Mullets, belt buckles, and boots

I’ve been back in the education field for more than a month now. In the 25 years since I graduated from high school, the 21 since I finished college, and the 14 since I completed grad school, things have changed. 

I mean I knew school would be different, but I’m surprised at exactly what is different. I’m also surprised at how different schools in Wyoming are compared to the ones in Ohio.

Mullets, belt buckles, and boots

Wyoming is the heart of the American West. There are beautiful mountains, lots of wildlife, and not a lot of people. It’s very rural with many ranches and farms. In high school, this translates to a lot of mullets, belt buckles, and boots on campus. In fact, I’ve never seen so many in one place (except when the NFR is in Las Vegas). Most frequently, belt buckles are worn with jeans and boots, but I’ve also seen them with sneakers, skirts, suits, hoodies, and western shirts (many students do wear normal clothes, too). Cowboy hats also make an appearance for school picture day and other special occasions. It’s truly an art form. 

Lockers aren’t cool anymore

When I was in high school, lockers were cool. You’d hang out there with your friends before and after school and between classes. Depending on the sports season, athletes’ lockers would be decorated on game days. It was also a lot of fun to decorate the inside of your locker. Mine was filled with pictures, Bible verses, and magazine pictures (or stories) of my favorite celebrities and television shows.

Not now. If a student has a locker, it is not used very often. I’ve only seen a handful of students use one this year. I asked why and was told they are not cool anymore. No one wants to get caught using them. 

Chromebooks, Chromebooks, Chromebooks

Everything was a hard copy when I was in high school. There were no electronic versions or PDFs of anything. If we needed to use a computer to type something for a class, we could use one of several computers in the library. The best one had this new-fangled program called “Word” on it. To this day, I still prefer reading the hard copy of a book, essay, or play rather than the electronic one. But I can see the usefulness of having an electronic one on each student’s Chromebook. It also makes grading a breeze. 

Some honorable mentions:

*English is still the best subject, and math is the worst. Although any math class here is better than the dumpster fires mine were in 10th and 11th grades. 

*Manual pencil sharpeners are still alive, well, and in every classroom. 

*Girls are on the football team. Here, two of the placekickers are girls from the school’s soccer team. 

*Gum chewing is allowed. No more detention or letters in your file if you’re found with it. 

*Socks and Birkenstocks and socks and slides are still popular things to wear as well as pajama pants. 

*School pictures are available online almost instantly, and school picture day is still the best dressed day on campus.