Believe it or not, I thoroughly enjoy hearing my students’ thoughts and opinions whether they are on topic or somewhat random.  My students are some of the most interesting people I’ve had the privilege of meeting.  Had I not been a teacher, there’s a strong possibility that I would never have had the opportunity to hear all of their amazing and entertaining thoughts and ideas. While each class is a micro-community of sorts, these communities have their  own personality and brilliance.  No two are ever alike, and the individuality of these micro-communities are as unique as the random conversations within them. 

At first, these random conversations seem to emerge from nowhere but can be traced back to something in the lecture, and sometimes tracing back the origin of the conversation is equally as fun as the discussion itself.  It is similar to “The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”  In short, Kevin Bacon has worked with so many Hollywood actors that most actors are six actors away from working with him (you can read more about Kevin Bacon here). And, for those who are curious about the game itself, here’s The Oracle of Bacon, which describes Kevin Bacon’s connection to anyone.

Being at home for so many months during the previous and current school year, I was a bit curious if the energy and vibe in the classroom would be different than before the “hiatus” we had learning from home. As a serial optimist, I forged ahead and went with the “business as usual” approach and what emerged was something better that is a direct result of the moderately dormant in-person discussions of the past year.  

Donna Aromado, veteran guidance counselor at RV said, “I really think kids are resilient.  They are elated to be back. They are happy to have their routine back.  I see a lot of positivity. We have such a dynamic staff that want kids to be successful and happy.”

In the current class dynamic, students really want to talk and not just listen.  Many students are openly happy to share their thoughts and ideas in authentic random acts of conversation, and for some, the cautious hesitation about sharing in class has disappeared. 

During these small moments, every student in the class becomes part of the conversation.  It could be the person telling a story about work or the quiet student who pretends not to listen (and finally starts smiling), or the other students who are entertained listening to the dialog. 

You may wonder what some of these discussions entail.  In one instance, students were standing by the window overlooking the parking lot and showing us which car belongs to them.

In other cases, students talked about the prom or sharing photos from the dance. 

Other students shared how they will stay at the beach in the summer and talked about the possibility of meeting up since they will be in the same shore town.

When learning about identity theft in class, a discussion began about the movie called “Identity Theft” with Melissa McCarthy, which we all agreed was a hilarious movie.

At the end of one class, I mentioned that after wearing casual clothing for so long, much of my “work clothes” no longer appealed to me, and one of my female students chimed in that she didn’t like any of her clothes either.

Some days, we can smell the delicious food coming from the foods classes below, on the first floor, and we speculate about what they are preparing by trying to name ingredients or other similar dishes.  As we keep hypothesizing, each and every idea sounds more delicious than the next.

Other times we talk about the last time we went to the movie theater, or who has or hasn’t been to Top Golf.  One student mentioned today that he could not believe that we’ve been in class for almost seven weeks already and it was ending so soon.  

When students return to school in the fall, Aromando said,”It’s going to be newness when they return in September. In the fall SEL [Social Emotional Learning] will be more immersed in the classroom.”

As classroom learning finds its own rhythm going forward, I encourage these random acts of conversation to become a little less random and become more mainstream.  When students share all of the good, strange, completely odd and incredibly quirky experiences they have, it creates a more engaging learning experience for everyone.  After all, they are the most interesting people you will ever meet.