I just finished year 16 at Mansfield High School and it’s been another school year for the books. I ramped up the geeky t-shirts this year, making more of my own fan shirts, wearing shirts for more special days, and documenting all of my school’s spirit days. #GeekyShirtFriday continues to be a favorite part of my school week.
I’ve said it before in another post, but it allows me to show my students another side of Ms. Collins. They get to know me a little bit better and see more of my personality, just in case it doesn’t hit them on the side of the head in class through project examples or the way my classroom is decorated with Star Wars standees, the text of the Twilight Zone introduction, or my Wonder Woman posters! Geeky Shirt Friday also builds community with my students. Students try to guess the shirt. Some participate and also wear a geeky t-shirt with me. My favorite moment came last year when a student and I BOTH wore a Bob Ross t-shirt on the SAME DAY! It was magical. Sometimes, I need to take a few minutes to educate my students on important pop culture references when they don’t know what my t-shirts are all about. It’s worth it to have a class showing of important videos like the SNL sketch of More Cowbell so they understand the context. One student actually told me “Oh, now I understand some of the things my father always says!” Awesome! It makes me feel old, but awesome nonetheless!
I’m now posting my shirts on both Twitter (@JCollinsMA) and Instagram (@JCollinsMass), so follow along! ✔️
Previous years in the land of #GeekyShirtFriday:
Here are this year’s shirts! 🎉
