DEBARY, Fla. — A Central Florida teacher’s heartwarming video has gone viral for all the right reasons.
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Fourth grader Sophia Campbell had been feeling, in her teacher Mrs. Joanne Miller’s words, “low on confidence” lately. Campbell had been worried that she wasn’t smart enough for school.
When she left the classroom, a fellow student and friend Ashton Miller shared an idea with Mrs. Miller and his classmates: let’s cover Sophia’s desk with letters of encouragement.
The class then got to work, putting rainbow-hued sticky notes all over Sophia’s desk, each bearing a message of support: “You’re a ray of sunshine,” one read. “You’re getting so good at reading. Keep on doing it!” read another. The messages even covered Sophia’s chair.
In her Instagram caption, Miller wrote what happened upon Sophia’s return. “After it soaked in, she ran to hug the friend who had the idea. This is truly one of my favorite teaching moments.”
Miller posted the heartwarming video to Instagram, where it has since garnered over 17 million views. The comments are filled with parents, teachers, and students alike, all praising Miller’s classroom culture, and the kindness that her students showed to others.
“When students learn to champion each other, that’s the real win,” Miller wrote in her caption. “No state test can measure this; it’s empathy in action. This is what building classroom community is all about.”
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