Serious Content Creators, Teachers

My oldest son, Ethan, made an observation last week that made me pause as he walked past our home office towards his bedroom.

"Mom, you sound like a YouTuber when you record yourself teaching."

This statement struck a nerve and an eye roll.

I'm a teacher, not a YouTube influencer.

Teaching is hard and not for the faint, son. YouTube influencers set trends and get paid for providing information on anything and everything and sometimes nothing. The only boxes that come to our house are from Amazon. The Gillam family is not receiving free products or services from any travel, beauty, or fashion companies.

Yet, after probing Ethan to tell me more as I followed him to say goodnight, I finally understood the connection he was making between teachers and famous YouTubers.

Teachers and YouTubers are content creators.

And teachers are serious content creators.

We create lessons that target our students and their educational needs. The content we share is awe-inspiring and inspirational. We encourage independence and collaboration to investigate problems and find solutions. We differentiate our content to reach an array of audiences. We connect with each audience member by establishing personal relationships and building trust. Our content creation is so strong we can do this through recorded, live, and even in-person instruction --boom!

So, yeah, Ethan, teachers might sound like YouTubers. But, our influence is more influential than several likes.

Now, get to bed, son. You have school in the morning.

Holly Gillam, Instructional Coach