Anonymous wrote:My child says same topics as Health A, just new assignments.

Would be far more useful to have kids engage in a financial literacy or life skills course, even geography and current events.

Or not force more nonsense on them and let people decide what serves them best

Anonymous wrote:If you have a smartphone or tablet with internet access, can you breeze through Summer Health. And still have a few hours to go out and do stuff during the day?

Yes, the online class is 3 mandatory 1.5 hour sessions during the week for 3 weeks and a BUNCH of assignments, that are not hard. I wouldn't say it "ruins" kid summers, but it is another thing. Rising Seniors have a very legitimate basis to complain because the class was not available to them in a timely fashion.

Anonymous wrote:Let’s use that semester to teach executive functioning and study skills please, that’s a much better use of time and will benefit these kids much more than a repeat of this same old stuff!

That will have the same problem, random junk that won't apply to most people.

Executive functioning and study skills should be mixed into the regular classes.

If you have a smartphone or tablet with internet access, can you breeze through Summer Health. And still have a few hours to go out and do stuff during the day?

Anonymous wrote:Let's force MCPS to demonstrate the added value of Health B. If they can't prove it, it needs to go away. How do we compare to other districts? We have new MCPS leadership, so this is presumably a good time to raise it.

To the extent that MCPS designed/chose the curriculum, maybe writing in to the new super on the survey form he circulated could raise the issue? The form comments could also ask to push for a repeal at the state level or recommend reduction of the extra .5 PE credit that MCPS requires to account for it. The Board rejected reducing PE when the requirement was new, but perhaps if the school system has stats that show students are having trouble meeting the req., they would reconsider. The PE/Health teacher lobby is pretty strong and convincing/charismatic, though.

Let’s use that semester to teach executive functioning and study skills please, that’s a much better use of time and will benefit these kids much more than a repeat of this same old stuff!

Anonymous wrote:My son took MCPS quite a while back but I thought some of the topics were really good...like hospice and organ donation.

Those are worthy things to know about but I don’t think they are worth a semester’s worth of class time.

My son took MCPS quite a while back but I thought some of the topics were really good...like hospice and organ donation.

Anonymous wrote:Let's force MCPS to demonstrate the added value of Health B. If they can't prove it, it needs to go away. How do we compare to other districts? We have new MCPS leadership, so this is presumably a good time to raise it.

It’s a state requirement. I think this is one that MCPS would gladly get rid of.

Anonymous wrote:Let's force MCPS to demonstrate the added value of Health B. If they can't prove it, it needs to go away. How do we compare to other districts? We have new MCPS leadership, so this is presumably a good time to raise it.

MCPS can't make it go away, it's a Maryland state requirement now.

I know there is an option to take a Montgomery a college class instead. Is that one any better?

They should swap out the Health B requirement for financial literacy. Equally important.

Let's force MCPS to demonstrate the added value of Health B. If they can't prove it, it needs to go away. How do we compare to other districts? We have new MCPS leadership, so this is presumably a good time to raise it.

Agree that this was without a doubt one of the dumbest things the state has done with respect of education. The idea that so many kids are ruining their summers taking this crap just makes me mad. And so many take it during summers so they don’t give up the opportunity to actually learn something during the school year. Look, kids who want to learn! And we punish them by taking away their summer. I’m not sure who to write to campaign to get rid of this—clearly no one is happy with it. Even the teachers think it is dumb. They should allow kids to test out of it, or substitute AP Psych or Yoga.

Also a hands-on CPR course and Driver's Ed.