Let me start by saying I know that I am not alone in having a schedule that caused a full teaching day (no preps). However, I wanted to reflect on my experience.
Every Thursday I am a student. The only breaks I have is their breaks, I eat at the same time and I am teaching the same minutes they are learning in other classes. I start work at 6am by hitting the pool (this I belief is a lifesaver of this day) however, there are no students exercising at this time, most (thankfully) are trying to get their recommended 9 1/4 hrs sleep. I've worked at many schools with before school activities and although I understand the need to educate and enforce sleep patterns, I also advocate for exercise. My question would be if we (we being the entire community) can get students sleeping 9 1/4 hrs sleep and also encourage exercise before school, what educational benefits would we see from our students? To research more on this I recommend John Medina's Brain Rules or Attack of the Teenage Brain. By 7.15am I am eating my breakfast at a Wellness Team Meeting (ironic, given that we discuss health and wellness initiatives). I do love this meeting and its creative discussions we have. I also believe we provide a service that sometimes is missed in schools. At this time most students are arriving to school. 8am the days starts. Lessons here go for 70mins, so the schedule looks like: Block 1 - Grade 9 Health 10min break Block 2 - Grade 9 Health 5min break Block 3 - Grade 10 Health 35min lunch break Block 4 - Grade 8 Health 10min break Block 5 - Grade 10 Health So ... the positives.
Considerations for teachers (for yourself and your students)
In summary, I will be:
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AuthorMy name is Stacy. I am an educator. I have become an advocator for health education for many years. Archives
August 2018
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