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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

Only Honors Health is listed in the HS course bulletin

http://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseLists/Index/225/#Health_Courses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

Only Honors Health is listed in the HS course bulletin

http://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseLists/Index/225/#Health_Courses

It would be great if they'd also add new requirements for Honors Home Ec and Honors Checkbook Balancing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

Only Honors Health is listed in the HS course bulletin

http://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseLists/Index/225/#Health_Courses

It would be great if they'd also add new requirements for Honors Home Ec and Honors Checkbook Balancing .

First lesson would have to be: “This is what a checkbook looks like.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

It was the only summer school option last year.

[Anonymous]

It would be a great idea if in the second health semester, they learned basic first aid, CPR and came out with a real world certificate.

Otherwise, it’s a complete waste of a semester, but I understand this is a state mandated requirement and not a county one. Am I wrong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be a great idea if in the second health semester, they learned basic first aid, CPR and came out with a real world certificate.

Otherwise, it’s a complete waste of a semester, but I understand this is a state mandated requirement and not a county one. Am I wrong?

We had that when I was in high school. It was optional to get the Red Cross certification because you had to pay their fees, but it was one less thing I had to do for my lifeguard certification.

FWIW, ours was one semester of driver’s ed, one semester of health, which everyone took sophomore year. I don’t know if driver’s ed was required for either graduation or for the driver’s license (I don’t think so, though), but I never knew anyone who didn’t take both classes. I really wish they’d teach driver’s Ed in schools here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be a great idea if in the second health semester, they learned basic first aid, CPR and came out with a real world certificate.

Otherwise, it’s a complete waste of a semester, but I understand this is a state mandated requirement and not a county one. Am I wrong?

The state decided on this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be a great idea if in the second health semester, they learned basic first aid, CPR and came out with a real world certificate.

Otherwise, it’s a complete waste of a semester, but I understand this is a state mandated requirement and not a county one. Am I wrong?

We had that when I was in high school. It was optional to get the Red Cross certification because you had to pay their fees, but it was one less thing I had to do for my lifeguard certification.

FWIW, ours was one semester of driver’s ed, one semester of health, which everyone took sophomore year. I don’t know if driver’s ed was required for either graduation or for the driver’s license (I don’t think so, though), but I never knew anyone who didn’t take both classes. I really wish they’d teach driver’s Ed in schools here.

Mcps has drivers Ed way back when but most kids took it privately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

Only Honors Health is listed in the HS course bulletin

http://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseLists/Index/225/#Health_Courses

It would be great if they'd also add new requirements for Honors Home Ec and Honors Checkbook Balancing .

First lesson would have to be: “This is what a checkbook looks like.”

Yes let’s get rid of what little flexibility kids have right now in their schedule. Let’s add a full year class on car and house repairs. How about another full year class in public speaking? Or a semester of keyboarding?

I mean we wouldn’t want kids to have the ability to take classes to figure out their potential college major like CS, Law, Medicine or have time to enrich themselves with additional Arts classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can riding 9th graders take this online in summer school to get it over with?

Rising 9th can take Health A, but Health B isn’t available in summer school yet. My kids did it last year going into 9th and 11th. The work wasn’t hard, but it was a lot because of a whole semester being compressed into 3 weeks. It was hard for my rising 9th to manage the volume of it but she made it through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be a great idea if in the second health semester, they learned basic first aid, CPR and came out with a real world certificate.

Otherwise, it’s a complete waste of a semester, but I understand this is a state mandated requirement and not a county one. Am I wrong?

We had that when I was in high school. It was optional to get the Red Cross certification because you had to pay their fees, but it was one less thing I had to do for my lifeguard certification.

FWIW, ours was one semester of driver’s ed, one semester of health, which everyone took sophomore year. I don’t know if driver’s ed was required for either graduation or for the driver’s license (I don’t think so, though), but I never knew anyone who didn’t take both classes. I really wish they’d teach driver’s Ed in schools here.

Mcps has drivers Ed way back when but most kids took it privately.

God I remember that. It was a semester of sophomore year. Worst class ever.

[Anonymous]

My kid took a full year of health in Senior year. And it was interesting, informative and thought provoking. An awesome teacher who went beyond sex ed and taught them how to use their brain to make right choices in most every situation. This was in PHS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

Only Honors Health is listed in the HS course bulletin

http://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseLists/Index/225/#Health_Courses

It would be great if they'd also add new requirements for Honors Home Ec and Honors Checkbook Balancing .

First lesson would have to be: “This is what a checkbook looks like.”

Yes let’s get rid of what little flexibility kids have right now in their schedule. Let’s add a full year class on car and house repairs. How about another full year class in public speaking? Or a semester of keyboarding?

I mean we wouldn’t want kids to have the ability to take classes to figure out their potential college major like CS, Law, Medicine or have time to enrich themselves with additional Arts classes.

There's a significant portion of kids, not sure the exact percentage, that leave high school right now without figuring their potential college major, so it's not like the status quo is helping them figure that out. Undoubtedly, those students would be better off leaving high school knowing how to give a presentation or speech and typing and using professional computer applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

Only Honors Health is listed in the HS course bulletin

http://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseLists/Index/225/#Health_Courses

It would be great if they'd also add new requirements for Honors Home Ec and Honors Checkbook Balancing .

First lesson would have to be: “This is what a checkbook looks like.”

Yes let’s get rid of what little flexibility kids have right now in their schedule. Let’s add a full year class on car and house repairs. How about another full year class in public speaking? Or a semester of keyboarding?

I mean we wouldn’t want kids to have the ability to take classes to figure out their potential college major like CS, Law, Medicine or have time to enrich themselves with additional Arts classes.

There's a significant portion of kids, not sure the exact percentage, that leave high school right now without figuring their potential college major, so it's not like the status quo is helping them figure that out. Undoubtedly, those students would be better off leaving high school knowing how to give a presentation or speech and typing and using professional computer applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Most reasonably intelligent people don't need a class specifically on one of these topics. I'd instead take something useful than more of these silly reqs. I can figure out how to read a cookbook on my own and don't need a teacher to explain how to wash and fold my clothes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Everyone takes honors health. There is no on-level option.

This is not true (or maybe only at some schools)

Only Honors Health is listed in the HS course bulletin

http://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseLists/Index/225/#Health_Courses

It would be great if they'd also add new requirements for Honors Home Ec and Honors Checkbook Balancing .

First lesson would have to be: “This is what a checkbook looks like.”

Yes let’s get rid of what little flexibility kids have right now in their schedule. Let’s add a full year class on car and house repairs. How about another full year class in public speaking? Or a semester of keyboarding?

I mean we wouldn’t want kids to have the ability to take classes to figure out their potential college major like CS, Law, Medicine or have time to enrich themselves with additional Arts classes.

Keyboarding should be taught starting in K since they don't teach handwriting anymore.

And, car and house repairs would be more useful than another health ed.

Ours will do it in the summer so they have the class flexibility. I wish they'd get rid of PE to for kids with outside year round sports.