When one’s students are in trouble and time is running out, devoted teachers make it their mission to do everything in their power to reach and assist their learners. And this is exactly what Orcilla Giliomee, or Mrs OMG (as she is known on her YouTube channel), did.
As a mother, full-time English teacher at Despatch High School and online educator extraordinaire, Orcilla isn’t scared of a challenge.
The idea of starting an educational YouTube channel started during COVID-19. “I became so concerned about the great amount of teaching time that went to waste during Covid that I had to come up with a plan to support my Grade 12 learners.”
By that time, Orcilla had already made use of WhatsApp groups to keep in contact with her students. This was a great way to provide explanations and answers to learners’ questions; a means through which all learners could benefit.
The Mrs OMG Extraordinary English channel was launched just before the matric exam in 2021.
“My very first recorded lessons dealt with the active and passive voice and direct and reported speech. Those basic grammatical concepts that learners often struggle with.”
The year following Covid was also not an easy one for Grade 12 pupils. So Orcilla came up with another plan. At first, she recorded her readings of the prescribed short stories online.
“To be honest,” she adds with a smile. “This also benefited me. If my students in class forgot their books, I could just play them my recording in class, rather than reading the same story to two different classes on one day.”
When one of her subscribers asked her whether she could record more lessons, focusing on the analysis and discussion of short stories, Orcilla made sure that all the discussions relating to the short stories were online by the time it was the 2022 September exams.
“And still every year, with Final Senior Certificate students writing and rewriting exams, I have seen an increase in the subscriber count. People are still using these videos I never planned on making!”
With short stories for other grades as well, valuable information on how to write brilliant essays and other helpful lessons, Mrs OMG is definitely hitting the mark.
“What I love most about my channel is the positive feedback and delightful comments I receive from my subscribers who are so grateful that there is someone out there who can give them that extra academic support they need. It truly is a humbling experience. This is, after all, why I became a teacher: to invest in learners’ futures and, hopefully, play a part in their successes one day.”
And where does her online name come from? “Those are actually my initials which I always sign my students’ work off with. In 2014, my then matric class started calling me Mrs OMG.” Little did they know that they’d created her future brand name.
But fulfilling her calling as a teacher is what keeps her on track. “What ultimately inspires me is to teach, to interact with and form positive relationships with my pupils.”
For Orcilla, life-long learning is key. “I always say: if you’ve learned even only one thing during your day, the day has not been wasted.”
And so, she is always thinking of creative ways in which to reach others and add yet another string to her bow.
“I am currently busy with a new cycle of short stories and embarking on launching another YouTube channel, called TheTeacherMom.”
What started out as a shot in the dark and a blind leap into cyberspace turned out to be a successful venture; a lifeline for so many children and young adults stretching all over the country and all around the globe.
