【推荐1】A study led by the University of Eastern Finland suggests that teenagers who engage in active school transport (walking/cycling to or from school at least once per week) and leisure-time physical activity perform better at secondary school than their inactive peers (同龄人). Regular leisure-time physical activity was also associated with lower possibilities of school burnout (倦怠). The findings were published in the European Journal of Public Health.

The relationship of physical activity and academic achievement is complex. However, previous studies have found that especially school-based physical activity, such as physical education, can improve classroom performance — particularly in mathematics. Despite this, few studies have examined the association between active school transport and educational outcomes.

In the recently published study of over 34, 000 teenagers, researchers observed that active school transport was associated with higher chances of high perceived academic performance and self-reported competence in academic skills. Being physically active before school could, for example, enhance concentration in class. The association was even stronger for leisure-time physical activity. Similar to previous studies, the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and mathematical skills stood out.

Leisure-time physical activity was also inversely associated (负相关的) with school burnout. As little as 30 minutes of weekly activity was associated with 24% lower possibilities of school burnout. Teenagers who engaged in leisure-time physical activity for 4 to 6 hours a week had 46% lower possibilities of school burnout compared to their physically inactive peers. Both leisure-time physical activity and active school transport were also positively

“To the best of my knowledge, this was the first large-scale study to examine the association between physical activity and school burnout among teenagers. Leisure-time physical activity can be an effective way to disconnect from schoolwork and the potential stress related to it. If schools can increase the amount of leisure-time physical activity among youth, both learning and wellbeing benefits can be significant,” said Juuso Jussila, a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland.

【推荐1】After realizing students at his elementary school were going hungry at home. PE teacher Jason Watson got a wave of inspiration and a cool set of wheels.

Jason and his wife, school librarian Anne, bought a used ice-cream truck, and for the past two summers, the couple, both 39, have delivered hot homecooked lunches and icy treats to kids in need in their 1, 300-person town of Frazeysburg, Ohio, with the help of their own kids.

It all started back in 2016 when the pair started AIM Outreach, an extracurricular pro- gram for kids that included free lunches. When the tough time came in 2020, their in-person outreach was paused indefinitely. So one day Jason asked a local ice cream truck owner if he’d drive the family around to hand out free treats. What he got was something more.

“He just fell so in love with our community and what we were doing that he offered one of his ice cream trucks to us, ”Jason says. The couple purchased the truck in October, 2020 and have been hard at work since.

The family cooks all the meals themselves from scratch, posting on social media the dates and times when they will be delivering. They serve about 70 meals a week in the summer time. To date, they estimate they’ve served about 1, 500 lunches from the truck.

The couple launched a GoFundMe in June, 2022 when the truck needed both a new trans- mission and a new engine. They raised more than $ 10. 000, They’ve been blown away by the outpouring of donations.

“And we’ve been inspired to do more, ”says Anne. “Our dream is to possibly open a free cafe where we invite people to sit and have a hot dinner. Then we can sit down and share life together. That’s kind of our vision going ahead. ”

【推荐2】Ben is about to enter the seventh grade and most excited about meeting new kids. It will be fun to work on new activities. But he is concerned about new teachers and a new principal. “What if they are hard to get along with? What if they don’t like me?” He has already set some goals. They are: to get good grades, to do well in basketball, and to win a first - place award in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Competition. The last goal will be the most difficult. It’s so hard to think of a winning idea for a science project.

The Ohio school that Pat Betteley has taught at for the past ten years is an open school from the sixties. As a first - grade teacher, she is looking forward to the school year because she enjoys getting to know the children. But she has some concerns about the upcoming year. Class sizes are increasing. Some students have short attention spans (时间跨度) and little readiness skills. Support from parents is diminishing.

Dr. David Tager is excited about the new school year. As his daughter, Ali, prepares to enter the first grade, Dr. Tager shares mixed feelings - his eagerness to have Ali become a reader and his reluctance (不情愿) to let go of his six-year-old. “Will Ali have enough opportunities to learn? Will she get along with her peers (同伴)? Will she be well behaved?” But Ali’s enthusiasm and intelligence are indications that he doesn’t really need to worry.