Reward Me, Sir Pathway

1. Reward Me, Sir Pathway By Ansel and Bennett

2. Reward Pathway • Located in center of brain • Reward pathway makes us feel good when we engage in behaviors necessary for survival • The reward pathway is connected to several other important areas of the brain so it knows what is happening outside of the body. • So if you were to eat something your reward pathway would know what is happening and sends out dopamine. • The dopamine travels to the dopamine receptors and when it’s used it is then taken back up through re-uptake transporters.

3. Longer Lunch • The reward pathway makes us feel good when we engage in behaviors that are necessary to our survival. • Eating produces dopamine • Adding a longer lunch will give students a chance to finish their lunch • This will also give students a chance to have lunch when they might be busy otherwise because of teacher meetings, homework etc. • You could also give a specific time to have things like teacher meetings such as a study hall in the schedule.

4. Gym Every Day • Exercise is very good for your body. • It helps produce dopamine within the body. • Your reward pathway reinforces behavior so it your reward pathway will want you to exercise more which is good. • By producing as much dopamine as possible it will help keep students off things like drugs and bad behavior. • Gym is also looked upon as a fun period from most students so having it every day will keep the vibe going in Middle School. • We should also offer other options like rock climbing, parkour or archery. When you participate in risk taking behaviors you get an extra boost of dopamine. This will help students from doing questionable risk taking behavior.

5. Better Class Activities • We should do more hands on and active activities. • Things like outdoor games are good because exercise helps produce dopamine and by having more dopamine you will be more motivated to do work. • Projects and activities using art are also good because they stimulate your motor cortex, and that is kinesthetic learning. • Also better class activities would just be more fun, and we all want that don’t we?

6. Conclusion • In conclusion, we believe that having a longer lunch, gym every day, and better class activities will help build the ideal middle school. These things will help boost dopamine in many or all students to keep them motivated and to help stop them from doing more dangerous risk taking behavior such as drug/alcohol abuse. We feel that in order for an ideal middle school to function, we all need to be as happy as we can.

7. Sources • www.learn.genetics.utah.edu • www.livestrong.com • www.apu.org

8. The End