Saved by the Bell

As a part of being a teacher, I will be analyzing my students to better understand them a person and learner. Thus, getting practice in this skill--even if the students is fictional--will only be beneficial. To get some practice, I will analyze Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell. His character arches over multiple series, so we can get a deeper look into him as a student.

Here are some observations of Zack based on Wikipedia and YouTube:

• During eighth grade, he received help from his friend and classmate, Mikey, on his schoolwork. He was also a troublemaker at this time, since he was often found being called out by the principal for various acts and schemes he instigated. 
• In high school, Zack receives poor grades in the classroom, but scores a 1502, a very high score, on his SAT. The latter allowed Zack to be accepted into Yale University, even though he attends California University in the follow-up series Saved by the Bell: The College Years. Based on his marks, his classroom performance would not deem him college ready, but his SAT score would.
• Zack also showed an interest for business and demonstrated strong leadership skills in high school. 
• His extracurricular activities in high school included cross country, basketball, track, being in a band as a vocalist and guitarist, played the trombone, glee club, restarting the school radio station, the JROTC program, student council, yearbook committee, and being manager of the school store. 
• He was rarely seen having a job. 
• One of his major interests was betting. In combination with this habits that began eighth grade, he is the type of student who is more distracting than engaging.
• He was one of the first characters to be seen carrying a cell phone, giving evidence that he is likely from a higher socioeconomic class.
• At college, Zack got along with his professors most of time. 

Based on these observations, if he were a student of mine, I would try to engage him as a student through the use of technology. I would find an effective and meaningful way to integrate his cell phone into lessons, assuming that each student could have access to a phone or each group of students had one. The lessons would surround something that would be of interest to Zack. It could take the form of the mathematics and statistics of gambling. This would likely pique his interest so he could become a better gambler. Making lessons like this would allow Zack to still have his personality, but would also allow for him to start comprehending the topic.

Watch Zack in action below!