Middle Schoolers Shared The Worst Parts Of Their Week & It’s Heartbreakingly Relatable
It's part of a "roses and thorns" practice led by their teacher.
A teacher reading out the "thorns" of the week. Right: A teacher reacting to the "thorns" of the week.
A seventh-grade teacher asked her students to write down their "roses and thorns" for the week, and the students who participated shared heartbreaking confessions. The teacher posted a video to TikTok as she read them out loud and users felt they were painstakingly relatable.
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It's an anonymous exercise to build trust in her classroom.
The educator (@realmsp) asks the class different topics and they can optionally join in by writing their answers on a post-it and sticking it to the whiteboard, face-down, so no one knows it's theirs. Then, she shares their responses with the class.
"This is like a really big one to start with," she said. "It says I cut myself because of a boy," and the deep statements didn't stop there.
"My dad makes me feel like I'm not meant to exist. My girlfriend broke up with me," she continued. "My grandpa lost his memory and doesn't know who I am. My boyfriend cheated with my best friend."
The video, posted on March 3, received over 12 million views and three million likes.
Many people commented that the "sad part" is she probably recognizes their handwriting, and others are commending her for creating such a safe space.
"I wish one of my teachers did this," someone replied, and they weren't the only ones who wanted to be taught in this type of classroom.
A lot of users' hearts went out to the middle schoolers, while many said they "felt" everything they were saying.
The teacher started gaining traction a year ago when she published similar content that received 27 million views.
@realmsp Anonymous activity #teachersoftiktok #fyp
One teacher related on a different level, not just to the kids but also to her teaching style.
"As an elementary school teacher," the account responded, "these thoughts start way younger."
On every Instagram post, the educator writes that participation is optional and that appropriate measures are taken.
Narcity reached out to the creator of these videos requesting a comment. She has not immediately responded.