When third-grade teacher N'mmah Kanu entered her new classroom at Red Hill Elementary, her sole suitcase of generic school supplies wasn't enough to decorate the space in a way that matched her personality and inspired students to learn.
"I'm more of a bright, colorful, loud personality," she said. "I wanted my classroom to reflect not only my teaching style and myself, but also I know third graders want a lot of bright colors, trinkets and fun items."
@atribecalledparents Today’s meet & greet was awesome! I love my room. #teachersoftiktok #fypage #backtoschool #teacher ♬ original sound - Zara & Mama🍉
She took to TikTok to explain what she needed to make her classroom pop, from balloons to colorful signs. One person commented saying Kanu should make a wish list. So she did — and that's when the packages started arriving.
Kanu documented opening the packages and thanking each individual who gave her classroom decorations. She posted how she was able to stretch her budget by shopping at the online marketplace Temu, where she bought affordable decorations, prizes, learning tools and other knickknacks.
Since then, she has garnered over 5 million likes on her TikTok account.
"People on TikTok like the connection of being a part of someone's story," she said. "I think everyone just loves teachers. You either have a teacher in your family, or you had an amazing teacher who changed your life. There's something about teachers that warms everyone's heart."
Kanu said she got nearly everything she wanted. Her classroom is now filled with vibrant colors, a cozy reading nook, a mini library, a wall of affirmations for her students, an incentive jar, and more.
"I wanted to always have things accessible to my students," she said. This is their classroom. This is their fun and safe space, and I wanted them to always know that whatever they needed was ready for them."
The 39-year-old Kapolei resident has been teaching for 17 years. She's taught in Hawaiʻi, Guam, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Ohio.
When Kanu was 9 years old, she moved to the U.S. from Sierra Leone in West Africa.
"I never had a teacher that made me feel special and important. I was a little African girl who had moved to Ohio, and I felt so secluded. I never saw anyone who looked like me or sounded like me, and no one I felt like really took the time to make me feel like a special individual. "
When she spoke with HPR, she was dressed in classroom-inspired attire, including shoes with printed alphabet letters. Because of her vibrant approach to teaching, she describes herself as the "African version of Ms. Frizzle" from The Magic School Bus.
Kanu advises teachers that social media is what you make of it.
"It's whatever you're comfortable doing," she said. "When it comes to the classroom perspective, we need a lot more light and brightness in the world. There are so many teachers doing amazing things and pouring their souls into the classroom."
