Educating the educators

A few days ago while picking my grandson up from school at Panther Valley Elementary, he commented that his teacher told him that he "should stop drinking so much water."

His mother and I had just started encouraging him to drink water, and sent him two 16-ounce bottles in his backpack every day. Now he's being told not to drink so much! What's going on here? I don't get it.

I want to educate teachers about the importance of water. Back in the day, during the start of my first class of a nursing course, it was hammered into us about the great necessity of drinking water and how it helps our brains function, and how we should consume it continually in order to survive the rigors of the class.

Water has great value and shouldn't be taken for granted. When the kids that you're teaching are dehydrated, they are unable to keep their attention focused. Dehydration can impair their short-term memory, and if their fluids are low, can impair the function and recall of long-term memory.

Water is important for children, and it won't satisfy their needs during their short trips to the water fountain with the rest of the class for a hurried sip there.

Teachers should encourage kids to drink water and not throw out negative comments to those who do. Actually you should encourage the other students in your class to do likewise. It's important to encourage water consumption because not only does water cushion and lubricate the brain and joints; it transports materials and carries waste away from cells in the body, and helps regulate body temperature. Water is about 60 percent of our body weight.

Good hydration is essential for health and wellness. Every one of our cells requires water. When your student's brains are well-hydrated, their brain cells are supplied with fresh, oxygen-supplied blood. Water is important for transporting carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and important nutrients as well as oxygen to the cells that supply energy for the body.

So my advice to you is to share a bottle of water with your class daily so that you can benefit also, and put the negative comments about water away and get your class ready to learn, and you will be refreshed also so that you can teach them. Incorporate a lesson with the students about how important water is for them so that they and you can benefit from it, and soon more of your students will be pulling water from their backpacks and drinking it so that their bodies and minds can be refreshed.

Faye Ruckhardt

Nesquehoning