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Teacher instructs students in a classic lecture style which has been the uniform in classes for years.

Jaws around the globe likely dropped when, on live television, Will Smith left his seat to slap Chris Rock at the 94th annual Academy Awards on March 27.

The next day at school, Pleasant Valley High School’s hallways buzzed with a single question: Was Will Smith in the wrong, or did Chris Rock deserve it?

Teachers noticed the chatter among students, and some thought the debate could be used in the classroom. English teacher Robyn Samuelson and psychology teacher Ann Berger altered their lesson plans for the day in order to fit the conversation into their curriculum. 

In Berger’s psychology class, students had a conversation about the human brain and why people tend to make decisions, such as saying certain things that can be offensive or going up on stage on live television and hitting someone. She believed that it was a perfect segway into her next unit after students recently studied the biology of the brain.

“I think talking about current events in the classroom really helps memory retention. Any time when students can relate to a topic based upon something that is happening in real-time is incredibly beneficial,” Berger said.

Senior Kennedy Brady sat in on the class and thought it was important to talk about the issue. “It was something that was relevant to the class and also something that was happening in real life. It helped keep class engaging, and it was fun to learn about something new and trending,” she said.

Samuelson and her students held a debate in her public speaking class, during which students were able to defend their opinions about Smith and Rock. Later, they participated in a class vote to determine who students believed to be most at fault. In the future, she plans to show Will Smith’s acceptance speech for his award for the movie, “King Richard.”

“I always like to get students talking about things that are interesting to them in class,” she said. “As long as it relates to the class matter, I usually try to integrate real-time events into the curriculum quite often.”

Teaching is a subjective art. Any teacher would say there is not one right way to teach any given subject. With lesson plans up to interpretation, some teachers may choose a certain way of teaching the curriculum in a way they think is most helpful for students.

Some of these teaching styles enable students to have a fun and engaging experience in the classroom. However, other teaching styles like teaching out of a textbook can often be disengaging for students.

“When teachers spoon feed students or teach right out of a textbook, especially in subjects like English and psychology, they don’t connect with their students. I developed my teaching style to make sure that students can think critically and have conversations with their peers in class,” Berger said.

And while students appreciate those engaging lessons, sometimes there are days when lectures are necessary. Senior Erika Holmberg, who is planning to become a teacher in the future, realizes there needs to be a change in education. “With all of the new technological distractions such as phones, laptops and more, it is becoming apparent that long lectures and presentations are not engaging enough for students. It is my goal to integrate a hands-on environment to keep up with our ever-changing generation of students,” she said.

Even with a set number of standards required of each teacher, Berger and Samuelson understand taking a day to talk about a current event can be incredibly beneficial to students. 

Incidents like the Oscars altercation are bound to happen again. It may seem silly to talk about these incidents at school, but perhaps students thinking critically about real-time events is the next step in preparing the youth for the future.