By Beth Lawing, Middle School seventh-grade science teacher
At the Middle School, we have been incredibly fortunate to enjoy the company of several medical professional parents who have graciously offered their time and talents to our seventh graders. Ten members of the Country Day community, including parents from the Class of 2031, have visited/will visit science classes to share valuable information about their chosen profession, along with medical insights into how the human body works.
The experience of having doctors and nurses teach in engaging, interactive ways has been highly beneficial for our young scientists. All the guest speakers have successfully bridged the gap between theoretical science and real-world, hands-on learning. In addition, the visits have boosted some students’ interest in health-related careers. After each visit, all students wrote thank-you notes, expressing what they enjoyed most about the experience. We hope that by planting seeds of interest, our students will be more motivated to learn first aid, join the Pre-Health Club in Upper School, or even pursue STEM-related coursework in the future. Interestingly, the physician parents kept thanking us for inviting them to come and share what they know! It is clear that parents and students alike thoroughly enjoyed this partnership.
Here’s what some seventh-grade volunteers shared in writing about having these parent speakers visit their science classrooms:
- “Having these experienced medical doctors come to teach new and fascinating things has been such a joyful and meaningful experience.” -Meera Vishwanathan
- “It has been truly inspiring to learn about all the hard work that doctors put in.” -Anna Clary Weindruch
- “Having these 10 doctors come in has made a huge impact on my learning. This really challenged me to learn more in-depth about the body systems. Thank you to all!” -Betsy Byrne
- “I felt like all of the medical professionals were very neat and they highly expanded my comfort zone.” -Witt Stauffer
- “Having professionals come and help teach us about what we are learning in class was a surreal experience. Learning about what they did for their jobs literally blew my mind and made me more interested in medicine.” -Maddie Heintschel
What Students Learned From the Guest Speakers
Sara Linn, NICU Nurse and Red Cross Instructor: While we were studying the digestive and respiratory systems, Sara taught our students choking signs and how to perform abdominal thrusts when help is needed. Since a number of our students babysit outside of school, she also explained how to administer aid to a choking baby or small toddler. Additionally, Sara explained the biology behind why her premature babies at the hospital have difficulty breathing. Sara returned to our classroom two months later to assist the seventh graders with their sheep's eyeball dissection during their unit on Light and Sound.
Dr. Ilka Theruvath, Pediatric Anesthesiologist: Dr. Ilka Theruvath delivered an informative presentation on how the respiratory system works. She explained how she helps her patients continue to breathe even when they are heavily sedated under anesthesia. She also took time to teach the biology behind the condition called “popcorn lung” to stress why smoking and vaping are so detrimental to one’s health. The students delighted in Dr. T’s hands-on activity because she walked them through the basic steps of intubating her patient dummy and then gave them time to practice.
Dr. Calli Wirsing, Pediatrician: While learning all about the Respiratory System, Dr. Wirsing let our students take turns measuring their breath volume so they could better understand how she determines whether her patients have conditions such as asthma or pneumonia.
Dr. Tom Theruvath, Cardiothoracic Surgeon: To assist us as we studied the Circulatory System, Dr. Tom Theruvath created a jaw-dropping "Day in the Life of a Cardiothoracic Surgeon” video. In the video, he invited us into his operating room alongside his medical team and then explained how he performed two different heart surgeries. Students watched him open a patient’s ribcage and remove a tumor. In the next surgery, Dr. T performed a bypass. Following the video, Dr. T let the students take turns performing chest compressions on a patient dummy in the event of a cardiac arrest.
Dr. Aaron Prosnitz, Pediatric Cardiologist: As an expert on the circulatory system, Dr. P explained the anatomy of the heart to our students as well as the role that interdependence plays on the heart and the lungs.
Dr. George Manousos, Pediatrician: Kids often wonder why they get sick, so Dr. M visited during our unit on the immune system to help them uncover the answers. He presented insights into the body's different levels of defense and how to prevent illness. Additionally, he shrewdly demonstrated to the students how easily diseases spread. He accomplished his goal by "contaminating their candy.” At the start of class, Dr. M passed out bagged candy that he had actually “laced” ahead of time with a special, non-toxic infrared powder called Germ Spreader. When we turned off the lights and turned on our ultraviolet flashlights, students spotted invisible invaders lurking on their hands, their desks, and their chairs!
Dr. Omar Punjabi, Retina Surgeon: During our Sound and Light Unit, Dr. Punjabi spent two days with our students discussing eye anatomy. He also assisted the students with their sheep's eye dissection. Students were awestruck to learn that his associates had once encountered a patient who had been spreading mulch and was stung in the eye by a fly. Unfortunately, the fly inserted its larvae into the patient’s eye, resulting in the formation of a maggot that began to wreak havoc, “swimming” inside the eye! It turns out that solving this unique problem requires lasering the maggot! (And we apologize in advance if your children flat-out refuse to help you spread mulch in your yard).
Dr. Gina Voci, Emergency Medicine Physician (coming April 30) will teach us about the brain and the spine (including how injuries can occur) during our unit on the nervous system. We will use her knowledge as inspiration to help us design and engineer our own bike helmets for crash testing.
Dr. Amy McLaughlin, ER doctor (coming May 4) is returning this year to discuss brain injuries in the ER to help us better understand our unit on the nervous system. If a child has suffered a brain injury from a bike accident, what does she think about in the heat of the moment in the ER as she makes her diagnosis? How are the brain scans different for the patient who is wearing a helmet (concussion) versus the patient who is NOT wearing a helmet (brain bleed)? How does their treatment differ?
Jason Farmer and Jessica Raynor, MS Trainers (coming May 5): Back by popular demand, our own middle-school trainer, Jason Farmer, will be returning to seventh grade to explain exactly what concussions are and how they present. Alongside his new assistant, Jessica Raynor, our trainers will explain what the protocol is for returning to play at Country Day.
By bringing medical professionals directly to our seventh graders, these visits did more than just teach anatomy. These captivating talks and demonstrations sparked curiosity and a sense of wonder through truly memorable lessons. We are incredibly grateful for this collaboration because it left everyone feeling inspired and informed. We sincerely hope to make these interactive experiences a recurring highlight in our seventh-grade science curriculum.