Tennis legend Andre Agassi is trying to teach kids to read in a new, very fascinating way.
He may have retired from tennis nearly a decade ago, but his passion for education remains strong as ever.
Tennis legend Andre Agassi spent his 21-year career schooling opponents on the court.
In that span, he and his unstoppable backhand shot took home 60 titles — eight of them Grand Slams. It's no wonder he's considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
Andre Agassi during the 1988 U.S. Open Tennis Championship. Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images.
In 1994, he created the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education.
Since its beginning, the group — which began as the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation — has raised more than $180 million to put toward educational endeavors, opening the Las Vegas-based charter school Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in 2001.
\n\nIn an interview with People magazine, Agassi explains that his passion for education came from his own lack of one. When he was 13, he was pulled from regular school and sent to a tennis academy. While he found massive success on the court, he couldn't help but wonder what his life would have been like had he not.
\n\n\n\n\n\n"I didn't have a choice in my life," he told People. "I just focused on tennis. And the thought of what would have happened had I not succeeded was kind of overwhelming."
Agassi during a tour of his foundation's school in 2010. Photo by Sam Morris/Getty Images.
Understanding the basics of language at an early age is key in preparing students for long-term success.
Educators around the world agree: Early years in a child's development are crucial to eventual mastering of language skills. At a young age, children's brains are more sponge-like than ever, making it so important to make the most of the brain's unique ability to develop new skills during this time.
\n\nWhat we're seeing is that a startling number of kids across the country can't read at grade level. And that's why the Agassi Foundation's latest endeavor has them looking to a unique solution to this all-too-common problem by making the most of early brain development.
GIF via Square Panda.
Agassi teamed up with Square Panda, a startup that makes innovative, multi-sensory tablet workstations for students.
Square Panda was founded by Las Vegas entrepreneur Tom Boeckle, who points to his own childhood dyslexia as his passion fuel, inspiring his goal of creating something to save other children from the same embarrassment and frustration he experienced as a child.
\n\nThe company's core product is the Panda Playset, and Agassi says he believes it will revolutionize how kids learn to read, telling USA Today, "This is a perfect way to lead a kid into those early years of development that gives them a chance at a much better education."
Here's the Playset interface in action. GIF via Square Panda.
The Playset is what's called an "adaptive system," meaning that it tailors itself to the child.
It grows with the child, helping them learn how to differentiate letters and learn the mechanics of creating words through a multi-sensory experience. It's really cool.
\n\nAs various studies have illustrated the benefits of multi-sensory learning — especially during early brain development and especially when it comes to language skills — it seems like there's quite a bit of science to back the Playset's core premise.
Another look at the Playset in action. GIF via Square Panda.
Will this partnership be the education-redefining innovation Agassi hopes? We'll have to wait and see.
In the meantime, it's great to see that there are people seeking out new ways to teach the pillars of education.



A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
Gif of baby being baptized
Woman gives toddler a bath Canva


An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.