Canadian teacher's wacky virtual class intros go TikTok viral

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly impacted the social aspects of education, but one Canadian teacher is making online learning fun and documenting it all for TikTok.

Dave Poirier, a Grade 9 and 11 geography teacher at DSBN Academic in Niagara, started posting his wacky class introductions on the app two weeks ago.

He’s received great feedback from his students regarding these stunts, and everyone else watching on TikTok seems to love them too.

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“We are used to kids coming on late to these online meetings, but now most of my kids will show up early, just anticipating what’s about to happen… they’re just excited, and it’s been really good,” Poirier said during an interview with Daily Hive.

His TikTok videos on @teachpoirier start off in a “ridiculous way” (his words, not ours) and end with him yelling “happy [insert day of the week].”

@teachpoirierDay 3🕺🏻 Let’s #MakeOnlineLearningFun 👨🏻‍🏫💻#teachersoftiktok #teacher #teachertiktok #teachertok #foryou #onlineclass #school #happy #tuesday♬ original sound – teachpoirier

Poirier said he was inspired to start these videos because it can be hard to get excited about an online school.

@teachpoirierDay 7 🥷 Let’s ##MakeLearningFun 👨🏻‍🏫##teachersoftiktok ##teacher ##teachertiktok ##teachertok ##foryou ##school ##happy ##tuesday♬ original sound – teachpoirier

“My strengths are definitely in the classroom. Some of this was to pump myself up, and at the same time, I know how hard it is for my kids to work out the motivation, and also just like find any piece of fun and happiness right now,” he said.

“I wanted to give them a reason to look forward to coming to class and have a little bit of fun.”

@teachpoirierReply to @cocotang2021 This has to work in ##highschool. Our teens need to laugh too.😂 ##teachersoftiktok ##teacher ##teachertiktok♬ original sound – teachpoirier

Poirier said what we are seeing in his TikTok videos has been a successful teaching method for his high school students, even though many thought it would not be as engaging for them at their age.

“Elementary school teachers have had kind of the ability to be that more playful type. But I think our high school students really need it too because the pandemic has been really hard and it’s nice to have something that just brings you a good chuckle,” Poirier said.

@teachpoirierDay 6💪 Let’s ##MakeLearningFun 👨🏻‍🏫💻##teachersoftiktok ##teacher ##teachertiktok ##teachertok ##foryou ##onlineclass ##school ##happy ##Monday @wwe ##wwe♬ original sound – teachpoirier

@teachpoirierOnline Learning has been hard and boring. I’ve started a mission to ##MakeOnlineLearningFun. Here’s how I started class today. ##teachersoftiktok♬ original sound – teachpoirier

Aside from the TikTok videos, Poirier has tried to make his online classes as interactive as possible.

“We have gone on virtual field trips where they’re on camera and I just show up. There’s a canal in town, and I took them there. They logged on and I’m around all these big boats. It was a lot of fun,” he said.

He hopes to continue making his classroom fun even after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to continue making my classroom something that a kid really loves being in even once I’m no longer teaching online.”