North Texas kindergarten teacher Sonja White picks up her classroom’s Tiffany blue “tattletale telephone” at the end of the school day and presses play. One student scorns her classmate for being too loud, while another confesses their sadness over a friend not sharing with them. A third is revealed to have stuck their tongue out at a classmate.
It’s just a normal day in Kinder, White explains to her social media followers. She has about a million of them.
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, we spoke with White, an educator demystifying the kind of magic that only happens in classrooms and making the everyday work of educators visible online. The kindergarten teacher documents her work life to followers across various social platforms: She showcases her classroom activities, offers teaching advice and hacks, and shows the prep work behind over-the-top class parties earned from good behavior.
She also shares the funny things her students say. Those typically come from a regular playback of the “Kinder Tattle Phone,” a system that allows the children to record messages about good and bad behavior they witness throughout the day without the comments taking up class time.
