Life Is The Future

What causes self-conscious emotions in teens? This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, talk with classmates Grace and Amanda. The 8th graders examine self-consciousness, focusing on the stress of embarrassment and what affects internal self-talk throughout middle school. Specifics include perceptions of ourselves, grades in school, lying or showing off, social image, popularity, and how environment can alter personality. RESOURCES Students: How Can I Improve My Self-Esteem? Steps to Building Confidence Parents: How to Help Your Teen Overcome Self-Consciousness Raising a Confident Teen 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

Codependency = a mental, emotional, physical, and/or spiritual reliance on a partner, friend, or family member. The term can also carry a negative connotation, as a kind of dysfunctional relationship where one person is a caretaker, and the other person takes advantage or has an unhealthy attachment. Interdependence = valuing the intimacy shared with others while also maintaining a firm sense of self. Independence = being self-reliant, self-empowered, and capable of providing our own needs mentally, emotionally, physically and/or spiritually. This week's hosts, Nonye and Debo, have a conversation with classmates Rania, Eclipse, and Natalie. The 8th graders discuss independence versus codependency, focusing on trusting and relying on another person in life. Specifics include binary gender stereotype and sexist views regarding independency, societal labels and influences on our behavior surrounding trust, and the circumstances where codependency is natural and healthy versus clingy and concerning.  RESOURCES Insider "What is Codependency?" Mental Health America "Characteristics of Codependent People" VeryWell Health "Codependent Relationships vs. Dependent Relationships" 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 lessons were learned from a school year at home? This week's hosts, Connor and Sparsh, talk with classmates Amanda and Miles. The 8th graders look back at remote learning and all the lessons from the at-home school year in 2020. Specifics include online learning with Zoom and Google Meets, the advantages and downfalls of learning through a screen, and the feelings surrounding the return to in-person education. RESOURCES Students: MindBe Education - 30 Mindfulness Activities for Teens Health Mind Platter - Essential Brain Activities Parents: Parent Learning Center - Expectations That Your Teen Will Appreciate In The Future World Health Organization (WHO) - Self-Care and Self-Help Teachers: Time - Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why the Kids Are Not Alright Chicago Tribune - 'No worse fate than failure': How pressure to keep up is overwhelming students 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 are the truths and myths about depression? This week's hosts, Nonye and Debo, have a conversation with classmates Emily, Melody, and Aniston. Their discussion focuses on the realities of depression, the view people have of the illness, using correct terminology, and spreading 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

Mental health, depression, and suicide-- how can we help middle schoolers? This week our hosts Connor and Sparsh have a conversation with classmates Micah and Abhibav. Their discussion focuses on coping through the COVID pandemic, what is currently influencing mental well-being in teens, the impact of school and teachers, and recommendations to fellow middle schoolers on how to stay mentally healthy this time and always. 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

Back in action and getting started with our new hosts! We hear a quick informal check-in from our Season 4 podcast hosts, Nonye and Debo, Connor and Sparsh! These 8th grade students will take the lead in weekly interviews with classmates. By recording in this format, the students will put Health Education life skills into practice-- communication, decision making, and advocacy will help them create discussions and debates on the multitude of timely topics for today's teen. Check it out and 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

The end of another era! We meet two of our Season 4 podcast hosts, Nonye and Debo! They take the lead in our new school year, and join two other students to be our 8th grade leaders. We hear from Season 3 hosts, Naomi and Zoie, 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 1 as we met the other two hosts for our new season, Connor and Sparsh. Subscribe and tune in to catch all of our episodes as the 2021-2022 school year begins! Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

Passing the torch! We meet two of our Season 4 podcast hosts, Connor and Sparsh! They take the lead in our new school year, and join two other students to be our 8th grade leaders. We hear from Season 3 hosts, Tami and David, 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, Debo and Nonye. Subscribe and tune in to catch all of our episodes as the 2021-2022 school year begins! Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

8th graders recap the podcast experience! Tami, David, Naomi, and Zoie discuss the process of being our 8th grade hosts this school year in Season 3 of our podcast. We listen to their overall thoughts, specific topic highlights, the difficulties of being in charge, things they will and will not miss, and their development as leaders through it all. Resources: Students: "16 Things For Teens To Do This Summer" from CBS News. Parents: "How To Help Your Kids Transition To High School" from TheConversation.com Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

Appearances. Are they deceiving, or truly a glimpse of the unseen? This week's 8th grade hosts, Tami and David, interview classmates Sabrina and Mia and all four students discuss dress codes in school and the pressures of style and appearance that teens face. The group specifically considers the impact of clothing styles, social media, celebrity influencers, school uniforms, sexualization, societal trends, personal expression, and economic, race, and gender differences. RESOURCES Provoking Article: Tweens and Fitting In: Wearing Brand Name Clothes May Be Worth It Stress Management: How To Handle Fashion Pressure and be Confident in Your Skin Decision Making: 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