SCLS was delighted to welcome Nicola Morgan as our first Forum speaker of the 2019-2020 Academic Year!
Ms. Morgan is an expert in how the brain works and especially in how teenagers’ brains change during adolescence. Educated at Cambridge University, Ms. Morgan has written a number of books designed to help young people understand how their brains work and what to do in order to achieve optimal wellbeing.
One of Ms. Morgan most important themes was that our brains are “in our hands.” What she meant was that we can each control how well our brain works by following 4 simple rules: getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, eating healthy food, and finding time to relaxation. Ms. Morgan called these the 4 legs on the “table” of wellbeing. If one of the legs falls down, so will the table and so will our well-being.
Another useful point for all of us to understand is that our progress in life isn’t totally decided by the DNA we inherit from our parents. Our success in life is actually much more “in our hands” which means that we ourselves, with a strong willingness to learn, can make an impact. Genetic inheritance is important, but more important is a growth mindset. We talk with students often about this—the cheerful desire to learn—and it was lovely to hear Ms. Morgan confirm our approach.
The Workshop of Our Brian
Ms. Morgan’s books for teenagers cover such topics as positive body image, friendship, stress and the impact of social media. We are fortunate to have all of these books in our library; students and parents are welcome to browse our collection of Morgan books and to check them out. We really are fortunate to have met Nicola Morgan and to benefit from her lively and inspiring message about growth and well-being.
