untitled Four neuromyths that are still prevalent in schools – debunked | Teacher Network It is no surprise that many teachers have an interest in neuroscience and psychology since areas such as memory, motivation, curiosity, intelligence and determination are highly important in education. But neuroscience and psychology are complex, nuanced subjects that come with many caveats. Although progress is being made towards understanding what helps and hinders students, there is still a disconnect between the research in labs and what happens in many schools. Many “neuromyths” are rampant in our classrooms, and research suggests that people are often seduced by neuroscientific explanations, even if these are not accurate or even relevant. Research also shows that explanations accompanied by images of the brain also persuade people to believe in their validity, however random the illustration. Such myths are a drain on time and money, and it is important to explore and expose them. Learning styles Where next for learning styles? You only use 10% of your brain Right brain v left brain
Anorexia and other eating disorders - Family Lives Understanding eating disorders "Food can become the new four letter word when your family is affected by an eating disorder," says Mary George of beat (the Eating Disorders Association). "To your child, food is the enemy." Contrary to popular belief, eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia have nothing to do with wanting to be thinner or a size zero, says beat. "An eating disorder is a serious mental illness - not a fad or a diet gone wrong," says the charity's Mary George. Research suggests that more than one million people in the UK are affected by an eating disorder, but only a small percentage will have been diagnosed to receive appropriate treatment. We've called on the expert knowledge of beat, to give you details of different types of eating disorders, and the signs and symptoms to look out for if you’re concerned. Types of eating disorders Anorexia nervosa As the disorder progresses they become seriously underweight and are likely to suffer from malnutrition. Bulimia
School Report's 10th News Day under way - BBC School Report BBC News School Report's 10th annual News Day is under way, with about 30,000 students in schools across the UK making and broadcasting the news. School Reporters are striving to post stories to their websites by a 14:00 GMT deadline, when the BBC will link to those sites via its interactive map. Pupils are also going on air and online on the BBC throughout the day, from the Today programme to BBC News at Six. Some will even guest edit part of the News Channel and CBBC's Newsround. There will also be behind-the-scenes visits for School Reporters to BBC buildings, including visiting the Chris Evans Breakfast Show in London, taking part in a computer coding workshop in Salford using the new BBC Micro:bit and going behind the scenes of the John Beattie programme in Glasgow. There will be seven special radio reports on BBC World Service from young people around the world in Delhi, Moscow, Soweto, Hamburg, Rio, Mexico City and Jerusalem. And l 10th anniversary Busy students What is School Report?
UK supermarkets ban sales of energy drinks to under-16s | Life and style Sales of energy drinks to children under 16 will be banned by most major UK supermarkets from Monday, following concerns about their high levels of sugar and caffeine and impact on health and behaviour. Customers buying drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre in branches of Asda, Aldi, the Co-op, Lidl, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose will be asked to prove they are over 16. The high street chemist Boots is the latest retailer – and the only non-supermarket – to announce a ban, following the lead of a voluntary restriction taken by Waitrose in January. Drinks such as Red Bull, Relentless, Monster Energy and Rockstar have become increasingly popular. The compulsory health warnings read: “High caffeine content. The teachers’ union NASUWT called last year for the sale of the drinks to under-16s to be banned by all retailers. Also seeking a ban are medical experts, including the charity Action on Sugar, as well as the TV chef and food campaigner Jamie Oliver.
Forcing Kids To Stick To Gender Roles Can Actually Be Harmful To Their Health Raising children in societies that adhere to rigid gender roles, with fixed ideas about what should be considered “masculine” and “feminine,” can actually be detrimental to their physical and mental health, according to a study that observed 14-year-olds’ interactions over a three month period. “Usually we think of gender as natural and biological, but it’s not… We actually construct it in ways that have problematic and largely unacknowledged health risks,” lead researcher Maria do Mar Pereira, the deputy director for the University of Warwick’s Centre for the Study of Women and Gender, explained in an interview with ThinkProgress. Pereira drew her conclusions after being embedded in a class of teenagers in Lisbon, Portugal. Pereira observed both boys and girls regulating their behavior in potentially harmful ways in order to adhere to gender norms. “All of the girls were within very healthy weights, but they were all restricting their intake of food in some way.
Smoking 'may play schizophrenia role' - BBC News Smoking could play a direct role in the development of schizophrenia and needs to be investigated, researchers say. The team at King's College London say smokers are more likely to develop the disorder and at a younger age. Published in the Lancet Psychiatry, their analysis of 61 separate studies suggests nicotine in cigarette smoke may be altering the brain. Experts said it was a "pretty strong case" but needed more research. Smoking has long been associated with psychosis, but it has often been believed that schizophrenia patients are more likely to smoke because they use cigarettes as a form of self-medication to ease the distress of hearing voices or having hallucinations. The team at King's looked at data involving 14,555 smokers and 273,162 non-smokers. It indicated: The argument is that if there is a higher rate of smoking before schizophrenia is diagnosed, then smoking is not simply a case of self-medication.
'Laughing gas' teenager dies after party in Bexley - BBC News A teenager believed to have taken so-called laughing gas at a party in south-east London has died. The 18-year-old was taken to hospital after collapsing in a street in Bexley, shortly after 23:15 BST on Saturday. He died two hours later. The Metropolitan Police said he was believed to have been drinking alcohol as well as ingesting legal high nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. Seventeen people in the UK died between 2006 and 2012 after taking the drug. The teenager's next of kin have been informed. "At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained pending the findings of the post-mortem," a Met spokesman said. The government plans to ban the sale of legal highs, which would include nitrous oxide. The gas - inhaled using a balloon - can make people feel relaxed, euphoric and giggly, which has led to its nickname. But abusing nitrous oxide can lead to oxygen deprivation, resulting in loss of blood pressure, fainting and even heart attacks.
How to teach … anti-bullying | Teacher Network Children with special educational needs (SEN) are twice as likely as other young people to suffer persistent bullying, according to research by the Institute of Education. The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), the organisation that coordinates national Anti-Bullying Week which runs until Friday 21 November, is focusing on stopping all bullying, including disabled children and those with SEN. This week we’ve put together a collection of lesson ideas and resources to help teachers tackle bullying head on. Created specifically for this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, the ABA has created some fantastic materials. Research by the ABA suggests that 18-26% of young people have experienced bullying in the last term. Other statistics from the ABA, available in this campaign pack, show that 25% of children worry about bullying, 44% have witnessed one of their peers being bullied in the last 12 months, and eight out of 10 young people with learning difficulties have experienced bullying.
Self-harm All young people who attend hospital following attempting suicide or harming themselves should also have a specialist mental health assessment before leaving. It is often difficult to work out what prompted the young person to self-harm or whether they actually wished to commit suicide or not; mental health professionals have the expertise to make sense of these complicated situations. It is usual for parents or carers to be involved in the assessment and any treatment. This makes it easier to understand the background to what has happened, and to work out together whether more help is needed. Assessments in Emergency Departments (also known as A&E) which include a short ‘talking therapy’ session have been shown to help young people come back for ongoing help and support. A lot of young people self-harm or make another suicide attempt if they do not receive the help they need. Clear plans on how to help and how to keep the young person safe will also be made.
Distractions and Alternatives to Self-Harm | Sirius Project Adapted from Secret Shame: What to do RIGHT NOW instead of SI. If you’re trying to stop self-harming, you might find this list of distractions and alternatives useful. They are all things you can do right now instead of hurting yourself. How are you feeling right now? Find more alternatives If your SI is so impulsive that you find you’ve done it before you’ve even thought about this list, take a look at the prevention strategies. Angry, Frustrated, Restless Try something physical and violent, something not directed at a living thing: Slash an empty plastic soda bottle or a piece of heavy cardboard or an old shirt or sock.Make a soft cloth doll to represent the things you are angry at. I’ve found that these things work even better if I rant at the thing I am cutting/tearing/hitting. Crank up the music and dance. Clean your room (or your whole house). Go for a walk/jog/run. Stomp around in heavy shoes. Play handball or tennis. Sad, Soft, Melancholy, Depressed, Unhappy Wanting Focus More Alternatives
Self harm - Family Lives The urge to self-harm can be very hard to resist and can become addictive. To recover and move forward, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the behaviour and develop coping strategies to help deal with the situations and emotions that lead to self-harm. Self-harm is not a form of attention-seeking. People who self -harm tend to do so in private and try their utmost to conceal their injuries. “Have you ever felt so angry, so frustrated, that you want to slam your hand on a desk or kick something across the room?” “When people understand this, they can relate easier to self harm.” “Self-harm is always a coping strategy,” says Caroline. “Discovering your child is self-harming is shocking for a parent,” agrees Wedge, founder of First Signs a voluntary organisation run by people with experience of self injury. Hard as it might be, parents need to put their own feelings to one side and concentrate on the reasons behind their child’s self-harm rather than the self-harm itself.
Supporting your child when someone dies When you have lost someone through death, a partner, child, family member or friend, it may seem overwhelming to offer support to your child. The loss experienced will have changed everything and each family member will be trying to make sense of what has happened in their own way. Children and young people may need some help with this: Try to talk to your children honestly and explain what has happened in a way that they can understand. They need information and reassurance.Try to talk to the children about the funeral. After the death of a child: Child Death Helpline For anyone affected by the death of a child 0800 282 986The Compassionate Friends Support for parents and families when a child has died 08451 23 23 04