Being an educator in this current political climate can be fraught with fear. While job security is paramount, so too is encouraging our students to think critically and to see the world beyond the biased version often presented to them by society. In this guest blog post an educator anonymously shares the fear felt as …
Virtual reality isn't coming to the health classroom....it's already here, and it might be the most engaging and realistic teaching experience that you aren't currently using. I recently asked teachers for health education predictions and I'm predicting that VR technology is eventually going to become commonplace, but are you ready for it? This week's blog …
You would think that teaching nutrition would be easy. It's something that our students have been doing since birth and yet, as with all topics that we teach in health, there is so much to consider if we want our lessons to be valuable and inclusive. This week's blog post considers just that and comes …
Continue reading Rethinking the way we talk about nutrition, body size, and health.
One constant in my life has been Hip Hop. I bought the Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five album The Message on cassette when I was 12, and nearly choked when a twentysomething on Twitter recently told me that people should check out Ja Rule because he's 'old school'. Classic hip hop artists are still …
Engaging instruction within a classroom that utilizes interactive and experiential methods is a recipe for success and one which places students firmly at the centre of the learning environment. If we want students to practice the skills that they have learned we need to bring our materials to life in ways in which students can …
Continue reading Gamification and Skills-Based Sexual Education
For me, Twitter has proven to be a constant source of inspiration and motivation and I continue to be thankful to the hundreds of teachers in my PLN who freely share what's going on in their classroom. Some share because they're proud of a success. Some share because they have an idea that is in …
In October 2019 I was fortunate enough to be asked to speak at the TEDx event at Barrington Area Library, with the event theme being community health. My message was in three parts - an apology for many of the bad practices from health class, a message of hope from the direction in which todays …
It can be difficult starting conversations with your students about sexual harassment, consent, staying safe and making value informed decisions. Recently I read Shafia Zaloom's wonderful book "Sex, Teens & Everything in Between" and was blown away not only by how accessible it was, but more specifically the engaging, and teen-friendly way in which she …
Autumnal viewing for the discerning #HealthEd teacher. Here's an update on a very popular series of #slowchathealth blog posts, which provide you with a list of 9 documentaries/shows, available to stream, that have a #HealthEd slant to them. Some I’ve seen, the rest are on my ‘watch list’. I’m not suggesting that you show these in your …
With hectic scheduling and constant teaching demands, teachers are turning to social media to meet urgent professional learning needs. Shutterstock Brendon Hyndman, Charles Sturt University Teachers are very busy workers with tightly packed schedules and regular engagement in work outside regular hours (such as for preparing lessons and marking). They have less time for breaks and …
I am extremely fortunate to work in a department surrounded by outstanding educators. I'm surrounded by State winning coaches, nationally recognized teachers, and a wealth of classroom experience. One such educator is my office-mate Dr. Kate Kalnes who is a fabulous teacher, role model, curriculum writer, international presenter and Mom - and she excels at …
Journaling has so many known benefits that I had no choice but to follow the advice of my awesome co-workers, who have journaled for a few years now, and introduce it to my #HealthEd students...and it's been a huge success. Provided with weekly, open-ended prompts, my students have embraced the time to sit and write …
Continue reading 10 Health and Well-being Perks of Journaling for Teenagers
One of the areas of health that I cover with my students early on in the semester is that of the 'Dimensions of Wellness'. My aim is to get students to appreciate that there are many areas that factor into our overall wellness, and certainly more than the typical 'looking good and eating right' view …
The slowchathealth blog post is now over four years old and continues to go from strength to strength, and to think that when I initially started I used to worry that I would run out of content. Initially my focus was on helping to amplify the voice of health teachers at a time when our …
The first week or so of meeting a new group of students is important for creating not only great first impressions, but also for creating long lasting relationships. If you get the first few weeks right, the rest of your time spent with students will be easier, the relationships will be richer, and the depth …
As a health and physical education teacher it is easy to see the crossover between the aims of my subject areas and that of social emotional learning (SEL). Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making can all be found in and among our national standards. Looking for a text that would help …
One downside of teaching is that we never get to see the final chapters in our students' stories. Some of us are lucky to see students grow over time before they transition on to the next stage of their life, and as a teacher with 24 years in the classroom I have witnessed teens in …
One highlight of the return to school is my morning commute. SEVENTY MINUTES of 'me' time where I do my best thinking, my best lesson planning and get some of my best free professional development through my podcast listening. I’ve previously shared four other installments of my Podcast & Chill blog posts inspired by the good …
Adding niche Instagram accounts to my list of ‘follows’ has been a great way for me to find powerful messages and imagery from creative educators and service providers who are able to convey their health-related messages through the medium of photography and graphic design. Their language, their imagery and their message speaks to millennials and …
I have been quoted as saying "If you care about kids, and you care about their lifelong health, then it would be wrong of you not to consider skills-based health." and I truly believe that. Transitioning away from teaching purely content, and moving towards weaving that content into lessons teaching health skills has been the …
