Any momentum to lobby the state to make health a 1/2 year again?

[Anonymous]

I don't think I've ever heard a kid say anything positive about anything they've learned in health. Is there any momentum to get the state to go back to a half year credit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I've ever heard a kid say anything positive about anything they've learned in health. Is there any momentum to get the state to go back to a half year credit?

I hear ya! I'll call my state rep if you call your state rep!

[Anonymous]

Because it's only much later that kids realize it's useful.
I never had anything to say about my health classes as a child, but as an adult I realize they were actually informative.
My parents complained about them as well, because of sex ed.

[Anonymous]

After 3 years of MS health ed plus 1/2 a year, what on earth are they discussing? Every year MS health ed is the same thing.

[Anonymous]

I agree 1000 percent. It was a stupid addition

[Anonymous]

Completely support this but doubt it will get any traction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After 3 years of MS health ed plus 1/2 a year, what on earth are they discussing? Every year MS health ed is the same thing.

From what I could tell, Montgomery County health was about sex-ed, drugs, and a little bit of mental health.

When I went to school elsewhere, our health class covered sex-ed and drugs, but it also covered nutrition, body systems, diseases, and first aid (including the Heimlich and CPR certification). Admittedly, there wasn’t much focus on mental health.

If the extra semester of health means they actually learn more about health than safe sex, avoiding drugs, and mental health issues, it sounds like it would be beneficial.

[Anonymous]

I'd be more interested in making the yearlong health course valuable and relevant to students than trying to scale it back to a one-semester course. It's clear a lot of students lacked vital education when it came to all aspects of health so the intention is valid, even if the execution leaves room for improvement.

[Anonymous]

Health A (semester 1):
Students explore health information in the following content areas: mental and emotional health; alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (substance abuse prevention); personal and consumer health; family life and human sexuality; safety and injury prevention (safety and violence prevention); nutrition and fitness (healthy eating); and disease prevention and control. Students develop lifelong health skills such as analyzing influences; accessing information, interpersonal communication skills, decision making, goal setting, self-management; and advocacy for personal, consumer, and family health throughout the course.

Health B (semester 2):
In this course, students engage further with health promotion concepts. The goal of this course is to engage more through health literacy skill development to promote and support health-enhancing behaviors. The health literacy skills include analyzing influences of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors; accessing valid information; using interpersonal communication skills; demonstrating ability to use decision-making and goal setting skills; practicing health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks; and advocating for personal, family, and community health. Health Education aligns with Be Well 365 by emphasizing lifelong positive health-related attitudes and behaviors that promote self-reliance and self-regulation for all students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 3 years of MS health ed plus 1/2 a year, what on earth are they discussing? Every year MS health ed is the same thing.

From what I could tell, Montgomery County health was about sex-ed, drugs, and a little bit of mental health.

When I went to school elsewhere, our health class covered sex-ed and drugs, but it also covered nutrition, body systems, diseases, and first aid (including the Heimlich and CPR certification). Admittedly, there wasn’t much focus on mental health.

If the extra semester of health means they actually learn more about health than safe sex, avoiding drugs, and mental health issues, it sounds like it would be beneficial.

So, you don't have kids in MCPS and know nothing about it but advocate for it. They did all those things in MS. Then, they do them all in the one semester of HS. Now, doing something like financial literacy makes sense. Another health education doesn't. Every semester its the same thing. Enough with the mental health non-sense. Talking about it in general terms isn't helping anyone. Parents need to step up and help and get their kids help with true mental health issues. Between student support/advisory and health ed, so much time is wasted repeating the same information vs. giving our kids a good well rounded education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Health A (semester 1):
Students explore health information in the following content areas: mental and emotional health; alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (substance abuse prevention); personal and consumer health; family life and human sexuality; safety and injury prevention (safety and violence prevention); nutrition and fitness (healthy eating); and disease prevention and control. Students develop lifelong health skills such as analyzing influences; accessing information, interpersonal communication skills, decision making, goal setting, self-management; and advocacy for personal, consumer, and family health throughout the course.

Health B (semester 2):
In this course, students engage further with health promotion concepts. The goal of this course is to engage more through health literacy skill development to promote and support health-enhancing behaviors. The health literacy skills include analyzing influences of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors; accessing valid information; using interpersonal communication skills; demonstrating ability to use decision-making and goal setting skills; practicing health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks; and advocating for personal, family, and community health. Health Education aligns with Be Well 365 by emphasizing lifelong positive health-related attitudes and behaviors that promote self-reliance and self-regulation for all students.

SO, basically all the same stuff they covered in MS. Yawn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 3 years of MS health ed plus 1/2 a year, what on earth are they discussing? Every year MS health ed is the same thing.

From what I could tell, Montgomery County health was about sex-ed, drugs, and a little bit of mental health.

When I went to school elsewhere, our health class covered sex-ed and drugs, but it also covered nutrition, body systems, diseases, and first aid (including the Heimlich and CPR certification). Admittedly, there wasn’t much focus on mental health.

If the extra semester of health means they actually learn more about health than safe sex, avoiding drugs, and mental health issues, it sounds like it would be beneficial.

So, you don't have kids in MCPS and know nothing about it but advocate for it. They did all those things in MS. Then, they do them all in the one semester of HS. Now, doing something like financial literacy makes sense. Another health education doesn't. Every semester its the same thing. Enough with the mental health non-sense. Talking about it in general terms isn't helping anyone. Parents need to step up and help and get their kids help with true mental health issues. Between student support/advisory and health ed, so much time is wasted repeating the same information vs. giving our kids a good well rounded education.

Pp you quoted
My kids are recent graduates of MCPS. One of them even took “Honors Health” as she was interested in a health career and was hoping for a more rigorous health class, which she didn’t get. You seem to be agreeing with me that the repeated semesters of health focusing on mental health is insufficient. That’s why they need a semester with useful content.

I agree that MCPS wastes a lot of time on fluffy topics when instructional time would be better served focusing on academic content and/or development of specific skills. I think instruction on financial literacy is also a good idea. It could be folded into existing math/economics classes (although with the current problems with math instruction, I hate to divert time/focus from main topics) or stand alone. Maybe we should just have a life skills class that includes financial literacy, practical health, and other miscellaneous general information that people need in life but usually just fumble through by themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 3 years of MS health ed plus 1/2 a year, what on earth are they discussing? Every year MS health ed is the same thing.

From what I could tell, Montgomery County health was about sex-ed, drugs, and a little bit of mental health.

When I went to school elsewhere, our health class covered sex-ed and drugs, but it also covered nutrition, body systems, diseases, and first aid (including the Heimlich and CPR certification). Admittedly, there wasn’t much focus on mental health.

If the extra semester of health means they actually learn more about health than safe sex, avoiding drugs, and mental health issues, it sounds like it would be beneficial.

So, you don't have kids in MCPS and know nothing about it but advocate for it. They did all those things in MS. Then, they do them all in the one semester of HS. Now, doing something like financial literacy makes sense. Another health education doesn't. Every semester its the same thing. Enough with the mental health non-sense. Talking about it in general terms isn't helping anyone. Parents need to step up and help and get their kids help with true mental health issues. Between student support/advisory and health ed, so much time is wasted repeating the same information vs. giving our kids a good well rounded education.

Pp you quoted
My kids are recent graduates of MCPS. One of them even took “Honors Health” as she was interested in a health career and was hoping for a more rigorous health class, which she didn’t get. You seem to be agreeing with me that the repeated semesters of health focusing on mental health is insufficient. That’s why they need a semester with useful content.

I agree that MCPS wastes a lot of time on fluffy topics when instructional time would be better served focusing on academic content and/or development of specific skills. I think instruction on financial literacy is also a good idea. It could be folded into existing math/economics classes (although with the current problems with math instruction, I hate to divert time/focus from main topics) or stand alone. Maybe we should just have a life skills class that includes financial literacy, practical health, and other miscellaneous general information that people need in life but usually just fumble through by themselves.

We had that class. It was called home economics. I don't know why we did away with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 3 years of MS health ed plus 1/2 a year, what on earth are they discussing? Every year MS health ed is the same thing.

From what I could tell, Montgomery County health was about sex-ed, drugs, and a little bit of mental health.

When I went to school elsewhere, our health class covered sex-ed and drugs, but it also covered nutrition, body systems, diseases, and first aid (including the Heimlich and CPR certification). Admittedly, there wasn’t much focus on mental health.

If the extra semester of health means they actually learn more about health than safe sex, avoiding drugs, and mental health issues, it sounds like it would be beneficial.

So, you don't have kids in MCPS and know nothing about it but advocate for it. They did all those things in MS. Then, they do them all in the one semester of HS. Now, doing something like financial literacy makes sense. Another health education doesn't. Every semester its the same thing. Enough with the mental health non-sense. Talking about it in general terms isn't helping anyone. Parents need to step up and help and get their kids help with true mental health issues. Between student support/advisory and health ed, so much time is wasted repeating the same information vs. giving our kids a good well rounded education.

Pp you quoted
My kids are recent graduates of MCPS. One of them even took “Honors Health” as she was interested in a health career and was hoping for a more rigorous health class, which she didn’t get. You seem to be agreeing with me that the repeated semesters of health focusing on mental health is insufficient. That’s why they need a semester with useful content.

I agree that MCPS wastes a lot of time on fluffy topics when instructional time would be better served focusing on academic content and/or development of specific skills. I think instruction on financial literacy is also a good idea. It could be folded into existing math/economics classes (although with the current problems with math instruction, I hate to divert time/focus from main topics) or stand alone. Maybe we should just have a life skills class that includes financial literacy, practical health, and other miscellaneous general information that people need in life but usually just fumble through by themselves.

A life skills class v. more health ed would be far more valuable. There is only so much health ed they can do before they start repeating themselves. They have repeated the same material in the 3 years of MS we've been in. So, instead of kids taking something useful they have to take another edition of health education or in the summer. Huge waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After 3 years of MS health ed plus 1/2 a year, what on earth are they discussing? Every year MS health ed is the same thing.

From what I could tell, Montgomery County health was about sex-ed, drugs, and a little bit of mental health.

When I went to school elsewhere, our health class covered sex-ed and drugs, but it also covered nutrition, body systems, diseases, and first aid (including the Heimlich and CPR certification). Admittedly, there wasn’t much focus on mental health.

If the extra semester of health means they actually learn more about health than safe sex, avoiding drugs, and mental health issues, it sounds like it would be beneficial.

So, you don't have kids in MCPS and know nothing about it but advocate for it. They did all those things in MS. Then, they do them all in the one semester of HS. Now, doing something like financial literacy makes sense. Another health education doesn't. Every semester its the same thing. Enough with the mental health non-sense. Talking about it in general terms isn't helping anyone. Parents need to step up and help and get their kids help with true mental health issues. Between student support/advisory and health ed, so much time is wasted repeating the same information vs. giving our kids a good well rounded education.

Pp you quoted
My kids are recent graduates of MCPS. One of them even took “Honors Health” as she was interested in a health career and was hoping for a more rigorous health class, which she didn’t get. You seem to be agreeing with me that the repeated semesters of health focusing on mental health is insufficient. That’s why they need a semester with useful content.

I agree that MCPS wastes a lot of time on fluffy topics when instructional time would be better served focusing on academic content and/or development of specific skills. I think instruction on financial literacy is also a good idea. It could be folded into existing math/economics classes (although with the current problems with math instruction, I hate to divert time/focus from main topics) or stand alone. Maybe we should just have a life skills class that includes financial literacy, practical health, and other miscellaneous general information that people need in life but usually just fumble through by themselves.

We had that class. It was called home economics. I don't know why we did away with it.

Home Ec is cooking and sewing. I prefer to teach my kids all this and let them take useful things.