Learning to Tap Away Stress, Anger

Imagine your stress level rising, or having a problem nag at you, and being able to ease your anxiety and relax just by tapping your fingers lightly on areas of the body. That's the thrust of a relaxation approach called Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) outlined in Goodbye Ouchies and Grouchies, Hello Happy Feelings: EFT for Kids by psychologist Dr. Lynne Namka. Teachers can use EFT with their classes to help students let go of their worries and release tension in a positive way.

Namka is president of Talk, Trust and Feel Therapeutics, which provides toys and books to help parents, teachers, and therapists teach children ways to express uncomfortable feelings, take responsibility for their own behavior, and learn positive social skills. More information for children and families about dealing with anger is available at Get Your ANGRIES Out.

“EFT draws on much from what we already know about what works in psychology, such as helping people deal with errors in thinking and with processing strong emotions regarding events they could not control. EFT adds self-applied acupressure and addressing emotions to the cognitive behavioral approach, which is the current popular approach among psychologists,” Namka told Education World.

Read the full article on Education World.

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Fighting Hunger in the Classrooms

The Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) is a major force in promoting school breakfast programs in Ohio. The hope is that greater and easier access to school breakfast programs at all grade levels will increase attendance and lead to higher student achievement. CHA helps schools implement a provision of the school-meal laws that permits schools to reduce paperwork and offer free breakfasts to all students regardless of income.

CHA also works with schools to identify and overcome other obstacles to school breakfast participation. Chief operating officer Dianne Radigan and CHA’s partners have assisted these schools in developing a breakfast in the classroom program, a model that has increased breakfast participation across the country, resulting in better student attendance, fewer cases of tardiness, and increased attention span among students.

In one year the CHA program provided 773,000 additional breakfast meals in 229 Ohio schools. Teachers and administrators reported a positive impact on student attendance, tardiness, behavior, and achievement.