Life Is The Future

Life Is The Future

By Scott TodnemEducation
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Life Is The Future episodes

  • Is Homework Necessary in Middle School? - S2 E10

    Homework... the dread, the procrastination, the necessary evil?

    This week's 8th grade hosts, Salil and Shauna, take on the topic of homework and discuss the merits and downfalls of work outside of the school day. They interview classmates Drew and Ryan and all four talk through whether homework is worthwhile and what makes class projects fun and engaging.

    RESOURCES

    Homework or No Homework? Wrong Question. from Getting Smart.
    Homework Done Right from ASCD.
    What’s the Right Amount of Homework? from Edutopia.
    Down with Homework from Alfie Kohn.
    Should Kids Have Homework? The Great Debate. from Chicago Tribune.

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Lauren and Rhys, take over with 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

    18 min
  • Teen Perceptions of Drugs, Alcohol, & Vaping (Part 2) - S2 E9

    What is the influence of drugs on teenage life? How do middle school students perceive vaping, alcohol, and marijuana use?

    This week our hosts Lauren and Rhys have another conversation about drug use, focusing on media influence on teenagers, legalization, and other perceptions surrounding the topic. This week's guests, Aarushi and Nick, help process things with their own thoughts, and the four 8th graders leave younger listeners with some basic recommendations for handling the decisions that lay ahead.

    RESOURCES

    Youth Risk Behavior Survey
    CDC - E-Cigarettes
    Tobacco Free Kids
    Stanford Tobacco Toolkit
    NIH - Underage Drinking
    Illinois Policy - Marijuana Legalization

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Salil and Shauna, take the lead with 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

    21 min
  • The Impact of Popularity in Teenage Life - S2 E8

    Popularity... What a loaded word.

    This week's 8th grade hosts, Salil and Shauna, discuss the concepts of popularity and social health in middle school life. They interview classmates Dhruv and Nina and all four talk through the positive and negative impact of popularity, how it matters in school and later in life, and recommendations for younger students looking ahead to middle and high school.

    RESOURCES:

    Popularity: Why It Consumes Teens & Affects Adults from MindShift.
    Does Being in the Popular Crowd Matter? from Newsweek.
    Does Our High School Popularity Affect Us Today? A Mitch Prinstein TEDx Talk.

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Lauren and Rhys, take over with 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

    19 min
  • Teen Perceptions of Drugs, Alcohol, & Vaping (Part 1) - S2 E7

    What are the current trends with teens and drugs? How do middle school students perceive vaping, alcohol, and marijuana use?

    This week our hosts Lauren and Rhys have a conversation with their guests, Dani and Inara. All four 8th graders examine drug use, focusing on perceptions surrounding the topic, influences on teenagers, and coping with related pressures.

    RESOURCES

    Youth Risk Behavior Survey
    CDC - E-Cigarettes
    Tobacco Free Kids
    Stanford Tobacco Toolkit
    NIH - Underage Drinking
    Illinois Policy - Marijuana Legalization

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Salil and Shauna, take the lead with 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

    17 min
  • Teen Analysis of Gender, Race, and Age Stereotypes - S2 E6

    Stereotypes: generalizations based on a group in which a person belongs. (Ex: race, age, gender, income, neighborhood, etc.)

    This week's 8th grade hosts, Salil and Shauna, take on the topic of stereotypes in middle school and in life. They discuss topics like gender, race, and age with classmates Danielle and Sathvik. All four talk through unfair perceptions of people, the influence of generalizations on school and social life, and they even dive a little into the -isms of prejudice: racism, sexism, and ageism.

    RESOURCES:

    Gender Stereotypes from Teaching Tolerance
    Racial Stereotypes from Simply Psychology
    Breaking Stereotypes from National Women's Law Center
    How Middle School Kids Reject Stereotypes from MiddleWeb
    Talking About Race & Stereotypes in School from Edutopia

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Lauren and Rhys, take over with 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

    17 min
  • Social Media in Middle School - S2 E5

    Almost 90% of American teens now have their own smartphones, and some 70% use social media multiple times per day.

    This week we hear thoughts about phones and social media from five 8th graders, including our hosts Lauren and Rhys. The group discusses both the positive and negative aspects of phone use, the messages teens get from social media, and how to handle screen stress to maintain a healthy life balance.

    RESOURCES

    Pew Research Study: Teens & Social Media
    Common Sense Media: Teens on Social Media & How Much Screen Time is Okay?
    Adam Alter: TED Talk & "Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology"

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Salil and Shauna, take the lead with 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

    16 min
  • The Benefit of Sports & Extra-Curriculars - S2 E4

    School is more than just an academic experience.

    This week's 8th grade hosts, Salil and Shauna, discuss extra-curricular activities in middle school with classmates Makenzi and Nico. All four work through some nerves and awkward pauses to practice communication skills and healthy dialogue surrounding the place that sports and other after-school commitments have in teenage life.

    RESOURCES:

    The Impact of Sports on Middle School Students from Livestrong.com
    Sports and Education Work Well Together from the New York Times
    Benefits of Extra-Curriculars by High School from Crimson Education
    Middle Schoolers May Benefit Academically from Extra-Curriculars from New York University

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Lauren and Rhys, take over with 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

    14 min
  • Stress Management in Middle School - S2 E3

    Stress: The body's response to change. Distress is a negative pressure or threat; the "bad" stress. Eustress is beneficial challenge; the "good" stress.

    We continue our student-led podcasts this school year with our first offering from our second set of hosts, Lauren and Rhys. Like last week with our other two leaders for this season, Lauren and Rhys find their footing during live recordings and work to figure out the interview and discussion process with guests Sara and Avery. All four talk about starting 8th grade and the place that stress and stress management have in teenage life.

    RESOURCES

    Students: Teens Talk About Stress. A resource from Teens Health.
    Parents: Stress Management & Teens. Tips from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
    Teachers: Health.Moves.Minds. An SEL program from SHAPE America.

    Continue to tune in each week as our hosts flip-flop leadership from Lauren and Rhys, to Salil and Shauna, and back again. Subscribe and check back for new topics and new guests, and listen as our 8th graders grow in their communication abilities in the process.

    Teaching insight, blog posts, and more from the Health Education classroom: LifeIsTheFuture.com

    18 min
  • Procrastination & Teens - S2 E2

    Procrastination: The art of keeping up with yesterday.

    We get started in our student-led podcasts this school year with our first set of hosts, Salil and Shauna. These two work to navigate the interview and discussion process with Sienna and Emerson, and the students talk about starting 8th grade and the role that procrastination plays in their lives.

    RESOURCES:

    Students: Teens Who Procrastinate from The Creativity Post.
    Parents: Procrastination in Teens-- How Can We Help from NobelCoaching.com

    Tune in next week as our other two hosts, Lauren and Rhys, take over with a new topic and a new set of guests. 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

    17 min
  • A New School Year! (Starting Season 2) - S2 E1

    Back in action and getting started with our new hosts!


    We meet our Season 2 podcast hosts, Salil and Shauna, Lauren and Rhys! These 8th grade students will take the lead in weekly interviews with classmates. By recording in this format, the students will put Health Ed 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

    9 min

About Life Is The Future

From the publisher's feed

Thoughts from the Health Education classroom, brought to you by Scott Todnem and his middle school students.