Winter Week: Debates, Tapping and Catching Up

My 8th grade ESL classes will continue following their books. A class is on schedule to finish Unit 4 before the CNY holiday.

My 9th grade Social Studies classes are a little bit more varied in pace. The faster classes (301) already finished their Mental Health readings on Self- Harm and Bullying, as well as the Group Role Playing Activity. The other classes will catch up for winter week, so we can all begin the next semester on the same page.

For those faster classes, we can try a class debate. The last time I facilitated a proper debate was with my first 9th grade social studies class 3 years ago and many of my materials are no longer available. First, I need to introduce the concept of debate basics, have the class choose a topic and then break up into teams. As a prep exercise, we can break into teams of two, one student the affirmative, the other the negative and see how they can debate in twos. Then the following class, I will follow the Lincoln-Douglas format.

 Several debate topics to choose from:

• Electroshock Treatment (ECT) for kids: Therapy or Abuse?

"The treatment is controversial, and in the early years of the therapy (1930's), patients were not given anesthesia, and high levels of electricity were used.

Today, the therapy is safer, because patients receive anesthesia and electricity doses are much more controlled, according to the Mayo Clinic. Still, the treatment can impair short-term memory and, in rare cases, cause heart problems.

Because of these potential side effects, ECT should never be used as a first-line therapy. But, for people who have tried other treatments and have seen no improvement in their symptoms, the treatment can be very effective: 75 to 85 percent of patients who receive ECT recover from their symptoms, experts say.

ECT is used to treat patients who are severely depressed and at risk for suicide, and in some cases, it is used to treat schizophrenia and severe mania." (See Live Science)

• Marijuana Legalization in Taiwan
• Death Penalty
• 4 Day Work-Week
• Gay Marriage

They will use this mindmap to prep their ideas. Unfortunately, Scribd removed my debate ppt, that made it easy for Chinese speakers to follow the Lincoln Douglas format. Luckily, the internet is full of such resources, so I am looking for one I might use and tweek.



If there is still time, or maybe not enough time for a debate, I will have the class try "Tapping" as an exercise/life skill to calm down anxiety.

RESOURCES:
Teacher's Debate Guide
Everything You Need For First Class Debate

Tapping 輕拍 for the Classroom

I recently discovered EFT Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping therapy) and have introduced it to my daughter to deal with her stress at school. Stressed out people stress out each other. Since starting tapping, even after a few rounds, I feel an immediate calming effect.

Tapping began about 26 years ago and has been used in the States by war veterans to deal with PTSD創傷後壓力症候群 and later by students after mass school shootings. Now it is becoming more mainstream, being used in American classrooms and advocated by principals for their staff and student body, as well as becoming more popular globally. (Taiwan is actually having an upcoming certification course at Changhua Normal University in February)

                                                                                       How to Tap Video

How to do:
First, you need to identify the painful issue or situation. Then you say the setup statement 3x. You honestly recall the stressful situation or anxiety and say it aloud or in your mind as you tap 9 acupressure points. (Karate chop on the hand, bone around eye,  above your lip, under your lip, collarbone, side body, grown of head).

Each time you do, it gives voice to fact that you are feeling this  and while tapping these areas it helps the brain secret calming hormones to the point that these same thoughts lose their intensity of stress. For example, "Even though I feel anxiety about school, I accept myself." Keep tapping on those points while you vent. Eventually, you can have these thoughts without the physical tension.

You can also say aloud a positive affirmation, "I am likable, I accept myself" or "I am surrounded by Love"  or anything that aligns with your personal spiritual beliefs while tapping.

EFT is a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western psychology (Dr. Gary Craig,1991 and TFT's Dr. Callahan)

Benefits:

• Reduce short-term and chronic stress壓力管理, short-term depression憂鬱症 and anxiety焦慮症 
• Lowers cortisol 可體松 (stress hormone that inflames the body)
• Reduce joint pain
• Reduces bullying傷害 in schools
• Clears or reduces childhood trauma (ie. from bullying, abuse)
• Decrease fatigue 疲憊
• Decrease tension headaches
• Improve focus and ability to pay attention, ADHD 注意力不足過動症
• Improves grades and job performance
• Drug free therapy
• Improve Sleep
• Improve athletic coordination技術, 協調性 and performance
• Changes the classroom, office space, home, into a positive environment if all or most of the members participate regularly
• Improves adult bonding/couple relationship problems

For the ESL classroom, I think its important for the kids to do it in Chinese; they can whisper anything they want to themselves. I will try this with my more advanced/mature students with a general anxiety, like before an exam, and see how it goes.


Resources
EFT Asia
EFT for Teens
EFT for Teen Girls
EFT for toddlers
HappiMe App (Worry, Anger, Anxiety, Test/Exam Stress, Insomnia, Bullying)
EFT Research
https://bebrainfit.com/tapping-anxiety-benefits/
https://draxe.com/emotional-freedom-technique-eft-tapping-therapy/
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-25231/how-to-use-tapping-to-solve-any-emotional-or-physical-issue.html
http://www.eftuniverse.com/refinements-to-eft/the-benefits-of-tapping-in-your-mother-tongue
https://www.thetappingsolution.com/what-is-eft-tapping/
http://www.tappingsolutionfoundation.org/tapping-teachers-students/
Hold Me Tight (Chinese)