Iconic college professor channels his inner emo to wake his sleeping students

Professor Matthew Pittman is proving that being “with it” is an art form, and he’s using his platform to bridge the generational divide in a way that only someone with a PhD in Hip could pull off. Instead of taking the traditional route of reprimanding sleepy students, Pittman saw an opportunity to inject a little chaos—and a lot of nostalgia—into his college lecture.

When he noticed a few students nodding off in class, rather than scolding them or ignoring them, he brought the energy up by breaking into a live performance of the angsty anthems of his youth, including songs from Green Day, Blink-182, and Secondhand Serenade. These were the tunes that defined a generation of listeners trying to cope with the trials of adolescence. It was an unexpected but welcome blast from the past, especially since it seems like a lot of us are still emotionally tethered to those songs—even if we don’t always admit it.

Pittman’s TikTok following, already at 238.8K (and likely growing as word of his antics spreads), has embraced the emo revival, commenting enthusiastically on the Warped Tour vibes he’s bringing into the classroom. Some students even responded with a little playful pushback—one even reportedly threw a blanket at him after he woke her up. But that’s all part of the fun; Pittman’s antics seem to help keep his students engaged, even if they don’t entirely appreciate his eyeliner critiques.

But beyond the chaotic good of the whole scenario, there’s a bit of educational magic happening here. According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, listening to music that resonates with a person’s past can help trigger memory recall, stimulating areas of the brain responsible for storing and retrieving memories. So while students may be groaning about the emo throwback, the familiarity of those songs could very well help them lock down the information they need to pass that philosophy exam—or at least stay awake long enough to remember it.

If nothing else, Professor Pittman is ensuring that the spirit of the early 2000s never fully dies. And who knows? Maybe there’s a rise in Edward Scissorhands Blu-ray sales on the horizon too, as students and fans alike revisit the emotional turbulence of their teenage years.