this is a problem.

You guys, some of the girls in my 5th grade class have JERSEY SHORE nicknames for each other.
I wouldn't even make this up, this is for real.
One of them is Snooki.
One of them is JWoww.

I heard them talking about Jersey Shore at recess on Monday.
I thought for sure I was wrong, because there's no way THAT was what they were talking about.
So, like an awesome teacher, I ignored it.
That's the first problem. Should have nipped that in the bud then and there.
But they were already halfway across the playground, so I let it go.

Then, Tuesday, we're halfway through my science lesson, and the students are working on an activity in groups at their tables.
I'm working with one group, and behind me I hear, "Snooki!"
Yall, I thought I was hallucinating. My brain is like, "What?"
No. I turn around, and one of the girls is half sitting/half standing, trying to get the other girl's attention from halfway across the room. Then, my worst fears were confirmed as I saw her look at the other girl again and call, "Snooki! Hey, Snooki!"
I almost died, yall.

The fun thing about 5th grade nicknames is that they change about twice a week.
They're always coming up with something new.
So, the student being referred to here as "Snooki" never actually responded to the first one, because she had forgotten that Snooki was her nickname.

Fun story about me- when I was in 5th grade, all of the girls in my class made name tags for themselves. The kind where you fold your paper in half so it's like a name plate that sits up on the end of your desk. The best part is, we made about 25 each. No lie, yall. We all picked our favorite names and made name tags for ourselves. We kept them in our little spacemaker pencil boxes that lived in the top right corner of our desks. Each morning, we'd pick what name we wanted to be called, and we'd put that nametag on our desk for the day. I can't remember if we actually ever called each other those names all day, but I'm going to be NO. My favorite name for myself was "Shelly," -- don't judge me, I was 10. I have no idea why I picked it. I will defend myself on that point only by saying that it's better than being called Snooki. Okay, yes.

But back to the point - THIS IS A PROBLEM.
Why do my students know about/watch Jersey Shore?!
And, please tell me that it makes you angry that THESE are their role models.
I want to grab them and shake them and say, "YOU DON'T WANT TO BE THESE GIRLS."
But clearly, that is not good practice.

I know maybe it doesn't seem like that big of a deal.
But I feel like it's a super big deal.
Like, at 10 years old this is what they're taking in.
You guys, we owe it to these kids to teach them better things.

Think about it.