[Weekly Inspiration] 4 Viral Education Moments You Won’t Want to Miss

As winter break comes to an end and you start looking forward to 2020, take a look back at the incredible and inspiring moments in education that went viral in 2019 and warmed the hearts of everyone across the internet.

Taking Physics to the Next Level

Professor David Wright at Tidewater Community College in Virginia proves there’s nothing he won’t do to get his students excited about physics. Whether it’s making ice cream from liquid nitrogen or lying on a bed of nails, he goes above and beyond – and his students love him for it.

Y’all need to see this video collage of all the crazy things my Physics Professor did this semester. He’s in his 70s and is still doing all of this for us pic.twitter.com/JaICjzVB5I

— Erica (@its_riccaa) December 11, 2019

TikToking History

TikTok is the newest social media to capture the attention of young people across the United States. Thanks to a Twitter thread by user Nadia Jaferey, we’re learning that some students are using the platform to create creative and relatable takes on world history. Check out the 10-15 second student takes on topics like the German Occupation of Belgium, 1914 and the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 1941.

german occupation of belgium, 1914 pic.twitter.com/nPmuUjCSk4

— nadia (@nadiajaferey) October 25, 2019

Slang Dictionary

James Callahan at Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts knows how hard it is to keep up with the slang students are using these days. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and create a running list of unfamiliar terms used by his students along with short definitions. The idea quickly went viral, and what can we say? We got inspired. Check out our mini-slang dictionary here.

Chart-topping Remixes

When Raj Mathai posted the video of Dorothy Mallari’s second graders at Los Medanos Elementary School in Pittsburg, California singing, “I just took an ELA test, turns out I’m 100% that smart” their school-friendly take on Lizzo’s #1 song, Truth Hurts – Lizzo herself responded. And that’s not the only viral school-friendly remix of 2019, search for student versions of Old Town Road on YouTube, and you won’t be disappointed. Check out EdOptions Academy teacher Michaela Kenon’s version below!

There are so many awesome viral teacher moments that captured the heart of the internet in 2019. Take a look at a few more of on NPR’s viral classroom roundup.