A Milnerton High School teacher is using TikTok and YouTube to connect with her pupils.
Ms Michaela Martins has 75 000 YouTube subscribers and more than 200 000 followers on TikTok.
She uses these platforms to teach maths and physical science to children in Grades 8 to 12.
Some of her videos have more than 800 000 likes and she believes that with her formulas, tips and tricks for the subjects, she can get any pupil to go from scoring 30% to 90%.
Ms Martins attended Blouberg Ridge Primary School and Table View High School. She planned to become a doctor but changed her mind after she started tutoring as a student.
She joined Milnerton High School, which she describes as her “second home”, in 2018.
“Because I had amazing examples and great teachers, I wanted to be a good example to a teenager; someone they could look up to and give them advice and steer them in the right direction.”
She also holds a holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology, but teaching is her number-one passion.
“I was born to be a teacher; I used to force my brothers to play teacher-teacher with me.”
Reading the comments from pupils who praise her teaching methods is the rewarding part of teaching to a camera and is the driving force behind her almost 400 videos on her social media platforms, she says.
“There are pupils who compliment me on my energy while teaching, my explanations and say that their marks have improved since watching my videos. That makes me feel so good.”
She never expected to have such a big following but is grateful to be helping, she says.
She recently released e-book study guides and is hoping to create more study guides in the future to cover as many grades as possible.
She also receives requests to teach live online classes and will be looking into that in the near future.
To watch her videos, search for Miss Martins Maths and Science on YouTube and follow her at @missmmartins on TikTok. Or visit www.missmartins.co.za.
