320mil follower on TikTok e video they record millions of views. Nothing strange, of course, if we talked about one of the many influence but the perspective changes dramatically when we discover that it is a prof.
Well yes, Sandro Marenco, 49, a teacher of English and support in a scientific high school in Alexandria, is now considered to all intents and purposes the “social prof ”most loved by kids that around him have created a huge community and that dreams and fragility, fears and hopes confide in him also and above all in these difficult times of pandemic.
A degree in languages, a past like marketing manager for important companies and then the unexpected turning point: when Sandro Marenco finds himself, of necessity, to be a professor, something lights up in him and he realizes that yes, he is really in the right place.
L’I land on social networks takes place during the lockdown, when, forced to stay away from his students, Sandro decides to find a way not to make them feel alone and to offer them support, even from behind a screen. And he chooses to do so using the language that kids know best, or that of social media. The rest is now history: he opens a profile on TikTok and in a very short time his class turns into a community made up of thousands of kids who they trust him to the point of being told without fear of being judged.
«I opened a profile on TikTok to have fun and to be with my boys – says today, still incredulous, Sandro Marenco – but I never imagined that they were so fond of me. I have faced difficult times myself and the boys showered me with affection. It always amazes me to see how capable these guys are, full of energy but also of values. We often hear that teenagers are slackers or that they spend time in front of the Playstation: instead, just look at the comments on my posts to understand who today’s kids really are “.
And in fact with the social prof the students confide, joke but they never cross the line. «I always want to emphasize this – Marenco continues – the boys are so intelligent that none of them, neither live nor virtually, have ever allowed themselves to cross the threshold of the respect. Everyone, really everyone, writes to me calling me her “.
How is it possible that an adult, a teacher talking about school on social media, has won the trust of the boys, is a question that many ask themselves.
“I don’t know either – comments Sandro Marenco – there is no plan behind all this. Maybe it was there that won the boys over sincerity. I don’t just talk about my successes but also about my failures, my mistakes, finding a way to laugh about it. Maybe guys like this: seeing a teacher who does not judge, who gives votes but who is also and above all a person. And maybe it played a role there too kindness. I understand that if you place yourself in life and in social networks with grace, without judging, even those who disagree with you respect you because they have no reason to attack you. There kindness, in short, calls respect “.
However, it was also one that won over the young people good dose of humor. On social media, in fact, Prof. Marenco, through the use of a filter, turns into his own alter ego, the sympathetic Sansone, hilarious parody of the student with little desire to be on the books but also a mirror of that good-natured look that the social teacher always reserves for his boys.
«Sansone comes from my experience, specifically it is a mix of two of my students … – Marenco says with a smile – I needed someone to interpret the stories experienced at school. Thus was born this character, with questionable features, with a non-existent desire to study but with an honesty and goodness of mind that are, even in his boldness, disarming “.
To fun and to some English lesson in a nutshell, posted to the sound of #We pass together, the social media teacher also supports deeper content, treating delicate and important issues, including bullying, racism and depression, an evil, the latter, which he experienced firsthand and of which he speaks openly for make children understand the importance of knowing how to ask for help.
And it is also thanks to this that he becomes a real landmark.
“I found in the social the possibility of open a communication channel where there was loneliness – says Marenco – but I’m not a hero, I didn’t do anything extraordinary: I just decided to create an email address that would allow the kids to write to me whenever they wanted to ».
Yet at the address [email protected], many emails have arrived and continue to arrive every day, so much so that, from that experience of sharing via social media, a book. “Tell the teacher”, recently released in bookstores published by Salani, it is in fact the story of the author’s personal story, of his special bond with the children but also a delicate and authentic cross-section of the new generations and what they are experiencing.
«The boys are facing enormous difficulties after these two years they need lightness that it does not mean superficiality or, in the case of school, stop studying – suggests Marenco – It means continuing to do everything with greater serenity, giving weight to real things. Votes must be given, of course, but they do not define the person. I always tell my students: the grade defines only a single performance ».
What advice would such a special teacher give to today’s professors to break through the hearts of young people? “Getting naked and not being afraid of being judged, because apologizing and acknowledging that we were wrong makes us stronger even in the eyes of the boys”.
Listening, sharing, kindness: from here we can perhaps start again to imagine a new way of teaching. «The conception of the vote, which falls like a boulder, must be resized otherwise we risk losing the deeper meaning of our work, that is educate kids, accompany them on a journey» – concludes the social teacher who has another dream to realize, that of “to make this wonderful community that the kids have created and of which I am only a small part even bigger. So that kindness can infect more and more people».
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