"Adolescents who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or questioning are much more likely to consider, plan or attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Specifically, of a nationally representative sample of 15,624 high-school age participants, 40 percent of sexual-minority adolescents seriously considered suicide compared to 15 percent of their heterosexual counterparts. Nearly a quarter attempted suicide compared to approximately 6 percent of those in the sexual majority."
"I loved reading @thatboycanteach's blog this morning about music and his classroom-based Youtube battles with a former colleague.
It got me thinking about how I use music within my lessons.
To jolly my Y8 students along, I play 3 minutes of Bennie Hill's theme music as a signal that they should clear away practical equipment and return to their seats. It's great to see the startled look on their faces as soon as they hear the tune and then remember that they need to completely pack away before the music ends."
"An amazing feedback app. Create QR codes and attach audio feedback for students/parents to listen to. QR codes are emailed to you after requesting them from the app. Glue into books to evidence your feedback. Get your students to reply to begin a conversation about their work."
"Working within the education sector invariably throws together so many tasks that producing a simple to-do list is sometimes just not enough. When faced with a complex to-do list, the usual temptation can be to procrastinate, leaving the important and urgent items on the list festering away until last-minute panic sets in."
"A letter for a video-based 'mantle of the expert' project to make short TV show and ads. Letter has been rewritten to be generic, but can be adapted."
"It can be a funny old game this teaching lark and many of us survive the day-to-day stresses by laughing, rather than crying. As a social species, humour is a fundamental part of developing group cohesion, yet I have never seen it mentioned in teaching or in insets, although perhaps I don't get invited to that kind of party! But can a teacher 'learn' humour or is it something innate, and how can humour be deployed to enhance relationships and learning?"