The Brain Lady

I really enjoyed the presentation that we attended at Decorah Middle School on the adolescent brain and alcohol. Karen Williams was an excellent speaker that had a personality that came alive through her passion for the brain. I was surprised to learn a couple of things from her presentation. First, I learned that there are two major learning peaks in a child's development. I had no idea that there was two! This is wonderful because it gives a child the opportunity to develop and learn even more. It really made sense about how we teach students and what they need to be learning or developing at certain ages. The second thing I learned was about how teenage drinking is like getting a concussion. I recently had a minor concussion on my j-term trip to South Africa and I still find myself forgetting things. I can not imagine what it would be like to have be in school and not remember something when all your classmates had. To actually learn something you have to remember it. I feel like because I now know the effects of alcohol on a teenagers brain I will be able to show my students why they should not drink and help them with their problems. Also because I know about my students growth/development patterns I will be a more effective teacher.

Like I said before, Karen was a very dynamic speaker. Anyone in the audience could tell that she had a passion and cared about what she was presenting. I think that teachers need to be able to do the same thing. Teachers need to teach with a passion that everyone can see. I feel that if you are passionate about something then others will become passionate about it too.