Clara's Blog

For my learning challenge this week I read the New York Times article,  "What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew"  by Donna De La Cruz. I expected the notes to be kind letters to the teacher, letting her know what she could improve or change about her class. Instead, the letters were about the struggles the students were dealing with outside of school. I think these things are important for teachers to know, so a child's poor behavior or lack of success in a class can be better understood, ultimately leading to improvement. I went to school in Oklahoma where teachers are underpaid, and towards the end of my high school, many of the teachers that were genuinely passionate about teaching left to other states to get higher pay. With a graduating class of about 1,200 and every class I had was filled with about 30+ students, there weren't many opportunities for teachers to get to know their students. My teachers always offered to be there for students in need, but I think the l...

For my week 6 Learning Challenge, I decided to read an article about empathy called,  "10 Reasons to Stop Judging People"  by Barbara Markway. Before reading this article, I knew judgement was a natural instinct and hard to stop. The article elaborates on the idea of being mindful as a way to try an understand someone else's perspective before responding too harsh. One new thing I learned is someone that feels good about themselves are less likely to be judgmental towards others. I really liked all the tips given to be less judgmental towards other people, although I don't consider myself a judgmental person, there's always room for improvement and I plan to incorporate some of these tips into my life. Quote about judging others ( Flickr )

For my Learning Challenge this week I read the article  "The Surprising Link Between Laughter and Learning" by Dana Asher. Before reading the article, I knew that laughter was a positive outlet for aggression, but I didn't know the complete impact laughter had. The article connects laughter to learning and leadership. The article states that laughter shows vulnerability, which leads to self-awareness and trust. After reading this article, I'm interested in learning about other benefits of laughter and the benefits of having an overall greater happiness. Laughing face (Source: Pixabay )

For the week 2 Learning Challenge I read the “Deskercise: 17Exercises You Can Do at or Near Your Desk” by JoAnn McFarland. This article confirmed that adding movement, even small ones like fidgeting, to your workday can be beneficial. I have trouble sitting still when I work for long periods of time, but I’ve learned that fidgeting helps me maintain focus. From this article I learned there are many ways to work your muscles while at work, like seated bicycle pedal or butt crunches. I have a huge problem with grinding my teeth or clenching my jaw when I’m concentrating which leads to jaw pain. I’m excited to try the bruxism and TMJ exercises to see if it relieves any of my pain. Office exercises ( Wikimedia Commons )

For this weeks learning challenge I read  "10 proven ways teachers can improve their sleep" by Sarah Marsh. Even though I'm not a teacher, I wanted to read this article because I struggle with insomnia which makes it hard for me to wake up and maintain focus during the day. This article confirmed that my worst sleep habit, using my phone or laptop until I get tired, is actually keeping me awake. This article also me about some of my habits have been hurting my sleep schedule, the biggest one being the time I exercise. I typically work out at night, probably a few hours before bed, because I have early classes and usually work/study until the evening. The article states that there should be roughly six hours between exercise and bedtime to allow the body to cool down. Also, the temperature of your feet can cause a bad night of sleep if they're too cold. I'm mostly curious about the 90-minute rule, that claims it should be easiest to wake up every 90 minutes after ...