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 …
This week's guest post comes from Leah Lipschitz, and she shares her mindfulness journey, from first seeking it out, to incorporating it into her self-care routine. With the social-emotional health of our students, and also of our teaching peers, very much at the forefront of our modern lives, this blog post will be of interest to …
I love having conversations with my students regarding perception versus reality and encourage them to challenge the myths that their friends and parents have regarding teen behavior. This weeks blog post comes from Olivia Starr and does just that. Olivia is a Health Educator at the awesome Robert Crown Center for Health Education, who seek to positively impact …
Continue reading Teen Pregnancy Rate – Increasing or Decreasing?
This blog post from Stephanie Kelln will hit home for many teachers who find caring for their students overwhelming at times. I know from experience that it's easy to let student trials and tribulations overshadow our own needs and those of our loved ones and if this continues it puts our own health at risk. …
Continue reading Put on Your Own Mask: Secondary Trauma in Education
This weeks blog post on the comes from Kim Comatas from Partners in Sex Education and I love the way in which she frames consent. Her simple, but effective approach shows just how easy it is to have conversations regarding consent in your classroom...irrespective of the age of your students. What’s the first thing you …
Knowing your 'why' is a powerful concept, and in this weeks post, Kathy Brophy shares her story of raising awareness of domestic violence, inspired by the death of a former student. The post, written as a reflection following recognition for her work, includes links to some great resources and I urge you to share her …
It can be difficult keeping up with your social media feed when you are on school vacation - and rightly so. You need to recharge, catch up with friends and family, and work your way through that stack of books that you promised to read this summer. During the summer weeks I'll drop these themed …
I'm delighted that this guest blog post comes from Alex Bocian an educator who I had the pleasure of meeting at #SHAPETampa. My conversation with him was one of the highlights of the week for me as we talked about service dogs, their training and the roles that they can play for their handlers. It …
In the final week of this school year I tried something new with my #PhysEd class that was extremely successful and I owe it all to the virtues of being a 'Connected Educator' and my global PLN. The best part of introducing the Maori game of 'Tapuwae' to my students is that I can trace …
Just as our #PhysEd peers battle the old image of gym teachers, climbing ropes, playing dodgeball and bullying students, we too as health teachers have to push back against the perception that others have of what it is exactly that we do. I reached out to teachers to ask what misperceptions people have of health …
Summertime is the time for me to read books. Yes, real, sniffable, hold them in your hands and try not to bend the spine too much, books. My morning commute during the school year is filled with podcast listening, but with good weather forecast for the next few months I'm excited to update last years …
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