Teacher’s pets: Teacher becomes online hit with guinea pig geography lessons
A primary school teacher has become an online hit with her geography lessons using guinea pigs.
The 20-minute-long video lessons show teacher Marta Łapińska-Kubiak from Poznań using maps, globes and presentations while her two pet guinea pigs Leoś and Sobieś wander across continents asking questions which she then answers.
With the voice of Marta Łapińska-Kubiak’s husband, the guinea pigs comment on topics and ask questions, turning a potentially dry lecture into fun learning.
At other times the animals play hide-and-seek which Łapińska-Kubiak uses to teach her students how to read geographic coordinates.
The endearing videos entitled "Geography with guinea pigs" became an instant hit with the first one being watched by over 30,000 people.
Stunned Łapińska-Kubiak said: “It began with my husband just sitting with our guinea pigs on his lap and for a joke he decided to give them voices, as if they were my students and asked me various questions, both funny and serious.
“There was a lot of laughter and my husband began to convince me that the kids would be delighted if I sent them such a lesson with pigs.
“I thought he was joking, but when we watched the recording again, I admitted that in fact it might appeal.”
Geography teacher Łapińska-Kubiak has now been flooded with praise.
Łapińska-Kubiak has now been flooded with praise not only from her students but from other students too, including their parents and even university students.
One delighted mum posted on social media: “My son is delighted (class III), he got it all and now he is sitting in his room with a globe :) congratulations on a fantastic idea.”
Another wrote: “Cool. My daughter is impatient with geography, and you watch the videos with amusement (we have 3 piglets ourselves).”
The 20-minute-long video lessons show teacher Marta Łapińska-Kubiak using maps, globes and presentations while her two pet guinea pigs Leoś and Sobieś wander across continents asking questions which she then answers.
While one envious pupil commented: “World championship. I wish I had such lessons.”
Łapińska-Kubiak says she is now preparing more lessons and if they continue to be popular she will be continue even after the return to traditional school learning once the epidemic ends.
To see all four of the guinea pig lessons, click here.
