Lesson 3

Lesson 3 involved watching videos about attention and emotions. I will be the first to admit that I think ADHD is over diagnosed. I think that often times parents want an excuse for their child's behavior or poor grades and ADHD is something to blame it on. However, I do think that there are children who have significant issues with focusing. For these children, I do think it is important to be aware of them and their needs. One way to combat this issue of keeping a student's attention is to keep the day entertaining. I think it is important to keep changing what you are doing. I teach dance to young girls, and we don't do the same thing for more than 10 or 15 minutes simply because they get distracted and need to keep going. I think the same thing is true in the classroom. The activity needs to be changed often. Children need to be allowed to get up and move around. One thing that I plan to do in my future class is do ZUMBA every day. I want the children to get some exercise, get their blood flowing, and have something different to look forward to.

I also thought it was interesting how much our emotions can have an affect on the development of our brains. Children that are exposed to homes where there are high stress levels and depression are being exposed to toxins for the development of their brain. As a teacher, I need to make my classroom as stress free and inviting as possible. I want my students to come to class and feel relaxed and know that I care about them. But for me to do that, I need to make sure that I am taking care of myself as well.