One way to be a cool teacher is to shoehorn pop culture references into your otherwise mundane lesson plan. For example, an OSU professor once harnessed Lil B, the Based God, and Chief Keef to teach psychology. It worked.
But be warned, teachers! This is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. If you're going this rout, make sure to at least look like you know what you're talking about.
Via kicker Sean Neurnberger:
When your teacher doesn't know sports..... pic.twitter.com/DyUDSFRpKZ
— Sean Nuernberger (@Sean4Heisman1) June 23, 2015
To be fair: There are more people in this world who don't care about sports than do.