CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's been an extra tough year on all of our teachers but many have found new ways to keep their students engaged, including a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools science teacher who became a TikTok star with her fun and easy lessons.
Nancy Bullard, better known as Mrs. B, is a science teacher at Huntingtowne Farms Elementary School in south Charlotte. When COVID-19 closed schools and everyone moved to remote learning, Bullard said she noticed a big drop in attendance.
"I decided if they were not coming to me, I would go to them," Bullard said.
So she joined TikTok. It went as planned, then even better for Bullard.
"My hope was, as they're scrolling through these hours of videos, maybe my face will pop up and they'll stop scrolling for a second, learn something new and then come to class the next day and tell me," Bullard explained.
That's exactly what happened. By the end of the school year, she had 1,000 followers. Just six months later, she had 1 million followers and her videos are racking up several millions of views.
Bullard says the key to her success is keeping it simple.
"I think the reason that particular video resonated with so many people and went so viral is because it's short and sweet, and you can probably do it with things you already have in your kitchen," Bullard said.
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, TikTok said it would give Mrs. B and nine other amazing teachers $5,000 to use in their classrooms. But for Bullard, the real success is showing her students that science is fun and can lead to a great career.
"It's so critical that we get students engaged in science from a young age," Bullard said. "Otherwise, it's shown that they don't go on to STEM careers if they're not engaged from an early age."
For parents still struggling to get their kids engaged, Mrs. B recommends making any at-home lessons as hands-on as possible.
Contact Ruby Durham at rdurham@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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