Veronica Duque wearing her famous anatomy suit
Being an educator in the American public school system is one of the hardest jobs in our nation. Not only is the work itself challenging, but with constant battles for educational funding and a student body increasingly tethered to their electronic devices, most teachers in America and around the world are navigating uncharted territory when it comes to finding ways to keep their students engaged in their studies.
And that's why when Verónica Duque came across a form-fitting, anatomical bodysuit while doing some online shopping, she thought it would be perfect visual aid to convey vital information (pun intended) to her students in Spain, in a way they'd actually remember.
Turns out, the entire internet would remember it too.
Duque's husband tweeted a collage of images from the classroom lesson, which quickly went viral, with nearly 70,000 likes. Loosely translated, the tweet from her husband Michael reads: "Very proud of this volcano of ideas that I am lucky to have as a wife. Today she explained the human body to her students in a very original way. Great Veronica !!!"
In an interview with Bored Panda, Duque explained the thought process that led her to presenting her third-grade-class with a unique approach to learning.
"I was surfing the internet when an ad of an AliExpress swimsuit popped up," she said. "Knowing how hard it is for kids this young to visualize the disposition of internal organs, I thought it was worth giving it a try."
This is a teacher who cares.
assets.rebelmouse.io
Online retailers like Amazon have a number of similar anatomical bodysuits for sale. While most people apparently purchase them for Halloween costumes or as gag gifts, it's now likely that Duque's viral moment will inspire some other educators around the world to take a similar approach to teaching the body basics to their students.
Halloween costume, check. Amazon
While some on Twitter were critical of the suit, the vast majority have praised Duque for her innovative approach to teaching. And the anatomical bodysuit is reportedly far from her first creative endeavor in the classroom.
"I decided long ago to use disguises for history lessons," she told Bored Panda. "I'm also using cardboard crowns for my students to learn grammatical categories such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Different grammar kingdoms, so to say."
And when it comes to the inevitable, made-up controversy that tends to latch itself onto virtually anyone that goes viral, Duque said she says there's another far more controversial stereotype she hopes her brief moment of fame will help address.
"I'd like society to stop considering teachers to be lazy bureaucratic public servants," she said. "We're certainly not." Get this teacher a raise!
What really works about Duque's presentation is that it engages students in a sensorial experiences, which helps lessons stick (and let's face it, anything that engages he sense nowadays is a godsend). But there are other methods teachers/parents can try that don't involve wearing a suit with guts on 'em.
Here are some suggestions for hands-on "DIY experiments", courtesy of the Little Medical School website:
1. Building the respiratory system by creating a model lung with straws, balloons, bottles, and duct tape
- YouTube www.youtube.com
2. Sculpting Body parts with Play Doh
(Grab free printable mats on 123Homeschool4Me)
- YouTube www.youtube.com
3. Build a functioning heart model
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Of course, these lessons are a little more geared towards younger students, but at the same time, it could provide some inspiration for how to get students more involved in their own learning, just like Duque did.
This article originally appeared six years ago.
via Canva/Photos
Dogs having fun at the dog park.
When you take your dog to a dog park or a doggy care, they are often divided by size. It makes sense; we don’t want our little chihuahua to defend itself if a giant Bull Mastiff gets angry at them. The rule of thumb is usually that dogs that are 35 pounds and under go to one side of the park, and those 36 and over head to the other. This helps to ease the friction between animals and owners as well.
However, Red Rover doggy daycare in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, takes a different approach to dividing the pooches at its facility, where pets can spend the day at doggy day care, spend a few nights in the boarding rooms, or get the "spaw" treatment. At Red Rover, they divide the dogs by energy levels so that the chill dogs don’t have to deal with a yappy pup hopping all over them or trying to get them to play. Its website says that Red Rover offers a “Temperament assessment of all dogs; small-sized play groups are assigned daily and contain only dogs of similar age, size and/or energy.”
The temperament assessment is working, evidenced by a recent TikTok post juxtaposing Side A, where the low-energy dogs chill, and Side B, where the high-energy pups play until they are entirely zonked. The video was a massive hit on TikTok, receiving over 1.1 million views.
@redroverhhi Can you tell the difference 😂? #dogsoftiktok #doggydaycare #dog #dogtok copied @Barkcollective
As you can see, the experiment has worked with both sides becoming a place to relax after the high-energy dogs completely wear themselves out."One group will usually be much higher energy with lots of various play going on, and the other will be pretty quiet and slow," Paige Grisette, the owner of Red Rover, told Newsweek. "The group sizes will vary widely, but it's also important to have a good person-to-dog ratio, which keeps groups (and management) safe."
"So A side it's actually B side after a few hours," Dani wrote in the comments, to which Grisette responded, "Yes." Another commenter wasn’t sure where her dog would fit. “My wee chihuahua cross is energy level B but would get flattened," Charlotte wrote. "We have a different group we call the “littles” for xsmall dogs that are hyper!" Grisette responded.
@redroverhhi some more good fur babies ❤️ #doggydaycare #dogsoftiktok #dog #dogtok #gooddog #fyp #fypシ
"Introverts vs extroverts," Damian wrote.
"Side A is for the dogs that made their owners think getting a second dog was a good idea, side B is full of the second dogs," Robert wrote.
"My dog is definitely a side B. Unfortunately, I am a side A," Miss Leonard wrote.
"This is honestly looking like the most effective sorting I've ever seen," Smart Idiot wrote.
"If daycares did that, my kids would be side B. So if i learnt anything is to never accept job offer for side B, it's exhausting," Serli wrote.
A happy dog.via Canva/Photos
Ultimately, the heartwarming takeaway from this story is that every dog, like every human, has their place in the world, and we will all feel and do our best when in the right environment to thrive. For some, that means hanging in the shade with the chill folks; for others, it means mixing it up and going hard with the fast crowd. But, in the end, we all eventually need to hang back and relax in the shade.
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Didn't have this on our bingo card for today
Nearly every parent on the planet can recall turning their back for literally two seconds and finding their toddler with something bizarre in their mouth. Little ones often engage in their curiosity by eating what they see—it’s just an innocent, albeit worrisome, way of learning more about the world around them.
And this is why literally millions of viewers couldn’t help but tune in as one mom, Natasha Emeny (@palominolil), showed the aftermath of walking in on her toddler Koah eating her father’s ashes. Yep, straight from the urn.
Emeny told DailyMail she had just gone upstairs to put some laundry away when she returned to discover the cremation catastrophe. This was especially mortifying, considering she had placed the ashes on a shelf well out of reach of her son, and it had been there for his entire life. Still toddlers are gonna toddler.
Hence, why we can hear Emeny screaming “Oh my God. When your son eats your dad.” We can also see a whimpering Koah, clearly aware he had done a bad, bad thing.
Hopefully, after the shock subsided, Emeny was able to take solace in some of the grade-A jokes bestowed upon her by folks who witnessed the whole thing on TikTok.
"Let us know if he starts acting like [your] dad."
“I don't think this is how reincarnation is supposed to work.”
"'When your son eats your dad' I hate when that happens."
“Well now you can also say to him when he's older, 'I can see a lot of your grandfather in you!'”
“‘I ate my grandfather’s ashes" is a killer opener to a college essay”
"Imagine how funny your speech at his wedding will be.”
Considering the video was posted on April 1st a few even wondered if this was a prank of some sort. To which Emeny replied, “I wish.”
Thankfully, she told DailyMail that Koah was “completely fine” after some water, and her father, who had a 'great' sense of humor, would have found the whole thing hilarious. So in a way, it was a bizarre source of connection.
“He never met him but now they are always together!”
A few days later, Emeny shared multiple selfies of her and her son, alive and well, and wrote in the caption: "Morning selfies from me and coco been a crazy 48 hours since this little one opened up my dads ashes 🙈"
TikTok · Tashjade
www.tiktok.com
It might be worth noting that Koah’s interest in the ashes could be related to pica, which causes kids and adults to crave non-food items like dirt, clay, paint chips, hair ,etc. It’s a serious issue, as it can cause a slew of health problems, and might be an indicator of developmental problems. That said, putting strange things in one’s mouth usually isn’t something related to pic for kids under two. Just something to be aware of.
For now, let’s just assume all is well, that it’ll never happen again, and thank our lucky stars it didn’t happen to us!
Canva Photos
Parenting coach urges parents who want a good relationship with their adult children to do these 7 things
My wife and I really love our kids. OK, that sounds obvious. But I guess what I really mean is that we like them. We always joke that we'd be totally OK if our kids lived with us forever, mooching off of our money and food and and hanging out with us forever and forever. Doesn't sound too bad to me!
We're mostly joking, of course. Obviously I want them to flourish in their own lives, find spouses and/or have children if that's what they want, seek success in their careers and have rich friendships and adventures all over the world. So I will probably have to settle for just having a good relationship with them, one that straddles the line between parent and friend just right.
I guess there's a downside to your kids living at home forever.
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When your kids are grown, you're not really their buddy or bestie, but you also have to take a step back from your full-time role as protector and teacher. You have to land in the sweet spot in between, and a lot of parents get this wrong, falling too far to one side or the other. Conflict can come from anywhere, from the adult children feeling overly criticized or controlled, to poor boundaries, to disagreements about modern vs old-school parenting/marriage/values.
Navigating these conflicts well is crucial, but the real work is done much, much earlier.
Reem Raouda, a Certified Conscious Parenting Coach and researcher, recently wrote about her observations after working with over 200 different families. She says the foundation for a good parent-adult child relationship begins in the early years.
Parents who are successful in this area do seven things early on when their kids are young. They're actually much harder than they sound.
A good relationship with your adult children starts here.
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
Let them know their feelings matter
You know the classic "husband mistake" where he wants to fix all his wife's problems instead of just letting her vent? Yeah, parents do that, too. As protectors and teachers, we rush to fix or offer solutions but often fail to acknowledge our kids' feelings. Raouda says making your children feel understood is a key building block to your relationship several years down the road.
Choose connection over control
Fear can be useful if your goal is to make sure your children do all their chores and never misbehave in front of you. But it's not going to serve your relationship into their adult years. A gentler approach based on listening and empathy, and one that deprioritizes obedience, is the better longterm strategy.
"When kids feel emotionally secure, they continue seeking your support well into adulthood," she writes.
Give them a voice in their own life
We try to do this as often as we can, so I know exactly how hard it is. Take summer camps — what I want to do is sign my kids up for the things I think will be good for them and the camps that will work well for my schedule. But they may have totally different ideas. Making space for what they want is time-consuming and annoying (they don't want to go to camp at all, or they want to go to a camp that doesn't exist), but is hugely important in giving them agency.
Don't force your son to play football just because you love it.
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Own your mistakes
This is a huge one, but very difficult to do! A lot of parents are too proud to apologize to their own children or they think it undermines them. It's difficult because when you treat another adult badly or say or do something you regret, you know you're going to have to apologize — but children can't hold you accountable in the same way. You have all the power and no one is going to make you say that you're sorry. But it's such an important lesson for them and it helps them see that your relationship isn't just about power.
"Children raised in homes where accountability is the norm don't fear making mistakes. Instead of hiding their struggles, they trust they can come to you without shame," Raouda says.
Make quality time together a daily habit
In one of my favorite articles, The Myth of Quality Time, Frank Bruni argues that it is impossible to create quality time. You can't schedule a big heart-to-heart or map out exactly when and where you and your child will open up to each other and share a moment. These things happen naturally and organically to people who spend a large quantity of time together. Get used to actually spending time together and it will pay off down the road with stronger connection.
Let them be themselves without judgment
We've all heard of the dad who forces his kids to play sports because that's what he wants them to do, or the mom who makes her daughter follow in her gymnastics footsteps. As you can imagine, your children will be much more comfortable around you as adults if you encourage their uniqueness and support them as they follow their own paths.
"When kids grow up feeling accepted," Raouda writes, "they won't have to choose between being themselves and staying close to you.
Protect the relationship over being right
It's OK to admit when you're wrong. In fact, it's critical.
Photo by Xavier Mouton Photographie on Unsplash
It's hard for adults to admit, but sometimes kids are right! You can probably bulldoze over them when they're young, but you're much better off allowing them to have a somewhat equal voice in your relationship. As Raouda says, "When kids know they can express themselves and still be loved and respected, they grow into adults who trust the relationship rather than fear it."
Other experts have written about this conundrum at length. One of the most counterintuitive pieces of advice is to not center your whole world around your children.
For all the effort that we want and need to pour into our relationships with out kids, it's ironically incredibly important that we have other things going on. After all, if we don't show them what a full life is supposed to look like, how are they supposed to create one?
Psychologist Henry Cloud writes: "A child needs to internalize a model of someone who has a life of her own. The parent whose life is centered around her children is influencing them to think that life is about either becoming a parent or being forever served by a parent. Let your child know you have interests and relationships that don’t involve her. Take trips without her. Show her that you take active responsibility in meeting your own needs and solving your own problems."
Unless, of course, you really do want them living at home and mooching off of you forever. But let's be real, that's probably not as great as it sounds.