TikTok takes Charlotte teacher’s classroom worldwide
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Courtesy Nancy Bullard.
With more than a million followers and even more views, CMS science teacher Nancy Bullard is reaching students all over the world.
Why it matters: Every school year, teachers go above and beyond, but this year they’re working even harder to keep students’ attention during remote learning.
Bullard, or “Mrs. B” as her students call her, joined TikTok in hopes of reaching her Huntingtowne Farms Elementary students, especially those who weren’t engaging in her virtual science classes.
- “My students were spending hours each day on YouTube and TikTok, but then a lot of those same students were not showing up for my class,” Bullard tells me. “And so I figured if they weren’t going to come to me, then I’d go to them.”
She says she never expected for her account, Mrs. B TV, to reach students beyond Charlotte. But it did. Bullard says she’s gotten messages from kids, parents and teachers watching her videos in London, Melbourne and Mumbai. (Students can also see her videos on Instagram.)
Her videos range in topic but all center on science projects that can be done at home. From making an egg float in salt water to “magic candles” that fill a cup with water.
Bullard said it’s important that her students can try experiments at home to stay engaged.
- “I’ve been very purposeful about trying to come up with experiments that students and their families can do using items from around your house. And this is a way for me to try to make science as equitable as possible,” she says.
- Bullard, with help from her school’s PTA, put together science kits for 5th grade students, to ensure each one had supplies for her class.
But, despite the TikTok success, Bullard says she still struggles keeping students engaged during class. She hopes other teachers won’t see going viral as a way to solve classroom problems.
What’s next: Bullard is a science lab teacher, which means she teaches science to every student in the school, similar to an art or music teacher. Because she doesn’t just interact with one group of students, even when in-person learning starts again, she’ll remain virtual.
Regardless, she says her TikTok is around for the long-haul. It’s become a second source of income through TikTok’s creator fund and a way to reach more students.
“Ms. B TV is not going anywhere,” Bullard tells me.
Go deeper: 1 in 4 Hispanic and Black CMS students is chronically absent