With younger teachers getting hired every school year, many of them are taking to TikTok to try and spread their love for teaching. While this might seem innocent at first, it can come with many risks to the teachers and students.
A lot of teachers have gone viral over the past few years from filming themselves interacting with their students throughout the school day. While many of them aren’t showing the students’ faces, this can still lead to problems down the road.
TikTok has become an app that the youth uses everyday to connect with friends. By teachers filming themselves during class time, it sends students the message that their teacher can be their friend. This action is very unprofessional.
Several teachers have been fired for filming certain actions in the classroom. Marquise White, a teacher from Maryland, recently got fired after a video of his students taking his braids out went viral.
This has become a very controversial discussion on TikTok whether he should have been fired or not. In no situation should a student ever come in contact with a teacher like that. Sure a casual fist bump is fine, but to be continuously touching a teacher like that should not be happening. White has made several videos after he got fired trying to defend his actions.
In one video in particular, White read outloud messages he was receiving from his students after he wasn’t showing up to class. People on TikTok noticed how students were calling him their “bestie.” This had many people upset at how close his students felt with him.
@thilluminatin1 Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Teaching is a work of heart. Comment your thoughts #teacher #teachersoftiktok #teacherproblems #millenialsoftiktok #middleschool ♬ Chopin Nocturne No.2 Op.9-2(1391533) – 314P
White tried explaining how he tries to use the students’ lingo in order for them to be engaged in his class, or else they won’t have the drive to learn. While having a fun and welcoming classroom environment is important, there are other ways to make students engage in the curriculum without giving them the message that they are your friend.
Teachers are meant to give students instruction and education; they aren’t there to be the student’s friend.
A new trend has emerged on TikTok of students bedazzling bald teachers’ and principals’ bald heads. This action might seem funny at first, but it falls under the same umbrella as White’s viral video.
School staff need to understand that you can still have a good learning environment while setting healthy boundaries in the classroom. Unfortunately, there are unsafe teachers in school, so students need to be aware of these boundaries. That way, if a teacher tries crossing them, they will know something isn’t right.
Another teacher who has gone viral for his interaction videos with his students is Massachusetts teacher Tyler Jackowiski. Jackowiski has not been fired and continues to post questionable videos with his students. Even though he is not showing the faces of his students like in White’s video, he is still filming discussions that should not be taking place between a student and teacher.
In a few of his videos, he can be seen having a conversation with one of his students about her liking another student. In one specific video, Jackowiski mentions the two students having children together. Whether he was repeating something the student mentioned or not, that is not an appropriate topic to be talking about in a classroom.
@fishin4clout Replying to @dia ིྀ The end was not necessary #teacher ♬ Cena Engraçada e Inusitada de 3 Minutos – HarmonicoHCO
This video is absolutely disgusting. It is a great example of teachers not being able to set clear boundaries with their students. Despite Jackowiski telling the student to stop, he continued to ask questions about the situation which only shows that the student was justified for starting this conversation.
While many teachers are crossing the lines with the video being posted to TikTok, not all teachers are using the app inappropriately. Many teachers film in their classrooms, but not during class time. This is an example of how the app can be used to share different teaching methods, or teachers retelling funny stories that happened during their class.
There are some exceptions of when it is appropriate for a teacher to be posting on TikTok, and that is if the account is for a school’s club or athletic team, or if the teacher is filming outside of school hours.
Hopefully, the pushback from the public about unprofessional videos being posted by school staff will open the eyes of administration and some necessary changes will be made making learning environments safer.
