Think back to the steady sounds of basketballs thumping onto the ground and the pitter-patter of tiny feet on the gymnasium floor. The rubber smells of balls and sneakers dancing through the air; laughter and high-pitched screams contradicting the pop music in the background. Think back to the banter as classmates struggled to finish their math worksheets; tiny scribbles all over papers and little doodles on the sides. The teacher walked around desks and quietly observed. Think back to the Silly Bandz on your wrist and the Jelly Grip you had on your pencil. The animal eraser you bought with your parents’ money at the Scholastic Book Fair.
Just like every other generation, the teenagers of today have staples from their childhood. Although each person had unique experiences, they can all agree that some of these things played significant roles in their childhood, or at least brought back a bit of nostalgia. “I remember when all the equipment was out,” Camilla Valetta recalled. She explained that in gym class, her favorite activity was always climbing the ropes the teachers dropped from the ceilings. Krislyn Strohl agrees, saying that her favorite part of gym class was “the little activity days.”
Another item of interest in the gymnasium was the scooter boards kids would roll around on. Teachers came up with games like scooter tag, obstacle courses, and team-based games involving ropes and hula hoops. The only problem with the scooters was collisions between classmates and fingers being trampled and rolled on by wheels; of course, they decided that the good outweighed the bad since students were engaged and having fun during class. While some were zooming through the gymnasium, other students were taking tests while Manila Folders guarded their answers. Of course, some students weren’t thrilled with the “cheat-blockers” surrounding their paper, but the little doodles on the tan folders were sometimes helpful for morale.
When looking at Generation Z’s toys, many can recall Zhu Zhu Pets; the little colorful, scurrying, electronic hamsters. “I remember we’d get, like, all the sets and watch them go all over the floor and stuff,” Valletta said. She emphasized that this was before her family got a dog, as Zhu Zhu Pets were infamous for getting fur stuck in their wheels.
With phones and technology rapidly becoming more savvy, the newest generation of kids doesn’t know of the staples of the 2000s. Valletta and Strohl didn’t receive their first phones until they were in middle school, and they both believe that children today should not have even earlier exposure to technology. “Having a phone is a little iffy when you’re little,” Valletta stated. She then emphasized that having access to the internet as a child could be detrimental because they could be exposed “to things they shouldn’t be exposed to yet.”
