Kids These Days

I don’t know how I got to be 30. Time seems to have blurred and sped up because 30 used to be this far off number. Teaching doesn’t really help either with making me feel any more youthful. My current students are 11/12 which means they were born in the 00s– 2004/2005 to be exact. How on earth was I a senior in high school when these kids were born?! And how are the first graders that I taught during my student teaching now in 8th grade? I’m not getting any older, how are they?!

My kids are highly amused about the fact that I didn’t have a cell phone until I was 16. I try to explain to them that um, cell phones weren’t really a thing back then (ugh see, I’m referring to what seems like 5 years ago as “back then”!). And all the apps they use now? Nope! Even, texting wasn’t really a thing until I was in college. It baffles them. But really, I think they are the ones that really miss out…

They’ll never know about…

1. Disney Channel Original Movies: I don’t watch the Disney Channel anymore so while there may be some movies still on, I know they have nothing on “Smart House” and “Rip Girls” and “Zenon.” (My co-workers and I recently talked about these movies and it was funny to see how super excited we all got when naming them).

2. The Oregon Trail: What a masterpiece of a game. My kids will never know how fun it was to go into the school computer lab filled with HUGE computers (think of the floppy disk days), name your wagon crew, and work tirelessly to make sure that they all make it safely to Oregon.

3. Skating rink parties: Maybe I’m off on this one but I don’t know if my students even know what a skating rink is. This definitely makes me sad because the rink provided, hands down, the best birthday parties! Throw on some good jams and I could skate with my friends for hours (or until they brought out that limbo pole).

4. *N SYNC (and other boy bands): I recently played some music in class while my kids were working and *N SYNC came on. I asked my kids if anyone knew who it was. Or if they knew what band Justin Timberlake used to be in. Blank stares. It made my heart so sad. And then I proceeded to play more *N SYNC so that they could learn to fully appreciate 90s boy bands. The work of a teacher just never ends.

 

I know this is a super short list of things our poor youth will never know. What else would you add to it?