Miss P. Affirms Potty Mouth Student With Motivation

During Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, a Georgia kindergarten teacher at the Barack Obama Elementary Magnet School of Technology shared an awkwardly hilarious video of her student mouthing the word shit in a word rhyming lesson. 

On May 9, Anyunna Phillips, also known by her students as Miss P., posted an Instagram clip of a teaching moment that she deemed “highlights the teacher experience.”  

“My boy understood the assignment and got extra credit,” Miss P. wrote in the caption of the reel, referring to the extra credit lesson.

Since day three of Teacher Appreciation Week, the Instagram video has garnered nearly 2 million views.

The video shows the passionate educator pointing at the classroom board as she reads off words that rhyme with one another. While seated, her elementary students prepare to raise their little hands in the air to answer Miss P.’s rhyming question. 

Miss P. begins the clip by saying, “Sit, wit, hit, it…” She wants a student to name a word that rhymes with the aforementioned words, so students strike their hands high. Eventually, Miss P. calls on an emboldened student whose face is not in the video frame. The eager response not only took on the challenge but stunned his teacher and over a million viewers.

The young boy then replied, “Shit.”

“Shit,” Miss P. repeated twice, struggling to find other words. 

To shake off the awkwardness, the mother of three breaks the silence, declaring, “That does rhyme, baby! Good job.” After congratulating the young student with a high five, Miss P. teaches a different lesson than originally planned.

“We’re [going to] leave that one off. That is a rhyming word, though. Let’s go to another one,” Miss P. encouraged her kindergarten students with a chuckle.

However, while the uneasy teacher attempts to change course, another sweet voice is heard saying, “I talk shit.” In response, little faces turn their heads in shock.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, the comments section praises Miss P. for her affirming teaching methods. 

“Don’t ever let that teacher go!! She motivates the future regardless, and you don’t get that everywhere,” one commenter proclaimed.

Another supporter said, “This will FOREVER be my Favorite! Like FOREVER. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Great job affirming. He definitely understood the assignment.”

“What a great teacher!!! Made the little one feel listened to, made sure she knew she did right, and was able to put the whole word behind them without ridicule from the other kids nor make it funny or an important word,” a third commenter acclaimed. 

From reciting affirmations to setting the tone of the day,  Miss P. shares snippets of her classroom life with nearly 300,000 followers through her @cool.missp Instagram account.

A National Teaching Award nominee, Miss P. hails from Decatur, Ga. She credits her mom and grandmother with a joyous and prayerful childhood that instilled confidence and empowerment. On her journey to education, Miss P. takes pride in the “heart work” that it takes to be an educator and a mother to three kids. 

“I have been an elementary educator for eight years, and I’ve loved every moment of it,” the Atlanta-based schoolteacher told Shout Out Atlanta in October 2023. “Now, some moments can be pretty tough, but I am grateful for them all. My relationships with students [are] what sets me apart from other teachers. I have a genuine love for those little people. I have a genuine love for the people that they love, too.”

She continued, “I got to where I am professionally due to my heart. Honestly, that’s all it is to that. It’s hard work, but it’s heart work. It’s literally [the] work of my heart, challenging, difficult, draining yet so rewarding.”

Great job, Miss P.! We celebrate you.