Here we go again, Smack a Teacher TikTok Challenge is the newest TikTok trend to hit mainstream news. As ridiculous as this sounds, is this even real?

First we had the Devious Licks Challenge – that had kids stealing and vandalizing school property – all while recording and posting to TikTok. Now we hear of the latest October TikTok trend being the Smack a Teacher challenge! Is this even real?

Let’s dive into where we are hearing this and dig in to find out if the TikTok Smack a Teacher Challenge is real or just media hype.

TikTok Smack a Teacher Challenge

While I love me some TikTok – no seriously, I spent way to much money – hello, TikTok made me buy it and way too many hours watching endless hours of content thru this social media app.

And while I love the comedy, humor and real life hacks aspect of the TikTok app – something I really am not liking is the way kids are using it for these stupid TikTok challenges. (but seriously though, did you see these TikTok cleaning hacks?)

smack a teacher challenge  new tiktok trend for october 2021
smack a teacher challenge – new tiktok trend for october 2021

October 2021 TikTok Challenge

While social media challenges are nothing new, hello TidPod challenge – the latest round of trends to try include damaging school and then for October 2021 – Smack a Teacher challenge involves smacking an educator. NOT COOL.

I first heard about the Smack a Teacher TikTok challenge from a friend who is a teacher. She posted (somewhat) jokingly that if a student tries to smack her, they don’t know what is coming for them. Which first, how did we as a society even get here where we think to create a challenge to slap a teacher?

Slap a Teacher Challenge

Smack a teacher or Slap a Teacher challenge – I have heard both instances used in regards to what the October 2021 TikTok challenge is. Regardless, they both suck.

What is the Smack a Teacher TikTok Challenge?

I know, right! Wonder what the Smack a Teacher tiktok challenge actually is? The idea is that during the month of October, students are suppose to smack a teacher, video and post on TikTok. Typically it’s a friend who is doing the videoing, but either way “works”.

slap a teacher meme tiktok challenge
smack a teacher meme – don’t be an idiot, kids

Unlike Devious Licks and the #DeviousLicks hashtag, it appears that #SmackaTeacher is still live.

Help a Teacher Don’t Slap a Teacher

Can someone quick create a TikTok trend that involves helping a teacher. #HelpaTeacher – whose in? Our educators are underpaid and overworked. While this always has been the case for teachers, the 2020 school year and beyond – thanks to the lovely pandemic, has created a hell work environment.

smack a teacher meme tiktok
help a teacher tiktok trend

There is no doubt why our last day of work memes trend so highly these last few months. People are quitting and the last thing we need is for our educators, school administration and teachers to quit!

Are People Really Smacking Teachers?

So if you read this and are wondering, is this just an internet hoax? You know, quite possibly this could HAVE BEEN an internet hoax. We all know that what starts as an internet hoax can lead to some people believing it’s a reality. Do I even have to mention the 2020 election?

Is This Real?

So unfortunately, if it was a TikTok hoax there are some taking this seriously. Here are a few instances that I found of either a Smack a Teacher TikTok video or a news story covering this trend happening.

teachers meme  our teachers are overpaid and underworked. stop making their jobs more difficult
Totally something Lisa Simpson would say!

South Carolina Teacher Assaulted by Student for TikTok Challenge

In South Carolina, at least one student followed thru with this. The school announced that the student will be held responsible for their actions with a disciplinary result.

“Sadly, we actually had an elementary student assault a teacher by striking her in the back of the head,” the Lancaster County School District said in a Facebook post on their transportation page, “This type of behavior just like theft and destruction of property is not a prank. It’s criminal behavior.”

wcnc.com

Schools Are Not Taking New TikTok Trends Lightly

After the Devious Licks challenge left schools in dismay, word of the new Smack a Teacher trend has schools on heightened alert. Schools are taking this as a threat and not treading lightly.

Educators across the country are already overwhelmed with the chaos that is teaching during a pandemic. As if that weren’t enough, now they’re contending with a different kind of chaos: a TikTok trend that encourages students to cause havoc on campus. 

This month, that havoc could reach a new level, resulting in physical violence against teachers and other school employees. And the prospect has already-demoralized educators increasingly worried about the sustainability of their profession as it stands. 

usatoday.com

Smack a Teacher TikTok Videos

Scrolling thru TiKTok, it appears that a organized effort to compile the best teachers talking back to TikTokers about any student who wants to try to do the Smack a Teacher Challenge or Slap a Teacher Challenge.

Follow the hashtag #smackateacher to watch several teachers talk back about their thoughts on what would happen if a student tries to smack them. Here are a few of my favorite teachers TikTok responses to this awful trend:

This is the kind of crap that teachers have to deal with. Enough, already!

We Love Our Teachers

Here is the deal. Our teachers are the backbone to our future. They are the ones who act as our care givers, educators and mentors from preschool to high school.

we love our teachers
we love our teachers!

Let’s stop with the stupid and create something worth while. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? More of that less of TikTok slap a teacher challenge crap!

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