Secretary Perdue Announces OneUSDA Internship Program for Summer 2020
(Washington, D.C., November 1, 2019) Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the “OneUSDA Internship” opportunity for Summer 2020. As part of the Federal Pathways Program, the OneUSDA Internship Program will provide students a way to explore serving their country through a career in government while gaining work experience in agriculture, natural resources, rural development, and other career fields.
“Our goal at USDA is to recruit the best and retain the best through our OneUSDA Internship Program offered nationwide,” said Secretary Perdue. “Today’s young people are the future of America and there are few things more American than agriculture. We’re aiming to find young talent, with a diverse background, across all 50 states, to begin their careers as interns with USDA.”
The OneUSDA Internship Program offers Federal opportunities to students currently enrolled in qualifying educational programs or institutions, with a comprehensive developmental program intended to provide students with experience in a dynamic work environment that will enhance their educational goals and shape their career choices. An internship with USDA will involve various components of on-the-job experience, mentorship, and training tailored to the student’s education, experience, and interests.
During 2019, USDA was proud to host thousands of interns throughout the country, many of which were through the Federal Pathways Program. In the Summer of 2020, USDA will hire Pathways Interns in hundreds of locations in nearly every state in the country for the following occupational fields:
USDA is making sure the Summer 2020 OneUSDA internship job announcement is easier-than-ever for students to find and apply for. After choosing the geographic location of preference and the career path that best matches with student’s area of study and professional aspirations at http://www.usda.gov/Internships, students simply follow the weblinks to https://www.usajobs.gov/ to set up an account, then follow the prompts to apply to the internship.
When applying, students will also have an opportunity to indicate their preferred occupational area of interest and USDA Agency or office. The application window will open on November 1st and close on November 15th. Application review will begin immediately
For more information, visit www.USDA.gov/Internships.
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Dear Dave,
Is it okay to give very young children an allowance?
Christie
Dear Christie,
Teaching kids there’s an emotional connection between work and money is one of the best things you can do as a parent. Once your kids are old enough to do a few simple chores around the house, they’re old enough to earn a little money doing them.
In my mind, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with putting kids who are three or four on a basic commission system. If they do the jobs you assign them, they get paid. If they don’t do the jobs, they don’t get paid. We put a little dry-erase board on the refrigerator, and listed the jobs they had to do during the week with a dollar amount next to each one.
Keep in mind, kids shouldn’t get paid for every little thing they do around the house. Some jobs are just a necessary component of being part of a family. And there are some things kids should do simply because mom or dad asked them to. Some jobs should have a higher purpose in mind, too, because as a parent, you should want to find as many teachable moments for your kids as possible.
Once they’ve earned their money, sit down with them and divide it into three separate envelopes—saving, spending, and giving. That way, they get to learn about the uses for money while they’re learning how to work!
—Dave
(As safe as a neighborhood bank?)
Word count: 220
Dear Dave,
What are your thoughts about online banks? Are they as safe as traditional, neighborhood banks?
Jeanna
Dear Jeanna,
Sure, if they’re guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC is one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to customers in America’s depository institutions. The other is the National Credit Union Administration, or NCUA, which insures and regulates credit unions.
If you’re seriously considering using an online bank, there are a few things I’d advise checking out before making the move. Look into the bank’s track record, and see how long it has been open. Also, if the bank you’re considering doesn’t have a name-brand you recognize, find out the amount of its deposits.
Online banks don’t worry me today like they did 10 years ago. And almost everyone does some form of online banking these days, anyway. If the bank in question has a good reputation, and sufficient deposits to have some strength in its FDIC guarantee, I wouldn’t worry about it.
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 16 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.
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he experts at Les Schwab Tire Centers can help. Give us a buzz and we’ll connect you with a store manager who has decades of experience and has gone through rigorous training on tire care, traction, brakes and alignment – all critical factors to help drivers steer and stop, even in winter weather conditions. Our managers can share everything your readers need to know to safely navigate through a storm. Topics of expertise include:
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Press Contact: (951)532-6803
Steven Sabel, Director of Public Relations
publicity@shakespeareoxfordfellowship.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Filmmaker Cheryl Eagan-Donovan
Named Oxfordian of the Year
NATION – Filmmaker Cheryl Eagan-Donovan was named Oxfordian of the Year for 2019 by the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship for her documentary film, “Nothing is Truer than Truth,” about Shakespeare’s identity and the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, who traveled to Venice and throughout Italy in 1575-76, where he collected the experiences that are reflected in the works of Shakespeare. The Controversy Films production was released Feb. 12, by Gravitas Ventures.
“I was so surprised and absolutely thrilled to receive the prestigious Oxfordian of the Year Award,” said Eagan-Donovan. “I am extremely moved and grateful to be included with such an illustrious group of scholars, authors, actors, educators, attorneys, and Justice John Paul Stevens, who have been past recipients of the award.”
Eagan-Donovan discovered Edward de Vere in Professor Don Ostrowski’s history class at Harvard University in 1997. This led her to read J. Thomas Looney’s “’Shakespeare’ Identified” and Joseph Sobran’s “Alias Shakespeare.” She later learned about Mark Anderson’s then-work-in-progress biography of de Vere, “’Shake-speare’ by Another Name.”
“As a writer and a filmmaker, I knew that this story had all the elements for a great film: a complex protagonist, cinematic locations, and a true hero’s journey,” Eagan-Donovan said.
Filmed in Venice, Verona, Mantua, Padua, and Brenta, Italy, at sites visited by De Vere which became the settings for "The Merchant of Venice," "Othello," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Two Gentlemen of Verona," the film features award-winning actors and directors, Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Mark Rylance, Diane Paulus, and Tina Packer.
“I'd like to thank the entire SOF Board of Trustees for the very generous donation pledged last year at their annual conference which allowed me to complete the distribution deal for the US and Canada. I'm very excited about expanding the distribution to the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world,” said Eagan-Donovan.
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was an Elizabethan A-list party boy on the continental circuit. During his travels to Italy he was exposed to commedia dell'arte, Italian sculptures and paintings by master artists, and specific details about the Italian landscape that are prevalent in the Shakespearean canon. The film posits that De Vere was bisexual – one of the key reasons for his use of the pseudonym “Shake-speare.”
The Boston Globe declared “Nothing is Truer than Truth” more “level-headed” than the 2011 film, “Anonymous,” on the subject of Oxford and the Shakespeare Authorship Question. Globe correspondent Peter Keogh asked “could the name ‘Shake-spear’ be a ribald, punning allusion to de Vere’s bisexuality?”
“Interviews with actors Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance, and stage directors Diane Paulus and Tina Packer, add credibility to the theory,” wrote Keogh.
“The feedback we have received from viewers, including many college professors, has been very positive,” said Eagan-Donovan.
Eagan-Donovan’s debut feature, “All Kindsa Girls,” screened at film festivals and art house theaters in London, Toronto, and the U.S. She has published articles on Shakespeare, sexuality, writing, and film. She also teaches writing, literature, and cinema.
Controversy Films presents media projects that challenge the conventional wisdom. The company’s films ask difficult questions, inciting dialogue and action. For more information, go to www.controversyfilms.com. View the trailer for the film here: https://vimeo.com/208054704
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ACUI Clay Targets Program Makes Generous Donation to UTYESS Team Endowments
Dear Sentinel News,
Utah Youth Education in Shooting Sports (UTYESS) has been awarded a $7,500 donation from the ACUI Clay Targets Fund. This donation will be made to the MidwayUSA Foundation’s Agency and Team endowment programs.
These funds were made available from the ACUI Clay Target 3:1 Team Endowment Match offered during the month of October.
For any college team team that contributed $500 to their MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment account, the ACUI Clay Targets program contributed a 3:1 match.
Click to read the full PRESS RELEASE
You too can help fund a UTYESS team near you! Please consider a donation to a MidwayUSA Foundatoin Team Endowment account for a team of your choice.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2019
CONTACT: Lee Lonsberry
c - 801 698 7349
Support Continues for Bishop Daylight Act
WASHINGTON – Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) introduced HR 1601, the Daylight Act, which empowers state legislatures to decide how their states will observe daylight saving time. Under current law, states can only choose to either change their clocks twice per year or stay on standard time year round. The bill simply allows states the additional option to operate year-round on daylight saving time.
Since introducing the Daylight Act, bipartisan cosponsors from across the country have signed on to support this effort to empower states. Additionally, state-level legislators from each time zone within the continental US have welcomed Rep. Bishop’s legislation and the Utah State Legislature has passed a resolution of support for Rep. Bishop's bill.
Following introduction of the Daylight Act, Bishop released the video statement below where he said, “For any student of federalism, this is a no-brainer. The range of industry and lifestyle is so varied across our country, it only makes sense for states to have the ability to set their watches the way they best see fit.”
Just after Rep. Bishop introduced the Daylight Act in the 116th Congress, President Trump took to Twitter in support of permanent daylight saving time.
Hello there,
Are you baffled by the current fascination with socialism? Can you confidently answer the question, "Was Jesus a socialist?" Join us on Saturday morning, December 14th, at Liberty Hall to hear the clear and insightful reply from one of today's leading champions for liberty, Lawrence W. Reed, author of "Was Jesus a Socialist?"
Loving Liberty, Inc. is honored to present Dr. Reed for this kickoff event of Liberty Hall Lectures on:
Also just in time for Christmas, buy 10+ copies of The 5000 Year Leap for $2.50 each, just in time for holiday giving. (Single copy price is normally $10.)
Can't join us in person? Tune in to the Loving Liberty Radio Network and hear Dr. Reed live on Tuesdays during The Reed Hour and by podcast at www.LovingLiberty.net or on your mobile phone app.
Yours in liberty,
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Away From The Office – Permanently?
How Working Remotely Is Changing Real Estate
A corner office isn’t what it once was. No office is.
Technology has made it easier than ever for people to work remotely, handling their jobs from wherever they happen to be at any moment. That flexibility affects more than just how people schedule their lives and work assignments. It also has a large impact on real estate.
“The ways in which real estate gets bought, sold, leased, managed, and so on have already changed dramatically in recent years because of technology,” says Aaron Block, co-author with Zach Aarons of PropTech 101: Turning Chaos into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation (www.proptech101.com).
“The rise of telecommuting is one more way in which technology is changing how people work, and that affects how much office space a company needs, possibly the length of their lease agreements, and other factors that the commercial real estate world needs to adjust to.”
Block and Aarons, co-founders of MetaProp, a leading PropTech venture capital firm, say the challenge for the real estate industry will continue to grow as more people, and their employers, discover the flexibility and cost savings telecommuting can provide.
Already about 40 percent of the American workforce works remotely at least on occasion, according to an analysis that GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com conducted using the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005-2017 American Community Survey.
“Part of this is driven by changing demographics, with millennials now the largest generation in the workforce,” Aarons says. “Millennials are the architects of the so-called sharing economy, and they are fine with spending their workdays in coffee shops or co-working spaces.”
Block and Aarons say some ways all this impacts real estate include:
What companies expect from an office is evolving. “In fact, the whole notion of office space – how it looks, where it’s located, how it’s valued, the services it offers – is shifting,” Block says. A number of tech-enabled firms, such as WeWork, Convene and TechSpace, are not only changing the way office space is leased, managed, and configured, but also how it is conceptualized. To remain competitive, commercial real estate firms will need to offer space that has more services and has flexible leasing terms, he says.
“Many businesses and workers today do not want to be tied to long leases and oppressive space with cubicles, fluorescent lights, and bad coffee,” Aarons says. If workers spend much of their time elsewhere, companies no longer need the amount of space they once did, so sharing conference rooms, kitchens and other facilities with multiple businesses just makes sense.
Yes, there are apps for that. Whether you are a freelancer or part of a large team, you can book workspace through apps, rather than going through more traditional methods such as responding to a newspaper advertisement or contacting a property manager or a broker. Spaces are available in all shapes, sizes, and locations for any length of time. “You can book space for a month, a year, or even by the hour if you want,” Block says. Aarons recognized the potential for the real-estate-on-demand trend early on and was in investor in Breather, one company that helps people make those connections.
“Technology already has had an enormous and lasting effect on numerous industries, such as taxi companies and the newspaper business, in some cases upending companies that once were very profitable,” Aarons says. “Unless real estate practitioners want to follow in the footsteps of some of those businesses, ignoring the ways in which technology is remaking the industry is not an option.
“Instead, make sure you keep tabs on the tech trends likely to affect your business. Building a realistic strategy that takes emerging threats and opportunities into account is more critical than ever.”
About Aaron Block
Aaron Block, co-author with Zach Aarons of PropTech 101: Turning Chaos into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation (www.proptech101.com), is co-founder and managing director of MetaProp, a leading PropTech venture capital firm. Previously, he was chairman of Chicago-based BayRu, the U.S.-Russian -commerce company. Prior to that, he was an executive running the Chicago region of global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
About Zach Aarons
Zach Aarons was one of the top angel investors in PropTech before co-founding MetaProp, where his team has funded more than 60 start-ups. Previously, he worked as a commercial real estate developer with Millennium Partners; an investor at ENIAC Ventures; and as the founder of Travelgoat, a walking-tour company. He is a professor of PropTech at Columbia University.
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Hi Jim,
Please feel free to use the below article as is. For an interview with Steve Davis or Paul Trapp please reach out and I will be happy to coordinate.
Ashley
How To Keep Good Employees Happy
And Reap The Business Benefits
While many business owners say that the first rule of a successful company is keeping customers happy, studies show that also keeping employees happy is critical to the whole process.
The better a business owner and upper management treat good employees, the more committed and engaged they will be to perform at a consistently high level and do their part to help make the business successful.
“The big key to business success is the productivity level of your employees and the culture in which they operate,” says Paul Trapp (www.eventprep.com), founding owner/CEO of EventPrep, Inc., a full-service meeting planning and management company, and co-author with Stephen Davis of Prep for Success: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Achieving Your Dreams.
“Employee happiness results directly in success and goes hand-in-hand with company culture. The primary focus of leadership in that culture should be making sure their employees are happy, safe, respected, and making a competitive wage.”
If you get it right with your employees, Trapp and Davis say, they’ll get it right with the customer.
“It’s simple, really,” says Davis, who is EventPrep’s founding owner/president/COO.
“The folks you bring on board are going to spend a significant amount of time with their work family, so why wouldn’t the people running the business want it to be a cool place to work, and why wouldn’t they want it to be the most productive place they could possible make it?”
Trapp and Davis explain the key factors that find the right employees and keep them happy and productive:
Recruiting. “You’ve got to get the right people first, the people with the qualities that make for a passionate, productive worker who contributes to a positive culture,” Davis says. “Recruiting is about connecting with people and connecting them with their passion, their purpose, and enabling them to reach their potential. Recruiting isn’t an event, but a process, and sometimes finding the right person for a particular job can take months or even years. You’re always looking, listening, assessing and asking questions — and really getting to know the person you may hire.”
Establishing a culture. “You want people to want to come to work, and to do that you want people to work in the culture you’re creating,” Trapp says. “Culture is created at the top and cascades downward. What values and ethics do you have as a business owner that can make employees passionately want to be a part of that culture?”
Investing in them. ”Investing in your people raises their performance and strengthens their commitment, but it means far more than giving them raises,” Davis says. “It’s about making them feel like a part of your family, including giving them compassion and understanding when they need it most. Employees in turn embrace that kind of culture and own it. That’s what you want — a self-perpetuating work culture where everyone feels cared for and important.”
Recognizing them. “Keeping people happy and encouraging them to want to stay isn’t magic,” Trapp says. “Just as important as recruiting the right talent, business owners and leaders need to make the culture attractive and sustainable in order to retain the right talent. Retaining is about recognizing and celebrating, showing gratitude and appreciation. Recognizing employees for exceptional work, and giving them a cash bonus or special trip, is a key element toward retaining them.”
“A happy employee who’s engaged and connected, who wants to be there every day, makes the workplace a better place and a stronger business,” Davis says.
About Paul Trapp
Paul Trapp is a founding owner/CEO of EventPrep, Inc. (www.eventprep.com), a full-service meeting planning and management company that supports 16 franchises across the U.S. He is co-author of the book Prep for Success: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Achieving Your Dreams. Trapp is a former senior military leader who served as chief of recruiting for the Army National Guard and holds over 30 years of experience in contract management, event planning, and organizing conferences, seminars, and meetings.
About Stephen Davis
Stephen Davis is a founding owner/president/COO of EventPrep, Inc., and co-author of Prep for Success: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Achieving Your Dreams. Davis is a multi-state operations director who focuses on conference development, implementation, management, and conference design. He currently serves as a chief warrant officer and CID special agent in the Army Reserves. Davis deployed twice in support of the global war on terrorism. In 2016, Davis and Paul Trapp launched Federal Conference, Inc., which provided professional event planning and management services to the government and commercial marketplaces. Federal Conference, Inc., twice was a two-time Inc. 500 award recipient and executes over 3,000 events annually around the world.
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With Veterans Day around the corner, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst Places for Veterans to Live (as well as accompanying videos). The report compares the 100 largest U.S. cities across 20 key metrics, ranging from share of military skill-related jobs to housing affordability to the availability of VA health facilities.
WalletHub also released its money-saving selection of 2019’s Best Military Credit Cards, along with the results of its 2019 Military Money Survey, which revealed that almost 200 million Americans agree that military families experience more financial stress than the average family, in addition to everything else they have to worry about when serving our country.
Best Cities for Veterans
Worst Cities for Veterans
1. Tampa, FL
91. North Las Vegas, NV
2. Austin, TX
92. New Orleans, LA
3. Orlando, FL
93. Chicago, IL
4. Raleigh, NC
94. Toledo, OH
5. Scottsdale, AZ
95. Philadelphia, PA
6. Colorado Springs, CO
96. Indianapolis, IN
7. Virginia Beach, VA
97. Memphis, TN
8. Gilbert, AZ
98. Jersey City, NJ
9. St. Petersburg, FL
99. Newark, NJ
10. Jacksonville, FL
100. Detroit, MI
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-cities-for-veterans/8156/
Military Money Survey
To view the full survey, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/best-military-credit-cards#survey
Q&A with WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou
What makes a city good or bad for veterans?
“Ideally, every city would roll out the red carpet for our veterans, given all they’ve sacrificed for cities and citizens all across the country. That’s not the case, however, and it ultimately comes down to prioritization and funding. Some areas simply focus on veterans affairs more than others, and some have the means to make an impact, while others don’t,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “But the federal government is the one constant in all of this. Nationally, there is a dysfunctional relationship between the amount we spend going to war, or preparing to do so, and the amount we invest in recuperating. That needs to change. The first step: There should be no homeless veterans in the U.S. That is a national disgrace.”
What can we do to reduce the stress on military families?
“Military families have to put up with a lot – a lot of stress, worry, uncertainty, upheaval and much more. Some of that is unavoidable, but there are things everyone can do to lighten the load for the brave men and women of the military and those they love. One thing, of course, is to put more thought into where we send our troops and how long we make them stay, and to hold politicians accountable for the decisions they make. We can also look into things like reducing the service time needed to qualify for a pension and boosting financial literacy efforts aimed at the military community,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou.
Is poor financial literacy a threat to national security?
“Financial illiteracy among military personnel is definitely a threat to national security. It comes down to our men and women in uniform being free from unnecessary worry and able to focus on the task at hand. Financial illiteracy compounds money problems, and money problems are the biggest source of stress for most people. Military personnel with money problems could also be targets for coercion by foreign adversaries,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “In a broader sense, financial illiteracy across the U.S. that puts families’ finances on shaky ground adds up to cracks in the country’s economic foundation. Improving financial literacy would make the country stronger.”
Does the military do enough to teach financial literacy?
“The military does not do enough to teach financial literacy, but few employers or other major organizations actually do. Schools don’t even do a good enough job of educating people on money matters,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “Simply recognizing what’s missing is only part of the battle, though. We need action. It might even make sense to use some military funding for this national-security imperative.”
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Champion Drissi and Lucas Oil Trans Am Camaro to appear at AAPEX
Show Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV - November 4, 2019 - The 2009 Trans Am Series Champion and 2018 West Coast Trans Am Champion Tomy Drissi has teamed up with Lucas Oil and their hit product, Slick Mist, in the second half of the 2019 Trans Am Championships presented by Pirelli to create one of the most stunning cars appearing on track, and the No. 8 Lucas Oil Chevrolet Camaro will be on display at the AAPEX Show November 5-7 at the Sands Expo, Las Vegas, coinciding with the world-famous SEMA Show.
"It's my first time to the AAPEX/SEMA Show and I couldn't be happier about joining up with Lucas Oil and having our Slick Mist Burtin Racing Camaro at the display," stated Tomy Drissi. "The Lucas Oil family has been so good to us and we are proud to promote Slick Mist to our beloved fans in Las Vegas this week."
The driver dubbed ‘The Rockin' Moroccan’ by press and fans alike, Drissi has made the podium in five of the seven races in which he has competed this year - an outstanding record given that his season has been interrupted by injury.
A creative Hollywood movie advertiser, when not behind the wheel of an 850BHP muscle car, Drissi will be looking to make the podium again when the Trans Am Championship reaches its climax at Daytona International Speedway later this month, November 16.
For now, motorsport fans get the chance to meet with Tomy Drissi in Las Vegas at the AAPEX Show - adjacent to the world-famous SEMA show. A gregarious and very popular personality in the paddock, Tomy will be there in person alongside the fabulously presented No. 8 Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet Camaro with hero cards at 12pm on Tuesday, November 5, all day on Wednesday and from 9am - 11am on Thursday, November 7.
Lucas Oil has been making waves in the North American motorsport scene for some time and Tomy Drissi is proud to wave the Slick Mist colors in Trans Am. Be sure to take in this terrific opportunity on your trip to Las Vegas this week.
The Lucas Oil Products display at AAPEX is located at Booth 5079 inside the Sands Expo Center.
For more information on Tomy Drissi, please visit tomydrissi.com and for product details on Lucas Oil head over to lucasoil.com.
Follow Tomy Drissi on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!
Think about what’s between your two ears
Do you ever think about what’s going on in the three pounds of tissue inside your skull that sets on the top of your neck? The human brain is composed of 75 percent water and 60 percent fat. Who knew? The human brain has 86,000,000,000 (86 billion) neurons. Crikey! The brain is miraculous.
The brain is so astounding that it gets its own annual Brain Awareness Week in March. Bravo to the brain. Celebrate your cerebellum and cerebrum. Love your lobes. Nurture your neurons.
The Global Council on Brain Health is a collaboration of scientists, health professionals, scholars and policy experts from around the world that work in areas of brain health related to human cognition. Shazam!
“The brain is the most complex of the human body. This three-pound organ is the seat of intelligence, interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement, and controller of behavior. Lying in its bony shell and washed by protective fluid, the brain is the source of all qualities that define our humanity. The brain is the crown jewel of the human body.” www.ninds.nih.gov.
Are you getting brain strain from too much stress? We only get 168 hours per week to do everything we want and need to do. That’s it. So, stop trying to squeeze so may activities into your week.
“We live our lives as if they were one big emergency! We often rush around looking busy, trying to solve problems, but in reality, we are often compounding them,” wrote Richard Carlson, author of the book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Calm down your brain strain.
Are you getting brain drain from too little sleep? Study after study shows that getting seven to eight hours of sleep per night is necessary for memory, learning, and focusing. So, stop guzzling caffeine and get your zzz’s.
Brain Check-Up
Take an online self-assessment (no cost) by the Cleveland Clinic at www.healthybrains.org. You will get your personal Brain Health Index (BHI) Score, Individual Pillar Scores, Brain Health Guide, Memory Score, Dashboard, and Recommendation and Tips Designed For You. Your Brain Health Index is a measurement of lifestyle choices that contribute to your overall brain health. Results are based on your answers. Good news—I am not showing signs of dementia. FYI: Shopping at a mall is not considered a cardio exercise—unless you speed-walk through the racks and jog from store to store.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
An estimated, 283,000 children seek care in U.S. emergency departments each year for a sports- or recreation-related traumatic brain injury. TBIs sustained in contact sports account for approximately 45 percent of these visits. Football, bicycling, basketball, playground activities, and soccer account for the highest number of emergency department visits. From 2010 to 2016, football contributed to more emergency room visits (52,088) among males than did any other sport. www.cdc.gov.
Did you know that falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury overall, particularly in older adults and young children?
Concussions and High School Football
According to a 2012 report in the American Journal of Sports Medicine,49 percent of concussions in high school football happen during running plays. Tackling is responsible for 63 percent of concussions in high school football. Linebackers sustain 59 percent of all concussions among high school football defensive players. Running backs sustain 46 percent of concussions among high school football offensive players.
Children, the Brain, and Football
Should tackle football for banned for children 12 years and under?
“Removing tackling from football altogether would likely lead to a decrease in the incidence of overall injuries, severe injuries, catastrophic injuries, and concussions. The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes, however, that the removal of tackling from football would lead to a fundamental change in the way the game is played. Participants in football must decide whether the potential health risks of sustaining these injuries are outweighed by the recreational benefits associated with proper tackling.” That’s the response from The American Academy of Pediatrics.
Should your state legislatures ban tackle football for children 12 and under? A controversy is brewing. However, bills seeking to ban tackle football for kids under 12 or 14 have been proposed — and failed — in five states, according to a 2019 article in USA Today.
How are your treating your magnificent brain? You only get one brain in this lifetime, so treat it with safety and respect.
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in Ohio.
