WGU Master's in Elementary Education - Progress Thread

[LevelUP]

What I learned this section:
- No grade level is safe, and paraeducator work is easier than substitute teacher work. Kindergarteners threw chairs at classmates, 1st graders were cheating on all their assignments or screaming and crying “don’t look at me!!” to their fellow students, 3rd graders were ripping up their own math textbooks, 5th graders were climbing on top of library bookcases. Most kids can barely read, some can’t read at all, because they are only using text to speech and speech to text on the computer. In every grade level, the biggest behavioral issues with the kids suddenly pop up when we switch to math or when we either get the computers out or put the computers away.

- Mental health is largely rooted in biology.

- Don’t let yourself take a break! Do a little WGU every day even if it’s only 5min.

I have never seen kids ripping up their own textbooks or climbing on top of library bookcases. Maybe this was because we allowed the school to spank kids.

Additionally, if a child was acting up, they were usually put out in the hallway for the rest of the one-hour class period, with the door shut. Kids were often more afraid of being bored out there alone, so they behaved well.

Mental health is a complex subject. Many studies show that non-medical treatments work just as well as medical treatments. Additionally, with medical treatment, there is a risk of misdiagnosis and being prescribed the wrong medications. In some cases, particularly with bipolar disorder, this could even increase the risk of suicide. Moreover, the human body builds up a tolerance to medications, causing them to become less effective over time. Another risk is that long-term medication use can disrupt the body's natural chemical production, potentially leading to permanent changes. For instance, unrelated to mental health, athletes who use steroids long-term to increase testosterone levels often end up unable to naturally produce normal levels of testosterone once they stop using steroids.

Many mental health issues people struggle with are related to productivity, especially when they are trying to complete schoolwork. I agree that starting is usually the hardest part, and even committing just 10 minutes with the option to quit afterward is a good strategy. Often, you will find that you end up working longer than 10 minutes.

It's good to hear you are making progress at WGU. Keep it up!