All About the Brain

I listened to the presentation about brain development that was given at the middle school a couple weeks ago. Even though I was not used to the type of lecturing that was done, I learned valuable information about the brain. The presenter said, " Memory is the essence of all development." It is true that learning is essentially building upon memory, and I agree that it is important to build skills that students can get better at, furthering their development. Our job is to "coach and protect," balancing what we tell students to do and what we teach them to do for themselves. I learned that the brain develops front to back, and hormones are not the only thing responsible for moods and behaviors. She said that students are willful, self-centered, have mood swings, and can't delay gratification, which are all effects of their brain changes. Something that was very upsetting to hear about was Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, a completely preventable condition that should never occur in children. The way that alcohol effects the brain is totally devastating, and parents need to remember the long-term effects of their choices. The most important part of this presentation was the idea that the brain extremely vulnerable and that alcohol can have a huge impact on its development. I didn't realize it takes four days for the brain to recover from being drunk. Also, I was shocked by the fact that the brain takes 25 years to mature. These things are important to remember and we should base our decisions, especially on weekends, on these facts!