A Lāʻie Elementary School teacher went viral over the weekend, as clips of her teaching were reposted on X. Jasmynn Nakasone used a lesson on Columbus to argue that “newcomers” hurt the land and push out Indigenous people to get rich.
Nakasone’s sister, Jade, is also an elementary school teacher and posts classroom content on social media. She said in a recent post that online critics have demonized her sister and are causing her life to fall apart.
Jade admitted this is a risk of being an influencer. It comes with following “an iconic roadmap we can take to generate a crazy amount of revenue here on this platform.”
These sisters are not the only teachers recording in a classroom. There’s a whole genre of videos shot in classrooms by teachers. Much of it is harmless vanity. Women record their teaching outfits or trendy room decor to share with their followers.
But some of this content is toxic. Teachers indulge in self-pity and envy, and their online followers cheer them on. In one video, an elementary school teacher sits in her car after school. She complains that her classroom doesn’t have AC while admin offices do.
Other clips expose what is being taught. In the case of Jasmynn Nakasone, the clips were not secret recordings of lessons. Nakasone shot them herself and shared them on social media. They were then compiled and shared by another account.
Nakasone’s story raises two issues about teachers moonlighting as influencers.
The first issue is that public school teachers are public servants. They are on campus to do a job. They should not be filming content in their classrooms or on school campuses.
Public goods should not be used for private gain. We already have rules to stop public officials from using state cars for personal errands. A cafeteria worker who baked pies in the school’s oven and sold them on the side would be disciplined. So too, public school teachers should not be filming content during work time or on school property.
The second issue is that the type of content produced by these teachers tends toward glorifying sin. The algorithms of social media are not trained to reward virtue. They tend to amplify vice. In pursuit of followers and likes, the teacher treads a path of sin.
If you have a tough day at work and find yourself in tears, don’t pull out your phone and record a message for social media. Rather, you should pray, or reach out to family or a close friend for support. There’s nothing wrong with a cry for help, but that cry should be shared in private, not on the internet.
But most of the “cries for help” shared on the internet are those of the boy crying wolf. The person crying doesn’t want help; they want attention. This desire for attention need not be conscious. Many of us are unaware of the sin which impels our behavior.
In part, we are unaware because we’ve been taught to follow our heart — to obey our emotions. But Scripture teaches otherwise. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” Our feelings run quickly to sin, so we should be careful about trusting and sharing them. Rather, we are to interrogate our feelings to discern truth from falsehood.
The solution is not to listen to your heart. Rather, you must talk to your heart. You must take time to see whether your feelings are righteous or sinful. And then you must repent. The algorithm of social media weighs against solemn contemplation, prayer, and repentance.
The algorithm wants to grab and hold attention, and it rewards those influencers who do. Thus, social media rewards raw, unfiltered emotion. Hot takes are preferred over cool reason.
The instinct of the influencer is to deny indwelling sin. I’m not the problem; the world is the problem. Haters are going to hate; their hate fuels me.
Repentance is further discouraged by the subtle and not-so-subtle rewards of social media. Pray quietly, and nobody will cheer you on. No follows and likes come to the one humbled before God. But post something lurid on TikTok, and you may well go viral. The account that compiled clips of Nakasone and the mob that followed were chasing the same rush.
Elementary school teachers are the last professionals on earth who should strive for success as social media influencers. Their task is to model righteous behavior for young children, to instruct them in the way they should go.
The kindergartener needs to learn to rule over her emotions, rather than being pushed and pulled in every direction. But how can she learn this vital skill if her teacher is unmoored, blown about by the same forces?
Those who seek to teach the next generation should show first that they live lives worthy of emulation. If not, they should find another line of work.
Author Sterling Higa can be reached at hello@sterlinghiga.com.
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