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Friday, August 5, 2005
Cool Vs. Old School
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I visit a lot of schools, and over the years I have observed cool teachers, you know, the ones who dress in the latest styles, keep up with pop culture and enjoy popularity among their students. I also see teachers who are what I would call old school, not remotely interested in whose music their students are listening to and not vying for Most Popular Teacher.
There seem to be pros and cons to each. Cool teachers may have trouble drawing the line between authority figure and pal. Old-school teachers may find their students tuning them out.
A TV show last night involving some women with Atlanta connections - the R & B group TLC - featured an old-school teacher. The women of TLC headed to Florida to surprise a high school student with an invitation to audition to record a song with them. On the way to the school, one of the group’s members, T-Boz, remarked that she got kicked out of four DeKalb schools before being expelled from the district altogether.
Once they got to the school, the women barged into the student’s music class. Her teacher waved them away. The teacher’s gesture was met with indifference and later eye-rolling as the women of TLC were not going to wait for the end of a music class for their big surprise. I felt a little sorry for the old-school teacher. She deserved more respect than she got, but I think old-school teachers are often appreciated more in retrospect.
Teachers, are you cool or old school (or neither, not trying to lump everyone into two camps)? Of the teachers who made the best impression on you, were they cool or old school?
