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Teacher Berhanu Dallas shares funny video about being a "school dad" to students.

Teachers wear many hats besides 'educator.' For high school teacher Berhanu Dallas (@_b.dallas) at Forest Park High School in Clayton County, Georgia, stepping up and into the role of "school dad" for many of his female students has been his most interesting hat so far.

Mr. Dallas, who refers to himself as "more than a teacher," shared the hilarious realities of what it takes to be a father figure to the ladies in his classes. From dealing with boyfriends, breakups, bad hair days, and more, it's a role filled with duties he never realized he would have.

"When you have over 50 daughters...," he captioned the video. It begins with one of his students bringing her new boyfriend into his classroom for him to meet, and he immediately tells her, "Try again."

@_b.dallas

When you have over 50 daughters...#trending #atlanta #fyp #highschool #teachersoftiktok #morethanateacher #drdrip #teacherlife

In the next clip, another student comes to talk with him at his desk, complaining to him that her boyfriend didn't get her anything for her birthday. Without even looking up, Mr. Dallas hands her a Stanley-esque water bottle that has a shiny red bow attached. (As a "student dad" he is always prepared with gifts when others fumble.)

The video cuts to another student grooving behind Mr. Dallas, as he holds up a sign that says 'Please Forgive Her,' with a broken heart in the lower right corner. He says to the camera, "Please take her back." (As a "student dad," he's there to help his students with their love lives.)

@_b.dallas

Who remembers these days? #morethanateacher #teacherlife #teachersoftiktok #teacherfunny #trending #highschool #fyp #claytoncounty #drdrip #relationshipgoals #breakup

In the next funny clip, the same girl who brought her boyfriend in the first scene is back with another boy for him to approve of, asking Mr. Dallas, "What about this one?" He gives a one-word response, "Nope." Then, in a quick shot, Mr. Dallas is seen handing some money to a student in need, before another student walks into his room with a tummy-bearing top. He immediately tells her, "No ma'am, put some clothes on!"

As if the bit couldn't get funnier, the same student from previous clips wrangles up another boy to bring to Mr. Dallas, asking him, "What about him?" Mr. Dallas quips, "Uh-uh." She even comes back a fourth time, and Mr. Dallas is not having it.

@_b.dallas

They really like this, and we love it! #morethanateacher #teacherlife #teachersoftiktok #teacherfunny #trending #highschool #fyp #trending #drdrip

When another students tells him that she is "having a really bad day," he's got a bouquet of roses ready to go in his desk for her. And when another begs him for help because she needs her hair done, he's prepared: he pulls out a wig from his desk drawer and hands it to her. In a final hilarious scene, a teary-eyed student shares that she was broken up with–and Mr. Dallas has a belt in his hand as he asks her, "Where is he?"

Although they can be demanding, test his patience, and bleed him dry of funds–he wouldn't have it any other way. Mr. Dallas has gained a following on social media for his funny, day-in-the-life videos that have shown his care and investment for all of his students.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Earlier this year, he appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show to share more about what his teaching experience has been like. He explained that he has been teaching for eight years, but he hated it at the beginning.

"When I first started teaching, I went in with an iron fist," he told Hudson. It was a method that didn't work, adding that many of his students come from difficult backgrounds and trauma. He felt disconnected from his students, until tragedy struck in his own life: his wife of 10 years passed away two years ago. It changed his perspective. "Now I'm in their shoes. I need someone to talk to. I need someone to understand me. So now I understood where they were," he said.

He decided to be "more than a teacher." He started sharing more about himself with his students: his kids, his hobbies, and who he was outside the classroom. On his classroom door, he shares an important message: "When you enter you are able. You are smart. You are loved. You are great. You are why I am here! Be exceptional."

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Everyone brought their own tea.

As you start to get older, it's inevitable that your birthday begins to lose a bit of luster. Sometimes it's because of the other things you have going on in life. Parents usually focus more on their kids' birthdays and holidays, so their own birthdays become a bit of an afterthought. Others just get tired of doing the same kind of things year after year: throwing an unimaginative party to celebrate getting a year older. Yay, I guess? There's also the small matter of our diverse relationships. Most of us have different friend groups, family, in-laws—what are we supposed to do? Mix them all together in an awkward stew of forced small talk?

And let's not even get started on presents. What does a 30- or 40-something-year-old really need when it comes to birthday presents? Maybe something meaningful or thoughtful from a spouse or a close loved one, but certainly most adults have no desire for all their friends to shower them with random gifts they don't want, need, or could buy themselves.

One woman, Liz Migliaccio, decided to reimagine the grown-up birthday party. For her 36th, she invited all her family and close friends and asked them, in lieu of gifts, to bring something far more interesting.

Migliaccio and her wife, Cayla DeRegis, recounted the invitation to Newsweek:

"For my birthday...join me for some cozy wine and please come tell me your insane co-worker gossip or how your boss is the worst," it read. "Regale me with your salacious romantic encounter or unhinged dating story. Get really detailed about someone else's business and we can full form opinions that no one asked for. I'm 36—the world's hottest age and hot people like hot gossip."

It was a clever way of throwing an entertaining party with family and friends from all walks of life, all while giving the strangers in attendance good icebreakers with one another. As seen in a now-viral TikTok from DeRegis, guests took turns spilling their juiciest bit of tea. The party go-ers are absolutely rapt as you can see in the clip:

@cayladeregis

the greatest gift there is ☕️

11 million people watched the video on TikTok, with commenters unanimously agree: The 'tea party' was absolutely genius.

In the interview with Newsweek, Migliaccio said the best story of the night came from a guest who attended a wedding that never happened.

"A friend of a friend went to a family wedding a while back," Migliaccio said. "[She] had to go buy a long-sleeve dress for the wedding. As the receipt is being printed out, she gets a text that the ceremony is being called off, and instead, the bride and groom are just going to 'celebrate their relationship. ... They got there and found out the bride and her family weren't coming anymore so it ended up just being a celebration of him. My friend said it was the most over-the-top, beautiful wedding she'd ever been to but there was no bride."

gossip, gossip girl, leighton meester, rumors, storytelling, entertainment, dramaThis explains the popularity of Gossip GirlGiphy

Other guests brought stories of dramatic breakups and relationship scandal. Others brought their best watercooler gossip from work. Every single person in attendance was entertained. So were the viewers and commenters on TikTok:

"In this economy this is the best gift to bring"

"I can feel how HEAVY the tea is through the screen"

"You know it’s crazy tea when people have empty glasses but are INVESTED in the story"

"I LOVE this concept- this would make me want to go to a party ... just be messy and then go home to my drama free life"

Dozens of users claimed they would be stealing this idea for their own parties in the near future.

Why is the gossip party such a brilliant idea? It comes down to the power of storytelling.

It's really stressful and challenging to mingle with people you don't know well or at all, whether you're dragged along to a spouse's work event or attending a party where the guest of honor has several different friend groups. It can be tough to find enough to talk about beyond just surface level small talk.

But one thing all human beings have in common is that we love stories. Not only is a great story super entertaining (even one about mundane but juicy everyday drama), studies show our brain activity syncs up with others when they tell us a story. That's something small talk and get-to-know-you chat can't achieve. So, the genius of the Tea Party is that it offers every guest a perfect icebreaker with all the others, lots of laughs, and a feeling of having made great connections with the other guests by the end of the night.

I think most people on their birthdays just want everyone to have a great time celebrating them with no drama. Well, maybe just a little bit of drama.

Humor

Comedian's hilarious raps get nursing home residents grooving any way they can

Pauline Schantzer (aka Polly Wolly) created "The Finger Dance" so those in wheelchairs can groove.

therealpollywolly/Instagram

Comedian Polly Wolly raps and dances with nursing home residents.

You're never too old to sing or dance. And Los Angeles-based comedianomedian Pauline Schantzer (@therealpollywolly) is making it her mission to keep residents in nursing homes doing both. The actress, writer and rapper (aka Polly Wolly) has been bringing her beats, songs and dance moves to nursing and assisted living homes, inspiring them to live it up and find joy.

"I started performing in nursing homes in November 2023," Polly tells Upworthy.

She got connected with her first nursing home via her friend, Rena Hirsch, who was the director of the nursing home that first booked Polly. "At first I didn't plan to pursue [work] in nursing homes. But I grew up going to see my grandma in the nursing home, and my mom Judy who is my comedic inspiration also lives in an assisted living home," she shares. "She has minor dementia, so it means a lot to me to give people laughter. My mom used to be full of laughs and jokes, and she's lost that. So it's been really tough on me to experience that. And humor is how I've dealt with it."

Understanding her audience, Polly recently created a song called "The Finger Dance" that allows everyone to get dancing, including those in wheel chairs. In the video, Polly raps and sings as she interacts with the residents. "In the wheelchair, let's groove! What's that button do? Oh ooh. It's electric, vroom vroom. Can't get up? That's fine! Put your fingers up real high, aye!" she raps and sings in the video.

She continues, "Move it from side to side. Yeah girl, looking real fly! Aye! Shake them fingers, don't be shy. You got arthritis? Come on just try!" Polly pans the camera to the small crowd, who have their fingers up and are grooving along with her.

The sweet video got tons of supportive comments from viewers. "Ur in those homes everyday! I love it! Respect what you do so much, laughter is the best medicine," one wrote. Another added, "👏👏 I love how you bring a moment of happiness and joy to our seniors !! ♥️" And another viewer shared, "You've got me over here doing the finger dance at my desk while at work. Lol."

Polly adds, "I wrote this song, 'The Finger Dance' because my mom always did this dance [with her fingers]. She was so cute, she was overweight and her cheeks would look all chubby and she'd point her fingers up in the air. It was inspired by her."

In another post, Polly performed another original song in another assisted living home, encouraging everyone to dance through their aches and pains with more funny lyrics. "You got aches, you got pains, da da da da da da. So groove with your cane, da da da da da da da." And viewers noted that her performance was "100x better than Coachella" and "Next stop…Coachella."

Another bop she created is called "Shake It Doll", and it's a banger that has consistently put smiles on faces when she performs it. During a recent show, she told the crowd, "Let's get wild up in here, you know? We only live once. Let's do it!" she said as the song started. "Shake it doll, shake it at the mall! Shake it doll in the bathroom stall!" The beat is irresistible, and in the video Polly dances alongside an enthusiastic woman.

"It makes me really happy to see the residents really enjoy it. A lot of times they will first refuse to dance and enjoy. But when I get a man or woman who doesn't [initially] want to dance to suddenly get up and move, it means so much to me," says Polly.

She has big plans for the future and reaching more residents in nursing and assisted living homes. "I would love to do a nursing home tour around the United States. I have a lot of big visions for it," she says. "It really warms my heart a lot seeing how many people around the world tell me how much I'm making their day and giving joy to them. It means so much to me to see people have laughter. That's what life's about."

TikTok

Gareth Reynolds and his mom

Gareth Reynolds, stand-up comic and co-host of the popular podcast The Dollop (alongside comedian Dave Anthony,) is one of the funniest working comics out there. His jokes are stellar, but it's the improvised audience reactions that really resonate with tons of fans.

At a recent comedy show in Eugene, Oregon, he asks an audience member, "What do you got?" (after presumably talking about pets). A woman answers that she has a dog. But what she says next is bizarre, hilarious, and completely unexpected, even for the most seasoned comedians. "She's a weiner-pit. Like your mom." She then elicits a self-satisfied laugh, like she's been waiting forever to say those words.


@reynoldsgareth

Unbelievable. #weinerpit Garethreynolds.com for tickets to all upcoming shows

It takes the audience a minute to even understand what just happened, but shortly after, they begin laughing. Gareth responds, "What the F---?" and the audience goes wild. He gathers himself and says, "Let me walk you through my favorite part of what just happened. First of all, the no waiting for me to respond at any time." He then makes punching gestures and says, "But also. She took her mask off like Maverick does in Top Gun." He mimes ripping a mask off and says, calmly — 'Weiner pit. Like your mom.' And then put it back on like her mission was done."

It's later that the real comedy gold is mined. Gareth decides to show his mother, Pam, the video, explaining, "You're involved in this. I want to get your reaction." She watches the clip a couple of times, while holding a small fan to her face. Gareth repeats the line, "She's a weiner pit. Like your mom."

Video may not be suitable for younger readers.

@reynoldsgareth

My mom’s reaction to being called a weiner pit…

Pam busts out laughing in the most adorable way — her English accent only making it all the more delightful. "That's really funny! A weiner-pit! Like your mom?" She then stops for a moment and asks, "Do you think she's trying to be rude?" Gareth explains that yes, she was trying to be rude, to which Pam questions, "So what does she think, I'm like a little pit bull?"

Gareth pauses. "Oh Mom. No. Think about it. A weiner pit." The words are said a few more times until Pam has an "aha!" moment. "Oh like a willy!" This is affirmed. "But where's the pit?" Gareth, in the most gracious way possible, says — "You are the pit."

Pam, still a bit confused, repeats, "Willy pit," followed by the most engaging giggle, possibly ever heard. Gareth realizes he must further explain, which he does. "Not as funny now, is it?"

She looks up at him again, still smiling. "That IS rude. Well, I think I'll have to track her down, have a word with her, tell her it's not true." Never once does Pam break her grin.

Upworthy spoke to Gareth, who admits that he had no idea the fan had planned to heckle him, or as he put it (referencing his boxing metaphor earlier,) do a "rope-a-dope." With regard to his mom, he shares, "She is always this adorable and I rarely show her stuff. Sometimes my family will show her a thing, or if it involves my family, I'll show her."

Though back in 2020, Gareth shares, "I did a whole series with her called Pamdemics." This made the already popular comedy-mom even more lovable to his fans, and he knows just when to use it. And although Gareth might be biased, after being asked what else he has to say about his mom, his answer is what many of us might be thinking: "I guess only that my mother is truly the loveliest."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com