How classrooms have became the new content labs

TL;DR: Back to school season is officially here! To celebrate we’re highlighting 3 educators who’ve built engaged online followings beyond the classroom. When you think about it, teachers are really the OG influencers, shaping how kids think and behave before social media even existed. They have strong storytelling abilities, having to perform in front of a classroom everyday, understand the importance of adding value through content, and know how to toe the line of being both an authority figure and relatable. And as more and more schools ban phones [see our breakdown on this below 👀], teachers will be commanding even more attention.

As we dove into each creator, a couple themes stood out: 1) using pop culture and comedy to make education more accessible, and 2) building bridges between communities, whether between teachers and students, educators and the public, or across generations.

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Andre Isaacs, Associate Professor, Chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross

Known for his signature tie-dyed rainbow lab coat, Andre uses TikTok trends, dances, and pop culture moments to make intimidating, complex chemistry lessons easy to understand and accessible for audiences. This can range from changing the words to a Nicki Minaj song to be about chemistry to breaking down the science behind the white smoke that the Sistine Chapel releases when choosing a new Pope. Interspersed between these more educational videos are trending TikTok dances, skits, and fun moments from the laboratory, often featuring his students and colleagues.

In addition to his creative chemistry content, Andre is outspoken about his experience being a Black, queer, immigrant (Andre is from Jamaica) scientist and uses his platform to champion inclusivity and representation in STEM. His message is clear: Science is for everyone.

What to watch: Dialoging WITH audiences instead of talking AT them

While Andre is a college professor, his content never feels like he’s lecturing audiences. He meets audiences where they are, using references and cultural moments that they’ll understand to break down complicated chemistry lessons in a way that feels authentic, never condescending. This also extends to how Andre features his students in content, approaching them like co-collaborators and heavily featuring them in his videos whether it’s getting their feedback on exams or doing a popular TikTok dance while decked out in lab coats.

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Miss Redacted, High School History Teacher

Miss Redacted is a high school Advanced Placement United States History (APUSH) teacher and has been recognized as Teacher of the Month in 2024 and Teacher of the Year in 2020. Outside the classroom, she focuses on creating content for her fellow teachers. This can range from sharing funny stories from her classroom on TikTok to her YouTube series, E&E Teachers (Effective & Efficient Teachers), where she shares longer-form advice and tutorials diving into different teaching styles and strategies. What makes Miss Redacted’s POV so interesting is her unique career journey, having left teaching briefly to work a corporate job. Now that she’s back to teaching, Miss Redacted is sharing the lessons she learned at her corporate job and how other teachers can apply them to the classroom.

In addition to her video content, Miss Redacted co-hosts the Teacher Quit Talk podcast focusing on why teachers are leaving their jobs and what, if anything, could get them back and sells ready-to-use, editable teaching resources ranging from grading templates to guidance on writing emails

For audiences who want to get to know Miss Redacted beyond her teaching content, she goes live every Tuesday night on Twitch to talk about pop culture, history and anything else that’s on her mind.

What to watch: Diversified revenue streams

We always tell clients not to put all their eggs in one basket. Through her digital platforms, Miss Redacted has created at least 4 revenue streams outside of her day job as a teacher: 1) Her TikTok where she has over 574k followers, 2) the Teacher Quit Talk podcast which has over 40k monthly listeners, 3) her teacher resources and guides which have grossed over $33k in sales, 4) and her Tuesday Twitch livestreams where she has over 11k followers. Not only does this maximize Miss Redacted’s online earnings, but it gives her stability and independence from just relying on a single platform.

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Philip Lindsay, Middle School Special Education Teacher

Philip is a Middle School Special Education Teacher specializing in math but on his social channels he focuses on comedy and skits about life in the classroom. Philip does a great job of showcasing the highs and lows of being a teacher, from using cringe to connect with students to the struggles of taking attendance. He’s most known for his weekly “What kids are using THIS week” franchise where he breaks down different Gen Alpha slang words for his fellow teachers and parents. It even earned him a feature on The Today Show where he broke down ‘skibidi toilet’ for Hoda and Jenna.

He’s become so well known for his Gen Alpha translations that other teachers will often tag him in videos, asking about new slang terms that are popping up in their classrooms.

Since blowing up on social media, Philip has started taking his teacher comedy IRL, speaking at global teaching conferences and partnering with two his fellow teachers / content creators on a stand up comedy tour, aptly named The Teacher’s Lounge.

What to watch: Bridging generational divides

While comedy is the vehicle, Philip’s content is solving for a very real problem that teachers and facing with today’s extremely online Gen Alphas. By decoding Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang and internet trends, Philip is able to help teachers and parents alike better understand and connect authentically with the middle schoolers in their lives.

Behind the paywall

Phones are out, and a new back-to-school trend is in. With classrooms going phone-free, students, parents, and brands are all adjusting to a culture shift that’s reshaping how—and when—young audiences show up online.

Inside:

• 4 ways we’re predicting social media will change with the absence of phones from classrooms

• 3 ways brands, marketers, and creators can adjust their digital strategies to meet the moment

Read the full piece on Substack here