Caleb Henson, a high school teacher who went back to work after a long absence, brought tears to people’s eyes after sharing a heartwarming video on social media of his students reacting to his return. Henson, who has become immensely popular on TikTok for sharing clips from his classroom, said he hadn’t posted anything for a while because of a series of tragic events that caused him to miss four months of work.

As he returned to work in February and resumed his TikTok videos, the educator from Orange, Texas, said he has been grieving the loss of his mother, wife and newborn, who all died within a six-week time span. On his first day back to work, the Texas teacher captured the reactions of his students as they walked into their classroom and found their beloved educator.

“Today is my first day back at work with my students, so I’m gonna record their reaction with me being back,” Henson said in the video. “We’ll see how it goes.”

The students were clearly elated and stunned to see the teacher once again sitting at his desk.

“Oh My God. He’s back,” a pair of young men said ecstatically as they walked into class. “How have you been?”

More students expressed jubilation as they entered the room. Some giggled uncontrollably and gasped when they spotted their educator. One student froze when she saw Henson. She then remembered her teacher’s rule and set her backpack to the side before proceeding to her desk.

Another student walked in with her jaw literally dropping and her face turning red.

“I can’t talk,” the stunned student said when she saw the teacher.

Others were screaming and dashing to the teacher with their arms wide open.

Could you imagine this kind of loss and having to go back to work 😩 4 months aint long enough pic.twitter.com/DBJcI7H8rn

— Jay Elaine | Creative 🔌 (@realjayelaine) March 23, 2022