This list gives some important reminders about where our students are coming from. Incidents in the class confirm daily that our world view doesn’t always match a seventeen-year-old’s (the day I made a “Seinfeld” reference that no one got was a sad one.) Remembering some of these points might help us be a little less surprised when students have no idea what we’re talking about.
Thanks to this blog for pointing me to the list.
This list is certainly something to ponder!
Eileen
Dedicated Elementary Teacher Overseas
elementaryteacher.wordpress.com
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I think I’ll keep going back to it whenever I’m infuriated that they don’t know who James Joyce was.
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There are links to previous years, too, which are pretty eye-opening. For instance, the Class of 2009 list, referring to students born in 1987, points out that “Wayne Gretzky never played for Edmonton.”
Great. Now I’m really old.
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Yes, anyone who has a chance to check out some of those earlier lists may find them even more revealing. From last year: “The Soviet Union has never existed.” Holy cremola.
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A few years ago, I had a student who didn’t know who Jean Chrétien was. He was Canada’s Prime Minister at the time. And the student was over 40. I have never since assumed anything about my students’ general knowledge of current events or culture or anything else.
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Exactly. I used to be flummoxed when students interpreted references to “the Madonna” as being about the pop star, or thought that Holden Caulfield was talking about “David Copperfield” the magician. Now I just try to take it into stride.
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LOL I teach Catcher in the Rye and have had to explain that reference many times. Although nowadays they don’t even know who David Copperfield the magician is!
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The link is broken. By working backwards, I think you mean this?
http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/
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Not exactly, but the original list seems to be gone – I will remove this post shortly.
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My job is to teach people to read and write; aside from that, I like to learn things.
Classroom as Microcosm 
What do you think?