“Biologists take CELL-fies,” I read aloud to a classroom of 12 middle schoolers. As a digital media designer, I utilize Photoshop to create memes — a form of digital media that captures cultural phenomena through humor. I post my memes to a Facebook group where over 195,000 college students can express themselves through shared experiences while also promoting each student’s diverse experiences. However, as my memes took on a new life — gaining thousands of likes on Facebook — I realized that my memes could be used as an outlet to showcase any topic to both the social media world and the educational world.
As a mentor for a middle school science and engineering program, I always look for ways to engage middle school students with science concepts. I can connect with any student toward a topic by using memes as a memorable way to end my lectures.
One day, I noticed that one of my students, Derek, was facing toward the back of the room. As soon as the lecture ended, I asked him what was wrong. Grunting, he sunk his face into the table. To try to cheer him up, I tried talking to him about everything twelve-year-old boys liked — from video games to superheroes.
“Why aren’t you paying attention to the lesson, Derek?” I asked him as soon as his head was up. Derek wasn’t like the rest of the students in the class. He revealed that he lived in a fatherless and crowded household. Although there was no easy solution to his problems, I empathized with him as I never had the comfort of a permanent home either.
With the silence that ensued, I quickly crafted a meme on my laptop unique to Derek’s interests: the superhero Iron Man, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and an inspirational message about teamwork. Showing him my creation, Derek heaved a soft chuckle — enough of a reaction for me to realize that the meme was a success. Integrating humor, relatable content, and a positive message was enough to break down the communication barrier between teacher and student.
The following week, Derek was confidently leading his team during the group activity. The most rewarding part of teaching is not only teaching the science but also instilling passion and motivation in my students. From my experiences in the classroom, I’ve changed my teaching style; every time I’d meet a new student, I would ask them about their interests. Understanding someone’s interests opens up a whole new world of rapport — which allows for me to create educational content tailored to each student.
As a digital media designer, I do my best to capture these different interests — appreciating the differences that lay between my students and myself. These differences differentiate good memes from great memes; great memes can tell a story that is so unique and relatable to the viewer that it can capture the essence of who they truly are. And great memes can transform the world — one kid at a time.
