Why viral teachers aren't always great teachers

New Delhi: Nowadays, it's common for lecturers, professors, and teachers to become internet sensations thanks to social media. Millions of views and likes can be amassed by a brief video of a teacher dancing, delivering a clever classroom joke, or embracing a quirky trend.

These posts portray teachers positively, making them seem more approachable, relatable, and invested in their kids' learning. Some of these posts are even refreshing.

However, a disturbing pattern is developing: people equate popularity with quality. People are increasingly evaluating educators based on their popularity on social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube rather than on their expertise in the subject matter, commitment to effective teaching practices, or ability to guide students. This poses an intriguing question: are we enabling the prominence of social media to obscure the actual quality of teaching?

The Transformation in the Perception of Teachers

Traditionally, a teacher's value was assessed based on their capacity to stimulate intellectual curiosity, cultivate values, and guide students' development. Their vocation was founded on knowledge sharing, critical thinking, and sympathetic assistance. In the contemporary digital era, appearance frequently outweighs substance. An educator with a substantial following may swiftly be categorised as "influential," regardless of the deficiencies in their classroom instruction.

Students, parents, and administrators occasionally succumb to the misconception of conflating amusement with instruction. Although engagement is crucial in pedagogy, a 30-second film cannot encapsulate the intricacies of curriculum creation, the diligence involved in research, or the emotional investment required to assist difficult learners.

The Risks of Evaluating Based on Popularity

There are a number of risks associated with assessing teachers based on their popularity instead of their professional competence:

Superficial Recognition: Likes and shares reward show, not substance. Instead of creating new teaching methods, a teacher can be rewarded for doing a dance trend.

Neglect of Core Skills: If teachers feel they have to keep up a social media persona, they might not put as much effort into improving their skills, researching, and learning new things.

Loss of Respect: When society sees teaching as just a way to have fun, it risks making the important job of teachers in building a nation seem less important.

Misconceptions among Students: Young people may start to think that being popular means being credible, which makes them less likely to value hard effort, discipline, and critical thinking.

Key Performance Indicators for teachers

It has been demonstrated time and again by researchers in the field of education that effective teaching is characterised by variables that do not translate well to metrics derived from social media.

High-quality educators have a profound understanding of the subject matter, cultivate learning environments that are welcoming to all students, employ instructional practices supported by evidence, and cultivate meaningful relationships with children and their families.

They continuously evaluate the students' progress and adjust their methodological approaches accordingly. Collaboration with coworkers and participation in professional growth are two of their activities.

Neither of these qualities can be evaluated based on the number of likes, shares, or possibly viral potential. In point of fact, the abilities necessary for success on social media, quick content generation, visual appeal, and algorithmic optimisation, have very little link with the effectiveness of instructional practices. All things considered, we are employing the incorrect measuring stick.

The teacher who goes viral for their elaborate classroom entrance performance or brilliantly choreographed instructional TikTok may receive millions of views, but are they actually capturing student learning?

There is a fundamental difference between entertainment and education, yet social media platforms blur these distinctions with alarming ease. The algorithms that govern our digital lives encourage participation, not comprehension, likes and shares, not long-term insight.

This creates a perverse incentive system in which teachers are pressured to become content creators first and then educators. The outcome is a generation of "performative pedagogy" in which the spectacle of teaching takes precedence over the substance.

A teacher may spend hours crafting a viral video about fractions while failing to examine if their students truly understand mathematical concepts.

The Positive Side of Social Media as a Tool in Education

Of course, it would be unjust to disregard social media's importance completely. When utilised carefully, platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp can amplify effective teaching methods. Many teachers use these platforms to share information outside the classroom, provide free learning resources, and inspire millions who may never enter their classrooms. Social media can help teachers become more relatable, which is not necessarily bad.

However, the line is crossed when amusement trumps knowledge. A teacher dancing on social media might be entertaining and refreshing. However, if that is their primary effectiveness metric, we reduce the teaching profession to a performance art rather than a vocation requiring deep research, empathy, and lifelong commitment.

It's easy to confuse quality with popularity in the age of reels and viral trends. But we need to remember that teaching isn't about being popular. It's about sparking curiosity, building character, and making the next generation of leaders and thinkers. Likes, views, and shares may only last a few hours, but a good teacher's mark will endure a lifetime.

A teacher's actual skill isn't how well they can dance for the camera, but how well they can dance with ideas and get their pupils into the rhythm of learning for the rest of their lives. Thus, the true evaluation of a teacher extends well beyond ephemeral social media trends, residing in the enduring enlightenment they inspire in young minds.

(Dr. Biju Dharmapalan is  the Dean -Academic Affairs, Garden City University, Bangalore  and an adjunct faculty at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.)

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