Retired Teacher Shares Emotional Plea Asking for Kindness amid Cruel TikTok Trends

There are new TikTok trends every day, and one retired teacher was disturbed by a cruel online craze that involved educators. He asked students to reconsider their actions and choose to spread kindness instead.

In September, Tony Garcia posted a now-viral plea on his Facebook page. After seeing certain videos circulating, he decided to act. The former teacher admitted that he might be "old-school" but believed his message still mattered.

While he was unfamiliar with how YouTubers, TikTokers, and online influencers did things, Garcia stated that he knew enough about kindness and humanity to offer some advice.

TEACHERS ASK FOR MORE LOVE

Like Garia, one other teacher had written a viral letter at the start of the year. Sarah White praised parents for all they were doing in such challenging times. She told them it was okay if they weren't getting around to all of their duties, pointing out that love was most important now.

While Garcia's post was different from White's, both of them spoke of the need to spread love and kindness now more than ever. Garcia also asked users to make being a kind person "go viral."

CRUEL TIKTOK CHALLENGES

This came after Garcia had learned about various events affecting schools and educators. He shared that there were cruel TikTok challenges circulating paired with increased vandalism at his former school in Fort Collins, Colorado.

On his Facebook page, he wrote: "What say we get a million views of you doing something decent and humane and simply beautiful?" After seeing the recent October "Slap a teacher" TikTok challenge, he felt an urge to speak up.

"THANK YOUR TEACHER"

TikTok stated that they do not condone such content because it goes against their policies. They put forward that they permanently remove clips of such a nature. Garcia's post went beyond these online challenges.

He spoke about what true courage and strength look like. Garcia expressed: "It takes fearlessness to genuinely thank your teacher at the end of class. It takes grit and audacity to help the substitute teacher feel welcomed."

THE RESPONSES ARE LIFE-CHANGING

Garcia, who was sure his post wouldn't reach many students, said he had received responses from people worldwide. In fact, some have started to share the small ways they are spreading kindness at school.

The retired teacher was moved by the overwhelming reactions, which he called "heart-warming and life-changing." He was glad that his simple plea was making a difference.

THE ONLINE REACTION

Netizens also had a lot to say about his post. One commenter wrote: "Old retired teacher here LOVES and APPRECIATES the time and thoughtfulness of your post." They also added that they hoped it would go viral.

Another person said it would be beautiful if people followed his advice and spread more love and kindness in the classroom. Many also thanked him for addressing the issue, and countless teachers noted that his post was indeed bringing about impactful change.