Is Prensky's idea of partnering realistic? Could a teacher
(particularly one faced with high-stakes testing, pressure to achieve
AYP, etc.) realistically set up his/her curriculum and instruction to
use this approach daily? Why or why not? What could you do as a school
leader to foster the partnering approach?

My perspective on Partnering comes from my overall approach to life, which is a holistic approach. I believe that in order to perform at your highest ability in any aspect of life, you must be supported in all areas of cognitive, social and emotional learning. I believe partnering is a great way to integrate all aspects of learning into the classroom. A teacher can still continue to teach the same content, however the students would now work together collaboratively and the teach would now work with and support the students throughout the learning process. This approach allows for a more holistic learning experience where all aspects of students personal learning needs, psychological, physical and social can be taken into account.

As a leader in the integration of health and wellness into education, I believe that partnering is an excellent way to set up all curriculum and instruction. I think one of the major issues with high stakes testing is that the student personal and emotional needs are being ignored. As long as they take the test they move along. Lost in this process, is the students ability to learn the skills needs to be able to perform later in life, in both college and their professional careers. Testing becomes less important as you get older, but collaboration, working in groups, creative problem solving, leaderships, and critical thinking, increasingly depict your success as a leader. Partnering allows teachers the ability to teach the content needed for academic testing, however it also supports the integration of essential knowledge and skills that will have a huge impact on a student’s success throughout their lives.

What About the Other You?

We all know that living a healthy life is a good thing. More than ever we see this message come through on the news, TV shows, and even our favorite chin restaurants that now post their nutritional facts right on the menu. So how can it be possible that the rates of obesity are rising significantly each year? If you ask me, the answer is simple, we are not attacking the issue from the inside out. So often physical problems are treated with physical solutions. We scratch the surface, find the problem and then cover it with a band aid. This is what I consider to be the fundamental problem with the rising healthy issue in the US and around the world.

Physical Health and Mental health are one in the same. You can't have one and not the other. In order to truly be a healthy person, you have to be both mentally fit and physically fit. For example, the person who makes the healthy choice to go to the gym everyday, but consistently makes unhealthy personal choices that create extreme amounts of stress, ends up right back where they started, unhealthy.

The mind is as fragile as the body. Just as everyone needs to get 30 min of physical activity a day to have a healthy heart, people also need to spend 30 minutes a day doing something that nourishes their mind. Even just 5 minutes of deep breathing exercises every day has shown to have significant effects on stress levels. Less stress = happier and healthier frame of mind.

Next time you head to the gym or go outside for a walk, to "get some exercise," think about the last time you made time out of your day to "nourish your mind." If it wasn't yesterday or the day before, try to make time before or after your exercise. I guarantee you will sleep better after caring for both of "you!"