by Miquer Humprey T. Arnobit
Being an educator in today’s generation can be very challenging because we need to adapt and be “in” with the pupils’ interests to be able to get their attention and build a good relationship with them. Having a knowledge of what is trending, the latest songs, memes, social issues and many more can help pupils to be more engaged in the learning process. This is what I had observed when I was deployed to different elementary schools for our Teaching Internship.
During my duty as a Pre-Service Teacher in the University of Baguio – Laboratory Elementary School, I observed that pupils learn a lot more when they could relate to given topics or situations and when they noticed I was familiar with trends.
They got more interested when we joyfully danced to a Tiktok song they all knew. Also when memes or funny stuff were included in the lessons, even an expectedly boring History lesson animated them.
I have taught different subjects to Grade 3 pupils where I always asked them to do the “Love Scars” pose when they understood the lesson and a “finger heart” pose when they had inquiries or questions. They enjoyed doing these as these were “in” or “trendy”.
Such can actually be applied to higher grades like Grades 5 and 6 which I also taught. They were glad to know I was aware of the trends. So I want to learn more of things like FR (instead of “for real”).
Being a Generation Z-Baby, I somehow found it easy to connect with pupils and other young people because I am also influenced by social media that I know the latest trends, memes, songs and dances and even social issues that are usually unnecessary.
That is why when I shared an experience or a story on social media, some pupils could relate and a good relationship was developed with them. The influence of social media can greatly affect our lives, especially in relating with young people.
When kids are not often checked by their parents, they tend to be addicted to the internet that they cannot go on with the day without it, and would even lose interest in their academics.
I have also encountered a scary incident among Grade 6 pupils where they inflicted self-harm by cutting themselves because of a Tiktok trend.
Thus, a teacher must learn to be all-around. He must also be a parent who sets limitations or boundaries to pupils with respect to social media. This includes reminding them to only watch videos suitable to their ages and limiting the time to use their phones.
A teacher must also be the pupils’ older brother or sister they can bond with doing Tiktoks, having fun with memes and discussing issues, but respect and boundaries must still be maintained.
Additionally, a teacher is not just a second parent and sibling but also a guidance counselor, a guard and everything to make sure that the pupils are away from harm.
Being an educator in today’s generation, is challenging because of a lot of difficulties that will test one’s wits and passion, but in order to be successful in educating, we must be wise and knowledgeable about what is happening around us and we must also learn to adapt and teach in different circumstances or from different view points for the students’ welfare.**
