UNIT 4 CH 11-13

Obesity

• background

  • using body mass index (ratio of weight to height)

    • BMI → 85th = overweight

    • BMI → 95th = obese

  • prevalence (prior to 2020)

    • 19.7% overall

    • 12.7% ages 2-5

    • 20.7% ages 6-11

    • 22.2% ages 12-19

    • 22.4% overall prevalence now

  • kids may have shorter lifespan than their parents

  • do kids outgrow “baby fat” of childhood

    • most overweight kids become overweight adults

• causes:

  • genetics

    • overweight kids tend to have overweight parents

    • identical twins tends to be more overweight than fraternal twins - even if raised in different environments

    • adoptive kids take biological parents than adoptive

    • some people burn up extra calories while others turn calories into fat

      • good for past if food was scarce

    • depends on # of fat cells

      • inherited - children who inherit more fat cells get hungry sooner

  • environment

    • poor diets - more fats/sweets, less veggies

    • obese kids are more responsive to external food cues

      • smell of food

    • less responsive to internal cues

      • eat quicker, inhale food

  • insufficient sleep

    • kids not sleeping enough they tend to be overweight

    • disrupt brain metabolism for food

  • benefit of family meals

    • tend to have more fruits and veggies

  • lack of exercise

    • obese not moving around or not being able to

    • recommended 60 min of physical activity everyday

      • 21% of kids are meeting guidelines

    • why aren’t kids exercising?

      • in front of a screen

      • parents are concerned about having kids roam around

      • worst for you and higher risk of obesity and high cholesterol than getting kidnapped

• consequences

  • health complications

    • high bp, high cholesterol, etc. are symptoms in middle

      • heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, cancer, etc.

  • impact on sexual maturation

    • develop breasts and period earlier for girls

    • boys slow down maturation

    • social acceptance - stereotypes

      • lazy - called names

      • bullied, poor body, images, etc.

    • emotional issues

      • low self - esteem

      • suicidal thoughts

      • depressed

• treatment

  • tricky

    • 1. Don’t want to create strong concern about food and dieting

      • learn to regulate when to want seconds, and when they are full

        • without control of parents

      • what is the goal

        • maintain a healthy weight

    • 2. parents don’t see the problem

      • only 25% of overweight parents judge their child

      • 81% of parents believed obesed child was healthy

      • kids can sneak food if you restrict it

      • effective interventions are family based and change behaviors

        • everyone needs to watch food eating and exercise

      • suggestions for parents

        • teach kids about nutrition

          • food groups, serving sizes, stock cupboards with healthy foods, allow kids to eat when hungry and stop eating when full, limit screen time

          • involve whole family in physical activities

Learning disabilities

• background

  • does it equal reading disability?

  • range of problems

  • rule out for diagnosis

  • LD diagnosed when there is a significant discrepancy between ability and achievements

• reading issues

  • often have reading problems

  • very common

  • 80% of people with LD also usually have reading disabilities

  • 3-7% have dyslexia or RD

  • misunderstanding

    • writing letters and words backwards are symptoms of dyslexia

    • kids can outgrow dyslexia

    • more boys than girls have dyslexia

  • two difficulties

    • 1. decoding: attempt of identifying words they don’t know cant figure out/decode new words easily

    • 2. fluent words recognition: unable to recognize words

  • phonological processing

    • phoneme awareness → ones sensitivity

• possible etiological factors

• brain research

• reading remediation

Asthma

• chronic inflammatory disorder of airways that makes breathing difficult

  • have periodic attacks that may need medical attention

  • can affect learning and self concept due to frequent absence from school

• prevalence: partly genetic, in 2020 about 1 in every 14 U.S. 5 to 11 year olds have been diagnosed with asthma

• rates are higher for boys, black children, and children of puerto rican descent

  • Later on, after puberty, girls are more likely to have asthma than boys are.

  • affected by income and stress; low SES 2x more likely to develop asthma

• causes:

  • genetic alleles, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and modern life — carpets, pollution, airtight windows, parental smoking, cockroaches, dust mites, less outdoor play.

  • usually multiple reasons why people have asthma

Movement and the Brain (pgs. 291-296)

• maturation

  • Children mature at various rates, so the social demands for motor skills needs to reflect what is possible.

• family involvement

  • Family physical activity correlates with family health.

  • modern life has meant less activity among adults

  • children are less active, too

• national values

  • parents should not be blamed for being affected by national values and social norms.

  • The inactivity of U.S. children is not solely the parents’ fault, because active play is not prioritized when tax money is allocated.

  • The idea that exercise improves the brain is prevalent in some cultures, but in others, good athletes are thought to be poor students.

• academics and motor skills

  • Both fine and gross motor activity enable the learning that children are expected to do in middle childhood.

• brain development

  • Motor activities directly affect the brain. As explained earlier, children develop better connections between the various parts of their brains every year.

  • Activity improves intellectual functioning via its effect on the brain, directly and indirectly. Exercise directly increases cerebral blood flow, fueling brain tissue and neurotransmitters, and increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which neurons need to grow.

  • One specific part of the brain that increases with activity is the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory

  • The indirect effect is that movement improves mood, and mood affects thought. Thus, positive emotions loop back to increase movement and action

  • that selective attention, the ability to concentrate on some stimuli while ignoring others, is crucial for learning.

  • Physical play combined with brain maturation during middle childhood also shortens reaction time

  • Reactions are speedier every year of childhood, thanks to experience as well as myelination.

Neurodiversity and Intelligence (pgs. 296-301)

• neurodiversity

  • each human is neurologically distinct from other humans.

  • aptitude: The potential to master a specific skill or a certain body of knowledge

    • Most of these aptitudes are not developed, since motivation and opportunity since they are needed as well

  • achievement: what is actually learned or attained.

  • There now are standards for average grade level in achievement each year, with some children achieving above or below the average in their grade.

  • IQ tests

    • a person’s general aptitude (often referred to as “ g,” general intelligence) could be assessed. IQ scores are still used, particularly when deciding if a particular child has an intellectual developmental disorder (IDD).

• multiple intelligence

  • The idea is that cognitive abilities (such as certain types of memory, or an affinity for languages, or a mind that quickly grasps math) vary within each person, and therefore that bundling them all together in g or a single IQ score is not accurate.

  • Gardner’s original seven intelligences are: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic (movement), interpersonal (social understanding), and intrapersonal (self-understanding). His eighth is naturalistic (understanding nature, as in biology, zoology, or farming) and his ninth is spiritual/existential (thinking about life and death)

    • Although everyone has some of all nine intelligences, Gardner believes each individual excels in particular ones.

Vygotsky and Culture

• he felt that educators should consider children’s thought processes, not just the outcomes of those processes.

  • also believed that middle childhood was prime time for learning, with the specifics dependent on family, school, and culture.

• appreciated children’s curiosity and creativity.

• Vygotsky welcomed direct instruction from teachers and other mentors. They provide the scaffold between potential and knowledge, engaging children in their own zone of proximal development.

• Vygotsky emphasized that the lessons children learn vary by context and are not simply the result of maturation. He recognized that children are limited by their social experience.

Poverty and Language

• Every study finds that SES affects cognitive development, especially in language.

• children from low-SES households not only have smaller vocabularies, but they also use fewer compound sentences, dependent clauses, and conditional verbs

• This is a major problem. Language proficiency correlates with school learning in every subject, including math and science, because brain activity is reduced

• how does poverty affect the brain?

  • correlation between financial stress, inadequate prenatal care, no breakfast, crowded and noisy homes, teenage parents, and physical punishment, all of which correlate with less brain activity and less learning.

  • neighborhood conditions independently contributed to brain development. Those conditions could include inexperienced or ineffective teachers, air pollution, neighborhood violence, and lack of role models.

• Fewer conversations in early childhood is the reason why education of the primary caregiver is a stronger influence on child language than family income

  • educated parents are more likely to talk with their children, as well as set an example by reading, asking questions, seeking more knowledge.

Teaching and Learning (pgs. 328-end of chapter, but SKIP International Testing)

• in every nation

  • Children worldwide learn whatever their community teaches

  • In the past, boys were schooled more often than girls

  • Gender gap in schooling has narrowed or reversed.

  • Enrollment:

    • Girls: 91%

    • Boys: 93%

  • High school attendance:

    • Girls slightly higher than boys

  • Literacy rates improving:

    • Men: 92%

    • Women: 90%

  • Performance Trends

    • Girls:

      • Better in reading

      • Higher grades overall

    • Boys:

      • Slight edge in math (shrinking or reversed in some countries)

    Why girls often do better:

    • Expectations (more conscientious)

    • Social/cultural influences (not just biology)

• Quality of Education

  • Quality matters more than time in school

  • Core subjects:

    • Reading

    • Writing

    • Arithmetic (“3 R’s”)

  Differences by country:

  • Some emphasize:

    • “Soft skills” (cooperation, social skills)

  • Others focus on:

    • Academics only

  Religion in schools:

  • U.S.: No required religious teaching in public schools

  • Some countries: Religious education is essential

• the hidden curriculum

  • Definition: Unspoken lessons learned in school (values, norms, expectations)

    Examples:

    • Classroom setup (space, materials)

    • Rules and discipline

    • Teacher behavior

    • Extracurriculars

    Key Idea:

    • Students learn more than academics—they learn social roles and expectations.

  • School OrganizationTracking (ability grouping):

    • Pros:

      • Easier teaching at same level

    • Cons:

      • Reinforces inequality

      • Can create stereotypes

    Grade retention (being held back):

    • Can lead to:

      • Isolation

      • Low motivation

    • Sends message: “You’re not capable”

    • Immigrant students:

      • May be placed with younger kids

  • Teacher identity matters:

    • Lack of diversity may make students feel:

      • “School isn’t for me”

    Teacher expectations:

    • High expectations → better performance

    • Low expectations → worse performance

    • This is a self-fulfilling prophecy

  • Corporal punishment still legal in some U.S. states

  • More likely for:

    • Black students

    • Boys

    • Disabled students

  Effects:

  • May contribute to school-to-prison pipeline

  • Discipline varies by school culture

  • Shooter Drills (U.S.)

    • 95% of schools have active shooter drills

    Effects:

    • Can increase:

      • Anxiety

      • Depression

    • But also:

      • Civic awareness

    Best protection:

    • Positive school climate

    • Strong relationships

• schooling in the U.S.

• Strengths:

  • High parent satisfaction

  • Improvement over time

  Challenges:

  • Large achievement gaps by income

  • Local funding → unequal resources

  NAEP (“Nation’s Report Card”):

  • Gains until 2012, then stagnation

  • Lowest-performing students declining

  School Options in U.S.

  1. Public schools (majority)

  2. Private schools (~11%)

  3. Charter schools

  4. Homeschooling (~2%)

  Key debates:

  • Vouchers for private school?

  • Charter school effectiveness?

  • Homeschool regulations?