Session 1

 

 

Let’s Have a Talk!

 

1. The weather has been perfect lately! Do you feel like going on a picnic?

2. Do you take classes on Fridays?

3. What do you usually do in your free time?

4. If your boyfriend/girlfriend leave you for your friend, what would you do?

 

 

Helping Teachers Cope With Stress

 

Teaching can be one of the most satisfying jobs there is. Yet many American teachers say they feel overworked, undervalued, and underpaid. This has led to what education experts call ‘teacher burnout,’

a feeling of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. Many teachers also experience time urgency -

an anxious feeling that they will not have enough time to complete their duties.

 

According to 2010 study by McKinsey & Company, nearly 50 percent of American teachers leave the profession before their fifth year. Teachers say the stress affects their sleep, health, and quality of life.

A 2016 study from Penn State University found that 46 percent of teachers report high daily stress.

 

The study identified mindfulness training as one promising solution for improving teacher well-being.

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California – Berkeley studies the science and practice of well-being. It defines mindfulness as keeping “a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment.”

 

A person can reach this emotional state by spending time in quiet thought, without judging these thoughts and feelings. A number of people also meditate – they take slow, deep breaths to become calm.

 

Many organizations around the country have designed mindfulness training programs for schools.

Some of them are designed for teachers. The programs seek to reduce teacher stress while helping them be more effective in the classroom.

 

 

1. Have you ever visited your teacher on Teacher’s Day?

2. Which one do you think is more demanding: teaching 8-year-old students or 19-year-old?

3. I wish I could go back to elementary school. What about you?

4. Have you ever been under a lot of stress lately? How do you relieve stress?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Session 2

 

 

Let’s Have a Talk!

 

1. Do you use Instagram? Do you like to post there?

2. Do you wear perfume? Do you have any suggestions?

3. What’s your favorite YouTube channel lately?

4. Do you think couples should live together before getting married?

 

 

What Is 'Comfort Food,' and Why Do We Love It?

 

We all need food to survive. But food can do more than just help us live — it can also make us feel

happy and safe. A food that makes us feel happy and safe is often called "comfort food." But why does food like this give us comfort?

 

Different people have different comfort foods. The taste of the food is not always important. More than

their taste, comfort foods remind us of happy times in the past. These could be foods that your family

made for you when you were young — like your mother's pasta or your father's soup.

 

Any food can be comfort food, but it is often made from carbohydrates. When we eat carbohydrates,

our brains make more serotonin. This is a chemical that makes us feel good. So your comfort food

could be something like noodles, or just bread and butter. Other people have comfort food that is

warm and tastes like home cooking, such as a stew or a pie.

 

People might like to eat their comfort foods when they feel sad or lonely. But eating isn't always the

best thing to do when we're sad! Comfort food can help — but so can doing some exercise, talking to a

friend, listening to music, or reading a good book!

 

 

1. I’m a bit of a foodie. What about you? Do you like checking out good restaurants?

2. What’s your comfort food when you feel tired or sad?

3. What’s the best/worst food you’ve ever tried?

4. Pineapple pizza is one of the polarizing foods. Do you think pineapple goes well with pizza?