Like most teachers, Brendan Jackson has had to rethink the way he runs his class in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Brendan is a fun-loving guy who plays rugby and teaches kindergarten at New Lambton South Public School in Newcastle, Australia. During the 2020 lockdowns, he began making daily videos to kick his students’ days off with a smile.
Mr Jackson, teacher of KJ at NLSPS starts his kids day every morning with a funny video! Here’s todays offering @nswppa pic.twitter.com/7vv09fHrr5
– Andrew (@riceman008) August 25, 2021
Yes, that is Brendan dressed in his finest ’90s garb, singing along to his own version of “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys!
Every day now, Brendan combs through his wardrobe and finds the best outfits for his videos. He even dressed up as Anna from “Frozen.”
“I’m of the firm belief that school’s got to be fun,” Brendan said. “You want your kids coming to school with big smiles on their faces, and if it means that I’ve got to be bouncing off the walls a little bit to get them wanting to come to school, then I’m happy to do that.”
Clearly, this teacher isn’t afraid to look silly in the name of making kids laugh! Not only do Brendan’s students love his daily antics, but his coworkers also enjoy his fun-loving style.
“I think the whole New Lambton South Public School community looks forward to Brendan’s videos every morning,” school principal Andrew Pryce said.
“They’re widely shared amongst the community, but certainly in terms of kindergarten kids, I guess it gives them something to look forward to and see what their teacher’s doing in the morning,” he continued. “They just absolutely adore him.”
After the school started sharing Brendan’s videos online, the verdict arrived: It’s not just his school family – everybody loves him!
Brendan said his performances are designed to “keep that sense of community in the classroom” while working remotely. Practically speaking, they serve another purpose.
“I also let them know what’s happening for the day, so they don’t have to check the timetable every day, which hopefully for the mums and dads makes it a little easier,” the teacher added.
Brendan managed to find a way to make remote learning fun, and we know he’ll keep it up in person! All he had to do was concentrate on being funny and take a few risks. His students are very lucky to have him!
Share this story to spread the joy.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.