It's Not Just a Phase

Retrieved from: https://healthystaff4healthypatients.wordpress.com/tag/phd-research/

According to tilleczek, Ferguson, Campbell and Lezeu (2014) "Growing income inequality and mental health challenges for young people have now been termed the millennium morbidity to signal the ongoing problematic link between poverty and mental health." Mental health is the most critical issue amongst young youths in relation to poverty at both a global and national level. "The World health organization (2008), for instance, is now squarely addressing the effects of income inequality on youth well-being in the last century, known as the new morbidity and characterized by emotional and social problems and learning difficulties." (tilleczek, Ferguson, Campbell and Lezeu, 2014). There are many connections being made between the inequality of growing incomes, to mental health, and physical health for young people, The term being used for these connections is the millennium morbidity.

Retrieved from: https://www.yumpu.com
/en/document/view/24640823/formal-
customary-care-ministry-of-children-and-youth-services

"The World health organization (2008) is calling for “an urgent need to scale up policies, interventions and investments” (p. 3) for child and youth mental health promotion and provision."(tilleczek, Ferguson, Campbell and Lezeu, 2014). As an educator I believe one of the most important things  within your classroom is to build relationships with your students, creating a trusting environment where you students feel comfortable to open up, discuss with you and ask you for help when they need it.
 I also believe it is important to be able to read your students reactions in order to determine if something changes with their personality, actions, attendance and etc. This is important in order for you as an educator to help your students with any problems they may be having by noticing a change in them and respectfully discussing/asking them about it. In relation to mental health noticing these changes can allow you to help them get the proper help so that they can become healthy again. I personally can empathize with students because I have lost someone important in my life to mental health and therefore helping students who have mental health issues is extremely important to me. I also understand that each individual deals with mental health differently. 
By knowing this I know the importance of listening to the individual to see how they feel and how they want to address the situation and then moving onto the next step from there (i.e. going and having a conversation with the guidance counsellor, the student and yourself). The image above shows the front page of A Shared Responsibility: Ontario’s Policy Framework for Child and Youth Mental Health (ontario ministry of children and youth services, 2006). This Framework states that 15% to 21% of children and youth (approximately 467,000 to 654,000) are affected by mental health disorders that cause significant symptoms or impairment and is a good document to help teachers with any questions they have about mental health for children and youth. Lastly, below is a video that discusses mental health into more detail and therefore will hopefully leave you with a better understanding about what mental illness is and the facts behind it. 

References

Tilleczek, K., Ferguson, M., Campbell, V., and Lezeu, K. E., (2014). Mental Health and Poverty in Young Lives: Intersections and Directions. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health. 33(1). Retrieved from: https://lms.brocku.ca/access/content/group/EDUC8P02D01FW2016LEC001/Week%204%20-%20Language%2C%20SRI%2C%20Mental%20Health/Mental%20Health%20_%20Poverty%20_Tilleczek%20et%20al_.pdf

Health and Physical Education: Who has the RIGHT to play

As a health and physical education teacher,  I believe in the importance of physical activity for all students because of the benefits it can bring to an individual physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. Some of the benefits that physical activity can bring to an individual are displayed within the image below.

Retrieved from:http://activegrand.ca/healthy-living/bene/

Since physical activity promotes all of these things, I believe it is important for students to take Health and Physical Education (HPE) throughout each year of their schooling. In order to promote HPE students must encounter positive relationships to physical activity at a young age and within their HPE classes in elementary schools. Students who generally do not take HPE are those who excel strongly within the maths, sciences, arts, and those who have mental, physical and or emotional disabilities. In high school I was considered part of the "athletes" and therefore felt extremely comfortable within the gym and while taking HPE. Part of the reason I wanted to become an HPE teacher was to change the beliefs behind HPE from being an athlete focused course to an  inclusive and positive learning space for the "non-athletic" students too. This is why I believe the subject of ableism is so important to me and my beliefs behind HPE.

Retrieved from: http://www.skepticalob.com/2015/
03/are-natural-childbirth-and-lactivism-ableist.html

According to Storey (2007) "Rauscher and McClintock (1996) described ableism as a pervasive system of discrimination and exclusion that oppresses people who have mental, emotional, and physical disabilities… Deeply rooted beliefs about health, productivity, beauty and the value of human life, perpetuated by th public and private media, combine to create an environment that is often hostile to those whose physical, mental, cognitive, and sensory abilities… fall out of the scope of what is currently defined as socially acceptable (p.198)" (p.56). There is a major importance to implementing disability content into the curriculum and school activities. There are some clubs for students with disabilities, like S.N.A.P, and Best Buddies however, this is just the beginning. These buddy programs promote a non disabled student to help a disabled student and therefore not promoting equity and equality. Disability content should be infused with school boards, textbook companies, into all aspects of each curriculum and more in order to promote equity and equality.

Within HPE there are many ways to create an equal and equitable classroom. Having students participate in sitting volleyball if there is a student with a physical disability allows all students to particapte equally. Other activities are wheel chair basketball, scooter soccer and by modifying regular games like volleyball to use a bright beach ball that moves slower and is easier to hit. Although I have a bunch of ideas for including everyone into HPE there is still information about ableism that I do not know and more information that I could learn in order to provide an even more inclusive HPE classroom for everyone. Therefore I will continue to learn about ableism and how I can help integrate students with disabilities better into the school and more specifically my HPE classroom.

References 

Storey, K. (2007) Combating Ableism in Schools. Heldref Publications. Retrieved from: https://lms.brocku.ca/access/content/group/EDUC8P02D01FW2016LEC001/Week%2011%20-%20Ableism/combating%20ableism%20in%20schools%20_Storey_.pdf