Education weekly wrap up

Education and youth finds

Here are soem things I found interesting last week

Schools given help to cut carbon footprint

Do you know how to Glog? Creativity in the classroom: Glogster Tutorial

Quick step to ‘better behaviour’

Schools ‘need business managers’

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How Schools need to change

How Education is failing our children

As many of you know I am passionate about our education changing to be more in line with how modern day youth thinks and acts. One of my objectives is to create a “youth friendly policy” for schools. I was laughing out loud last night when I watched the news and heard the Head Teachers association saying how “un-fair” it was their schools are to be given grades, saying this would not show the full picture as things are much more complication. They can say this and continue to test our children and give them grades – seems hypocritical to me. one rule for one and another for someone else.

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Education and Exercise

Get your students moving

I do believe that a lot of current schooling is failing our young people. It feels, in some cases, that schools have gone backwards in their approach to young people and that despite lots of innovations in education, it feels as if we are no further forward in our approach to education.

As I sit here looking at my bookshelf I am reminded of two books that I really must read, Spark and Brain Rules, which both talk about the effect of exercise on learning. Currently, in the UK, most schools are cutting down on exercise in the curriculum and exercise; it appears to be of secondary importance to results and achievement. And then we wonder why we have an obesity problem among our children. However, there are pockets of amazing things happening, like one school in America that ensures every student has PE each day and has including PE-ready sessions before remedial Maths and English, with incredible results.

Here is why exercise needs to be incorporated into education, study plans and anything to do with learning.

1. Aerobic exercise produces new cells
2. Exercise produces a hormone that is like Miracle Grow for the brain
3. Exercise produces serotonin which helps with memory
4. Exercise produces dopamine that makes us feel happier
5. Exercise produces a hormone that helps with energy
6. The hormones released by exercise are the chemicals that are contained in drugs given to students with ADD.
7. Exercise helps the mood and cognitive ability of students
8. 20 minutes is the maximum one should be sitting still, focused on one thing. This should be followed by a 10-minute exercise break
10. Exercise improves self-esteem
11. Having children exercise before exams can improve their results by 20%

4 tips Schools can give to Parents

Getting your Teen Exercising

1. Have your child walk to school or exercise before school if possible
2. Make sure their breakfast is one that produces glucose
3. Have them exercise before doing homework and take a brain break every 20 minutes
4. Study plans to include exercise and diet as part of the process.

What can schools do to get children moving?

Watch this video and get this book or also listen to this podcast