Word on the street… September 2018 sightings
The word on the street is that Station Co-Lab has been seen in educational settings throughout the month of September… here’s what happened.
On September 18th 2018 Robert and I were invited to speak in Profe Kemp’s five Spanish classes at Vista High School.
We met with over 175 students throughout the day and were able to explore the innovative VHS campus. Profe Kemp is no ordinary superhero, he’s one of The Station’s Super Human Ambassadors. His methods of teaching follow the same practices as all of our Station courses do, by not just ‘teaching’ his subject, but also finding ways to ensure students have the skills they need in organization, healthy communication and embodiment to truly ‘learn’ about Spanish and life. When we met Profe Kemp (Profe meaning teacher in Spanish), he was inspired by our offerings and wanted to share some with his classes… so away we went!
Our exploration with the students was around morning and evening routines to avoid decision fatigue and improve their organization and prioritization of responsibilities. What is decision fatigue you ask? It’s the phenomenon that occurs when we are required to make many decisions throughout the day. Science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_fatigue has proven that the executive functioning capacity of our brains is actually limited. As the day wears on and we make more and more decisions, we begin to lose our willpower and are more likely to make more impulsive and less reasoned choices. For example, consider when you are more likely to eat junk food, make impulse buys online or choose to skip your exercise routine? More likely it is towards the middle to end of the day. When we have made multiple decisions all day long, from the simple (what to wear, what to make for breakfast) to the more complicated (where do I want to go to college, how do I ask the girl/boy I like out), we start to lose our capacity to make good decisions.
“Our exploration with the students was to bring awareness about their own rhythm of energy, when they felt most energized to do difficult tasks and when they needed more rest or to do simple tasks.”
Our exploration with the students was to bring awareness about their own rhythm of energy, when they felt most energized to do difficult tasks and when they needed more rest or to do simple tasks. We discussed the importance of creating routines to avoid ‘thinking’ about the responsibilities or things that ‘needed’ to get done from chores, to homework and even the most basic things like eating breakfast! Together we identified strategies like planning your clothes or breakfast the night before, getting chores done first thing in the morning and doing homework right after school when many of them felt they had the most energy. The students were able to relate how just simple routines in the morning and evening could help them reach their longer term goals of graduation and getting into a good college.
“We found that more than half of the students did not eat breakfast each morning and many didn’t have a foundational understanding of what basic nutrition was. They were eager for suggestions on how to eat right and how to prepare food simply.”
Our biggest takeaways from the experience came straight from what the students shared about their biggest challenges and obstacles day to day. We found that more than half of the students did not eat breakfast each morning and many didn’t have a foundational understanding of what basic nutrition was. They were eager for suggestions on how to eat right and how to prepare food simply. Our second insight came as a handful shared the real struggle of balancing their highly scheduled and ‘stressful’ lives, especially those who were on sports teams and AP classes.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time with the students and saw many a-ha moments with the students recognizing that with a few strategies they could feel empowered to make better choices for their future.
Vista High School is also the recipient of a grant to become an XQ Super School. They have received resources to support innovative programming to reinvent what high school could actually be for students. Read more about the XQ Project here: https://xqsuperschool.org/
We hope to work again with Vista High School and their phenomenal staff and students.
Then… on Monday September 24th 2018, I made a visit to North County Academy of Dance to speak with 25 bright up and coming professional dancers in their Pre-professional Training Program.
These are young girls and boys not only training to become professional dancers, but also learning discipline and self-care. Directors Pablo and Cassandra Infanté are more than just dancers and teachers, they are mentors and advocates for professionalism and admirable character in all of their students. Truly another pair of Station Super Human Ambassadors! Their new Pre-professional program is innovative and well-rounded, focused on goal-setting and healthy habits, in addition to all things dance.
“Optimal nutrition is a foundational component for any athlete, regardless of their age, and learning good habits early will support them for life.”
During my conversations with these students ages 9-16, we explored The Five Power Fuels for Young Athletes: Hydration, Proteins, Fats, Color and Whole Foods. We talked about water and safe electrolyte replacement, how to manage blood sugar and energy with appropriate intake of proteins, fats and carbs and made a fun game of identify a rainbow of color they actually enjoy eating to get the nutrients they need. High performance athletes like these dancers require a different level of understanding of food and supplementation not only for nutrition but also for healing. Because of the physical and mental impact of high intensity activities like dance, team or other sports, injury prevention is key. Optimal nutrition is a foundational component for any athlete, regardless of their age, and learning good habits early will support them for life.
I was so grateful for the opportunity to share my passion for nutrition with these passionate young people. I am hopeful to continue to share more healthful strategies in menu planning for training and performance/game days as well as recovery with these and other athletes throughout the county.
The Station Co-Lab is excited to announce some very special offerings designed specifically for young athletes to help support students in creating healthy habits to optimize their performance while finding balance in their lives.
Register your team or group for a free one hour session with us!
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