This Teacher Keeps Students Two Minutes After the Bell — to Watch ASMR Videos

ASMR is supposed to be relaxing, right? You know, the gentle sounds of keyboards typing or the soothing pitter-patter of rain. Or videos with rich visual elements like paint colors being mixed together or a cake being decorated. Well, that's what we thought. But the comments on this six-second TikTok video shared by a kindergarten teacher that references ASMR seem a little tense and definitely not peaceful.

Social media users sent a message to one kindergarten teacher loud and clear that one of her classroom activities seemed unfair to students and their busy parents. Fortunately, she was able to provide more details about the situation — but even so, a lot of people weren't too keen on her end-of-day practice.

Believe it or not, even kindergartners have stress. I mean, did you hear about that mind-boggling worksheet that even had adults stumped? So it’s not unusual for kindergartners to be a little antsy before class ends. Keeping that in mind, one kindergarten teacher named Sara James took to the platform to share the simple technique that she does on a daily basis to help calm her kids down.

“I prefer to keep my kindergartners two minutes past the bell to watch ASMR slime videos to ensure that I am sending home calm and relaxed children," she wrote in text of the video.

In the short clip, the students are seen all packed up and are watching the TV where slime videos are being shown. They appear to all be giving the TV their full attention. It looked like a pleasant sight to see.

And just like that, TikTok was dragging Sara and her mini ASMR video-watch party. While some expressed indifference to ASMR, most seemed to have an issue with the fact that she was keeping students late for such an activity.

"I would be so pressed if I had to stay two mins late," read one comment. "That needs to be done on your time not parents' time," another comment said.

Other users began to question why Sara didn't just end her lesson early to allow time for this.

One parent wrote that even a short delay like that in waiting for her child would interfere with picking up her other child. "[Two] mins make all the difference for a parent. My kid has to be on time so we can drive seven minutes to pick up my other son on time," the mom claimed.

"What about kids who take the bus? I'd be panicking," asked another user.

A few other folks claimed they were familiar with this practice as their teachers did it with them growing up, but none had any positive words to share about it.

In response to one user, Sara decided to set the record straight about those two minutes she keeps her students for.

"We have 2 bells. The first one is a pack up bell, the second is the final bell. We stay two mins after the pack up bell. We are out before the 2nd bell," Sara explained, noting that she shows the videos during the allotted time students have to pack up.

She further added that none of her students take the bus, so making them late for pickup is not a concern. Additionally, Sara said she has yet to receive complaints from parents about the routine.

When one user asked Sara why she didn't communicate this all in the video, she wrote: "That’s OK! People jump to conclusions all the time anyways."