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With TikTok in Limbo, Let’s Not Forget What #TeacherQuitTok Taught Us

Muskin: With more than 400 million views, the digital repository of teachers’ resignation stories reveals raw emotion and unfiltered truths.

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Last fall, I stood in front of a classroom of 24 undergraduates and asked how many of them wanted to become teachers. Only one raised their hand. This wasn’t just any class—it was the education course designed to inspire students to choose an education major and join the teaching profession. In that moment, I knew I had my work cut out for me. But I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Everywhere you look, it appears that the U.S. teaching profession is in a state of crisis. While the severity varies by state, the nation continues to see declines in teacher education program enrollment and perceptions of teaching as a prestigious career. From my regular interactions with students, it’s clear that negative messages about the profession are deeply ingrained in their minds. So where are these messages coming from? Why aren’t young people interested in teaching? While these are complex questions without simple answers, TikTok, the ultimate message spreader, offers us a window into one part of the puzzle.

Over half of Americans aged 18-34 use TikTok. However, the fate of the app is now uncertain. On Sunday, TikTok shut down as a nationwide ban was set to go into effect. On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting a 75-day extension, allowing the Chinese company more time to consider selling. Whatever the future holds, it’s crucial to reflect on what it taught us about the field of education.

TikTok has been a paradoxical tool for education: both damaging and useful. For every report about the app’s negative effects on teaching and learning (e.g., mental health concerns and “destructive challenges”), there are reports of the app’s benefits (e.g., open-source instructional strategies and community engagement). When I began researching teachers’ use of TikTok, I was struck by how videos tagged with the hashtag #TeacherQuitTok epitomized this duality.

#TeacherQuitTok, with over 400 million views, serves as a digital repository of teachers’ resignation stories. Scrolling through these videos reveals raw emotion and unfiltered truths. Teachers across the U.S. share their journeys of leaving the profession, often capturing poignant moments packing up classrooms, bidding farewell to students, or speaking directly to the camera through tears. These videos combine personal footage with text overlays, music, and storytelling to underscore the gravity of resignations and expose systemic challenges that push educators to the brink.

Teachers’ reasons for quitting echo decades of educational research: unmanageable workloads, insufficient pay, deteriorating mental health and a lack of support. One teacher shares, “I quit my teaching job in the middle of the year because of the daily stress. I developed anxiety and fell into a depression. I had to take meds just to cope.” Her story is far from unique. Many educators on TikTok describe similar struggles, reflecting a profession under immense strain.

In a sense, #TeacherQuitTok has become a digital picket line, allowing teachers to bypass traditional exit interviews and speak directly to the public. The sheer volume of posts transforms individual resignations into a collective statement: The U.S. teaching profession is unsustainable under current conditions.

While some may dismiss these posts as venting, I argue that #TeacherQuitTok plays a vital role in shaping public discourse about the profession. TikTok’s algorithm amplifies these stories, enabling some to reach millions of viewers. For instance, one viral video of a teacher resigning has garnered over 13 million views––an unprecedented audience for a workplace grievance.

This amplification is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it reinforces the perception that teaching is a profession riddled with stress and systemic obstacles, potentially deterring young people from pursuing it. On the other hand, it validates educators’ struggles, fosters solidarity, and pressures policymakers to address the systemic issues driving teachers away. For researchers, social media platforms like TikTok provide valuable data to gauge public sentiment about teaching and identify critical areas for reform.

In this case, the popularity of #TeacherQuitTok is a clarion call for urgent action. These stories underscore that teacher well-being is inexorably linked to the quality of education students receive. Schools cannot function without teachers, and if the profession continues to erode, the consequences for students and communities will be severe. To create an environment where teachers can thrive, schools must address foundational issues such as manageable workloads, competitive salaries, and mental health support.

Whatever happens to TikTok, let’s not forget the lessons it taught. Teachers are voting with their feet and sharing their decisions online. Whether it’s on TikTok or another app, teachers are no longer leaving quietly. By sharing their resignations online, they expose the challenges of the profession to the next generation. At a time when recruitment is plummeting, the country cannot afford for young people to be disillusioned before they even begin. Reforming the profession is no longer optional; it is essential for safeguarding the future of our education system.

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