Caring for Yourself and Your Students in the Coming School Year

As the new academic year gets underway, my mind is flooded with images of the many passionate and knowledgeable teachers that Marcus and I have met throughout the years. We are in awe of how well you have handled the challenges of the past 18 months and know that, with your resilience and dedication, you will create the very best learning environment for your students in this coming school year. We feel grateful to have the privilege of getting to know you and to be able to continue to learn with many of you.

Something I read recently reminded me that one of many things that makes you so special is that you each possess a generous spirit of giving to the community, as you care about others even when you sometimes hear few voices of appreciation. The positive difference that you make in the lives of other people’s children is remarkable!

Nutrition Tips for Busy Educators in the Age of COVID-19

Today, more than ever, good nutrition is essential to staying healthy. Eating a well-balanced diet has been proven to boost our immune system, which is a critical defense in guarding against the most devastating impacts of COVID-19.

Maintaining a healthy weight, limiting our sugar intake, eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoiding processed foods are among the ways we can fortify our immune system and protect ourselves against illness—not only from COVID-19 but also from such long-term health conditions as diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. See the recommendations for the Healthy Eating Plate from the Harvard School of Public Health for a more complete look at what constitutes a daily nutritious diet.

Care For Yourself As You Care For and Teach Others

As another academic year begins, my mind is flooded with images of passionate and knowledgeable teachers we have met through the years. We feel grateful to have the privilege of getting to know you and to be able to continue to learn with many of you.

Something I read recently reminded me that one of many things that makes you so special is that you each possess a generous spirit of giving to the community, as you care about others even when you sometimes hear few voices of appreciation. The positive difference that you make in the lives of other people’s children is remarkable!

Nutrition Tips for Busy Educators: Feeding the Teacher's Brain

By Drs. Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers

Teaching is a cognitively complicated profession. In the course of a single school day, an educator must make hundreds of decisions and respond quickly to the many unpredicted turns that life in the classroom may take. You have a high-energy job, so it's essential to prime your brain and body with the right fuel.

But in the busy life of a teacher, who has time to think about healthy eating, much less sorting through the sometimes-conflicting claims about the nutritional value of various food choices?

Unfortunately, the less we think about what we eat, the worse our diets may be—especially if we default to snacking on so-called convenience foods that are high in sugar and saturated fats and low in nutrient-dense ingredients that sustain our energy levels.

Eat Well in the New Year

Almost everyone's holiday season has included a wide variety of food and drink, not all of it completely healthy for us. After indulging over the holidays, many of us are making ourselves and/or our loved ones a promise to eat healthier in the new year.

For people who maintain healthy eating habits, food is the pharmacy of feeling good and staying focused and energized, or relaxed and calm.

In our book Thinking for Results: Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement By As Much as 30 Percent, we explain that healthy eating is important for fueling the Body-Brain System.

Let's Make 2014 THE Year For Positive, Practical Learning!

Welcome to my first blog in 2014!

Did you know that virtually every human brain has the potential to learn and change throughout the lifespan? In fact, researchers have now found that learning actually changes the structure and function of your brain.

So, whether you are traveling to a new place, learning new teaching strategies, reading a book, playing a new game, or stretching your mind in a new job, YOU are a learning machine.

In the past it was thought that brain development stopped in youth. At one time it was said to be the age of 12. In the few decades (with an emphasis on early childhood) there has even been confusion leading the uninformed to say that important development ceases even earlier. However, it is now known that in fact adults can even create new brain cells and make connections across the lifespan. So it is critically important to keep learning.

Living Wellness

In our graduate studies we have long recommended www.webmd.com as a reliable source on key areas including exercise, nutrition, optimism and other factors that empower all of us to achieve more of our potential. Check it out!

Teachers we know enjoy sharing Harvard's Healthy Food Pyramid when they assist students to understand the importance of healthy eating. Feeding the body well is a way for parents to help their children prepare for a school day of focused learning. Learn more at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/

The Power of Blueberries

Here's a link to an article from Tufts about the nutritional power of blueberries. Enjoy!

http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/1154/2002/03/11/PowerOfBlue