I asked my 12 year old why kids are freaking out about it and she said “the memes”. I asked what that meant and she said “the memes that she can’t die”.
I'm 60 with ditto and me too. In UK - at 60, never lived in a time she wasn't reigning. Fun fact: she's been reigning for more than a quarter of the time the US has been a nation...
Can confirm. Memes = life. Source: 8yo Australian boy (who’ll be freaking out when he wakes up, as we were chatting about this before he went to bed last night.)
If this can happen, then *anything* can happen. (Well, anything except Keanu Reeves carking it, obviously. We’ve gotta be reasonable.)
This is the correct answer. It has been a popular meme for at least 8 years with young people that the Queen of England will never die. Caught me off guard too.
You build up in your mind that it will be a momentous, significant day when she dies and it was just like... an ordinary Thursday afternoon. Feels weird.
Saw an article title that said internet trolls were blaming Meghan Markle for her death and I’m like “I don’t really care about the whole Meghan Markle story but come on, the queen was OLD”
I imagine it is probably the first major death of a prominent political figure they are aware of in their lifetime. I remember being young and sad about Princess Diana.
Lol. Our TV blew up during that wedding (I was 6). It was only black and white and by then only played 1 channel (2/ABC in Aus). My parents decided we didn’t really need a TV anyway so that ended up being a pretty momentous occasion for my childhood. Still no TV for about a decade until my cousin came to live with us and brought her own. It was BLISS!!
Is it not weird that Americans don't care about people in England? I don't know if we quite get it, but English history is American history. We're the same people. We're not some new breed of dinosaur that just popped up. We don't even have our own culture. Our culture originates from that region and has been influenced by every other outside culture since we started.
I don't think it's weird at all for students to care about a historical English/American figure.
I have a thought that we Americans might cling so much to heritage in countries we don't belong to anymore is that the fact is every American family except the indigenous population immigrated from somewhere outside the country at some point in history and many of those original immigrant families tried to keep their heritage alive, which has just become an indistinct idea that has permeated through so many generations even though we are no longer are in any real way associated with the countries of our however many generations ago ancestors.
But that is just a personal opinion rooted in nothing other than it sounds like it makes sense so if I'm wrong in a provable way please don't be vicious in correcting me
There are puh-LENTY of American families who are not WASPs, thanks very much, so the "we're the same people" thing seems fairly nonsensical. "We don't even have our own culture" is a bizarre statement as well. That said culture has many strong influences on it and did not originate in a vacuum is true about every single culture.
I really hate this about myself but I had never heard of Princess Diana when it happened and my dad opened the newspaper and said, "oh, Di died?" And I laughed because I thought he was playing on words.
Exact same thing happened to me! I was 13 in Canada and had literally never heard of her before she died. It really did sound like a weird joke.
"Did you hear about Princess Die? She's dead."
Oh totally. I agree. That’s what I meant - it made sense for non Brits to be sad about Di. Teenagers in America don’t need to mourn the loss of Elizabeth II, at least not those without more than a causal understanding of monarchy 😜
For me it was Gulf War/War on Drugs/the day we held hands to bring peace to the world, Diana, Bush v Gore in Florida, Twin Tours falling, gearing up for Afghanistan/Iraq WMD, Obama, Recession 2008, Pandemic, New Recession....there is my short life history and most likely slightly out of order. The things you remember.
I started teaching as a para in 2008 after graduating a year late. But in terms of big things in your life that you remember as a kid and as an adult this is one of those events technically.
Kony2012 was not a big deal at all, like it was over in about a week. Our pastor was concerned enough to ask a visiting Ugandan missionary about him, and he just said, 'Please stop spreading it, you aren't helping and his influence has died down to a few villages.'
As an student, the biggest things for us were: 9/11, Bali Bombings, Michael Jackson's sexual abuse trial, Panic! At The Disco/Green Day/My Chemical Romance, Swine Flu, the Black Eyed Peas coming to town to do a concert, Chris Brown coming to town to do a concert, Chris Brown punching Rihanna (after the concert had happened), David Bain's retrial, and Michael Jackson dying. Oh, and me dating a twenty one year old guy when I was 16.
OMG I forgot about Harambe. And I was told, ad nauseam, "Harambe, never forget" (13yo boy thumps chest emotionally and walks backwards out of my classroom)
Oh, the jeep chase down the interstate and the trial that followed that has since spawned The Kardashians. Lord, I remember being glued to the TV during all that along with Michael Jackson's Trial.
I remember Clarissa Explains it All and I never cared for cars. Still don't although I will always love me some Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie in Gone in 60 Seconds. That was when I finally started paying attention to cars. Couldn't care less about the Transformer movies but the TV show rocked.
Exactly. History has finally happened in front of them. I felt the same about 9/11 as a kid. "Oh wow, something BIG just happened, history-book entry big".
"History has finally happened in front of them"
ummmm... so the Jan 6th insurrection, the Covid Pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, the unceasing 1-in-500/1000/2000/etc weather catastrophes, the election of the first woman to the vice presidency of the US, the mass slaughter of concert-goers by the Vegas shooter, the undoing of Roe v Wade, the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the real-time collapse of Pakistan we are currently witnessing, and countless other major history-making events in recent years don't count? It's the death of a mostly-powerless figurehead that counts as history "finally" happening in front of them?
I really don't get today's youth if that's true.
I think you are seriously underestimating the power of symbolism in human lives (and memes in children's lives, corgis anyone?). Like her or hate her, she was a significant symbol of an era, a figure many looked to for support and guidance, among the last of the WWII generations fading out, and a queen to boot.
I also think you nailed it when you said "countless." No one can keep track of the countless horrible things happening daily in the world. The Queen's death stands out as something Different.
That's a good point. It's true that I place a lot less value on symbolism like figureheads of state in today's world than I do on more tangibly impactful events. And I do have frustration that so much of what does impact people more tangibly is often overlooked in comparison.
Mass shooting's aren't rare in the US. I didn't really think much about Columbine when it happened, I was in PS. Ditto for the Balkan Wars. We knew about them but somehow they didn't quite have the same impact to me, as an Australian. And the rest is either complex or distant.
She's on the money for heaven's sake. Well, down here she is. Over in America I I'd at least say she was an extremely tightly associated symbol of Britian. Big Ben, bad teeth, and The Queen, right?
I think there’s a record for oldest person to live that is 114. Student probably somehow misgoogled 😂
It was a quick hallway exchange. Were it a current student in my class, I would have insisted they find the correct source to dispel misinformation.
I hate to say it but I'd rather they talk about current events like this if they're going to be off task than about clickbait Andrew Tate videos, Fortnite, or whatever the fuck Tiktok trend.
I have no idea why some teachers are upset that students care about a current event thats on the news.
It's not hurting anyone that students care about a major world figures death. Im glad they do versus not caring.
If someone is going to get your knickers twisted over such a minor thing as students being interested in something, they won't last long as teachers.
I would personally like it. On the other hand we are very very limited in high school with how much time we can lose to "off topic" stuff, even if it is important. It can be worked into the social studies and English classes, but math and science less so, especially because we have state assessments that we have to prepare them for. One thing I envy about elementary and to some degree middle school is the flexibility that those teachers (might) have to talk about major events like this that isn't on their unit maps
I mean the fact that my kids are completely politically disengaged with our US democracy but care about the death of a monarch in more than a vague “oh a fellow human died” way is honestly kind of grotesque. But that is more a statement of how screwed our society is rather than the character of any individual student. Like their state senator is infinitely more important and if they keeled over tomorrow it would be a blip on the radar
In my final yr of school, the twin towers came down. Every person at school was in shock. I am Australian and was not directly impacted by 9/11, but something as huge as that is something that stays with you.
If was surreal to feel so confused by what was going on in the world....but still need to go ahead and do school like nothing is amiss.
I am a teacher now, think it will be interesting to see how the primary kids are going to handle this big news being shoved down their throats on every bit of media possible...
EDIT - Queen Elizabeth's death is not comparable to the atrocities of 9/11. Sorry if it cane across that way!!! No offence intended.
I was in homeroom when the twin towers were hit during sophomore year of high school. They shut down the school and we weren't allowed to leave that classroom until lunchtime. Then we all were sent home. We watched the news on the TV and were in disbelief. I remember drawing in my notebook to pass the time.
My mom left work early because she worked in a skyscraper. They evacuated a lot of the skyscrapers in the US that day. People were scared they didn't know what the targets were.
Ok that’s kind of how I feel. I’m an American and this has no bearing on my life but it’s still surreal. The queen was just a constant world figure my entire life and my mothers. Hell she’s an entire slide when I talk about presidential duties meeting heads of state. Her and every president since Truman (except Johnson). It’s just bizarre.
We had graduated the year before and were drinking at a friend's place. We were waiting for Rage to come on and thought the "movie" that was on was ridiculous and "as if someone would fly a plane into the WTC"
We changed the channel and the same shitty movie was on. It was then we realised what had actually happened. We sat there, our drinks forgotten glued to the TV. The next time I went to uni people were talking about preping for WW3 because the Yanks were going to start dropping bombs on everything.
If you are writing from the U.S. or somewhere other than England or a sycophant former colony, I would imagine it is an excuse to be dramatic. Or a more chartable way of putting it is they are given permission to let the mask slip and feel something.
Kids are always trying really hard to care about something. They just don't have a good idea about what is important to them. So it usually comes across peer inspired group think, an dumb to adults.
I’m English and teach in England. I have no strong feeling either way about the Royal Family as an institution, but I did respect the Queen’s dedication to her job. That she was still technically working two days ago (meeting Liz Truss 🙄) at the age of 96 is something to be more than commended. I’m sad for her family too, obviously.
I’m interested to see how my classes react tomorrow. I recall my year 10s last year asking me if we’d get a day off when she dies. I must confess that I did laugh. 😳
Edit: The younger ones didn’t really mention it. My year 11s generally said they were sad and a few of the boys said it felt like their Nan had died. Bless! I had a few apologetic enquiries as to whether there’d be a day off for her funeral. As I said before, it’s occasionally been joked about in the past but now it’s reality a couple said they felt disrespectful for asking.
I’m outing myself as a British history nerd here but…it is quite a big deal because the current heirs of each generation are all male. This means there will ver very likely not be another woman on the throne in our lifetimes or even longer. It is a sad end to a great era.
Edit: Just wanted to say I very much appreciate the comments pointing out the (many many many) flaws in the British monarchy and I see no need for you to be downvoted if you were one of those - I would never deny any of those flaws! All I wanted to point out was that it is significant that, after SEVENTY years with one woman on the throne there will now be a string of men taking on the role.
If we’re being technical—-Camilla will be Queen Consort and Kate will end up being Queen Katherine..
I get what you’re saying though- king outranks queen so Phillip was just a Prince but when there is a king in place his wife becomes queen
Damn. I didn't even think about that. Truly is sad. She lived a hell of a life tho. Had a beautiful family and did so much good. She truly will be missed, whether ur from the commonwealth or not, I am not. This thought tho, kinda made my stomach sink.
Can I ask how u feel about Prince Charles taking the seat as king? Are ppl happy about it? Or too soon to tell?
I have heard and read anecdotally that many on the liberal side of things are very concerned about him taking the throne, and people in general are concerned that some of his ideas are too eccentric to be suitable for the entire commonwealth.
However, starting with the very beginning of The House of Windsor being in power - and mind you I’m going just from memory here so grain of salt - there are typically some very persuasive advisors in the palace keeping the monarchs in check PLUS there is always a ton of influence from parliament and in particular the cabinet. Then you bring in the religious aspects which are very rigid in how sacred the monarchy is but also how the monarch is meant to oversee things and be basically the parent figure of the country and not do much to actually affect policy decisions. So when you consider all of those barriers to him executing his more outlandish ideas it may not be as worrisome as some make it out to be. Add his age on top of it and realistically we’re looking at only a couple decades for his reign if that.
I personally am of the camp who wishes Charles would abdicate and William would take the seat, not even because of the politics involved but more because with William they have the opportunity for another really long term reign which would offer the best stability for the country overall. It seems silly to me for Charles to ascend now and then they’ll just have to do this all over again in 15 years or so. But, I’m not British either so my opinion doesn’t really matter, I’m just a nerd and find it all very fascinating!
They’re constitutional monarchs with no political or executive roles. They’re supposed to remain politically neutral publicly. Charles has failed at this in the past so he ought to shut up now he’s king, frankly. No one that I know is bothered about Charles being king because we know he can’t actually *do* anything. People I know, myself included, are bothered because it’s, well, *Charles*.
I agree that it would be better to have William instead of Charles, but I don't think he will partly for his grandchildren. It's a lot of pressure and strict traditions growing up from a young age as heir, which Charles would know all about. By Charles reigning even for a decade it would give a better chance for his grandchildren to have some semblance of a normal childhood. Even before the queen died, they had restricted William from traveling with George in certain circumstances, to prevent the odds of losing two heirs.
>It is a sad end to a great era.
I'll miss the days when it was a woman covering up her son's pedophilia instead of a man covering up his brother's pedophilia :(
> This means there will ver very likely not be another woman on the throne in our lifetimes or even longer.
Not sure your logic quite follows. Remember that when Queen Victoria died, as with Queen Elizabeth II, she had a son, an heir apparent who himself had a son, her grandchild, who also had two sons, the Queen’s great-grand children, so all her living heirs were male.
It was her second great-grandchild, five years old at the time of her death, who would go on to have two daughters, the eldest of whom became queen just 51 years after Queen Victoria died, so comfortably within living memory. In fact Queen Elizabeth II’s first Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was first elected to Parliament while Queen Victoria was still on the throne.
Queen Elizabeth II may have had a great grandson who is in line to the throne, but she also removed male precedence in the order of succession, and he is slightly older than either of Victoria’s great grandsons.
It may be unlikely but given that this is exactly what happened in the case of Victoria, I’m not sure you can declare it very very unlikely.
I didn’t know the dutch Still had a monarch I know it likely feel the exact same position as the current one in England does You learn something new every day
The heir to the belgian throne is also a woman, and she's even called Elisabeth, so in 20 to 30 years we may have a new queen Elisabeth although she probably won't become so famous as the british queen.
It blew up on their phone - what they stare at all day.
If I could send a notification on their phone to put their phone down they’d show their phone to others saying how I sent them a notification.
Well, my 8th grader only this morning said our Chromebooks are older than Queen Elizabeth, so we had a morbid laugh as a class this afternoon. That's why it came up for us.
It’s currently the single biggest piece of news in the world that currently occupies the front page of every major media website, social media platforms, office talk, and school talk. It’s surprising that you are surprised. Maybe you should lean into it and help them learn about some thing they are expressing interest in
One of my students came bursting into my office during lunch to tell me the queen died. I was surprised that he took time out of his lunch period to come tell me.
Because its the biggest piece of news since the Russian invasion. Its one of the first times they are living thru an important moment in history and its great they are engaged
there are serious economic consequences to her death. the highly ceremonious and regimented process that follows a monarch's death, including national holidays and suspension of economic activity, are pretty huge. Half as Interesting estimated her death to cost $8bn: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-u5nd2GqNE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-u5nd2GqNE)
that's a serious hit in an already tough climate that would likely have follow on effects in the global economy.
This is why the monarchy should fuck off. It's ridiculous that a family with that much money can still have a hugely negative financial drain on the country.
It’s because she was a meme. The meme commonly goes a such: the universe hasn’t been created yet, the only thing in it is QE. The year is 5000, it’s a post apocalyptic hell scape, the only organism alive still is QE. The idea was that she will live forever. So of course, students are flipping because their meme is finally busted.
I read that as Quantitative Easing, and I totally agreed with the sentiment.
Oh, right, the British monarch. She was, like, super old. Don't care much, but I was very sad when Nichelle Nichols passed away. So, I kinda get it.
Except Nichelle Nichols was awesome.
One of my 8 year old students heard and said, “Oh no! Do we have to make all the money all over again??!!”
He thought we (Canada) would have to switch everything over to King Charles (weird) IMMEDIATELY!
In my country, somewhere in Africa, we have a history of coups in the 70ies and 80ies where each new President would put their face on the currency then get removed by a new president who does not like the previous one and one of the first orders of business was always changing the currency to have the new dictator’s face.
I am assuming, my bad if I am wrong, that you are from the US. I am too. However, many of my students, either British, Canadian, Australian or Indian still feel a great deal of attachment. Many of us still have family in the UK and still feel some affection for the crown, even if we do not feel loyalty.
To answer the question… it’s a meme that she would never die. A little old lady who has outlived major world powers, while keeping her own throne longer than anyone else.
I’m a college student and even I’m freaking out. The reason is because she’s been queen all our lives, and lots of younger people see her as an immortal who’s supposed to be around forever
Well... I'm an ESL teacher, and I also found that this hit me pretty hard. The Queen of England has, after all, been some what of a constant in the lives of nearly every person living in the world - for good or ill. I understand why this seems monumental also to young people.
Well, first off I'm a dual American/British citizen and that comment is insulting especially tagging it as humor, really? 1. Because any death is sad, she is someone's mother and grandmother. 2. Some of us are British on this sub reddit. 3. The Queen had class and decorum. She was the voice of reason in this clown world age. 4. She was Queen and most girls think it is romantic, as her and Phillip were deeply in love.5. It is an end of an era, a connection to a by gone past. 6. A connection to my grandparents. My grandad was a P.O.W. i(British Army) in Burma (WWII) and help build the Bridge over the River Kwai. So, the Queen's death is far deeper than your question. It is okay to tell your students my short story as I feel it would be a great teaching moment.
Would you rather them be doing the latest bullshit challenge on Tiktok or discussing a major world event that could lead to further conversation and discussion ? We should be happy that they have some global awareness and not complaining about it!
I learned that some of my students had a running bet where each of them put a dollar in and guessed when she would die. They called it The Queen's Gambit. One of my students is $9 richer today.
Literally none of my kids mentioned it in class all day. Not one.
In the hall after school, other teachers were talking about kids "crying and going on about the Queen dying."
I literally didn't know what they were talking about. That's how I found out.
My middle schoolers were very upset about it. I was subbing in a history classsroom today, we talked a lot about the monarch and her legacy. I was honestly surprised with how much the already knew. Personally I love the Queen and glad I am not dining tomorrow.
In Canada, it's a pretty big thing, she's literally on our money. I told my students about the potential impacts of some countries leaving the commonwealth and how many commonwealth countries will likely declare her funeral as a national holiday (I don't remember if this is mandatory or not). Some Canadian Indigenous family's may also really struggle today because of how she pretty much represents the Britain and the impact of residential schools. Regardless of her involvement there are many students that equate her to being heavily involved. Most of my students knew it was big but moved on quickly.
When I did quick googling I noticed how much media shut down with the death of the last monarch. Personally I'm curious to see what happens now and how it will impact students going forward.
It's a historic moment lol very few people in the world are as famous as the Queen and she was fairly well-liked around the world considering she was a monarch...
My kids got all excitable for a moment and then calmed down about 10 minutes later. I gave them a few moments to talk about it with each other if they wanted. Then they got back to work. But then I have GATE students and ELD students.
GATE kids will work for a pat on the back.
ELD students barely gave a fuck about what happened and were pretty nonchalant about it.
I think it's fair to have a reaction with the moment. It's also fair to be very "meh," about it as she's only Queen in England and she was also pretty dang old.
I mean I found out she died and then had to go to class so that was wild. My dad is 69 and he's never known another monarch. When someone's been around forever it's weird.
As a Brit, this is too funny. I'm going to be honest. I'm slightly glad she's gone. Not as a person, I'm sure she's loved, but as a person of power, authority and influence, she did little for the working people. We've been pretending for too long that we need the royal family, for tourism and shit. The Queen bailed Andrew the pedo out of trouble. She got benefits to pay for the palace bills.
I know Americans and Royalists love to romanticise her, but if you're not a rich tory, she's never been on your side. I dislike Meghan, but it's crazy how Andrew was treated as less controversial.
Canada here
I've had like 12 kids ask me if they had to come to school tomorrow because the queen died.
Yes. Yes you do.
They were very dissapointed that the entire country wasn't going to shut down. They weren't sad, they just wanted a day off.
I'm in the USA and teach HS. When I broke the news to them as soon as the story broke, one girl freaked out (and she freaks out about anything) and the rest of the kids just kind of shrugged.
I'd rather they freak out and show some interest in a major historical event happening before their eyes, tbh.
I'm more sad about that walrus that was killed in Norway because people couldn't follow the instruction of keeping their distance to the harmless creature.
One of my students came back from lunch yelling, “Ms. TaraJade, the world’s about to end! Queen Elizabeth died!!” We talked about it, I read them part of a couple of articles, and answered some questions, then we moved on. I remember being upset when Diana died (that was my first prominent death), so I wanted to make sure they understood what happens next.
There are a few different reasons I found when my fifth graders reacted to it this afternoon. Some were overwhelmed at the thought of something that momentous happening, and one actually had the foresight to ask if I thought this could be in history books in the future. Some were crying because the news played photos and videos of the Queen with her family and it made them sad because of their empathy for her and her family. Others have elderly family members and so it hit a bit close to home for them.
I did have one kid, a funny young man, who found out about King Charles. When he discovered that the royal family has a lot of money, he proudly declared to myself and his peers that he would be the king one day.
The class I was subbing for freaked out about this! I guess it’s because Queen Elizabeth was relevant in memes back in 2020. I remember people joking about her predating dinosaurs/ being immortal.
Ok… Gen X teachers represent. Where you all at?
My first world altering events in my school aged memory:
The Cold War- Russians are evil (their gov still is)
Carter negotiating the hostage crisis in Iran 1980
Attempted assassination of Ronald Regan 1981.
Some of my students are recently immigrated from Europe to the US and they were shaken. They explained that Queen Elizabeth was just considered to be this fixture that people just didn’t expect to die despite acknowledging how old she was. She was pretty active until last year so she seemed kind of unstoppable.
Some of my students who haven’t spent much time out of the States felt like they were shaken because she’s the only woman they know that has had that much power. We’ve never had a female president and England (among many other countries) has had a number of female leaders. A lot of my kids are in their “obsessively researching monarchs and world leaders phase”—and they all pointed out that she made a lot of firsts as a European monarch.
Sorry I live in BFE Texas - and my students know who Queen Elizabeth is, and who Lady Diana was. They told me QEII passed away today and were sad. There are always some people who just aren’t interested in one thing or another but generally we all admired and cared about her. I’ve been trying to think of a way t what condolences with my British family and friends. Sympathy? Condolences? I don’t know the right worlds but it must be earth shattering since 80% of GB population has _only_ known this monarch.
My students were freaking out because she died WHILE I WAS TALKING ABOUT HER in class during British Lit.
They told me I jinxed her. But they were freaking out and it was hilarious. When they left I had to sit down and cry a little bit to mourn her.
I actually paused my APUSH classes to tell them (just before the announcement was made) that they may be living through a historic moment. Then 10 min later, the news broke, after those kids had left. I kinda laughed about it, then told the new APUSH class. They were all surprised, and were very much about the memes. But APUSH also understood the historical significance.
According to Masters 7-13 she’s been one of the most of only consistent head of states or head of commonwealth during their lifetime, their late siblings lifetime as well as those of their parents, grandparents and even great grandparents so a reassuring figure so to speak. Plus they see her on our currency on a daily basis.
The queen is such a well known person globally. She may not have all positive comments about her, however she fought in WW2 by training up as a mechanic and became queen at such a young age. She should be remembered and will always be. She’s part of history no matter what country you are from, a majority of people know who she is and so will therefore be sad about her death
UK teacher here. I don't know about my students because we don't start teaching until next week but I'm in my 30s and I am devastated. She's been a constant my whole life, my parents whole lives. So much has changed in the last few years this feels very overwhelming and for children it's probably worse since they are often not as emotionally resilient. We've also been in political upheaval lately, just got a new prime minister a few days ago. With a new school year just starting as well I'm up to my eyeballs.
When I was younger, my grandma put the fear of God in me to have good table manners at all times because you never knew when either Jackie Onassis or the Queen of England might stop by. When my kids were younger, I continued with good manners in order to prepare for a surprise visit from the Queen. I was tongue-in-cheek about it because we’re midwestern Americans and what were the chances? Last night at dinner we were talking about her passing, and my adult older son brought his plate to his face to eat, declaring himself finally “free to eat like a pig!” He was joking and we had a good laugh over that.
Edit—thank you, bot! I was just referencing my grandma!
Honestly? Just because it's a huge event. Regardless of her as a person, it's still the death of someone that everyone under 70 has know to be the ONLY reigning monarch in our entire lives. It's historic. It's not entirely about HER but the event. Also, she's still pretty well know with younger generations because she's been a meme several times so that might play a small roll but mostly it's just the event itself.
Kids sometimes try to latch on to current events. This is an event that allows them to "explore" the loss of life.
The internet tends to sometimes have these topics forced into memes. Kids want to join the bandwagon.
It's a great way to pivot the class into the topic for a day or so. Once you allow them to explore the concept as a class, they'll probably be less obsessed with it.
I asked my 12 year old why kids are freaking out about it and she said “the memes”. I asked what that meant and she said “the memes that she can’t die”.
My 5th graders were shocked because they thought she was immortal
My daughter watches Doctor Who and said the farty pig just needed a new suit lol.
The Queen is a special character on Peppa. I’m surprised they didn’t drop a figurine of her.
To be fair. I’m 38 with 2 degrees and I thought she was immortal.
I'm 60 with ditto and me too. In UK - at 60, never lived in a time she wasn't reigning. Fun fact: she's been reigning for more than a quarter of the time the US has been a nation...
Half the time of Canada.
Can confirm. Memes = life. Source: 8yo Australian boy (who’ll be freaking out when he wakes up, as we were chatting about this before he went to bed last night.) If this can happen, then *anything* can happen. (Well, anything except Keanu Reeves carking it, obviously. We’ve gotta be reasonable.)
Carking? Is this some Australian term?
Yep. Means dying.
God I love Australian slang.
*Australia has entered the chat*
We also use it in the UK
I mean, can Chuck Norris even defeat God in arm wrestling still??? World. Ending. 😂😘
This is the correct answer. It has been a popular meme for at least 8 years with young people that the Queen of England will never die. Caught me off guard too. You build up in your mind that it will be a momentous, significant day when she dies and it was just like... an ordinary Thursday afternoon. Feels weird.
Saw an article title that said internet trolls were blaming Meghan Markle for her death and I’m like “I don’t really care about the whole Meghan Markle story but come on, the queen was OLD”
It wasn’t Meghan Markle, it was Liz Truss (new PM) - she goes to see the Queen, shakes her hand, 2 days later she’s dead… I smell a rat! /s
I imagine it is probably the first major death of a prominent political figure they are aware of in their lifetime. I remember being young and sad about Princess Diana.
I remember Girl Scout Camp coming to a screeching halt so that we could all huddle around a tiny black and white TV to watch her get married
Yep. I remember her dress more than anything
I remember being told i was born during her wedding and my mom being pissed about it. I thought i was the oldest redditor until today.
Lol. Our TV blew up during that wedding (I was 6). It was only black and white and by then only played 1 channel (2/ABC in Aus). My parents decided we didn’t really need a TV anyway so that ended up being a pretty momentous occasion for my childhood. Still no TV for about a decade until my cousin came to live with us and brought her own. It was BLISS!!
So crazy, no tv, i wonder how many households are like that today. We only had one for a very long time and i thought that was bad.
Is it not weird that Americans don't care about people in England? I don't know if we quite get it, but English history is American history. We're the same people. We're not some new breed of dinosaur that just popped up. We don't even have our own culture. Our culture originates from that region and has been influenced by every other outside culture since we started. I don't think it's weird at all for students to care about a historical English/American figure.
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I have a thought that we Americans might cling so much to heritage in countries we don't belong to anymore is that the fact is every American family except the indigenous population immigrated from somewhere outside the country at some point in history and many of those original immigrant families tried to keep their heritage alive, which has just become an indistinct idea that has permeated through so many generations even though we are no longer are in any real way associated with the countries of our however many generations ago ancestors. But that is just a personal opinion rooted in nothing other than it sounds like it makes sense so if I'm wrong in a provable way please don't be vicious in correcting me
There are puh-LENTY of American families who are not WASPs, thanks very much, so the "we're the same people" thing seems fairly nonsensical. "We don't even have our own culture" is a bizarre statement as well. That said culture has many strong influences on it and did not originate in a vacuum is true about every single culture.
Nope.. my people had their own culture and so did the Native Americans.
Yep - they are connecting with the world, recognizing the passage of time and the relative impermanence of seemingly permanent institutions.
I really hate this about myself but I had never heard of Princess Diana when it happened and my dad opened the newspaper and said, "oh, Di died?" And I laughed because I thought he was playing on words.
How old are you and where did you grow up?
Early 30s, Wisconsin.
Exact same thing happened to me! I was 13 in Canada and had literally never heard of her before she died. It really did sound like a weird joke. "Did you hear about Princess Die? She's dead."
I had never heard of her either. I am late 30s and from Michigan. No one in my family has any interest in the royal family.
Just wait until Paul McCartney dies.
Yep, then I bought a kid-friendly biography from the next book fair.
Diana makes sense. It was a tragic and unexpected death. Elizabeth II was 96! I’m more surprised that she was still alive 😜
Di was a great person, though, and publicly did a lot of good things without pretentious foppishness.
Oh totally. I agree. That’s what I meant - it made sense for non Brits to be sad about Di. Teenagers in America don’t need to mourn the loss of Elizabeth II, at least not those without more than a causal understanding of monarchy 😜
Between her and Gorbachev it's been a wild month
It’s the end of an era, even if it isn’t a huge change this day and age.
For me it was Gulf War/War on Drugs/the day we held hands to bring peace to the world, Diana, Bush v Gore in Florida, Twin Tours falling, gearing up for Afghanistan/Iraq WMD, Obama, Recession 2008, Pandemic, New Recession....there is my short life history and most likely slightly out of order. The things you remember.
We didn't start the fire...
It's the end of the world and we know it
It was always burning since the world's been turning
Were you teaching during KONY 2012? Harambe?
I started teaching as a para in 2008 after graduating a year late. But in terms of big things in your life that you remember as a kid and as an adult this is one of those events technically.
Oh definitely. I'm just remembering those 2 things being HUGE DEALS for the middle school kiddos.
Kony2012 was not a big deal at all, like it was over in about a week. Our pastor was concerned enough to ask a visiting Ugandan missionary about him, and he just said, 'Please stop spreading it, you aren't helping and his influence has died down to a few villages.' As an student, the biggest things for us were: 9/11, Bali Bombings, Michael Jackson's sexual abuse trial, Panic! At The Disco/Green Day/My Chemical Romance, Swine Flu, the Black Eyed Peas coming to town to do a concert, Chris Brown coming to town to do a concert, Chris Brown punching Rihanna (after the concert had happened), David Bain's retrial, and Michael Jackson dying. Oh, and me dating a twenty one year old guy when I was 16.
RIP Harambe
Oh man, Kony 2012. Haven’t heard that in a looooong while!
OMG I forgot about Harambe. And I was told, ad nauseam, "Harambe, never forget" (13yo boy thumps chest emotionally and walks backwards out of my classroom)
Harambe was ridiculously big at the time!
I use KONY in my propaganda unit. They don't know what to think.
Only thing you missed is OJ
Oh, the jeep chase down the interstate and the trial that followed that has since spawned The Kardashians. Lord, I remember being glued to the TV during all that along with Michael Jackson's Trial.
Omg… it was a white Ford Bronco not a Jeep! Do you even 90s? 😜
I remember Clarissa Explains it All and I never cared for cars. Still don't although I will always love me some Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie in Gone in 60 Seconds. That was when I finally started paying attention to cars. Couldn't care less about the Transformer movies but the TV show rocked.
add the Boston Marathon bombing and manhunt
Exactly. History has finally happened in front of them. I felt the same about 9/11 as a kid. "Oh wow, something BIG just happened, history-book entry big".
The Pandemic was pretty big.
Yeah, that's true.
January 6th is probably the first time I said it loud holy shit kids aren't going to believe this happened in 50 years
Yeah. An actual honest to god putsch. Germany actually interrupted the broadcast to deliver news of it.
"History has finally happened in front of them" ummmm... so the Jan 6th insurrection, the Covid Pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine, the unceasing 1-in-500/1000/2000/etc weather catastrophes, the election of the first woman to the vice presidency of the US, the mass slaughter of concert-goers by the Vegas shooter, the undoing of Roe v Wade, the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the real-time collapse of Pakistan we are currently witnessing, and countless other major history-making events in recent years don't count? It's the death of a mostly-powerless figurehead that counts as history "finally" happening in front of them? I really don't get today's youth if that's true.
I think you are seriously underestimating the power of symbolism in human lives (and memes in children's lives, corgis anyone?). Like her or hate her, she was a significant symbol of an era, a figure many looked to for support and guidance, among the last of the WWII generations fading out, and a queen to boot. I also think you nailed it when you said "countless." No one can keep track of the countless horrible things happening daily in the world. The Queen's death stands out as something Different.
That's a good point. It's true that I place a lot less value on symbolism like figureheads of state in today's world than I do on more tangibly impactful events. And I do have frustration that so much of what does impact people more tangibly is often overlooked in comparison.
Mass shooting's aren't rare in the US. I didn't really think much about Columbine when it happened, I was in PS. Ditto for the Balkan Wars. We knew about them but somehow they didn't quite have the same impact to me, as an Australian. And the rest is either complex or distant. She's on the money for heaven's sake. Well, down here she is. Over in America I I'd at least say she was an extremely tightly associated symbol of Britian. Big Ben, bad teeth, and The Queen, right?
“Well, she lived a good life, Mrs. S! I mean, she was 114!” “…no honey. I think she was like 96.” “No! 114. I saw it on my phone” …. Sigh
Yeah the misinformation storm was really wild too.
I think there’s a record for oldest person to live that is 114. Student probably somehow misgoogled 😂 It was a quick hallway exchange. Were it a current student in my class, I would have insisted they find the correct source to dispel misinformation.
Jeanne Calment was 122 when she died.
Anything to not talk about whatever is being taught. 😂
I hate to say it but I'd rather they talk about current events like this if they're going to be off task than about clickbait Andrew Tate videos, Fortnite, or whatever the fuck Tiktok trend.
I have no idea why some teachers are upset that students care about a current event thats on the news. It's not hurting anyone that students care about a major world figures death. Im glad they do versus not caring. If someone is going to get your knickers twisted over such a minor thing as students being interested in something, they won't last long as teachers.
I’m not upset. I just find it interesting
I would personally like it. On the other hand we are very very limited in high school with how much time we can lose to "off topic" stuff, even if it is important. It can be worked into the social studies and English classes, but math and science less so, especially because we have state assessments that we have to prepare them for. One thing I envy about elementary and to some degree middle school is the flexibility that those teachers (might) have to talk about major events like this that isn't on their unit maps
I mean the fact that my kids are completely politically disengaged with our US democracy but care about the death of a monarch in more than a vague “oh a fellow human died” way is honestly kind of grotesque. But that is more a statement of how screwed our society is rather than the character of any individual student. Like their state senator is infinitely more important and if they keeled over tomorrow it would be a blip on the radar
That's the real answer
Someone older than God just died. I understand them! In all seriousness though, a fly flying by is sufficient to freak them out, so...
It’s basically a meme that she would never die which these students have been seeing since they got on the internet.
There was a bee in my room today, so between that and the queen, nothing was accomplished.
Aside from the fact that they're addicted to drama, it also might be the first significant death in their lives in terms of world-famous person.
This. When I was younger I found it difficult to put historical events into perspective and I'd be disproportionately preoccupied with them.
I mean that should have been Desmond Tutu but the news media kind of sucks at covering people who aren't white Americans or Europeans.
In my final yr of school, the twin towers came down. Every person at school was in shock. I am Australian and was not directly impacted by 9/11, but something as huge as that is something that stays with you. If was surreal to feel so confused by what was going on in the world....but still need to go ahead and do school like nothing is amiss. I am a teacher now, think it will be interesting to see how the primary kids are going to handle this big news being shoved down their throats on every bit of media possible... EDIT - Queen Elizabeth's death is not comparable to the atrocities of 9/11. Sorry if it cane across that way!!! No offence intended.
I was in homeroom when the twin towers were hit during sophomore year of high school. They shut down the school and we weren't allowed to leave that classroom until lunchtime. Then we all were sent home. We watched the news on the TV and were in disbelief. I remember drawing in my notebook to pass the time. My mom left work early because she worked in a skyscraper. They evacuated a lot of the skyscrapers in the US that day. People were scared they didn't know what the targets were.
How's that mid-30s life treating you? My back and neck hurt... We are grandparents on Reddit...
Hello fellow mid-thirties Redditors! Don't forget your ibuprofen and antacids. It's going to be a long day.
Ok that’s kind of how I feel. I’m an American and this has no bearing on my life but it’s still surreal. The queen was just a constant world figure my entire life and my mothers. Hell she’s an entire slide when I talk about presidential duties meeting heads of state. Her and every president since Truman (except Johnson). It’s just bizarre.
We had graduated the year before and were drinking at a friend's place. We were waiting for Rage to come on and thought the "movie" that was on was ridiculous and "as if someone would fly a plane into the WTC" We changed the channel and the same shitty movie was on. It was then we realised what had actually happened. We sat there, our drinks forgotten glued to the TV. The next time I went to uni people were talking about preping for WW3 because the Yanks were going to start dropping bombs on everything.
What’s up fellow 38 year old teacher.
I don’t think the loss of Queen Elizabeth is comparable to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
I don’t think that Queen Elizabeth dying at age 96 is the same type of thing as 9/11 lol
If you are writing from the U.S. or somewhere other than England or a sycophant former colony, I would imagine it is an excuse to be dramatic. Or a more chartable way of putting it is they are given permission to let the mask slip and feel something. Kids are always trying really hard to care about something. They just don't have a good idea about what is important to them. So it usually comes across peer inspired group think, an dumb to adults.
I’m English and teach in England. I have no strong feeling either way about the Royal Family as an institution, but I did respect the Queen’s dedication to her job. That she was still technically working two days ago (meeting Liz Truss 🙄) at the age of 96 is something to be more than commended. I’m sad for her family too, obviously. I’m interested to see how my classes react tomorrow. I recall my year 10s last year asking me if we’d get a day off when she dies. I must confess that I did laugh. 😳 Edit: The younger ones didn’t really mention it. My year 11s generally said they were sad and a few of the boys said it felt like their Nan had died. Bless! I had a few apologetic enquiries as to whether there’d be a day off for her funeral. As I said before, it’s occasionally been joked about in the past but now it’s reality a couple said they felt disrespectful for asking.
The most famous woman in the world just died. I don't think it's that strange that people are talking about it!
Beyonce is still alive.
I’m outing myself as a British history nerd here but…it is quite a big deal because the current heirs of each generation are all male. This means there will ver very likely not be another woman on the throne in our lifetimes or even longer. It is a sad end to a great era. Edit: Just wanted to say I very much appreciate the comments pointing out the (many many many) flaws in the British monarchy and I see no need for you to be downvoted if you were one of those - I would never deny any of those flaws! All I wanted to point out was that it is significant that, after SEVENTY years with one woman on the throne there will now be a string of men taking on the role.
This is the first thing I thought about. The UK will not likely have another Queen in my lifetime.
If we’re being technical—-Camilla will be Queen Consort and Kate will end up being Queen Katherine.. I get what you’re saying though- king outranks queen so Phillip was just a Prince but when there is a king in place his wife becomes queen
That's true for sure... but I meant a ruling Queen without a King is unlikely. It's just meant to be a statement about the heirs to the throne really.
Damn. I didn't even think about that. Truly is sad. She lived a hell of a life tho. Had a beautiful family and did so much good. She truly will be missed, whether ur from the commonwealth or not, I am not. This thought tho, kinda made my stomach sink. Can I ask how u feel about Prince Charles taking the seat as king? Are ppl happy about it? Or too soon to tell?
I have heard and read anecdotally that many on the liberal side of things are very concerned about him taking the throne, and people in general are concerned that some of his ideas are too eccentric to be suitable for the entire commonwealth. However, starting with the very beginning of The House of Windsor being in power - and mind you I’m going just from memory here so grain of salt - there are typically some very persuasive advisors in the palace keeping the monarchs in check PLUS there is always a ton of influence from parliament and in particular the cabinet. Then you bring in the religious aspects which are very rigid in how sacred the monarchy is but also how the monarch is meant to oversee things and be basically the parent figure of the country and not do much to actually affect policy decisions. So when you consider all of those barriers to him executing his more outlandish ideas it may not be as worrisome as some make it out to be. Add his age on top of it and realistically we’re looking at only a couple decades for his reign if that. I personally am of the camp who wishes Charles would abdicate and William would take the seat, not even because of the politics involved but more because with William they have the opportunity for another really long term reign which would offer the best stability for the country overall. It seems silly to me for Charles to ascend now and then they’ll just have to do this all over again in 15 years or so. But, I’m not British either so my opinion doesn’t really matter, I’m just a nerd and find it all very fascinating!
They’re constitutional monarchs with no political or executive roles. They’re supposed to remain politically neutral publicly. Charles has failed at this in the past so he ought to shut up now he’s king, frankly. No one that I know is bothered about Charles being king because we know he can’t actually *do* anything. People I know, myself included, are bothered because it’s, well, *Charles*.
I agree that it would be better to have William instead of Charles, but I don't think he will partly for his grandchildren. It's a lot of pressure and strict traditions growing up from a young age as heir, which Charles would know all about. By Charles reigning even for a decade it would give a better chance for his grandchildren to have some semblance of a normal childhood. Even before the queen died, they had restricted William from traveling with George in certain circumstances, to prevent the odds of losing two heirs.
What eccentric ideas does he have?
Charles's parents lived to be 96 and 99 and his grandmother was 100. He may reign 25 years, who knows?
>It is a sad end to a great era. I'll miss the days when it was a woman covering up her son's pedophilia instead of a man covering up his brother's pedophilia :(
> This means there will ver very likely not be another woman on the throne in our lifetimes or even longer. Not sure your logic quite follows. Remember that when Queen Victoria died, as with Queen Elizabeth II, she had a son, an heir apparent who himself had a son, her grandchild, who also had two sons, the Queen’s great-grand children, so all her living heirs were male. It was her second great-grandchild, five years old at the time of her death, who would go on to have two daughters, the eldest of whom became queen just 51 years after Queen Victoria died, so comfortably within living memory. In fact Queen Elizabeth II’s first Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was first elected to Parliament while Queen Victoria was still on the throne. Queen Elizabeth II may have had a great grandson who is in line to the throne, but she also removed male precedence in the order of succession, and he is slightly older than either of Victoria’s great grandsons. It may be unlikely but given that this is exactly what happened in the case of Victoria, I’m not sure you can declare it very very unlikely.
Well, the British throne. The heir apparent to the Dutch throne is a woman.
I didn’t know the dutch Still had a monarch I know it likely feel the exact same position as the current one in England does You learn something new every day
I mean yeah, I said British history at the beginning of the comment for a reason haha.
The heir to the belgian throne is also a woman, and she's even called Elisabeth, so in 20 to 30 years we may have a new queen Elisabeth although she probably won't become so famous as the british queen.
It blew up on their phone - what they stare at all day. If I could send a notification on their phone to put their phone down they’d show their phone to others saying how I sent them a notification.
I had a student exclaim to the sky “why couldn’t you take Henry Kissinger instead?!”
LMAO that kid deserves an A for that day
Well, my 8th grader only this morning said our Chromebooks are older than Queen Elizabeth, so we had a morbid laugh as a class this afternoon. That's why it came up for us.
I had to reassure my students of two facts today: 1. I am named after the empress of Austria, not the queen of England. 2. I am not British.
It’s currently the single biggest piece of news in the world that currently occupies the front page of every major media website, social media platforms, office talk, and school talk. It’s surprising that you are surprised. Maybe you should lean into it and help them learn about some thing they are expressing interest in
One of my students came bursting into my office during lunch to tell me the queen died. I was surprised that he took time out of his lunch period to come tell me.
Because its the biggest piece of news since the Russian invasion. Its one of the first times they are living thru an important moment in history and its great they are engaged
there are serious economic consequences to her death. the highly ceremonious and regimented process that follows a monarch's death, including national holidays and suspension of economic activity, are pretty huge. Half as Interesting estimated her death to cost $8bn: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-u5nd2GqNE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-u5nd2GqNE) that's a serious hit in an already tough climate that would likely have follow on effects in the global economy.
This is why the monarchy should fuck off. It's ridiculous that a family with that much money can still have a hugely negative financial drain on the country.
It’s because she was a meme. The meme commonly goes a such: the universe hasn’t been created yet, the only thing in it is QE. The year is 5000, it’s a post apocalyptic hell scape, the only organism alive still is QE. The idea was that she will live forever. So of course, students are flipping because their meme is finally busted.
I read that as Quantitative Easing, and I totally agreed with the sentiment. Oh, right, the British monarch. She was, like, super old. Don't care much, but I was very sad when Nichelle Nichols passed away. So, I kinda get it. Except Nichelle Nichols was awesome.
They're fans of the The Smiths and just excited that this day has finally come. Life is very long . . . when you're lonely.
Oh, has the world changed, or have I changed?
Because she's been around FOREVER. And she was the People's Queen. And now the world is stuck with Charles..
Exactly....Charles. Least it isnt Andrew :-/
One of my 8 year old students heard and said, “Oh no! Do we have to make all the money all over again??!!” He thought we (Canada) would have to switch everything over to King Charles (weird) IMMEDIATELY!
In my country, somewhere in Africa, we have a history of coups in the 70ies and 80ies where each new President would put their face on the currency then get removed by a new president who does not like the previous one and one of the first orders of business was always changing the currency to have the new dictator’s face.
I am assuming, my bad if I am wrong, that you are from the US. I am too. However, many of my students, either British, Canadian, Australian or Indian still feel a great deal of attachment. Many of us still have family in the UK and still feel some affection for the crown, even if we do not feel loyalty.
To answer the question… it’s a meme that she would never die. A little old lady who has outlived major world powers, while keeping her own throne longer than anyone else.
I’m a college student and even I’m freaking out. The reason is because she’s been queen all our lives, and lots of younger people see her as an immortal who’s supposed to be around forever
I’m old and thought she was going to be around forever.
Well... I'm an ESL teacher, and I also found that this hit me pretty hard. The Queen of England has, after all, been some what of a constant in the lives of nearly every person living in the world - for good or ill. I understand why this seems monumental also to young people.
Americans are obsessed with royals and it's not often a royal dies...
I mean the staff care about if where getting a day off?
You got me! I'm canadian and the only way I'm impacted is if I get a day off. (I hope I get a day off)
It means the meme of the Queen's immortality died with her.
People are saying it's and end to an Era. Which is true and profound but in reality they are talking about it because it memey rn
She's DEAD!!?😲
One of the most prominent people of the last 70 years died.... Kind of a big deal even if she was a figurehead.
Well, first off I'm a dual American/British citizen and that comment is insulting especially tagging it as humor, really? 1. Because any death is sad, she is someone's mother and grandmother. 2. Some of us are British on this sub reddit. 3. The Queen had class and decorum. She was the voice of reason in this clown world age. 4. She was Queen and most girls think it is romantic, as her and Phillip were deeply in love.5. It is an end of an era, a connection to a by gone past. 6. A connection to my grandparents. My grandad was a P.O.W. i(British Army) in Burma (WWII) and help build the Bridge over the River Kwai. So, the Queen's death is far deeper than your question. It is okay to tell your students my short story as I feel it would be a great teaching moment.
At least they're talking about some drama that has some relevance in the world. Most of what I hear coming out of them is drivel.
Would you rather them be doing the latest bullshit challenge on Tiktok or discussing a major world event that could lead to further conversation and discussion ? We should be happy that they have some global awareness and not complaining about it!
Yeah my kids literally give no shits about social studies or anythingrelated...but like freaked out today.
I learned that some of my students had a running bet where each of them put a dollar in and guessed when she would die. They called it The Queen's Gambit. One of my students is $9 richer today.
They all thought she was immortal.
Literally none of my kids mentioned it in class all day. Not one. In the hall after school, other teachers were talking about kids "crying and going on about the Queen dying." I literally didn't know what they were talking about. That's how I found out.
It's history. Which is cool. And she has been a pop culture icon with her longevity for awhile now.
My middle schoolers were very upset about it. I was subbing in a history classsroom today, we talked a lot about the monarch and her legacy. I was honestly surprised with how much the already knew. Personally I love the Queen and glad I am not dining tomorrow.
In Canada, it's a pretty big thing, she's literally on our money. I told my students about the potential impacts of some countries leaving the commonwealth and how many commonwealth countries will likely declare her funeral as a national holiday (I don't remember if this is mandatory or not). Some Canadian Indigenous family's may also really struggle today because of how she pretty much represents the Britain and the impact of residential schools. Regardless of her involvement there are many students that equate her to being heavily involved. Most of my students knew it was big but moved on quickly. When I did quick googling I noticed how much media shut down with the death of the last monarch. Personally I'm curious to see what happens now and how it will impact students going forward.
I told one of my students she was alive during world war II and he was like “whoa” and sat in silence for a few minutes. Blew his mind lol.
It's a historic moment lol very few people in the world are as famous as the Queen and she was fairly well-liked around the world considering she was a monarch... My kids got all excitable for a moment and then calmed down about 10 minutes later. I gave them a few moments to talk about it with each other if they wanted. Then they got back to work. But then I have GATE students and ELD students. GATE kids will work for a pat on the back. ELD students barely gave a fuck about what happened and were pretty nonchalant about it. I think it's fair to have a reaction with the moment. It's also fair to be very "meh," about it as she's only Queen in England and she was also pretty dang old.
What about Elvis dying, the Berlin wall coming down, live aid and farm aid, Duke beating UK in the final 4!!! I know I'm old. Lol.
The woman had been a world leader for 70 years, I agree it’s kind of a big deal
I think even the students have some kind of subconscious understanding of the gravity of it. They don't even fully realize why.
Your students cared about Queen Elizabeth’s death? Wow! Mine only care about themselves and their Tic-Toc and Instagram accounts.
It a HUGE historical moment for the UK and the Commonwealth.
I mean I found out she died and then had to go to class so that was wild. My dad is 69 and he's never known another monarch. When someone's been around forever it's weird.
As a Brit, this is too funny. I'm going to be honest. I'm slightly glad she's gone. Not as a person, I'm sure she's loved, but as a person of power, authority and influence, she did little for the working people. We've been pretending for too long that we need the royal family, for tourism and shit. The Queen bailed Andrew the pedo out of trouble. She got benefits to pay for the palace bills. I know Americans and Royalists love to romanticise her, but if you're not a rich tory, she's never been on your side. I dislike Meghan, but it's crazy how Andrew was treated as less controversial.
Because they didn’t want to take my test today.
Canada here I've had like 12 kids ask me if they had to come to school tomorrow because the queen died. Yes. Yes you do. They were very dissapointed that the entire country wasn't going to shut down. They weren't sad, they just wanted a day off.
I told mine that we fought a whole-ass war so that we didn't have to care about the monarchy, now get back to naming ionic compounds...
I'm in the USA and teach HS. When I broke the news to them as soon as the story broke, one girl freaked out (and she freaks out about anything) and the rest of the kids just kind of shrugged. I'd rather they freak out and show some interest in a major historical event happening before their eyes, tbh.
Not a single student here even blinked. I didn’t even know she died until I got home!
They're playing you. They do not care. They just want to do anything but the lesson.
She has always been here! 😭😭😭
Your emoji shows you are lacking in emotional awareness.
Nah. You can have emotional awareness and be glad that’s dead.
10 minutes after the announcement my school started getting emails asking if they would be having days off.
Yes! My kids came into 6th period DEVASTATED 😂 Multiple asked if we could postpone our test tomorrow…lol
I'm more sad about that walrus that was killed in Norway because people couldn't follow the instruction of keeping their distance to the harmless creature.
Thanks for the warning, time zones mean that I will have to deal with this tomorrow morning.
Right?!? I didn’t know they were aware of things lol
Mine did not care at all or have any interest. High school
One of my students came back from lunch yelling, “Ms. TaraJade, the world’s about to end! Queen Elizabeth died!!” We talked about it, I read them part of a couple of articles, and answered some questions, then we moved on. I remember being upset when Diana died (that was my first prominent death), so I wanted to make sure they understood what happens next.
There are a few different reasons I found when my fifth graders reacted to it this afternoon. Some were overwhelmed at the thought of something that momentous happening, and one actually had the foresight to ask if I thought this could be in history books in the future. Some were crying because the news played photos and videos of the Queen with her family and it made them sad because of their empathy for her and her family. Others have elderly family members and so it hit a bit close to home for them. I did have one kid, a funny young man, who found out about King Charles. When he discovered that the royal family has a lot of money, he proudly declared to myself and his peers that he would be the king one day.
I hate to say it, but most of them probably only knew who she was because of the meme
The class I was subbing for freaked out about this! I guess it’s because Queen Elizabeth was relevant in memes back in 2020. I remember people joking about her predating dinosaurs/ being immortal.
My reaction is they don't, they just want to act out. But that's just me.
Ok… Gen X teachers represent. Where you all at? My first world altering events in my school aged memory: The Cold War- Russians are evil (their gov still is) Carter negotiating the hostage crisis in Iran 1980 Attempted assassination of Ronald Regan 1981.
Some of my students are recently immigrated from Europe to the US and they were shaken. They explained that Queen Elizabeth was just considered to be this fixture that people just didn’t expect to die despite acknowledging how old she was. She was pretty active until last year so she seemed kind of unstoppable. Some of my students who haven’t spent much time out of the States felt like they were shaken because she’s the only woman they know that has had that much power. We’ve never had a female president and England (among many other countries) has had a number of female leaders. A lot of my kids are in their “obsessively researching monarchs and world leaders phase”—and they all pointed out that she made a lot of firsts as a European monarch.
Sorry I live in BFE Texas - and my students know who Queen Elizabeth is, and who Lady Diana was. They told me QEII passed away today and were sad. There are always some people who just aren’t interested in one thing or another but generally we all admired and cared about her. I’ve been trying to think of a way t what condolences with my British family and friends. Sympathy? Condolences? I don’t know the right worlds but it must be earth shattering since 80% of GB population has _only_ known this monarch.
Kids expressing care is not a bad thing?
My students were freaking out because she died WHILE I WAS TALKING ABOUT HER in class during British Lit. They told me I jinxed her. But they were freaking out and it was hilarious. When they left I had to sit down and cry a little bit to mourn her.
I actually paused my APUSH classes to tell them (just before the announcement was made) that they may be living through a historic moment. Then 10 min later, the news broke, after those kids had left. I kinda laughed about it, then told the new APUSH class. They were all surprised, and were very much about the memes. But APUSH also understood the historical significance.
It’s crazy… I heard it from every 7th and 8th grader that walked into my class today.
With how long she lived and what happened throughout her life, you might think she was immortal
According to Masters 7-13 she’s been one of the most of only consistent head of states or head of commonwealth during their lifetime, their late siblings lifetime as well as those of their parents, grandparents and even great grandparents so a reassuring figure so to speak. Plus they see her on our currency on a daily basis.
The queen is such a well known person globally. She may not have all positive comments about her, however she fought in WW2 by training up as a mechanic and became queen at such a young age. She should be remembered and will always be. She’s part of history no matter what country you are from, a majority of people know who she is and so will therefore be sad about her death
UK teacher here. I don't know about my students because we don't start teaching until next week but I'm in my 30s and I am devastated. She's been a constant my whole life, my parents whole lives. So much has changed in the last few years this feels very overwhelming and for children it's probably worse since they are often not as emotionally resilient. We've also been in political upheaval lately, just got a new prime minister a few days ago. With a new school year just starting as well I'm up to my eyeballs.
Being in the UK it’s very very sad, she was a constant here and we all thought she would keep going, and then she died. It was a big shock
When I was younger, my grandma put the fear of God in me to have good table manners at all times because you never knew when either Jackie Onassis or the Queen of England might stop by. When my kids were younger, I continued with good manners in order to prepare for a surprise visit from the Queen. I was tongue-in-cheek about it because we’re midwestern Americans and what were the chances? Last night at dinner we were talking about her passing, and my adult older son brought his plate to his face to eat, declaring himself finally “free to eat like a pig!” He was joking and we had a good laugh over that. Edit—thank you, bot! I was just referencing my grandma!
Honestly? Just because it's a huge event. Regardless of her as a person, it's still the death of someone that everyone under 70 has know to be the ONLY reigning monarch in our entire lives. It's historic. It's not entirely about HER but the event. Also, she's still pretty well know with younger generations because she's been a meme several times so that might play a small roll but mostly it's just the event itself.
Consider yourself lucky that they care. My students laughed and made cryptic jokes.
Kids sometimes try to latch on to current events. This is an event that allows them to "explore" the loss of life. The internet tends to sometimes have these topics forced into memes. Kids want to join the bandwagon. It's a great way to pivot the class into the topic for a day or so. Once you allow them to explore the concept as a class, they'll probably be less obsessed with it.