Life Is The Future

Passing the torch! We meet two of our Season 5 podcast hosts, Saif and Dinora! They will take the lead in our new school year, and join two other students to be our 8th grade leaders. We hear from Season 4 hosts, Nonye and Debo, as they pass on recommendations on topics and guests-- what worked well, how to get people talking, and the whole process of practicing Health Ed life skills to create debates and discussions. Make sure to check in on Part 2 as we meet the other two hosts for our new season, Ava and Julius. Subscribe and tune in to catch all of our episodes as the 2022-2023 school year begins! Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

Cancel culture = a phrase that refers to a form of ostracism in which a person-- generally a public figure-- endures disapproval and mass shaming online or in person for controversial speech or behavior. This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, invite classmates Oliver and Salil in to talk about cancel culture, what that means, and its influence on society. The 8th graders discuss what socially-unacceptable means in our current era, racism/sexism and other prejudiced speech, second chances in life, examples of offensive behavior, pointing out wrongdoing vs. public shaming, defamation, rehashing old mistakes, internet apologies, experiencing "cancelling" in a school setting, and more. RESOURCES Cancel Culture: Some See Accountability, Others See Censorship from PEW Research Center Is Cancel Culture Effective? from Pegasus (UCF) Cancel Culture is Not What People Think from Time Cancel Culture Pros & Cons from Britannica In the next few days we will introduce our new hosts for Season 5! Stay tuned. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout each school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

Extracurriculars = organized student activities connected with school that occur outside of typical school hours. Examples: athletics, performing arts, social clubs, etc. This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, invite classmates Vanshika and Salil in for a discussion about extracurricular activities, focusing on sports and music. (Included: piano, violin, chorus, soccer, badminton, rugby, cricket, football, swimming, and track & field.) The 8th graders connect extracurriculars and other specifics like social interactions, stress management, parental expectations, defeating boredom, personal challenge, creating enjoyment, being productive outside of the school day, and more. RESOURCES The Impact of Sports on Middle School Students from Livestrong.com Sports and Education Work Well Together from the New York Times Benefits of Extra-Curriculars by High School from Crimson Education Middle Schoolers May Benefit Academically from Extra-Curriculars from New York University In the next few days we will release our final podcast for the school year and also introduce our new hosts for Season 5! Stay tuned. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout each school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

Social standards = shared norms of acceptable behavior by social groups. Social norms/standards can be informal as well coded into rules and laws.  This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, invite classmates Ketav and Atmaj in for a discussion about the social standards we endure, both created by ourselves and forced on us from others. The 8th graders give valuable insight on self-awareness, appearance expectations, obsessive and perfectionist behavior, body dysmorphic disorder, gender differences, social group influences, judgment from peers, popularity, racial stereotypes, coping strategies, and more.  RESOURCES Are Society's New Expectations of Teens Too Much? - The Live Wire Body Dysmorphic Disorder - Johns Hopkins Medicine We Are the Ones Failing Our Teens, Not Social Media - Lowell Sun Opinion Tune in next week for a new topic and a new set of guests. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout the school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

What is a toxic relationship? How are teens influenced by family interactions? What is healthy/unhealthy while dating? This week's hosts, Nonye and Debo, have a conversation with classmates Kai and Charlie to talk through unhealthy relationships. The 8th graders define "toxic relationships" and give an explanation about their effect on teenage life. Detailed discussion points: red flags in relationships, family interactions, dating as a teen, the pressure to please parents, setting social boundaries, respecting privacy, trust vs dishonesty, insecurity issues, rebuilding friendships, and many more social health topics. RESOURCES Students: Frenemies and Toxic Friendships Parents: Teens and Romantic Relationships Teachers: Love is Respect: Educators Toolkit Tune in next week for a new topic and a new set of guests. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout the school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

Another fun "spin-off" on our typical episode set-up! Multiple topics, selected at random, get a quick look in a ~2-minute discussion each. This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, invite classmates Alex, Emily, and Arav for part two of this multi-episode series. The 8th graders take on a bunch of topics and give valuable insight on items like technology in learning, video game violence, social anxiety, the Russia/Ukraine conflict, Black History Month, race relations, and stereotypes of teenagers. RESOURCES Is Technology Good or Bad for Learning? Games Can Be Good-- When You Play for the Right Reasons Adapting to Post-Pandemic Reality When You Have Social Anxiety Russia-Ukraine - AP Breaking News & Live Updates Black History Month What Do Older Generations Misunderstand About Teenagers Today? Tune in next week for a new topic and a new set of guests. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout the school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

A fun "spin-off" on our typical episode set-up! Multiple topics, selected at random, get a quick look in a ~2-minute discussion each. This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, invite classmates Alex, Emily, and Arav in for a multi-episode series. The 8th graders take on a slew of topics and give valuable insight on items like voting age, protest violence, a 4 day work week, climate change, fast food, and COVID. RESOURCES WhiteHouse.gov - 50th Anniversary of the 26th Amendment Northeastern.edu - Are Peaceful Protests More Effective Than Violent Ones? ChangeRecruitmentGroup.com - Pros and Cons of a 4 Day Work Week ProCon.org - History of Climate Change Debate Debate.org - Is Fast Food Good For You? Tune in next week for another round robin episode, including new topics from our same guests. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout the school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

What is fast fashion? How are teens influenced by fashion on media? And can we do anything about it? This week's hosts, Nonye and Debo, have a conversation with classmates Aarya and Ashlyn for a first-time look at clothing styles and ethical consumerism. The 8th graders define "fast fashion" and give an explanation about its cheap quality, environmental impact, and harmful labor environment. The students also include the influence of social media, specifically Tik Tok and the massive impact that social influencers have on teens. Detailed discussion points: the business industry for both clothing and social media, photoshop/filters and the beautification on screens, the social construct of fashion, Shein® clothing brand, trends and their pop culture reach, standards that teens put on themselves, clothing trends throughout the decades, fitting in through appearance, and more. RESOURCES Good On You: What is fast fashion? What is fast fashion and why is it a problem? Tweens and Fitting In: Wearing Brand Name Clothes May Be Worth It How To Handle Fashion Pressure and be Confident in Your Skin Peer Pressure & Its Influence on Teens Tune in next week for a new topic and a new set of guests. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout the school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

Bullying = unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a real-- or perceived-- power imbalance. Bullying is ongoing or has the potential to be repeated; it refers the deliberate physical, social, or psychological harm that can occur in person or online through various digital platforms and devices. Bullying might be obvious or it might include hidden behavior. Bullying has the potential for immediate and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders. This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, invite classmates Samantha and Ananya in for a discussion on all things bullying. The 8th graders give valuable insight on middle school social interactions, citing examples of bullying behavior, stress on self-concept and self-esteem, reasons teens might bully others, how bystanders can have secondary effects, the impact of the Internet and social media, acknowledging trauma in people doing the offense, and recommendations for identifying and dealing with bullying. RESOURCES StopBullying.gov - Identification, prevention, and effective responses. KidsHealth.org - Dealing with bullying. CDC - Examining youth violence and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). HealthyChildren.org - Bullying: It's not ok. Tune in next week for a new topic and a new set of guests. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout the school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

How can we continue to end stigma about depression? This week's hosts, Nonye and Debo, revisit a conversation with classmates Emily, Melody, and Aniston for a part two conclusion of their focus on the realities of depression. The 8th graders give more details about mental illness and the view teens have toward depression, the course of action in helping a friend or classmate, having humor while avoiding unsafe or inappropriate comments, the potential harm of toxic positivity, and how to continue to spread the word about mental health. RESOURCES MentalHealth.gov Let's Talk About It World Health Organization (WHO) Self-Care and Self-Help National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Top HelpLine Resources National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 Health Mind Platter Essential Brain Activities Tune in next week for a new topic and a new set of guests. Make sure to subscribe to keep up to date on our podcast episodes throughout the school year. Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com