Movies, Sex and Laughter: What We Learn On A Snow Day?

If you are going to be a teacher in this day and age you have to be willing to show the kids you are human and sometimes you have to be able to laugh at yourself. All too often teachers and students are disconnected because there is an inability to relate. The historical relationship between teacher and student that equates to the authority figure and subordinates is a trap that can be easily fallen into. Each teacher has a style that works for them and I knew right away that I wanted to have a classroom built on understanding and trust. A place where student felt free to express themselves and discussion fostered learning, not only academically but socially and emotionally as well. I like to have fun with my students and I always try to connect with them on their level. This is a story about a connection gone wrong!! Oh so wrong!!!

In our school district, we never close schools for a snow day. If there is a lot of snow or freezing rain the buses will be canceled but the schools will remain open. This creates an interesting situation in the classroom. We end up with about ⅓ of our students missing. The tough part about this is that you don’t want to move on with regular lessons because there are about 9-10 students missing. At the same time, you have enough students still in the class that you need to provide activities to keep them busy and productive. This is pretty easy as we often have a variety of projects on the go and students are able to get some time to work on things that they need to catch up on.

So on one particular snow day, we were missing a few more students than normal so we decided to put two grade 7 classes together. When the students arrived at my class I greeted them and started to go through the plans for the afternoon as I always do. Now, I like to think that I am “in touch” with the pre-teen scene and have a good idea of what is “cool” these days. This was one of those moments where I decided to show my students just how cool I was. A big mistake in retrospect. A highly entertaining big mistake.

I had decided that we would work on some catch-up stuff for a little bit and then I would put on a film in the afternoon for the kids if they were working hard. I proceeded to tell my students that we would work on our book reviews and independent poems for the first half of class and then we could choose a movie on Netflix to watch during the remainder of the afternoon. The students were pretty happy with the plan. Their enthusiasm caused the inner cool in me to take over and I followed my description up with the following statement. “So, should be a fun afternoon here guys, be productive for the first half of class and then we can Netflix and Chill.”

The giggling and laughter that ensued had me immediately wondering what I had missed. I asked if I had said it right and many laughed again and said yes. They just seemed shocked that I said it and they were highly amused. I eventually chalked it up to them laughing at me trying to be cool and I laughed as well but I was still unsure.

Now, some of you reading already know the error of my ways and can visualize the embarrassment I must have felt. For those of you who are still wondering, I will continue. As the kids got to work on their projects I took a quick moment to go to my computer and do a google search on “Netflix and Chill”. Imagine the shock and horror that filled me as I read the first thing that popped up.

Netflix and chill is an internet slang term used either as an invitation to watch Netflix together or as a euphemism for some form of sex, either as part of a romantic partnership or as a "booty call".

Source

The definition came with a full accompaniment of memes to further twist the knife that was my humiliation. I still don’t know how the kids couldn’t have seen the mortification that came over my face. I must have been 10 different shades of red. I decided that I had to address the elephant in the room. I stopped the kids form what they were doing and announced that I had finally figured out what the joke was. They all started laughing and I had a good laugh as well. “I had no idea,” I exclaimed. “How long has this been a thing?” They were eager to educate me on the world of teens and fill me in on all that I obviously didn’t know. It actually turned into a great discussion and the kids got to see their teacher as a human like everyone else who makes mistakes and sometimes puts his foot in his mouth. I know some teachers who would be very upset at the students for laughing in that situation but for me, it was a moment where I was able to learn something and unintentionally create a joke that the kids would remember for some time. Never forget that it's ok for your students to see you make mistakes. Just be "chill" and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself.

By: @broncofan99

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