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This article on NBC News discusses how the mental health crisis is affecting children and teens all around us. In the 15 million children and teens that are struggling with a mental health disorder only 20% of those are recieving treatment for it. The article also notes that it is seeing children as young as 2 being diagnosed with depression. While teens are the most likely to develop a mental health disorder it can happen at any age.

This information could be addressed in the classroom during a morning meeting and discussing feelings and how its okay not to feel okay all the time and how important it is to reach out to someone if you don't feel okay.

Teachers can make their classroom a safe space to talk about mental health without feeling judged.

It is essential for teachers to know about this topic because it is life or death to some children so by being informed and aware of the topic you are helping your students in more ways then one.

Snow, K., & McFadden, C. (2017, December 11). Generation at risk: America’s youngest facing mental health crisis.

NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/generation-risk-america-s-youngest-facing-mental-health-crisis-n827836

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What’s happening to our kids? Depression, anxiety crisis deepening in U.S.

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American children’s mental health is worrying experts, with one in five kids suffering from a diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorder.

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This article written by NBC News titled "Less sugar, less salt: USDA proposes nutrition changes to school meals" is all about what we plan to change at school meals. It begins with how slowly schools are going to implement adding more whole grains while decreasing the sugar and sodium intake in school lunches. The timeline begins in Fall of 2024 and continues through 2027 with slow changes being implemented. Not only will this help improve students performance in school but it will help decrease illnesses due to unhealthy eating habits. The downside is finding the money to support these healthy eating habits and the labor shortage to ensure that the food is being made and kept fresh for the students.

Teachers can begin to implement healthy eating habits in the classroom by talking about it during morning meeting asking them what some healthy eating choices are and showing them the different vitamins and how each one helps us in different ways.

Chuck, E. (2023, February 3). Less sugar, less salt: USDA proposes nutrition changes to school meals.

NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/less-sugar-less-salt-usda-proposes-nutrition-changes-school-meals-rcna68973

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This article written by NBC News titled "Want kids to do better in school? Give them recess" talks about how studies have shown student perform better in school when they are more active. They also discuss how it does not matter how they are getting their activity, whether it's through walking to school or a sport it benefited the children all the same. The article ends with a point that a lot of children are not reaching the recommended amount of physical activity within the week.

Teachers can begin to implement this in their classrooms by making their lessons active and interactive. Instead of making them sit and take notes for 7 hours a day have them act out their lesson or give them short activity breaks to get their bodies moving.

NBCUniversal News Group. (2012, January 4). Want kids to do better in school? give them recess. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna45869434

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Children who get more exercise also tend to do better in school, whether the exercise comes as recess, physical education classes or getting exercise on the way to school, according to an international study.

The findings, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, come as U.S. schools in general cut physical activity time in favor of more academic test preparation.

Amika Singh, who worked on the study, said the findings meant that schools should prioritize both academics and exercise and that families could have the same attitude at home.

"Maybe it's an activity break, stand up every half an hour in class and do something," said Singh, from VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

"It might mean going to school by bike ... Any kind of physical activity you can think of. It doesn't mean only the physical education standard class."

Singh and her colleagues reviewed 14 studies that compared kids' physical activity with their grades or scores on math, language and general thinking and memory tests.

Those included two types of reports, such as 10 so-called "observational studies" in which researchers asked parents, teachers or students themselves how active they were, then followed them for a few months to a few years to track their academic performance.

In the four other studies, one group of kids was given extra time for physical education classes and other health and fitness exercises, and their test scores were later compared against a group of kids who didn't get extra exercise.

When researchers asked students how much time they spent exercising, they found that those with higher rates of physical activity did better in the classroom.

Three of the four studies involving an exercise intervention found that students given more exercise time scored higher on measures of academic performance.

In one report from the United States, second and third graders who got an extra 90 minutes of physical activity per week did better on a test of spelling, reading and math, along with gaining less weight over the next three years.

That may be because children are better behaved and can concentrate better when they get enough exercise, or because physical activity improves blood flow to the brain and boosts mood, the researchers wrote.

"There's obviously the long-term links between physical activity and health," said Sandy Slater, who has studied recess and physical education at the University of Illinois at Chicago but wasn't involved in the latest study.

"But this is another reason to try to continue to keep some dedicated amount of time for physical education or recess or some other types of physical activity in the school day."

Recent research has suggested that many U.S. children are not getting the recommended amount of physical education and recess endorsed by the American Heart Association, which includes two and a half hours of physical education a week and 20 minutes of recess every day.

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Want kids to do better in school? Give them recess

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Children who get more exercise also tend to do better in school, whether the exercise comes as recess, physical education classes or getting exercise on the way to school, according to an international study. The findings, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, come as U.S.

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This article published by NBC News titled "Tobacco use falls among high school students, but is rising among middle schoolers" begins with the statistics of high schoolers vaping usage going down in this past year but middle schoolers usage going up. While there are many factors that have enhanced younger audiences appeal to tobacco use, the most prominent one is the flavors that are appealing to young people including candy, or sweet flavors. The CDC is recommending different ways to avoid the youth from buying vapes including increasing prices and laying out the health risks.

It is essential for teachers to know about this topic because elementary education teachers are now the first line of defense when it comes to preventing students from vaping. If elementary teachers begin bringing up the topic and teaching the dangers about it before they have been tempted they are more likely to not succumb to the peer pressure

Kekatos, M. (2023, November 2). Tobacco use falls among high school students, but is rising among middle schoolers: Study. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/tobacco-falls-high-school-students-rising-middle-schoolers/story?id=104569270#:~:text=smokeless%20tobacco%2C%20respectively.-,MORE%3A%20E%2Dcigarette%20use%20among%20teens%20increases%2021%25%20over,they%20used%20e%2Dcigarettes%20daily.

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Tobacco use falls among high school students, but is rising among middle schoolers: Study

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A new study from the CDC and FDA found that, in 2023, tobacco use fell among high school students but was on the rise among middle schoolers.

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This article written by CNN titled "Fear kept her from school after a shooting. How a walking partner – with ‘no words required’ – helped her do the impossible" Talks about how after a traumatic event that a girl went through and how a service dog helped her through it. The article begins by talking about the tragedy of the Oxford school shooting and the trauma that it caused for many students including Alexis. While immediately following the tragedy Alexis switched to online school she eventually slowly went back with the help of her service dog.

It is essential for teachers to know about this topic because trauma is a very complex topic that can affect people in many different ways. Especially with the world we live in school is not the safe place it used to be for some students.

Balarajan, B. (2024, January 6). Fear kept her from school after a shooting. how a walking partner – with “no words required” – helped her do the impossible. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/06/us/oxford-high-school-comfort-dog/index.html

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Fear kept her from school after a shooting. How a walking partner - with 'no words required' - helped her do the impossible | CNN

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With him, Alexis didn't need to explain away all the trauma she'd experienced, she said. She could just be.

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This article written by CNN titled "Anonymous tips work to prevent school shootings and suicides, new study finds" talks about how using anonymous tips can help eliminate intentional injury and violence. They make a clear point to tell students that this is not ratting someone out, and tell them the red flags to look out for. Say something anonymous tips is a good tool for students to give students the freedom to speak without being identified 24 hours a day. The article ends with the comparison between how back in the day this was not nearly as prevalent as it is today.

It is imperative for teachers to learn about this topic because like it says in the article it can be between life and death for some.

Balarajan, B. (2024, January 6). Fear kept her from school after a shooting. how a walking partner – with “no words required” – helped her do the impossible. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/06/us/oxford-high-school-comfort-dog/index.html

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Anonymous tips work to prevent school shootings and suicides, new study finds | CNN

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Anonymous reporting systems used by schoolchildren to report concerning behavior among their peers has resulted in the prevention of numerous instances of suicide, school violence and planned attacks, according to a study published Wednesday.

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This article written by CNN titled "Federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Iowa state law that bans books and curriculum discussing LGBTQ issues" is about how parts of Iowa have banned a lot of books specifically ones having to do with gender identity, and sexual orientation. Some of those books being nominated for Pulitzers and others being on advanced placement exams. Governor Kim Reynolds who signed the original bill did not like the block of the ban and believes that gender identity has no place in the classroom. The article ends with the fact that other states are slowly following suit with their ambiguous laws.

It is essential for teachers to know about this topic not only because if they have a book ban in their state they could face charges against them but also because children deserve to learn about gender identity and those who identify as something other then female and male feel included in their library.

Smart, S., & Elassar, A. (2023, December 30). Federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Iowa State law that bans books and curriculum discussing LGBTQ issues. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/29/us/iowa-law-books-lgbtq-judge/index.html

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Federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Iowa state law that bans books and curriculum discussing LGBTQ issues | CNN

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A federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of two parts of an Iowa state law that would ban books and curriculum from schools that discuss gender identity or sexual orientation.

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This article written by the National Institute of Drug Abuse titled "School prevalence of stimulant therapy for ADHD associated with higher rates of prescription stimulant misuse among teens" is about how students with more stimulant therapy used for ADHD the more prevalent it was for teens to misuse the drugs. The article goes on to say how we need to better educate our students on these drugs to try and keep them from misusing them. It also brings up a good point how those who are misusing the drugs could be accidentally ingesting other drugs along with the stimulant including fentanyl which can kill you. Studies have shown over half of the people who acquire these drugs got them for free from either friends or family. The whole idea is not to remove the stimulants from those who need them but to keep a better eye on them to reduce the risk of misusing them.

This is essential for teachers to know about because a lot of children take ADHD medicine to do better in school so being proactive by talking about the risks before is the best plan of action.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2023, October 9). School prevalence of stimulant therapy for ADHD associated with higher rates of prescription stimulant misuse among teens. National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2023/04/school-prevalence-of-stimulant-therapy-for-adhd-associated-with-higher-rates-of-prescription-stimulant-misuse-among-teens

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School prevalence of stimulant therapy for ADHD associated with higher rates of prescription stimulant misuse among teens | National Institute on Drug Abuse

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NIH study signals importance of monitoring and screening for prescription stimulant misuse in schools