School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 1 – Week 29
Last week the young scholars were enjoying spring break. I missed meeting with them and am eager to do so today. I hear them arriving now.
Me: Good morning scholars. Welcome back. I hope you had a good time on spring break.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes, I have cookies. Sam and her brother Paul helped make them last week. Ahmes and Sofia will you pass them out please?
(They do so and the cookies are quickly inhaled.)
Me: The assignment for this week was to talk with others in your family about what behaviors affect how the brain works. Last time we met we decided that food and exercise affects how the brain works. We also decided that how the brain works affects how we treat others. Who is ready to share?
Ahmes: My cousin has been in the Army. He just came back from war and is upset a lot. Mom says that he has some condition. P something.
Me: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which is often just referred to as PTSD. Being in a war is a trauma for many people. When we experience a trauma then we can have a really tough time. Accidents, being abused, or lots of other really sad and frightening events can cause a person to frightened, get angry easily or just not be able to think clearly.
Sofia: My cousin plays football and he has had many con… Now I forget Mr. Jim.
Me: I think you mean concussion Sofia. It is an injury to the head. They are finding that many people who play rough sports games such as football may have some permanent brain damage. This is another kind of trauma. One could also have a physical injury to the head from a fall, a car accident or some other incident. Our brains are pretty tough but they can get injured. Does everyone here wear a helmet when you are riding our bike? What is the purpose of the helmet?
Steve: To protect our head but does that always work Mr. Jim?
Me: No, that does not always work. Football players wear helmets and still get head injuries but it may reduce injuries. Please be very careful and always wear your helmet.
Steve: My dad says that smoking can affect how much air gets to you brain.
Me: Yes, it can reduce the amount of oxygen to the brain as well as cause other injuries which also affect how well all parts of the body work. What about other drugs?
Tommy: Dad is a doctor and he says he sees a lot of people who are really messed up from drugs.
Me: If someone uses drugs which are not good for them and cannot stop we call that addiction. When people have to have certain drugs sometimes they hurt others or steal from others to get money for the drugs. It is very sad.
Tommy: Dad says alcohol is a drug but some people can drink and some people cannot.
Me: Yes, Tommy, not everyone who drinks alcohol drinks too much but many people do. Is there anything we are forgetting that affects the brain?
Susie: Our neighbor has Cerab … Now I cannot remember.
Me: I think you mean Cerebral Palsy. How does this illness affect the brain?
Susie: She has trouble talking and now she cannot walk and her arms sometimes go all over place. When she tells her body to behave it will not.
Sam: What about mental illness Uncle Jim? When we go to Catholic Charities some of the people get very confused.
Me: That is right Sam. Many mental illnesses affect how we experience the world and, thus, how we treat ourselves and others.
Tara: Mr. Jim if we take good care of ourselves will our brain always work?
Me: Tara, if we take good care of ourselves our brains are more likely to work better, but we could still be in an accident, have some disease or be in a war situation.
Ahmes: If everyone took good care of their brain would everyone be nicer to each other Mr. Jim?
Me: Good question Ahmes. It is true that the better our brains are working the more we can think about how our behavior affects others. As I just said there may be some other factors which affect how our brain works.
Steve; My Uncle has a brain tumor which is affecting everything he tries to do. He is a really good person and has always taken care of himself.
Me: Yes, we can still get a lot of different illnesses, but we also know how to prevent some or at least reduce the possibility.
Tara: It seems as if I just wake up and my brain works Mr. Jim.
Me: Yes, Tara, I know what you mean. It is hard to imagine that one day I might wake up and my brain will not work well. It is easy to just assume that no matter what we do our brain will work.
You scholars, once again, did wonderful job with this topic. I am so proud of you. We have learned that there are some things we can do to take better care of our brains and when we do we can think better about how our behavior affects others. We need to focus on those behaviors we can control.
I was thinking that next week we could talk about the responsible use of cell phones. I know that some of you already have a cell phone and others will eventually get one. Talk with your families.
Steve and Tara, will you pass out the rest of the cookies?
(The do so.)
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a good week everyone.
Class: Bye Mr. Jim
Written March 22, 2017
Last week the young scholars were enjoying spring break. I missed meeting with them and am eager to do so today. I hear them arriving now.
Me: Good morning scholars. Welcome back. I hope you had a good time on spring break.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes, I have cookies. Sam and her brother Paul helped make them last week. Ahmes and Sofia will you pass them out please?
(They do so and the cookies are quickly inhaled.)
Me: The assignment for this week was to talk with others in your family about what behaviors affect how the brain works. Last time we met we decided that food and exercise affects how the brain works. We also decided that how the brain works affects how we treat others. Who is ready to share?
Ahmes: My cousin has been in the Army. He just came back from war and is upset a lot. Mom says that he has some condition. P something.
Me: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which is often just referred to as PTSD. Being in a war is a trauma for many people. When we experience a trauma then we can have a really tough time. Accidents, being abused, or lots of other really sad and frightening events can cause a person to frightened, get angry easily or just not be able to think clearly.
Sofia: My cousin plays football and he has had many con… Now I forget Mr. Jim.
Me: I think you mean concussion Sofia. It is an injury to the head. They are finding that many people who play rough sports games such as football may have some permanent brain damage. This is another kind of trauma. One could also have a physical injury to the head from a fall, a car accident or some other incident. Our brains are pretty tough but they can get injured. Does everyone here wear a helmet when you are riding our bike? What is the purpose of the helmet?
Steve: To protect our head but does that always work Mr. Jim?
Me: No, that does not always work. Football players wear helmets and still get head injuries but it may reduce injuries. Please be very careful and always wear your helmet.
Steve: My dad says that smoking can affect how much air gets to you brain.
Me: Yes, it can reduce the amount of oxygen to the brain as well as cause other injuries which also affect how well all parts of the body work. What about other drugs?
Tommy: Dad is a doctor and he says he sees a lot of people who are really messed up from drugs.
Me: If someone uses drugs which are not good for them and cannot stop we call that addiction. When people have to have certain drugs sometimes they hurt others or steal from others to get money for the drugs. It is very sad.
Tommy: Dad says alcohol is a drug but some people can drink and some people cannot.
Me: Yes, Tommy, not everyone who drinks alcohol drinks too much but many people do. Is there anything we are forgetting that affects the brain?
Susie: Our neighbor has Cerab … Now I cannot remember.
Me: I think you mean Cerebral Palsy. How does this illness affect the brain?
Susie: She has trouble talking and now she cannot walk and her arms sometimes go all over place. When she tells her body to behave it will not.
Sam: What about mental illness Uncle Jim? When we go to Catholic Charities some of the people get very confused.
Me: That is right Sam. Many mental illnesses affect how we experience the world and, thus, how we treat ourselves and others.
Tara: Mr. Jim if we take good care of ourselves will our brain always work?
Me: Tara, if we take good care of ourselves our brains are more likely to work better, but we could still be in an accident, have some disease or be in a war situation.
Ahmes: If everyone took good care of their brain would everyone be nicer to each other Mr. Jim?
Me: Good question Ahmes. It is true that the better our brains are working the more we can think about how our behavior affects others. As I just said there may be some other factors which affect how our brain works.
Steve; My Uncle has a brain tumor which is affecting everything he tries to do. He is a really good person and has always taken care of himself.
Me: Yes, we can still get a lot of different illnesses, but we also know how to prevent some or at least reduce the possibility.
Tara: It seems as if I just wake up and my brain works Mr. Jim.
Me: Yes, Tara, I know what you mean. It is hard to imagine that one day I might wake up and my brain will not work well. It is easy to just assume that no matter what we do our brain will work.
You scholars, once again, did wonderful job with this topic. I am so proud of you. We have learned that there are some things we can do to take better care of our brains and when we do we can think better about how our behavior affects others. We need to focus on those behaviors we can control.
I was thinking that next week we could talk about the responsible use of cell phones. I know that some of you already have a cell phone and others will eventually get one. Talk with your families.
Steve and Tara, will you pass out the rest of the cookies?
(The do so.)
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Me: Have a good week everyone.
Class: Bye Mr. Jim
Written March 22, 2017
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