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News
News update from Dave Vizard – July 2005:
The first few weeks of July
involved work in Trowbridge, Uxbridge, Romford, Truro,
Oxford, Durham and Walsall. I now understand why I had
to fit a new set of tyres on the car. The end of August will
see visits to Bath, Calderdale, Northumberland, Kettering,
Cirencester, Barnstaple, Barking and Derby. These courses
are on 1 to 1 Tutoring, Behaviour Management and Teaching
For Learning.
The summer will see the
writing of a new book in the Behaviour Solutions series -
Effective Behaviour Management Through Body Language. This
will be published in 2006.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Professor Robert Winston of
Imperial College London has warned that children whose diets
lack Omega Fatty Acids will not achieve their full potential
in schools.
Taking a daily dose of fish
oils will improve student's behaviour and ability to learn.
Omega 3 is a polyunsaturated fat found in oils and fish.
Premature Ageing
Overweight and obese students
are suffering from problems such as diabetes, joint pains
and breathing difficulties usually associated with people
in middle age. Students are also suffering from
iron deficiency due to their poor diets. As stated in a
previous news update, this can impair learning ability and
lead to bad behaviour. This can also result in students
being lethargic and over-tired. Over one million children
under the age of 16 are classed as obese.
Violent Video Games
According to Dr Klaus Mathiak
of Aachen University, when some violent video games are
played the emotional centre of the brain (which controls
acceptable behaviour) is closed and cognitive or rational
areas take over when a threat emerges. This will result in
the mind reacting aggressively to real life situations and
players of video games will prepare to react violently and unemotionally
to the threat.
He scanned the brains of 13
males when they played violent games. As the violence became
imminent the brain suppressed the areas of the brain
associated with the emotions and appropriate social
responses.
Exclusion On The Rise
There has been a rise of 6% in
the rate of expulsion from schools in 2003-2004. 81% of
those excluded from primary, secondary and special schools
were boys. 14 year olds were the largest proportion of those
excluded. Out of the 9
880 who were excluded, 70 of these were under 5.
Too Much Television?
In the UK 66% of children have
their own television and will spend up to 4 hours a day
watching it unsupervised. Alarmingly, it has been suggested
that toddlers can spend up to 5 hours a day watching
television. Watching television before the age of 3 can
damage a child's ability to learn.
Research has suggested that
children with a television in their room scored eight points
less in maths and language tests and seven points less in
reading tests than those without a television. Sleep
disturbance caused by televisions was thought to be a major
cause of their poorer performance.
Interestingly, those who have
a computer in their rooms had an opposite effect with an
increase of six points and four points respectively.
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