Clifton T. Barkalow Middle School seventh grader Ali Lafferty, 13, doesn’t mind answering her classmates’ questions about diabetes.
“If they have questions, let them ask,” Lafferty said.
However, thanks to the Barkalow physical education’s department increased focus on diabetes awareness, her peers have more information on the disorder.
The students attended an assembly on diabetes in early May. Lafferty, teachers and representatives from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) explained what diabetes is and how it can be treated and managed. The children had the opportunity to raise money for the JDRF during the school’s second annual Walk to Cure Diabetes on Friday, May 13. Each grade spent a half-hour walking laps around a baseball field in back of the school.
Physical education instructor Michael Benjamino said teaching students about the condition is important, especially with Type 2 diabetes on the rise with elementary school children. Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, occurs when the pancreas does not properly produce insulin. Type I is not caused by environmental as opposed to Type 2 diabetes, which can occur when an individual has high glucose levels and the body does not use insulin properly.
“We talk with the eighth grade students about the science of diabetes,” said Benjamino, who helped organize Barkalow’s Walk to Cure Diabetes. “We talk to them about the differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. When we increased the fitness (portion of) the curriculum last year we talked about how Type 2 can be treated with exercise.”
The Walk to Cure Diabetes helps hammer home the importance of regular physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Last year, the physical education department set a goal of $3,000 and ended up raising about $7,000, according to Benjamino.
“Last year was a shock,” he said. The students repeated the success this year: a goal of $3,000 was surpassed, with Barkalow raising nearly $6,000.
For diabetics in the school like Lafferty, the Walk to Cure Diabetes and classroom instruction has a less tangible but equally important effect: awareness.
“There are so many stereotypes,” she said, noting that some students wonder if being diabetic prevents her from participating in sports and other activities. “There are so many things I can do—I play lacrosse, I dance.” And diabetes won’t keep her from pursuing her dream of becoming a pastry chef.
“The Walk to Cure Diabetes is about raising money and bringing awareness,” Lafferty said.
