Cool Teachers-Expanded Thoughts

A few weeks ago, I saw a skit on Saturday Night Live that got me think. I believe it was titled “The Coolest Teacher at Benton Township High School” or something like that. From what I recall, the gist of it was that a once popular high school teacher was “out-cooled” by the new history teacher, who actually turned out to be the dorky science teacher in disguise. Crazy as it sounds; there is an interesting theme in this lame brained SNL skit. It was about cool teachers, but what exactly makes a cool teacher? And as an education major, I wonder: am I going to be a cool teacher or not?

The desire to be considered cool is pretty natural. Most of us would rather be cool than dorky. After all, cool people have friends, they get dates, and all that jazz. Society places a high value on coolness. We practically worship celebrities and sports stars, who are held up as the epitome of cool. Whether or not they live up to the icon status they have is highly debatable, but it exists nonetheless.

Many beginning teachers also fall victim to the desire to be cool. After all, they are not that far removed from their days as a student, and therefore may want to relate to students on their level. This is particularly true at the high school level, where the beginning teacher is likely only a few years older than his or her students. Undoubtedly, the temptation will be there to try and please students, make them like him or her, and treat them as friends rather than subordinates.

Relating to students is great, but acting cool is not a way to win respect. My best teachers have not been the ones who tried to be cool. In fact, those teachers who try too hard to win you over end up being the most nauseating. I remember one from high school, Mr. Williams…he’d been big man on campus, and he made sure we knew it. He was “cock of the walk”, and pretended he knew everything. In truth, he was probably the worst teacher I ever had. His smug attitude totally turned me off. He was definitely a cock, but walking had nothing to do with it, and I remember little or nothing from his classes, except that he was a jerk.

What teachers like Mr. Williams fail to realize is that it doesn’t matter if a teacher is cool in the conventional sense. What matters is that they can actually teach, and that their students learn something. A friend who is also an education major reminded me of something important: as teachers, our job is not to make students like us, it’s to educate them.

Whether or not I am cool is irrelevant. In fact, I’m pretty square, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the quality of my instruction. If I can educate students; give them a reason to enjoy English, and make it relevant, that’s what counts. Only then will I be a cool teacher.