Thinking back to my days in both high school and elementary school, there are still teachers who stand out as the “cool” ones. I remember trying to define what made them “cool” before, and I never could do it… still might be be able to do it now. These teachers made me want to come to class every day with all of my energy focused on soaking as much as I could out of their experiences. Ages were unimportant, as a few people have noted, it was the experiences that each teacher brought to their classes which made them “cool.”

I think Tam nailed it when she said that being cool is “strongly linked to positive self-esteem.” Having good self-esteem tends to make a person more charismatic; charismatic people tend to draw interested audiences; interested audiences tend to walk away satisfied. I would much rather learn from a person, be it a teacher, student, or colleague who brings his/her real life to the table, unafraid of the judgements that will stem from those experiences, than a person who keeps a thick wall up between him/herself and the audience the speaker wishes to reach.

Should ‘real’ teachers and students talk about the ‘idea of cool’?
I think for most kids, being cool is about not “losing face.” It should not be in such a negative context, but often is.

Why hasn’t @cbrannon heard ‘real’ teachers talking about it?
Don’t know her. Real teachers? I thought we all were. I find those teachers that engage the students talk about a variety of subjects, cool being one of them. Some just get through the content, sadly.

Do you talk to kids about being cool, about bringing out their passions?
Not in the context of “cool”, don’t like the word. Prefer, self esteem and self worth. Again, in then cases I have seen, it takes time to “unlearn” the “cool” perception.

Isn’t this opportunity for authentic learning experiences?
Discussions on anything to do withthe self, perceptions and interactions, are authentic in my view.

Are substitutes, ‘real teachers’?
If in real you mean flexible, talented, adaptable and valuable, yes!

What is your idea of ‘cool’?
Being me, encouraging others, saying what I think and respecting others….engagement of kids on their level!

and on a personal note, do I come off as an “expert without experience”?
No, you are reflective which will gain with experience.

Though I don’t profess to have experience in the middle school to high school years, I do agree with your definition of ‘cool’:

“I wrote that, too often ‘cool’ equates with ‘popular’ and that is false. Coolness is not about social hierarchy at all. It is about strong values/morals/ethics, neat interests, talents, being real. To me it is about being calm, collected and with ‘it’.”

I believe that being cool, as you have defined it, is strongly linked to positive self-esteem. As a family literacy educator and pre-service Arts Education teacher I work with parents and small children (birth to 10). Based on my experience and knowledge, individuals are not born with good self-esteem, but rather it is created and supported through various ways as they grow.

Coolness is not just an issue in middle years or high school either. I’ve met Kindergarten students who are concerned with being ‘cool’ or othewise being popular. As parents, teachers, and concerned adults in their lives, I believe that we have the opportunity to redefine cool so that it highlights the best of the individual rather than the popularity of the group.

As for the definition of ‘real’ teacher, I believe that when we have something constructive to offer another person, we become a ‘teacher’. It is the presentation, facilitation, opportunity, and potential that creates the teachable moments.

Thank you for the presentation of this informtion, facilitating the discussion, providing the opportunity for myself and many others to reflect and build on our own definitions, and the potential to become better teachers.

Have a glorious day.

Cool becomes understood as one matures and observes within their world. Would you agree that having these type of conversations/moments depend upon infinite variables; age, time, place. I am at a point where I avoid the treehouse as much as the students, our conversation was authentic. I agree that always referring to the concept would become tedious and lame. Real conversations are important and I am glad you shared yours.

Rodd,

You have contributed articulate insight. While writing this post I was cognizant of the cringe effect, even slept on the first draft in order to review perspective and word choice. I truly attempt to write with honesty and integrity. If you would like to share specific points of cringe factor I am all ears. Shoot me a DM or skype.

Cool is part of the unwritten curriculum is not really something that can be captured. It has to be organic. I value your points about respecting our uniqueness. I am of the perspective that unique traits should be celebrated as well.

and I concur with this.

“I sincerely hope that spaces come open for educators who are still willing to learn and to recognize that they don’t have, and don’t have to have, all of the answers. I think that’s ‘cool’!”

Looking forward to the podcast! Thank you.

Chad,

thank you for sharing your perspective and clarifying. I have not subbed for very long but am surely learning from the excitement. The experience seems like an adventure as I visit classrooms with little background of situations & never really knowing what to expect around the corner. Relationships with students are short and initial authority is of lesser value than the regular teacher. Teachers in the typical classrooms do have additional responsibilities and different challenges to contend with. Again, it is in the context, the adjective “real” can mean so much.

Perhaps there are concepts within your character ed program that would be valuable to teachers everywhere. Would love if you would share more about it sometime.

I agree the smart and more mature students often get it. It still remains an elusive concept that concerns all students. In my eventual classroom I hope to talk about tough concepts. Conversations incite learning and exploration and reflection.

Thank you for challenging my perception. I appreciate that you have taken the time to acknowledge this.

Mindelei,

Thank you for challenging my thinking on this. It was important in my self evaluation and reflection of the experience. Tweeting about it was the first step, continuing the discussion is what makes changes.

Lindsay,

Your response strengthened my thinking on this. I agree that self assurance is something that makes people feel better. It was a short chat but I think it left an impression with them. I am interested in going back to that class, really a great group.

I believe that the idea of “cool” is especially important to students, especially grade 8 students. What you initiated as a substitute was an important conversation. I believe that it is easy to overlook what is important to younger age groups because we do not view it as important. Now, I haven’t taught in a grade 8 classroom yet, but I have done a lot of work with students of that age range. I think you were taking an opportunity for students to learn authentically.

It is those kinds of conversations that students remember, it is those experiences. I can see from your explanation that what happened was taken out of context. But I think what happened when you were the sub of that classroom is great. Self assurance is something students that age crave, whether they demonstrate it or not.

At my school we have a great character education program where we discuss everything including how to act around others and how to treat self and peers. I treat all “teachable moments” as valuable and talk about anything and everything in my classroom.

My misuderstanding was that I thought Kyle was worried about being cool. Clearly, off base and not following all of the twitter banter! I don’t know of any good teachers “real” or not that worry about being cool in the classroom.

How do I define “real” teacher? One who does it day in and day out…basically, one who has to worry about the direction of the school, curriculum, the whole child and more. A sub usually does not go to meetings and contribute to the creative process of the direction of the school. There are many teachers at my school that are there everyday that don’t care about kids or the school. With that said, many of our subs do a better job than some of the “real” teachers.

No, you do not come off as an “expert without experience”. That was me expressing frustration with the amplitude of twitts that are in the education field that haven’t taught in years or have never taught.

I teach middle school and it is all about being cool there…the smart and more mature kids get it!