Teachers across Canada are turning to social media platform TikTok to share everything from their daily experiences to learning tips and even their classroom outfits. As part of the wider online community known as TeacherTok, some of them have amassed a following that extends beyond the classroom.
The Canadian Press talked to three Canadian teachers, whose TikTok videos have collectively reached millions of views, about how they balance professionalism, privacy and addressing misconceptions about their jobs.
SWAPPING TALES
Julia Adams, a Windsor, Ont.-based occasional teacher qualified to work in both elementary and high schools, said TeacherTok allows educators to showcase their day-to-day life, connect with other teachers and help people better understand what they do.
91裸聊视频淚 think a lot of people have a lot of misconceptions about what it91裸聊视频檚 actually like to be a teacher,91裸聊视频� said Adams, who has more than 51,000 TikTok followers under the username @juliaadams.
Adams, an artist who aspires to be a full-time art teacher, said posting online allows teachers with similar lived experiences to share advice and help navigate various situations.
91裸聊视频淵ou can figure out where to go from here and realize that you91裸聊视频檙e not so alone because teaching can be a very lonely profession.91裸聊视频�
The 29-year-old describes teachers as 91裸聊视频渆ver-revolving doors.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淲e put on multiple hats a day. You91裸聊视频檙e a social worker one second and now you91裸聊视频檙e a problem solver. Now I91裸聊视频檓 just gonna be a teacher. But then I also have to be a therapist and a nurse sometimes,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 just very quick paced so there91裸聊视频檚 a whole bunch of things that happen even in the matter of five minutes.91裸聊视频�
For Thanksgiving, Adams posted a 91裸聊视频済ratitude tree91裸聊视频� she created at her school, which got more than 600,000 views on TikTok and became one of her most viral videos. The activity involved putting up paper leaves and asking students to write something they are grateful for, creating a tree display at the front of the school.
91裸聊视频淚 got comments saying, 91裸聊视频極h I91裸聊视频檓 gonna show this to my principal,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频楾his is a great idea,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� she said.
Adams also posts videos reacting to other teachers91裸聊视频� fashion choices, discussing pranks on her students and how she decorates her classroom. Going for a 91裸聊视频渧ery generalized approach,91裸聊视频� Adams doesn91裸聊视频檛 record her students or mention their names and pronouns when she talks about them.
91裸聊视频淚 always make sure that I91裸聊视频檓 staying professional because it91裸聊视频檚 a public forum. You never know who91裸聊视频檚 gonna come across your videos.91裸聊视频�
SHARING RESOURCES
Margaret Fong, 36, said her approach to TikTok is 91裸聊视频渂eing very candid and almost vulnerable to the sense of sharing what it91裸聊视频檚 like to be a teacher.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 sharing our experiences: our wins, our challenges and next steps of what we can do to be better in the classroom and as people as well,91裸聊视频� said Fong, who has been teaching elementary school for 12 years in Toronto.
Fong said teaching is her calling, which inspired her online handle @mycalltoteach. She has more than 13,000 TikTok followers.
In 2020, when the new Ontario math curriculum came out, Fong said no resources were available to implement the work so she created her own digital slides, editable worksheets and assessments to meet the education standards, sharing both the resources and how she uses them online.
91裸聊视频淚 know what it91裸聊视频檚 like being a first-year teacher or even a 12-year teacher, we are always looking for new ideas,91裸聊视频� Fong said. 91裸聊视频淎ll the resources I create I pour time, passion and experience into all of them.91裸聊视频�
Outside of hopping on Tik Tok trends, Fong also has website where she offers Ontario curriculum and teaching resources for a fee or at no cost, depending on the type of slides or worksheets.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 amazed at how I91裸聊视频檝e learned myself by watching other people, becoming a better teacher and even a mom.91裸聊视频�
TRENDY TEACHERS
Torontomiddle school teacher Zahra Hassan is well known on TikTok for her 91裸聊视频�90s-style fashion in the classroom. Known as @misswondrousoul, she has more than 83,000 followers on the platform.
Hassan said her students encouraged her to post her fashion choices online, and the style she showcases makes her more approachable.
91裸聊视频淭hey think it91裸聊视频檚 the coolest thing ever. The kids are like 1.7 million views (combined) and you91裸聊视频檙e famous, you know?91裸聊视频�
The 29-year-old, whose parents immigrated from Somalia to Canada, said the need for representation is the reason why she became a teacher and wanted to pursue social media.
91裸聊视频淧eople that don91裸聊视频檛 look like me don91裸聊视频檛 understand the lived experiences of being a Black first-generation Canadian Muslim student in the school system91裸聊视频� my school journey made me silence my identity and (want to) conform rather than celebrate my identity,91裸聊视频� Hassan said.
She said she91裸聊视频檚 trying to 91裸聊视频渃reate a space where we also can be celebrated for who we are.91裸聊视频�
Hassan has also done collaborations with brands like eBay, Indigo, Walmart and also has a podcast with another Black female teacher from New York called 91裸聊视频楾hem 90s Teachers,91裸聊视频� which takes a deep dive into education topics beyond borders and school districts.
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