Uplifting Stories from Coordinators

With so many lesson plans to teach, it is sometimes hard to assess the particular impact of a lesson plan on students, over a 2 year school curriculum. Recently, Kaz De La Torre, a Coordinator who teaches at George Washington Educational Campus in New York City, shared a wonderful “impact moment.”

“I taught the Big Deal about Breakfast lesson to all of my classes. While I was walking around helping students create their "ideal breakfast plate," a student called me over to help him with the language aspect of the assignment. While I was translating, he expressed concern over the fact that he had headaches almost every morning during class. So I asked him if he had a regular breakfast, and he mentioned that sometimes he would buy a bagel with a bit of jelly, or a soda, when he could afford it. I mentioned that it would be more cost-effective and healthier if he asked his parents to keep breakfast ingredients in the home, and I hypothesized that (a healthy, balanced) breakfast every day would (actually) help with his headaches. He then explained to me that he lived by himself (Oh my) and that his parents were back in the Dominican Republic. So I discussed with him some affordable breakfast options, where to find them in supermarkets, (the importance of) expiration dates, etc.

I saw him after the Thanksgiving Break, and he excitedly came up to me after class to tell me that he followed my advice and was eating whole-grain cereal and milk every day for breakfast, and that his headaches had vanished!!! I felt so happy that I had helped him so simply, and directly.”

Note: A simple lesson, an exchange of “non-confrontational” information, an easy “prescription” and a willingness to give it a try! That’s how HealthCorps changes teen lives, with one lesson plan at a time.

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