classroom staring out the window, falling asleep to the sonorous sounds of a boring teacher who cannot possibly understand them. So, they take steps to adjust their teaching and hold attention. They bring elements of students’ outside life into the classroom. They make an effort to understand their students.
I do not think, though, that teachers should pretend to “get” their students completely. My students will grow up in a completely different time period from my own. They most likely will never headbang to the Smashing Pumpkins, and, in all likelihood, most will not have a clue who the Pumpkins even are. It occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that most of my students will not remember 9/11 beyond what others tell them about it. But teachers can try to understand their students’ and their students’ backgrounds without pretending to “get” their students and be just like them. Students resent teachers who say things like “I know exactly what you’re going through.” Even people their own age do not know exactly what they’re going through because everyone is shaped by different experiences. However, teachers can make an attempt to learn what motivates their students and shape the learning environment to incorporate student interests.
Most students do not come from the same background, but they do share some things. All go through that source of all evil known as puberty. They struggle to make lasting relationships, relate to the world around them, and deal with the yawning chasm that denotes life after high school. So, when your students walk into class the first day of school, remember that you once sat in their seats. Once upon a time, you too headbanged to Smashing Pumpkins.