Scroll through TikTok on any weekday afternoon, and a new type of teacher appears on your feed. Young educators post outfit-of-the-day videos from school compounds, film “get ready with me” clips before class and share snippets of staffroom dances during breaks. The energy is unmistakable. For a growing number of Gen Z teachers, the classroom and content creation now coexist.
Millie Wacera stands in front of her Grade Four class at a school in Embu County, her phone propped on her desk. At 21, she is not filming a lesson. She is capturing her outfit—a tailored skirt, a neat blouse, and shoes that match perfectly. This is her world now, where teaching and content creation live side by side.
“I started content creation back in 2024, but I was not making videos about my teaching career,” says Ms Wacera. “I started recording when I started my teaching practice.”
Ms Wacera was a student at Kigali Teacher’s Training College, where she studied for a diploma in primary education. She joined her current school in January for mentorship and started her teaching practice this term. For her, posting videos is about more than getting likes. It is about showing people that teachers can be stylish, relatable, and modern.
“I just want to show my professional style,” she explains. Her videos get reactions from everyone. Students tell her they saw her on TikTok. They tell their parents. They come to class excited because their teacher is also someone they can follow online.
Millie Wacera, 21, is a primary school teacher in Embu County, teaching English and Agricultural Nutrition, and holds a Diploma in Primary Education from Kigali Teacher’s Training College.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
“The feeling is electric, honestly.” Every time a student approaches her with bright eyes, saying they saw her video, Ms Wacera feels proud. She is not just teaching them English and Agricultural Nutrition. She is showing them that teachers are real people with style and personality.
However, Ms Wacera knows there are lines she cannot cross.
“We are not supposed to show the faces of the students,” she says. When she films in class, students stay on one side while she records on the other.
The real magic happens during break time. When the bell rings, and students rush out to the pitch, Ms Wacera sees opportunity. She walks out to the open field, the sun bright overhead, and sets up her phone. The pitch becomes her studio. Students play football in the background, their shouts and laughter creating a soundtrack to her outfit videos. She feels alive in these moments.
In the staffroom, Ms Wacera and other trainee teachers have their own space, separate from the regular tutors. This gives them freedom.
“We dance in the staffroom, we even go live when having random conversations,” she says. Dancing with her fellow trainee teacher, she says, is therapeutic. They pick a trending song, position the phone, and let loose.
They laugh when they mess up. They restart when someone walks into frame. These moments make the job feel less like work and more like an adventure.
The content makes her feel confident and engaged. Every view, every comment, every share reminds her that people are watching, that her style matters, that she is doing something different.
“We want to change the mindset that teachers must be strict and feared like police. Right now, we have a good relationship with the learners.”
But the trend is not without criticism. People online say Gen Z teachers post too much, that they do not focus on teaching. Ms Wacera pushes back hard on this. “They don’t know that on some days I only have three lessons,” she explains. Her timetable gives her free periods, which she uses to film. “We just know how to properly manage our time.”
The journey is not the same for everyone. In Homa Bay, Faith Atieno moves through her day differently. At 23, she teaches at a special school in Homa Bay County. Her students need extra care, patience, love, and Ms Atieno gives them all of that while also building a following of more than 15,000 people on TikTok and 35,000 on Instagram.
“I am a fashion and runway model,” she says. Her confidence comes through in everything she does. She is studying Special Needs Education at the University of Eldoret, combining it with literature. But modelling is her passion, and it shows in how she carries herself. That confidence translates directly to her content.
Faith Atieno, 23, is a Special Needs Education teacher and runway model in Homa Bay County, currently studying Special Needs Education and Literature at the University of Eldoret.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
“When it is time for break, after the learners leave class, I’m left there alone. I use those moments to post.” She positions her phone, checks her outfit, and hits record. No one at her school knows she is always recording. Not even the head teacher knew she was an online sensation until recently.
“He was like; you are trending? And I told him, kind of,” Ms Atieno laughs. The surprise in his voice made her realise how much of her life exists in two separate worlds. At school, she is Teacher Faith. Online, she is a fashion icon with thousands of followers.
For Ms Atieno, social media makes teaching more enjoyable. After a hard day, scrolling through TikTok helps her relax. She also uses her platform to showcase fashion, inspiring other teachers who look to her for outfit ideas.
“Someone will come to your post and be like, I’m looking for an outfit for an event happening tomorrow,” she says. “So like, they are going to copy me.” Knowing that other teachers find inspiration in her style fills her with pride.
“It depends on what you’re doing,” Ms Atieno says when asked about professionalism. Recording videos does not make someone unprofessional. What matters is the content itself and when it is made. This clarity gives her peace. She knows her boundaries.
Dennis Muthuli brings a different energy to this trend. At 21, he studies at Moi University main campus, majoring in Kiswahili and Religious Education. But teaching is just one part of who he is. “I’m a filmmaker. I do film and comedy,” says Mr Muthuli.
His content on TikTok reflects all these sides of him. Creating content makes him feel like an artist, not just a teacher. Every video is a mini-production, a chance to direct, to perform, to entertain.
Mr Muthuli scripts his videos before filming them. When he posted a video of himself dancing in the staff room with a caption saying he is alone, he actually asked other teachers to move out of frame. When he pretends the principal is coming and runs away, it is all planned.
Dennis Muthuli, 21, is a Kiswahili and Religious Education teacher and a student at Moi University Main Campus in Nyandarua.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
“It is something that I script before shooting,” he explains. The learners are his crew and supporters. They know what to say and when to say it because he has directed them. This makes him feel connected to his students in a way that goes beyond traditional teaching.
His approach is different from others. He thinks carefully about the core values of teaching and makes sure his content aligns with them. When the deputy head teacher saw his video and asked about monetisation, Mr Muthuli did not see it as a warning. He saw it as interesting.
He uses social media to build connections. Recently, he spoke with a group from Nairobi about bringing theatre shows to the school to showcase set books to students. That opportunity came from his online presence. It makes him feel like he is building a career, not just passing time.
When describing Gen Z teachers, Mr Muthuli puts it simply. “We’re intelligent, smart and awake. We are not boring.” Not everyone embraces the trend with the same openness.
Doris Gitonga is 28 years old and teaches English literature at a day school in Murang’a. She graduated in 2022 from Chuka University and is no longer on practicum. She shares her outfits, documents moments from her life on TikTok.
“I feel like we are just documenting our life,” says Ms Gitonga.
For her, social media started as therapy. In 2025, she was going through a hard time. She lost weight. She did not want people to see her. But then she started posting, and it helped her heal.
The healing was gradual but real. Each video she posted felt like reclaiming a piece of herself. The comments from strangers gave her strength when she had none.
Doris is more cautious than the younger teachers. She does not post in the staff room when other teachers are around. She goes to an empty office instead. “I’m afraid of being judged by my colleagues,” she admits. This secrecy makes her content feel like a private rebellion, a small act of freedom in a structured environment.
She never films during class time. Never goes live while teaching. “I’m not supposed to be using my phone in class,” Doris says. She has seen other teachers cross that line, and she thinks it is wrong. But during breaks and free time, she records. And she makes sure no students or other teachers appear in her videos unless it is intentional. These boundaries make her feel professional even while being creative.
Doris Gitonga, 28, is an English Literature teacher and fashion content creator in Murang’a County. She graduated from Chuka University in 2022.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
Doris also uses TikTok for her side business. She sells clothes online, and her body is the mannequin. During holidays, she models casual outfits. During school terms, she wears and films official outfits for teachers. Every post tags her business account.
“When someone sees my picture, they tell me they want it,” she says. The content serves dual purposes. It helps her heal and it helps her earn. That combination makes her feel resourceful and independent.
The older teachers notice the difference. “They feel like we are giving them competition, which is not the case,” Doris says. “We are just being us.” But the tension is real. The millennials in the staff room see these young teachers with their phones and their confidence and their followers, and something shifts.
Doris feels it but refuses to shrink herself to make others comfortable.
“Just let people do what makes them happy,” Doris says. In staff rooms where she is the only young person, being on her phone and posting TikTok is her therapy. She is not trying to prove anything to anyone. She is simply existing boldly.
The trend shows no signs of slowing down.
Every day, more videos appear. More teachers dance. More outfits get shared. More classrooms get glimpses of what modern teaching looks like. And through it all, students are learning that teachers are human, relatable, and part of the same digital world they live in.
