Mind the Gap
Week four of my new career as a rookie public school teacher. You learn something new every week.
The biggest lesson so far: frame of reference is everything.
I am a 60-year-old man who has lived through major historical milestones: the Reagan years, the Cold War, the Challenger disaster, 9/11, and the election of the first African American president. I am a storyteller by nature—someone who deeply believes in the power of narrative.
Every day, I stand in front of 16- and 17-year-olds. The key to reaching them is remembering when they were born and what milestones shaped their lives. The stories from my past simply don’t resonate.
These young people were born during the Obama era, and their parents are younger than I am. They have lived through a radical reshaping of American culture, experiencing sixteen years that have moved faster than any other era in the nation’s history. Their world ticks by at lightning speed, measured in 30-second bites.
My biggest challenge is adopting an evolving teaching style that keeps them engaged. It isn’t easy. Studies show that high school engagement has dropped by as much as 40% in recent years, and education’s decade-long push to integrate more technology into the classroom hasn’t helped reverse the trend.
Why are they disengaging?