Six ways dogs can help ease depression symptoms

There have been many conversations about how dogs can help with depression. Dog's can be very intuitive. Some ways that dogs can help with depression are simple yet effective. The first reason is that dogs offer unconditional love. Dogs do not have an opinion or criticize, they will love you no matter what.  Dogs can alter our behavior. If a person is having a bad day and is greeted by an excited dog, it can change a persons mood and distract us of our worries.  Dogs can promote touch. It is said that stroking a dog can reduce stress, blood pressure and heart rate. Dogs make us responsible. Taking care of dogs promotes structure and promotes mental health.  Dogs can lower our blood pressure. Research shows that dog owners have lower blood pressure.

Conversation:a talk between two people or a group of people

Depression: a state of feeling sad

Intuitive: ability to know or understand things without evidence

Effective: successful in producing a desired result

Offer: to present something to someone

Unconditional: not limited in any way

Criticize: to express disapproval

Alter: to change

promote: to change to a higher position

Stroking: to rub gently in one direction

Reduce: to make something in smaller size

Stress: a state of mental worry

structure: the way something is built

research: a careful study to find something

Building Schools in the Clouds

Are students learning from an obsolete curriculum?

As technology advances, are schools and teachers teaching materials to students that are becoming obsolete? In this Edtalk video, Sugata Mitra talks about how schools were developed many years ago in a universal way in order for people to learn the same material and in the same manner.  For example learning writing, reading, math are a universal components that all students will learn in schools. Individual who have learned in this manner can be moved from one location to a different location and will be knowledgable and functional in any location. As technology becomes more significant in our every day lives, do we need to learn about other subjects that the internet can do the searching for us? Math for example is a subject that a computer can do the work for us. Sugata Mitra talks about how students will learn on their own based on their curiosity. He has created a method called SOLE. This method shows how teachers give students an objective and tools in order to finish a goal. The teacher then asks them to come up with an answer. Many students interacted with each other, discussed and concluded to their own solution. Mitra gave an example that discussed how Galileo has contributed to astronomy based on simple observations and curiosity of stars. This curiosity is what needs to be implemented into curriculums at schools. What do you think?

VOCABULARY

Advances- to move forward 

Obsolete- no longer used

universal- done by all people

developed- to make larger or more advanced

component- a part of a larger part

individual- single or separate

Knowledgeable- well informed, intelligent

functional - having a special activity or purpose

significant- an importance

curiosity- wanting to know something

method- a way of doing something

objective- a goal 

interacted - to talk or do things with other people

discussed- talked about

concluded - when a person comes to a result

contributed- to help to cause something to happen

astronomy- the scientific study of stars, planets and other objects in outer space

observations- a statement about something you have noticed

implemented- something used to do work

curriculum- courses taught in schools

Why I love traveling

Travel is good for many things, but it can also increase mental well-being - and not just in the short-term. Whether you’re traveling for business, on a one-week family holiday, or have sold everything to pursue a life on the road, traveling can make you a happier person by building self-confidence, providing new experiences and memories, breaking routine and allowing you to meet people from all over the world.

Vocabulary:
pursue (verb)- to try to get or do something over a period of time.
self-confidence (noun)- confidence in oneself and in one's abilities
providing (Conjuction)- used to say that one thing must happen in order for another to happen.
routine ( noun)- a regular way of doing things in particular
increase (verb)- to become larger or greater in size, amount, number 
short term (noun)- a short period of time at the beginning of something
routine (noun)- a regular way of doing things in a particular order