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YATW Blog #1: Concussions in Young Athletes

Posted by Cacy Thomas in English 1 - Dunn - A on

Hello, my name is Cacy Thomas and I am a 9th grader enrolled in Science Leadership Academy. In my English class we were told to write 3 blogs about an issue that we are passionate about and would like to spread to the world. This is my first blog post and my issue is concussion awareness and research in young athletes. I have cared about this subject since October 2nd, 2011 when I received my third concussion following my first and second concussions on June 6th, 2011 and July 17th, 2011. All within a five month period my life was completely turned upside down.


Before I received my head injuries I had many instances where I had no idea what was going on or even what a concussion was. So just to clear the air and make sure you know what I am talking about, a concussion as described by Centers for Disease Control is,

"A type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump,

blow or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works.”

Click here to see a short video explaining more in depth of the definition of a concussion.


The anatomy of a concussion from The Seattle Times.

My story started in 6th grade. I was outside at recess when I turned around and a football hit my left eye. I didn’t think anything of it until my head kept hurting a few days after the incident. My mom took me to my pediatrician and they were more concerned about the 10% chance that my eye socket was fractured rather than my consistent headache. They sent me to CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) and the doctors were wondering why I was even there. Only one person told me that I had a “mild” concussion and that it was no big deal. So I shrugged it off, kept playing sports, and doing all of my normal activities. Then on July 17th, 2011, just one month later, I was at a soccer camp and took a bad header (when someone hits the ball with their forehead so it goes in the opposite direction) where I could not remember what I ate for lunch or dinner. Again I was told I received a “mild” concussion and returned to play the next day. Three months after the second incident I was knocked over and kicked in the head in a soccer game and was immediately dizzy and disoriented. We finally went to a concussion specialist and realized that this was serious. Finally after 2 years of physical and emotional rehabilitation, taking 8 different medications and vitamins, being home schooled for about a month, and only using technology for about 15 minutes a day I have been cleared by 2 out of 4 of my doctors. These injuries have affected my vision, emotional state, school work, and my athletic ability. I can never play contact sports again and will never be able to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional soccer player.


One example of a header from Sheknows.com where a young girl is preparing to head the ball.


Hundreds of thousands of young athletes are experiencing what I went through; I can’t stand to see that happen to anyone. My concussion symptoms will stay with me forever because of the lack of research of concussions and other head injuries. The fact that my pediatrician was more worried about my eye socket than potential brain damage is very frightening! We can prevent or lessen the dangers of concussions through research and awareness. Things such as baseline and neuropsychological testing are some examples to help know where your cognitive skills were before and after the injury. Neuropsychological testing is explained by The Sports Concussion Institute as,


“...designed to measure cognitive skills and abilities such as intelligence, problem solving, memory, concentration, impulse control, and reaction time, to name a few. At the Sports Concussion Institute, both computerized and standard paper-and-pencil tests are utilized to gather evidence-based, comprehensive data on cognitive functioning before (i.e., Baseline Test) and after (i.e., Post-Injury Test) a concussive injury occurs.”


Here are just some statistics from clearedtoplay.org I think you will find to be very eye-opening. I believe that these numbers can be brought down with proper care, recovery time, and awareness.

50% of "second impact syndrome" incidents - brain injury caused from a premature return to activity after suffering initial injury (concussion) - result in death.

Female high school soccer athletes suffer almost 40% more concussions than males (29,000 annually)

Female high school basketball players suffer 240% more concussions than males (13,000).

400,000 brain injuries (concussions) occurred in high school athletics during the 2008-09 school year.

15.8% of football players who sustain a concussion severe enough to cause loss of consciousness return to play the same day.


Children in our society are not only feeling the physical symptoms of head injuries, but also psychological. Many have been diagnosed with depression, like myself, because they can’t play the sport that they love. I am wondering how I can reach out to those kids in need. And will they be willing to be open and share their stories with me? I hope to learn more about how each individual person is affected differently because no two concussions are exactly the same. I also want to further my research in the psychological symptoms of a concussion to help make a difference in the lives of those who have suffered from concussions.


Thank you for taking the time to read my post and feel free to check out my bibliography to see all of my various sources. Also look out for my second blog post!


Click here to read about the very real concussion stories of Ben Zipp, David Bosse, Zack Lystedt, Brandon Schultz, and Matt Peterson.

YATW First Blog Post - Financial Education

Posted by Felix Schafroth Doty in English 1 - Dunn - A on

Hello, my name is Felix Schafroth Doty, and this is the first of three blog posts for my English You And The World (YATW) project. For this project, we are to choose an issue in the world, anywhere, and combat it with some form of volunteering. I have chosen Financial Literacy and Education, and the fact that not nearly enough people have the knowledge to live a financially savvy life.


This problem came to my attention when I read a book on teenage finance and education. This book is called The Motley Fool Investment Guide For Teens, written by David and Tom Gardner, owners of a stock investing site. However, this book isn’t just on investing in the stock market. The Motley Fools, as they call themselves, teach you throughout the book about how to be smart and safe with money, and ultimately use it to your advantage. Their website is here.


But anyway, back to the problem at hand: Financial Literacy. This is a definite problem in America, as shown by a recent survey:



The 2012 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey, released in April, Financial Literacy Month, found that despite the recession, Americans still lack basic money skills. More than half of the 1,007 adults polled for the survey admit to not even having a household budget.


Also revealed in the findings:

  • 33 percent, or more than 77 million Americans, do not pay all of their bills on time.

  • 39 percent of Americans carry credit card debt from month to month.

  • Only 59 percent of adults say they have savings -- a 5 percent decrease from last year.

  • More than one in four adults say they are now spending more than last year.

  • 42 percent of respondents give themselves ratings of C, D or F on their personal finance knowledge



personalfinanceeducation
personalfinanceeducation
Just looking at this image should show you how bad Financial Education is in America!


This means that some of the most fundamental financial tools are not being taught to people, which brings me to the issue I want to address with my project. Financial education is not something that is routinely taught to children, either by parents or schools. When I googled, “Financial Education” and “Lack of Financial Education,” (google search, google search, and other google search. As you can see, just by skimming these searches, there’s an issue.) I saw a lot of programs funded by banks or government branches, but all of these programs are only for people who can access them. People who aren’t members of these banks, or don’t take advantage of their own banks’ education programs, aren’t getting their education from their bank or financial institution. As a side note. some of these bank programs are taking advantage of this advertising opportunity, and teach kids what they want them to know (our bank has the best rates, other banks will cheat you out of money, etc.) Additionally, some neighborhoods don’t have access to a good financial institution, or even a financial institution period.


In addition to the mentioned problems, some parents don’t want to teach their kids about financial education, either because they themselves don’t know about it, or are embarrassed that their kids will find some fault in them. Talking about money and finances is a big taboo in American culture, and frankly shouldn't be. Financial independence and the benefits that come from it can only be achieved if financial education is actively taught in America, both by parents and schools. This is something that has been supported by many sources, including the aforementioned Motley Fools.


This means that action needs to be taken. To me, Health classes (and similar programs) should include a section on financial literacy. In ‘the real world’, something these programs are supposed to prepare you for, money is one of the biggest assets you can have, but only if you know how to use it right. If you don’t handle things like debt, loans, and credit cards correctly, you can be in a lot of trouble. The same goes for sexual education. It’s a big taboo in American culture, but it is also one of the things we need the most. That’s why I think that there needs to be more abundantly accessible financial education programs out there in ‘the real world.’


As a solution to this serious issue, I'm hoping to have talks at my old school and in some advisories here at SLA. That way I can teach more kids about how to be safe and smart.




This is my Annotated Bibliography. You can find plenty more sources there, and some statistics, too.

FEChart
FEChart
A chart showing what to teach children at different stages in their lives.

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