Basch, Charles (2011) Healthier Students Are Better Learners: A Missing Link in School
Reforms to Close the Achievement Gap, Journal of School Health, October Vol.81, No. 10.
Reading this article felt like I was speaking to a school nurse who really got what being a school nurse was all about. Dr. Charles Basch is not a nurse; he is a college professor at a teachers college, who understands the impact of health on education.
Dr. Basch provides nurses with the vocabulary to speak to their administrators about the impact of health in schools. In stead of talking about “health”, nurses can talk about absenteeism and academic achievement. In stead of talking about teen pregnancy nurses can talk about graduation and drop out rates.
There is enormous pressure on our education systems to improve low levels of achievement with very little financial support. When a nurse speaks to an administrator about her role, she needs data and evidence based programs that speak to academic achievement. This article will help the nurse to refine her voice.
Interesting, through a thorough meta-analysis Dr. Basch describes 6 health disparities that impact academy achievement. The first is “vision”. How can a child learn that cannot see? The second is “asthma” which is the number one reason for absenteeism and of course impacts educational achievement. You will have to read the article to find out the other four disparities, but rest assured they all involve school nurses.
The article goes on to describe the relationship between health, education and poverty; causal pathways and a coordinated approaches to fill these educational gaps.
Dr. Basch wrote nine other articles that provide more detailed research on each of these factors. These articles are all in the October 2011 edition of the Journal of School Health. We will continue to review these articles on the blog to stay tuned for the next review.
Kelly Grenham
Book Review on “Transforming Stress: The Heart Math Solution for Relieving Worry, Fatigue, and Tension” by Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman.
Doc Childre and associates have written several books such as “Transforming Anxiety”, “Transforming Depression”, “The Heart Math Approach to Managing Hypertension” and many more.
If you are already familiar with Doc Childre’s “Heart Math Solutions” published in 2000, then this book is too elemental for you. If you are trained in meditation, once again this book is not for you.
The book is perfect for people who have chronic stress and are looking for practical ways to deal with their stress. “Transforming Stress” is a working journal of sorts and is a quick and easy read, but to really practice the techniques you will be returning time and time again to your book.
The techniques are simple and can be used during a meeting, while waiting at the dentist office or after a stressful situation. The heart coherence method brings you down into your skin again with your brain fully engaged.
If you go to http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&ie=UTF8&field-author=Doc%20Childre
And click on “Look Inside” you can read the introduction and table of contents to see if this is really what you want.
Please blog any feedback about this book.
Enjoy!
Kelly Grenham
