WHAT ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY

       In this interesting video, the main question is if homosexuality is a choice. First of all, we are shown the Freudian theory about sexuality and relantionship problems within the family during our  chilhood but it has never been proved scientifically. 
       
      Afterwards, it has been proved that homosexuality frequent in other animal species. Then some research prove that  genetic factors play an important role in being homosexual, since genetic twins usually have the same sexual orientation. 

       Another surprising statement of the video is that being the youngest of the brothers increases the likelihood of being homosexual. The conclusion is that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be changed.

Offering a bit of information to our students won't do them any harm and will promote tolerance and understanding!!!

A EDUCATIONAL SONG FOR OBESITY

This could be a useful song to be analysed in the English class. 

Students learn English and at the same time become more aware about healthy food, about what we eat and why we do it.

SCOFFquestionnaire about eating disorders

I honestly think that we as teachers can  help if not to solve eating disorders ( because it is proved  taht  these are complex issues), at least to  detect them  at the  begining or to prevent them. Here are 5 questions that we can use in our classes:

SCOFF questionnaire:

1. Do you ever make yourself sick because you feel uncomfortably full?
2. Do you worry you have lost control over how much you eat?
3. Have you recently lost more than one kilo in a three month period?
4. Do you believe yourself to be fat when others say you are too thin?
5. Would you say that food dominates your life?

These are really interesting questions which spur us to think about this topic. At first we can practice with ourselves and answer them honestly. In a society where slimness is prized, it is easy to answer at least one of these questions in a positive way. In my case, I only will say that if asked a long time ago, I would have answered with "yes" in 4 out of the 5 questions.

One of the most caracteristic symptoms of anorexia is to believe that you are fatter than the real thing. This misperception can seriously damage our self-esteem. Let's help our students to acquire a good perception of  themselves and to be satisfied with their bodies. It could be a very good start to fight against anorexia and bulimia.

A SONG ABOUT ANOREXIA

Some sentences and words to highlight.

It is a secret. 

To seek perfection

Overachiever

low self-esteem

In conclusion, we, as teachers, should increase the self-esteem and to persuade children that perfection is good within certain limits. Beyond this point, perfection only leads to autodestruction.

SOME ALARMING SIGNS TO DETECT AN EATING DISORDER

* First of all, let's watch the video

Around 60 percent of teenagers show some kind of behaviour associated with eating disorders; the question is to know how to discriminate which are hiding an eating disorder.

1. Excessive dieting
2. Excessive exercice
3. Withdrawing from friends and isolate themselves
4. Fasting
5. Hiding food

*Let's watch now this video about the same topic:

In some cases of anorexia, teenagers usually avoid common meals with the family. In bulimia, some  people spend a lot of time in the bathroom or exercice too much to burn more calories than  necessary.

*And finally, let's watch this video

The return to school after holidays is a stressful period and children could have some eating disorders. Statistics show that the majority of eating disorders develop while they are still at school. If there are alarming sings, the best thing to do is to seek help.

EATING DISORDERS,SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS

 

        Today we have talked about eating disorders with our English teacher. First of all, we have analysed different factors responsible for obesity in children.

        Children are less and less interested  in physical exercice, They spend most of their time in front of  the screen, playing with a play station or with their mobiles. In the past, children went outdoors with their peers to play hide-and-seek or cops and robbers, ride bikes or build a cabin; nowadays, children stay at home and don't move enough.

        Children eat too many sweets, pastries and sugar-rich drinks. In the past, children ate more fruit, ham or cheese sandwiches and water. Today, parents allow their children to eat what they want for convinience.

     

        Another important cultural factor which prevents obesity is eating together. It is important that families gather around the table and have their meals at the same time. This prevents from eating  when and what you like. It is a good thing to wait for everybody to be seated before starting the meal. It's a bad thing to cook something different for your child only  because  they say  they don't like the food. Taste is something to be developped and it's advisable that children taste at least a bit of the food in order to get used to it.

      We cannot forget genetic factors, but since we are not doctors, it is difficult for us to intervene. Other factors have a psychological nature. Stress, low self- esteem or depression can go along with obesity. The act of eating implies some kind of pleasure which can momentarily compensate this uneasiness. As aconsequence, people put on weigh and at the end of the day, their obesity makes them sad and depression and low-esteem worsen. It is a full circle thing.

                                                      

        Consequences.

       Obesity is increasing. As a result other children will tease fat ones and  this will lead to low self-esteem.

        On the other hand, obesity is the first factor for other eating disorders such anorexia and bulimia to appear.

       In order of importance, anorexia is placed in the first place, followed by  bulimia and  in the third place binge eating disorder.

    In some cases, eating disorders can start at 6 years old and sometimes these disorders can last a whole life. So it is very important to be aware of their psychological and social impact and to take effective measures in order to prevent them.

        Solutions

       It is crucial to acquire healthy habits and to cut dramatically down on fats and sugars.

       If the children is put on a diet, the most important thing is not to skip the diet on no account; and afterwards, healthy habits will help to maintain the weight loss.

       It is a tricky issue to consider obesity a child abuse from the parents in the same way as sexual or physical abuse. But we cannot deny that it is a serious negligence that should be supervised by social workers.

       An easy measure to start with, would be to forbid the sale of sweets and pastries in the canteens and to sell a great variety of fruits  and nuts instead.

      It has been proved that healthy diet should be part of the contents at school and every teacher ought to give some good tips to their students order to increase the children awareness of what they eat.

                                          

INCLUSION

Sometimes, we don't need words , images tell us everything !

Teacher opinions on sexuality and Sexual Education of students with intelectual disability

This is an interesting article about a psychological study that was done to deal with the issue of sex education in the classrooms for students with intlectual disabilities. You will be surprised!

Teacher opinions on sexuality and Sexual Education of students with intelectual disability

Sex Education: Qualify Teachers

Why is sex education a taboo? With this video we show how sex education can be an opportunity to get closer to students and break barriers

Responsible Sex Education Institute web (RSEI)

Sex education is very important for our students, that is why it is necessary to have the necessary tools to achieve it. This American website is responsible for facilitating them and helping us teach this subject

RSEI Web

SEX EDUCATION AT SCHOOL

Today we have talked about sexual education at schools and within the family.

It is a fact that children receive a lot of the sexual information from internet but most of the times it is  pornographic and biaised and what is worse, there is a great danger of finding sexual predators.

In Great Britain, the government has been trying to put into place some kind of compulsory sexual  education but so far there are only some recommendations for the primary and  secondary school which are only timid approaches to the real needs of our children.

For instance,  more contraception information is crucial to avoid unwanted pregnancies. And we  can't forget the importance of consent in a sexual relationship; a clear case of no valid consent is if the girl is drunk; another one is not to mix up a woman dressing in a "provocative" manner and giving consent.

So, the first problem we encounter is that some parents are against sexual education because of their religion or their traditional way of thinking. Catholic or Muslim families, old generations and rich tend to be more conservative and traditionalist. At school they can ask for their children of being "excused" from attending these sexual lessons.

The second one is related to what to teach. In Spain, for instance, the anatomy and fonction of  the  sexual organs and reproduction are studied in the subject of biology but there is no specification about sexual health and contraception. However, sexual education is more than that with more embarring topics such as sexual pleasure, free consent in sexual encounters, musturbation, how to use a condom, heterosexuality versus homosexuality or abortion.

In Spain, from time to time an expert is invited to give a session about practical sexual issues in the secondary school.

The third issue is if we would be embarrassed if we had to give sexual education to our students, if we would be well prepared to do so and if we would be unbiaised enough and not let our beliefs to  interfere with this task.

In the Scandinavian countries, sometimes a prostitute is engaged to give this kind of courses since  these people are in fact "experts of sex". How would Spanish people react if we did the same thing in Spain?

As you can see, sexual education is a complex topic and I firmly believe that we need more information and strategies of how to tackle this topic in class.

IS HOMOSEXUALITY A LEARNED BEHAVIOUR ?

Let's watch the video first.

The sexual orientation of the parents does not have any relation with the balance and sexual  orientation of their child.

HOW LGTB STUDENTS FEEL AT SCHOOL

       Some words:

• It's scary
• School  is hard
• Harassment
• I dread school
• To be bullied
• Others complain
• to be different
• To have faith in 
• to speak my mind
• Gay-straight alliance

         Nowadays, LGTB students are more and more accepted  in our schools. However there are still some groups of students that bully this sort of students. I believe that it is our duty to identify these groups in  order to neutralise them  and to teach them other positive visions about LGTB people.

• To feel alone
• to live in a lie
• To be honest with oneself
• Not to have the support of one's family
• To build the resiliency

TRANSGENDER AND BATHROOMS AT SCHOOL

The problem is that this boy is not allowed to use the boys washroom. The issue could be easily  resolved if there were unisex washrooms, don't you agree?

ABOUT AUTISM

I strongly recommend you this site to learn more in a funny way about how to deal with autist children

https://suburpcomix.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/breathe-deeply-and-count-to-10/

STAGES TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISORDERS AND SPECIAL NEEDS

In  England  there are four stages:

1. Assesment.
1. You are put in a waiting list.
2. A team of specialists will assess the child in order to find out what is the problem and to  make a correct diagnosis.
2. A plan
1.  A specific plan is made for the child
2. Which are their needs, and supports in the class. 
1. It must be decided if it is preferable to attend to a special school or  to attend  an  ordinary school with some extra supports such a speech therapist or a support teacher, a special computer, a braille machine or a microphone.
3. Determine which contents are more suitable for this person.
1. For example, if there is a person with a Down syndrome, there are some contents which must be prioritised such as to increase independent skills such as to take the bus or to dealing with money in a shop.
3. To carry out the plan
4. To  review the results

SENCO  means Special Educational Needs Coordinator.

In Spain, the process is similar. There is a first assessment before starting in a primary school. Sometimes the recommendation is to attend a special school but most of the time the preferable option is the choice of an ordinary school in order to facilitate social inclusion.

Then there is a counselor in primary and secondary schools who coordinates all the needs of these children. Most of the time these chilcren are in the classroom with their classmates, but sometimes  they attend special lessons with a support teacher in small groups.

But, talking about inclusion, the question which apears over and over again is: 

• Is a French or mathematics teacher, por instance, prepared to really teach these students?
• And even in this case, have they really the time to take care of them in a proper way without neglecting the rest of the class?

To end this post, click  here  to watch a little comic.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUTISM AND VACCINS

     Some people believe that some vaccins, such as  the MMR,  thatt is to say, measles, mups and  rubela, can produce autism. However, there are not cientific studies which can prove this statement.

      There is a sort of trend to be against vaccins in general and this has generated a great controversy in our society. It is argued that mass vaccination increases immunulogic problems such as allergies and asthma because the body isn't using its immune system properly since there are no infections to  fight against and as a consequence, this immune system attacks our  body instead. In any case, thanksto vaccins, a  lot of human lifes have been saved and some dangerous diseases, such as smallpox  have been  wiped out.