6 Ways Jeff Spicoli Would be Honor Roll Today

Kids Today Have Resources Available Like Never Before

I’m sure most parents remember Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. We basically grew up with him as part of our pop culture. He was, how should I say, a special individual. He would often show up for class late, ill-prepared, and generally unaware of which assignments were due. At which point the simmering Mr. Hand would engage Spicoli to understand his reasoning. Regardless of the excuse, Mr. Hand would quickly remind Spicoli there was a difference between Mr. Hand’s time and his time. Spicoli didn’t quite grasp these differences in time.

Given what I’ve experienced over the years with my daughters, I’m going to venture out there and say Spicoli would have a fighting chance in today’s schools. Things are much different from when we went to school. The concept of separation of time between learning (Mr. Hand’s time) and personal time (Spicoli time) has blended. As a result, Spicoli could’ve been a scholar in today’s schools. Here’s why:

1. Online Lunch Money – As witnessed in the above clip, Spicoli had some food line issues. One of those issues could’ve been avoided by what’s currently implemented in most school systems – online lunch accounts. It’s so easy to go to a website, add money to your kid’s account, and never have to worry about someone shaking them down for their change. And Spicoli wouldn’t have to order pizza in the classroom!

2. Facetime Studying – I mentioned this emerging trend in one of my earlier posts. Kids today are embracing technology like never before and starting to enable new and fresh ways to study together. Spicoli could’ve optimized “his time” by simply FaceTime studying with some of his buds from the comfort of his couch.

3. Online Textbooks – More and more classes are starting to utilize online textbooks. It obviously saves money for the school districts and helps the kids with future chiropractic bills (book bags are insanely heavy). Spicoli could’ve had access to his books where ever he was without having to carry them around. Think about it. He wouldn’t even have to put down the surfboard.

4. Online Apps – Like the previous item, teachers are also embracing online apps. Both of my daughters deal extensively with Google Apps for assignments and homework. There are online study sites such as Quizlet that provide interactive ways for kids to study on their time. As classes start to move more and more into the digital environment, having centralized tools (with automatic backup) is a crucial component. Spicoli would never have to worry about forgetting his assignments as they’d always be in the cloud. Take that Mr. Hand!

5. Parental Access and Engagement – This is a sticky one for Spicoli. I think his parents were already somewhat disengaged so I’m not sure this one would’ve helped him much. But, parents today have the tools to follow along with their kids progress. Most schools have online systems where parents can login, see homework assignments, retrieve documents, contact the teacher, and even see near real time grades. Gone are the days where you know nothing other than what your kid tells you and you wait to see a report card at some point. Who knows, maybe Mr. and Mrs. Spicoli would’ve been more engaged if they had these options.

6. Online Resources – Beyond the omniscient Wikipedia and Google search, kids today have more options to receive additional instruction than ever before. One significant player in this area is the Khan Academy. If you haven’t heard or checked out the Khan Academy, you need to. In a nutshell, Khan started making videos for his classes so they could understand particular concepts. These videos have grown and are now offered to everyone. The videos are excellent sources of information on typically difficult subjects. They provide foundational understanding in consumable chunks and the best part is…they are FREE. Spicoli could sit back, eat his bagel (or whatever else he had the munchies for), and check out the Khan videos. No Mr. Hand involved!

So, there you have it. Six ways today’s schools could’ve turned Spicoli into the next mayor of Toronto. Embrace the new technology, engage with your kids academic life, and remember “I don’t know” is not a valid excuse.