PAW PAW, Mich. — A Paw Paw teacher has warmed the hearts of thousands on TikTok. While his viral moment may not last forever, what he's doing for his students daily will last a lifetime.
Dan Shutes posted a video on social media saying, "I eat lunch in the cafeteria almost every single day and here's why..." The first three of his videos are all it took to capture more than 300,000 views.
Instead of always grading papers, Shutes does something different in his free time. From 12:30 p.m. to 12:50 p.m., he has lunch with his students.
"We’re responsible for the academics and the numbers and understand who they are as students, but I feel like that's not going to be done at a high level until I know them as a person," he said.
According to his TikTok, he's been doing this for eight years. "That opens up a plethora of casual conversations and topics that you don't normally get to have with your kids in the classroom setting," he told FOX 17.
It's a time for him to get to know his students, woven with grabbing a bite to eat. This may be Dan's most teachable moment of every school day.
"It's a little cliche, but I've heard and believe that, you know, kids, especially at the elementary age, will work harder and do more for people they like," he said. "When teachers are able to connect at a personal level with those kids, I think academically, you're going to get a lot more out of them."
Shutes eats lunch with his students three to four times a week. He loves it and the students do too. It's a tradition he plans to keep.
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