How To Protect A Student’s Heart

By profession, teachers cultivate minds; but by imitation, they also cultivate overall health and 

fitness. Quintilian, a Roman rhetorician, once said, “It is the nurse that the child first hears, and her words that he will first attempt to imitate.” Nurses may be the first, but teachers are among the most consistent voices children will hear.  Betty Lindquist, a 27-year experienced educator, said, “Students look up to us as role models, and we want to say the right things and help set them on a good path.”

The Cardiovascular State of Our Youth

Julia Steinberger, Director of Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Minneapolis in Minnesota recently authored a journal statement for the American Heart Association. Steinberger said that poor diet and physical inactivity are the top two reasons for the weakening cardiovascular health of today’s youth.

“About 91% of U.S. children have poor diets,” said Steinberger, “because they are consuming sugary foods and drinks.”

10 Ways to Influence Student’s Heart Health

In a previous blog post, we talked about how to Protect A Teacher’s Heart. But part of an educator’s responsibility as a role model, beyond the curriculum, is to pass that heart healthiness on to their students. Here are some ideas:

1. Plan a faculty-student lunch day, ensuring all faculty are on their best nutritional behavior.

2. Provide a heart-supporting fitness curriculum such as Mileage Club®.

3. Utilize a heart-healthy eating curriculum like Pack-A-Snack®.

4. Establish a faculty program, like the Mega Mileage Club®, to practice along with the students. Celebrate milestones together and share enthusiasm for physical activity.

5. Plant a school garden that students can volunteer to tend during break.

6. Award a “lunch of the week” to a student who brings the most vegetables in their lunch.

7. “Take brain breaks,” said Lindquist. “My students loved to move to educational songs like Dr. Jean.”

8. Enthusiastically share personal fitness accomplishments, like completing a 5k, walking around the block with your spouse, or lifting your heaviest weight.

9. Use number-oriented exercises like weight lifting and jogging as an alternative way to teach math concepts (for example: If I lifted ____ lbs and added ____lbs to each side, how much am I lifting now?)

Set a good example – One adage says, “Actions speak louder than words.” You can explain an idea in words, but often it takes showing a concept for the habit to establish meaning. So don’t just tell students to eat healthy and exercise, show them.