As students pass through the hallways, they will always hear to teachers on the third floor blaring music, one always overpowering the other’s. The more quiet, yet intense, music being played comes from room 3.124 – this classroom belonging to Mr. Scott Crocker. You’ll hear things ranging from the B-52’s to Black Sabbath. For Crocker, this music has been a part of him for a long time that it’s simply second nature.  

Crocker isn’t unfamiliar with the allusion to Timmy Turner’s elementary “skool” teacher, however Crocker spends his time helping his students rather than hunting for fairy godparents. He also spends his time listening to his music. “Elton John was the first real hit for me,” he explains.

“It puts out a certain energy and good atmosphere, it’s something that I enjoy and the students enjoy – it gives the room more personality,” he went on. Today, Crocker opted for
Nickelback, and it seemed to almost give a noticeable positive energy. Students seem to enjoy the music that he plays in passing time and the beginning of the class. Some sit and rock out to it with their classmates while others go on a full out mosh, headbanging and lip-syncing along with the rockstars on the screen.  

Many students often can’t wait to hear what he will play the next day, will it be something they’ve heard before or something completely foreign to them? “There’s about 100 bands” that he wants to expose to his students. “I have a list-when I think of a song or artist that I like, I write it down,” he says.   He has played countless bands, such as Nirvana and Queen to The Offspring and The Cranberries. He says, “No [regrets about playing his music for his students], something inappropriate in the music or in the video will pop up and I’ll censor it or just won’t play the song again.

“[My favorite band is] Aerosmith. I grew up with them, they were my first real introduction to rock n roll. Along with Led Zeppelin,” Crocker elaborated on his taste in music. Growing up in a generation when rock n roll was almost brand new, and taboo amongst most homes, these bands impacted the music scene and how music would be seen for the rest of time.

Crocker has a very radiant and contagious personality, never failing to put a smile on his students’ faces with his wacky persona. Some of his music definitely shows this, and others show a more wild and dark side to the English teacher. Ultimately, Crocker just wants a positive place for his students to learn in. “[An] uplifting atmosphere. I think the kids enjoy a little bit of personality and something uplifting. In most cases, I try to be positive.”