One constant during my 30 years of teaching is that the break from school at the end of the calendar year – winter for me and summer for my Southern Hemisphere friends – comes at just the right time. Leaving for school in the dark, arriving home in the dark, the end of a long …
Continue reading Before the Year Ends: Twelve Months in Reflection
A recent Instagram post summarizing the 'impact of smartphone use on athletes' sleep and performance' caught my eye and got me wondering about the research that supports my internal suspicion that cell phones are harming the performance of athletes. As a coach and father of athletes, I was motivated to delve deeper into existing research …
Continue reading 5 Ways That Cell Phone Use Negatively Impacts Athletes
A few years ago, I came across an image that resonated with me. It showed how Gareth Southgate, then the manager of the England men’s soccer team, draws on a network of thinkers to help shape his decisions. Not just football minds, but voices from rugby, cricket, sailing, cycling, even the military. A deliberate mix …
If you're looking to create personalized music playlists that are perfect for your classroom, gym, or workout needs, then this blog post is for you. Regular readers of the site will know that I love music, have written about my love of music, and featured posts on how teachers are using music in their teaching …
This powerful guest post comes from Beatrix Hopkins, a junior student who asked if she could share her Junior Theme writing with me. Beatrix contacted me, saying, "I wrote about the use of deepfake generating technology to create sexually explicit images and videos, and the way that those technologies can be used to perpetuate violence …
Almost all I think about these days is class culture, and I know I am not alone. For me, this means a culture that builds trust, embraces confusion, encourages attention and sparks curiosity and joy, After 30+ years as a high school English teacher, creating and sustaining this culture is simultaneously more difficult and more …
This year I was offered the opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do: teach a PETE class. My first reaction was “Wow! I am so honored and excited to do this!” Fast track to: “There is no way I can do this! I know nothing about teaching college kids! I will fail …
One constant during my 29 years of teaching is that the break from school at the end of the calendar year – winter for me and summer for my Southern Hemisphere friends – comes at just the right time. Leaving for school in the dark, arriving home in the dark, the end of a long …
Continue reading Looking Back, Moving Forward: Meaningful Year-End Reflections
Happy Friday, teachers! We've made it through another (long) week, and before you rush (or in my case, wearily stroll) into the weekend, let’s take a few minutes to pause, reflect, and recharge. Fridays can be more than just a countdown to the weekend; they’re a chance to reconnect with ourselves and the people who …
Continue reading Reflect & Recharge: A Friday Ritual for Teachers
With World Mental Health Day upon us, it's a good moment to reflect on how our mental well-being is connected to movement. In a world where stress and anxiety levels are rising, we often look for quick fixes, but one of the most powerful tools to support our mental health is something we already know …
Continue reading World Mental Health Day: Moving for a Healthier Mind
About five years ago my health began to decline due to a genetic condition called Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome (EDS). It is a fairly unknown condition, even within the medical community. In short, people with EDS have defective collagen (our connective tissue is described as “chewed up bubble gum” instead of a healthy “rubber band”). There …
We have heard time and time that social media is bad for teens and causes depression and anxiety despite the lack of evidence supporting this fact. Even the Surgeon General in 2023 stated the lack of robust evidence stating social media was the cause of teens’ mental health issues. Motivation is a critical factor in …
Whether at home, in healthcare, the classroom, or the workplace the importance of self-advocacy is undeniable. However, even for an adult, self-advocating isn’t always easy. The ability to “speak-up for [ourselves] and the things that are important to [us]” is a necessary life skill. As young people’s trusted adults we can both teach and model …
For nearly fifty years, schools have turned to Candor Health Education (formerly The Robert Crown Center for Health Education) to educate their students on puberty and sex education. For decades, the vast majority of schools have selected 5th grade as the year for puberty education, with many schools waiting until the very end of 5th grade to …
Continue reading Puberty is Starting Earlier – Kids Need the Facts Earlier Too
In recent years, school communities across the country have taken a considerable interest in the whole lives of their students. While we truly believe that educators have always considered the lived experiences of their students outside of their 4-walls of higher learning, heightened circumstances have increased the stress of students and the educators who pour …
I began using a “Mindful Minute” one day a week in my health classroom to give students a chance to “arrive” and provide them with another tool to use for their mental emotional health. As an introduction to mindfulness, I asked the students if they had ever used mindfulness and then shared this video Mindful …
May is Mental HEALTH Awareness month and a great time to reflect on our work as HEALTH educators. When New York State passed legislation mandating the inclusion of mental health in our programs, my first thought was, “No worries, I already do this.” And it’s true. I help kids understand the similarities between the symptoms …
Continue reading Putting HEALTH Into Our Mental Health Lessons
Since the pandemic we have seen an alarming increase in children experiencing anxiety and stress along with a decrease in positive social-emotional response. During the pandemic children were taught virtually with little to no in- person social interactions with children their own age. This has led to a rise in children struggling to self-regulate and …
Continue reading Students in Action: Mental Health Awareness & Practicing Mindfulness
Whether I'm teaching health, or physical education, one thing is certain...my students want to learn more about mental health. The pandemic has tested their mental and emotional skills in the same way that it has for us as educators, and it's important that we address this situation. This blog post considers the role that schools …
Families can support kids' mental health whether they're learning remotely or at school – here's how Kids learn who they are and how to cope within their families. Thomas Barwick/Stone via Getty Images Erika Bocknek, Wayne State University The choice between in-person learning, where available, and remote learning is a fraught one for parents. Children …
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