Having had numerous conversations with students concerning a myriad of topics, other than the subject matter being taught, one was more alluring and captivating than most: Lady Gaga's Red Carpet entrance to the Grammys. With her reputation for extraordinary attire and over-the-top appearances, it wasn't surprising that students found Lady Gaga's Egg Vessel noteworthy, but what was intriguing was the fact that students were so engaged with examining the implication of her Egg-Drop Red-Carpet stroll.
During our class discussion, students attempted to explain the purpose of the prodigal entrance was to elicit the attention from the cameras, to be unique or special, and to possibly generate interest in her new song "Born this Way." I'm writing about it now, so it must have been effective. Consequently, I decided to create a "chicken-or-egg" discussion as a teachable moment, by compelling students to recognize their own sense of uniqueness and respect for differences, which Lady Gaga so masterfully illustrates. To begin the debate, I asked the class "is Lady Gaga given permission to be unique and different because she's famous, or is she famous because she's unique and different?"
After about 10 minutes of debate, the class came to a consensus that although her popularity and following gives her the ability to be really creative and over-the-top, there is no way that she would have become famous if she had not already recognized her own personal uniqueness and talents. Charmed by their conclusion, I then asked the class to consider if their hypothesis about fame and uniqueness applied to their personal experiences in school. In other words, I wanted to know if success and admiration is the result of a person embracing and developing their talents and creativity? Is a student's popularity increased or decreased because of their uniqueness? Do we respect the fact that because everyone is different that this makes them special, or are the people who dress, speak, or act differently made fun of, ostracized and/or bullied?
This conversation addressed the fundamental notion of whether we are capable of recognizing the conflict between believing that individuals become famous because of their individuality and talents, while unequivocally assessing if these same beliefs hold true for their peers that are different, atypical, and non-conforming. Lady Gaga later explicates that the purpose of being carried in the egg- shaped vessel symbolizes the birth of a new species with a consciousness where racism, sexism and discrimination fail to exist.
Although time was not on our side, and the class was unable to reach a verdict, individuals reading this article are encouraged to write what they think and how they would use these concepts to engage students in worthy discourse about recognizing and appreciating the differences that make all of us special.