At the end of every year, I let my 8th grade students do a Mrs. Morris roast, and they do NOT hold back. Students’ honesty is often a combination of brutal and hilarious … with a side of painful accuracy.
Middle school teacher Mr. Frakes knows that feeling well. A 13-year classroom veteran, he says that after the pandemic, he was just looking for ways to help students reconnect with him and with each other. “I started asking random questions to get them to communicate and for me to get to know them more,” he told We Are Teachers. “We would all laugh, and one of my students said I should post their responses on TikTok.” Recently, he asked his 7th grade students for their honesty, and their answers hit harder than a pulled muscle after buckling your seat belt. He figured his audience would just be friends and family, but the internet had other plans.
This teacher asked his students what people in their 40s do for fun, and the responses are incredible.
While most adults in their 30s and 40s are laughing in the comment section, they’re also quietly shifting in their ergonomic desk chairs, thinking, “OK … but where’s the lie?”
Here are his students’ responses, complete with sticky note illustrations.
“Play Wordle (trust me)”
It’s giving “Trust me, bro.” Haha!
“They like to watch TV in black and white”
It’s called The Elderly Filter.
“Go gamble!”
I actually don’t know of any 40-year-old coworkers who do this, but maybe this is more popular in areas with more casinos! Ha!
“Spoil all their grandchildren, nieces, or nephews”
Apparently, 40-year-olds are ripe grandparents? As a general consensus?
“Play pickleball—a sport that doesn’t move as much”
Okay, I beg to differ. I find there is a lot of movement I can’t keep up with in pickleball!
“Count coupons”
Buddy, it’s called CLIPPING coupons! If you’re going to roast us, at least get it right!
“Go on Facebook”
100%.
“Go and buy home decor”
How dare you disgrace the name of our temple.
“Grill food on Sundays”
Yes, we grill on Sundays. Yes, our backs hurt!
“Say no to everything I ask for”
Maybe if you didn’t ask us so many SILLY QUESTIONS, CHILDREN!
“Bingo!”
Joke’s on you, kids: Bingo slaps!
“Take their medicine (or go to the casino)”
Honorable mention: casino.
“Knitting”
Yes, 7th grade student, but have you given knitting a chance?
“Play golf”
The “My back!” speech bubble sent me.
“Sit in a chair on the patio and yell, ‘Get off my lawn!’”
Hey, we’re in a cost of living crisis—lawn care is expensive!
“Sit there slowly sipping their coffee, regretting their life decisions”
Ouch, buddy!
“Talk about ‘Back in my day’”
Cue my mom, “Back in my day, we had to go to the nonfiction section of the library to find information. We didn’t have Google!” Anyone else with that specific ‘back in my day’?
So yes, the kids roasted us—and yes, they were kind of right. Maybe we do love HomeGoods a little too much. Maybe we are fueled by caffeine and mild regret. But that’s what makes being 40 (or close to it) so good: We’ve earned the right to laugh at ourselves. If surviving middle school once wasn’t enough, we’re doing it again from the other side of the desk—with a sore back, a full heart, and a cart full of seasonal throw pillows. People in their 40s unite!