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Her students were always tired and unfocused. Then standing desks changed everything.

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BOKS

Fourth-grade teacher Amanda Grey used to have the hardest time getting her 27 students to focus in class.

They'd slump down in their chairs, tilt backward, and get distracted by any number of things.

While you might be thinking this sounds like your average fourth-grader, there was one common thread in their behavior that might've been the catalyst: sitting.

Image from iStock.

A student in the United States sits an average of 4.5 hours a day while in school. Add that to all the sitting they do at home, and they're spending approximately 85% of their day being sedentary.

Several studies have noted that prolonged sitting can be bad for your long-term health, even with regular exercise. But perhaps the most immediately harmful aspect of sitting for kids is how it can negatively affect attention spans.  

Thankfully, about three years ago, Crossfit studio owners Juliet and Kelly Starrett brought standing desks to Grey's school.

Student at a standing desk at Vallecito Elementary. Photo by Amanda Grey, used with permission.

Vallecito Elementary was also where the Starretts' daughter Georgia went to school, and the couple would often volunteer to run sack races during school field days. They noticed that while the students appeared healthy, they lacked range of motion in their hip extension when they jumped.

Thinking this was likely due to too much sitting, they approached the school about trying standing desks in a classroom. The school administration was receptive and agreed to replace their traditional desks with standing desks in one fourth-grade classroom in August 2014.

After a brief period of adjustment, the students were on board with the change to standing in class.

Teachers and parents alike were noticing they have more focused energy, which helped them perform better in school.

Vallecito student doing work at a standing desk. Photo by Amanda Grey, used with permission.

"I have found that my students' overall academic performance has improved simply because they are more attentive during lessons when they're standing," explains Grey. "I deal with far fewer behavior issues while I teach, less student distraction and overall more focus."

The rest of the teachers at Vallecito saw similar results and were thrilled when the Starretts decided to find a way to fund standing desks for the entire school. By that point, they had founded their nonprofit, Stand Up Kids, which is all about educating schools on the importance of fitness and mobility.

Thanks to a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign, the Starretts raised $110,000 — enough to buy standing desks for all 450 Vallecito students.

The best part for Grey is seeing how standing desks have made school life so much better for her students, especially those with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD.

Photo by Amanda Grey, used with permission.

During Grey's second year with standing desks, she had a new student who had a history of "overactive behavior" that made it difficult for her to get her work done. At the end of the student's first day, Grey asked her what the best part of her day was.

"She told me that she loved not getting in trouble for needing to stand up throughout the day and being told to stay in her seat," recalls Grey. "It was so clear to me that this student needed to be active and have a variety of seating options during her school day to be successful. I was very glad to welcome her into a school community that offers that type of learning environment."

Since the Starretts started their initiative, over 27,000 kids nationwide have access to a standing desk. Grey hopes that's just the beginning.

While populating an entire classroom with standing desks is expensive, Grey encourages teachers to be creative in getting kids on their feet.

"Even if you're not able to get one desk per student, having five will make a difference," says Grey. "I would also explore ways to make sitting desks into standing desks as a way to experiment with the positive impact on students."

Schools and teachers can get a leg up on fundraising for standing desks or other active lifestyle plans for students, by visiting Stand Up Kids' fundraising page.

Remember, it's not just about standing — it's about encouraging a more active lifestyle in kids so it becomes an inherent part of their adult lives. Any way teachers can promote moving in the classroom is a step in the right direction.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship
Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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education
Education

In 125 years, millions of people have looked at this painting. No one really saw it until recently.

Van Gogh saw something it took scientists another 100 years to see.

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Van Gogh’s Starry Night.



Van Gough never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist (even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

I know Van Gogh was a genius. If the point of this were "Van Gogh was a mad genius," I would not be sharing this with you.
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Joy

Woman who lives on a cruise ship shares the hardest part about her perfect life

She's a little afraid to leave her cabin.

via Christine Kesteloo/TikTok and Cagri Gurbuz/Pexels

Christine Kesteloo has one big problem living on a cruise ship.

A lot of folks would love to trade lives with Christine Kesteloo. Her husband is the Chief Engineer on a cruise ship, so she gets to live on the boat pretty much for free as the “wife on board.” For Christine, life is a lot like living on a permanent vacation.

“I live on a cruise ship for half the year with my husband, and it's often as glamorous as it sounds,” she told Insider. “After all, I don't cook, clean, make my bed, do laundry or pay for food.“

Living an all-inclusive lifestyle seems like paradise, but it has some drawbacks. Having access to all-you-can-eat food all day long can really have an effect on one’s waistline. Kesteloo admits that living on a cruise ship takes a lot of self-discipline because the temptation is always right under her nose.

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cruise ships
Health

Women do better when they have a group of strong female friends, study finds

We're stronger together.

Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

Women do better when they have female friends.

Madeleine Albright once said, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." It turns out that might actually be a hell on Earth, because women just do better when they have other women to rely on, and there's research that backs it up.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. "Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination," Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review.

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It's like having a road map for your goals.

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women
Pop Culture

Millennials nearing 40 are sharing their biggest mistakes so everyone can learn from them

Here are 21 of the most powerful responses.

via Pexels

Millennials are now old enough to seriously reflect on life.

It seems like only yesterday a millennial was a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980, have hit their 40s and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets.

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves.

The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40 “what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?” and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger.

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millennials
Joy

Stop blaming the 'Karens.' The people who complain the most have a different name.

The stereotype has been wrong all along.

via Rickey123/Pixabay

A woman giving a stern warning.

Over the past few years, women named Karen have taken a lot of heat in the media. The term "Karen" has been used to describe a specific type of entitled, privileged and often middle-aged white woman. Typically, "Karen” is depicted as demanding, self-important and constantly seeking to escalate minor inconveniences to authority figures, like demanding to "speak to the manager."

Identifying the folks who create unnecessary drama in our world is important. But calling them a “Karen” isn’t the best way to solve the problem. There are many reasons to have an issue with the “Karen” stereotype. First, it’s terrible for people named Karen, and it’s also a connotation that many feel is racist, sexist and ageist.

Further, according to a new study by Trustpilot, the stereotype isn’t accurate. A recent survey by the online media site found that the people who leave the most one-star reviews aren’t female, and the women who do it the most aren’t named Karen.

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