--- description: Find out why SL Rockfish is one of the 100 most influential digital voices of 2025. title: SL Rockfish: TIME100 Creators 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d9b82785e7d0b79/6998c82025f3eeb054644d0a/TIME100-Creators-2025-Sarah-Roecklein-EnglishMakesNoSense-086.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 09, 2025 # SL Rockfish @englishmakesnosense by Hilton Dresden  Courtesy Sarah Roecklein Why do words that end in _\-ough_ have so many pronunciations? What’s the deal with the different ways to say the word _read_? And how, exactly, do you say _Worcestershire_? Anyone who speaks English knows a universal truth: the [language](https://time.com/5629246/because-internet-book-review/ "undefined") is deeply confusing. Milwaukee educator turned TikTok teacher Sarah Roecklein—known online as SL Rockfish—is here to help. On her @englishmakesnosense account, she breaks down the oddities of grammar, idioms, and pronunciation with clarity and humor. A 20-plus-year veteran of Milwaukee Public Schools, Roecklein joined TikTok in 2020 and started sharing accessible educational videos that March, just as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered classrooms and pushed students into remote learning. Her content met the moment, but she didn’t stop when lockdown ended; instead, her focus sharpened and her audience grew. Today, the 61-year-old has 2.1 million followers across [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@englishmakesnosense?lang=en "undefined") and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/englishmakesnosense/?hl=en "undefined"), and in early 2025, TikTok included her on its global Discover List of creators to [watch](https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/the-discover-list-meet-the-2025-tiktok-creators-to-watch "undefined"). _Data and insights powered by #paid_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299174/sl-rockfish/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299174/sl-rockfish/"},"headline":"SL Rockfish","datePublished":"2025-07-09T11:27:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:50:41.941Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299174/sl-rockfish/","keywords":["Social Media","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d9b82785e7d0b79/6998c82025f3eeb054644d0a/TIME100-Creators-2025-Sarah-Roecklein-EnglishMakesNoSense-086.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d9b82785e7d0b79/6998c82025f3eeb054644d0a/TIME100-Creators-2025-Sarah-Roecklein-EnglishMakesNoSense-086.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-creators-2025/7299174/sl-rockfish/","name":"SL Rockfish"}}]}] ```