WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE
Well, I am officially at the age when people say "when I was your age..." It’s my birthday month, and I’m refusing to feel old! I do, though, find myself saying the things that the older generation says.
When I was a substitute teacher, the generation and cultural gap hit me in the face hard. Subbing for a middle school Pre-Algebra class, the initial question the students asked me was, "Do you know how to do this [Pre-Algebra]?" My response, "I did back in the day." I wish we had a computer system hooked up to our memories that allowed us to look up the folder in which certain memories or past information is stored. For example, I could’ve gone to the “7th grade Pre-Algebra” folder and find the stored information, allowing me to remember everything I learned at that time. Instead I only had the faint memories of fuzzy algebraic-type expressions that I hadn't even thought about since my freshman year in college. Sorry, kids. I'll try to help but can't make any promises.
I also had interesting debates with students about cell phones in school. I am COMPLETELY AGAINST students using--or even having--cell phones on school property. The boundaries become blurred the more they are allowed to "just text" or "just listen to music with one earbud in" while at lunch or in-between classes. Kids are on their phones doing the snapchatting and tiktok’ing (I think that’s a thing) rather than paying attention. There is no need for a cell phone at school. “But, Brittney, what if there is an emergency?!” Use the office phone. That’s what we did! I think this is a battle a teacher should not have to fight. I digress.
In the midst of my cell phone debate of 2011, one student asked, "Well, did you get to use your cell phone in high school?!" My answer, of course, shocked the kids at how old I truly am: "We didn't have cell phones when I was your age." A collective *gasp!* filled the classroom. With a sigh, I explained that cell phones existed but were not something that everyone had, especially not children. They were for emergencies. My parents had one, and my sister and I used it if we drove somewhere far away or on a softball trip...again, only to be used for emergencies. More blank stares, completely baffled by such a thought. Yes, I am officially old in the eyes of anyone under the age of 20, who think not having a cell phone is the most ridiculous thing in the world.
I do, though, “miss the good old days when” we had to write letters or call someone to communicate with them. Getting mail is still such a thrill! You had to pass hand-crafted, precisionly-folded notes in between classes in order to tell your best friend about the look you got from Travis in Spanish class, which hopefully meant he liked you. Though social media has huge perks, like making it easier to stay in touch with my friends all over the world, I miss the lack of it sometimes. I feel like people were kinder before Facebook, or maybe I was just more oblivious to it?
I miss the skating rink. Why don’t we go skating anymore? A little limbo competition, the anticipation of the couples’ skate, eating semi-stale popcorn, the frustration of the StreetFighter arcade game, and dancing to “Poison” by Bel Biv Devoe blasting on the speakers. It was a social event and workout all at the same time!
Maybe, for my birthday, I’ll leave my cell phone at home, stay off Facebook, and go skating. And while I’m there, to all the kids (and probably some parents) who give me weird looks because a 30-something year old is at the skating rink mainly dancing in the middle of the rink instead of actually skating, I’ll tell them, “well, when I was your age…”