Student slang and pop culture change quickly, and not everyone manages to keep up. When teachers were asked to define popular slang terms like “mid” and “rizz,” or recognize influential internet figures like John Pork, their responses ranged from surprisingly accurate to completely confused. Fursey McCormack, a 52-year-old teacher from Hudson River Community Sailing, admitted that he had “never heard of him” when asked about the meme Tanka Jahari.
Through these interviews, it became clear that teachers had varying levels of familiarity with these terms. When asked to define slang like “mid,” “rizz,” and the phrase “lock in,” most teachers came surprisingly close to the correct meanings. Twenty five -year-old Mr. Korman, who teaches Earth and Space Science as well as Living Environment and Biodiversity, explained that “lock in” means to “get focused,” which matched 12th grader Dylan Mrozinski’s take: “to really focus and start working.”
Ms. Price, who teaches Chemistry and Spectroscopy, gave one of the most accurate definitions of “rizz,” explaining that it means “charisma, that special something,” and that “you’ve just got it.” Her enthusiastic explanation matched 12th grader Elio Mancinelli’s precise definition of rizz as “one’s social charisma, especially in terms of romance.”
Mr. Johnson, who jokingly introduced himself as “very old” and teaches AP U.S. History, AP Government, and Activism, described “mid” as “just sort of average, not that exciting, but not bad necessarily.” His definition aligned closely with 11th grader Victoria Morozova’s explanation that the term means something that is “all right” or “mediocre.”
Despite the many successful definitions, the pop culture portion of the interview sparked a lot of confusion, especially when it came to perhaps the most confusing figure of all: John Pork. When asked about John Pork, several teachers were perplexed. Johnson wondered if “he was related to John Bull,” a historical figure, while Price initially thought the name was “John Wick” and then followed up with, “Is that like a cop? Pork? Like bacon?” McCormack simply stated that he’d “never heard of him.” Korman knowingly replied, “He’s calling,” referencing the viral star, in contrast to the others who admitted they had no idea who the character was, even when explanations were attempted.
The John Pork question ultimately showed that students had a much stronger awareness of Internet “brainrot” media. Mancinelli said John Pork “is a half-pig, half-man guy that will call you at random hours of the night,” who has “a very intense neutral stare.” 10th grader Leo Edelman-Park described John Pork as “an image made in the year 2023, years after the death of Christ,” referencing the unusual Internet story around the character. Morozova also stated that he’s “the pig that calls people.”
What was most surprising was the lack of knowledge of Tanka Jahari, a joke originating from the Impractical Jokers show seven years ago. The meme has resurfaced across social media, the expectation was that both students and teachers would jump on the trend, even if many teachers said they were not focused on pop culture or active on TikTok, since many of these memes—like the repetitive “67”—are often heard in high school classrooms.
What may be surprising to many is that teachers still know a lot. While it might not always be the latest slang or niche internet trends, Johnson summed up the generational gap best: “A lot of the things your generation likes are stupid,” he said, adding that it’s “the same thing that my parents would have said.” He explained that when people are teenagers, “you’re into dumb things. You’re figuring everything out.” When Price was asked what slang confused her the most, she said she “didn’t understand the six-seven thing, but like, you know, I’m on board,” and when asked whether she keeps up with pop culture, she said she tries “to keep up with the lingo to understand what people are saying” and to “be able to communicate with you guys.” At the end of the day, the generational gap exists, but teachers are still trying to meet students halfway, and that effort counts for something.
