Viral teachers, real boundaries - Educators enter influencer era but keep it professional

For a growing number of Jamaican educators, the classroom is no longer limited to the physical space, but extends to their social media feed where their teaching expertise and experience become content for an engaged online audience comprising students, parents, and even colleagues. 

But as many step into the role of teacher-influencer, they face a delicate balancing act sharing the realities of their profession while maintaining the ethical boundaries it demands. 

Twenty-five-year-old mathematics teacher Tafari Kelly said this involves ensuring that the content he posts to his more than 100,000 followers on his TikTok account (@farie.j) is respectful, and taking care to protect the privacy of his students.  

“I have students who look up to me as a role model, and at the end of the day, I try my best as possible to post content that is within my career policies and guidelines because I don’t want my students to see videos of me doing [things] on social media, which would kinda break the balance of how they view me as a teacher,” he told The Gleaner. 

Kelly, who has been teaching for three years, said he created his TikTok account and began sharing content while he was a university student during the COVID-19 pandemic,. bBut that it was during his final year, when he started posting videos related to teaching, that “it blew up”. 

“As teachers, we are, basically, experiencing the same kind of students, the same kind of work experiences,” he said.

A teacher-influencer iis someone who uses their position as an educator to generate content for social media. They use their expertise in the classroom to make teaching seem fun and relatable, either to other educators or to better connect with their students.

Describing himself as a fun and energetic teacher, the primary- school educator said he is also very keen on researching his students’ learning styles and behaviour patterns to be able to give the best instruction. 

For his social media, his content is light, humorous, and relatable, and has even allowed him to earn some added income doing promotional content for school-related products. However, he maintains that teaching is always his first priority. 

“I love to see when I can work with my students to see good behavioural patterns. It feels good to know that other teachers can see the changes in these students and their grades,” he said. 

High- school mathematics teacher Ahejey Mattis started using his TikTok platform (@_ahejey) to do livestreams early into his three-year career, and he soon realised that the avenue provided a way for him to connect with more learners. 

“I would go live, work through mathematics while I'm in classes, like my online evening classes, just work through the mathematics question, explain the concept, answer the questions, just help persons prepare, especially those doing CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) math at the time,” he said. 

He quickly understood that he could reach the students in front of him and people outside the classroom simultaneously, and was taken aback by the number of people who would join his livestream, sometimes up to 200 people. 

These were not only students, but adults who were looking to refresh their memories.

“And that showed me that education is not limited to age, a place, or a formal classroom.  Once people are willing to learn, teaching can happen anywhere,” he said. “TikTok really opened my eyes to a different side of education, and through those TikTok lives, I was able to make math less frightening,” he told The Gleaner. 

Stating that his growing platform of almost 5,000 followers is not about visibility, but service, Mattis said he does not earn from it. And while he is known for doing the livestreams, he currently has plans to expand his content. 

“It’s about showing that teaching can be creative, accessible, and I'm big on the creative aspect of teaching,” he said. 

But even as he does this, he said he remains conscious of his role as an educator, and that influences what he portrays online. 

“I understand that even though social media is my personal space, once you're a teacher, people do not separate your online presence completely from your professional identity,” he said. 

In addition to protecting the identity of his students, Mattis told The Gleaner that he is also very careful not to use the online space to blur the boundaries in the between  teacher-student relationship. 

“The key for me is balance.; I can be myself completely,  but I also have to remember the influence I carry,” the 23-year-old said. 

He is also committed to leaving a positive impact on his students. 

“When you're standing before your students, you're not really just delivering content. - Yyou're shaping minds, you're shaping attitudes, you're shaping confidence, you're shaping discipline," he said. 

Daniele Campbell, a teacher of eight years, has created a social platform called The New Teacher Lounge (@thenewteacherlounge) on Instagram and TikTok, where she provides advice for those entering the profession. 

The 36-year-old humanities teacher said she created the platform about two months ago because she wanted to assist young teachers in navigating the profession by providing solutions for the various issues they might encounter. Her goal is to share advice that will allow them to be more effective and efficient in the classroom, and improve their overall experience as a teacher. 

She currently has fewer than 1,000 followers on both platforms, but says her engagement numbers are high. 

“It ranges from students who are wrapping up teachers’s college, they are in their final year, and they are getting ready to head into the classroom. I’m getting [also] responses from seasoned teachers, who are in agreement with the content that is being posted,” she told The Gleaner. 

Her videos are mainly shot inside her car. 

And she shared that her intention is not to make money. Rather, she receives gratification by being a mentor to the community she is curating and from the success of her students.

“I love to see children achieve their goals. It makes me appreciate and realise that I am indeed making an impact on the lives of these students,” she told The Gleaner.

A viral video from English literature teacher Keivanni Ewers explaining what gift he would like for Teacher’s Day had many on social media laughing.

 The teacher of six years told The Gleaner that that was his intention when he started creating content on his TikTok platform (@sir.ewers) recently. He wanted to provide a satirical comedic relief as a means of dealing with the many challenges that come with the teaching profession. 

“It allows me to enjoy it, and connect with other teachers as well, and we sorta kinda shoulder each other,” he said. 

But he said that this is done following strict ethics, which includes him ensuring that he is respectful at all times. 

Ewers said he disagrees with some who believe teacher-influencers are trivialising the profession, stating that “we are in a changing world”, where there are many benefits to visibility. 

“It’s been amazing,” he said of his viral moment.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com