Unhealthy Living
Texas school districts will no longer be required to offer health classes—and that’s just sick.
3 comments
Monday, August 31st, 2009, 6:17 pm
Dianne Kerr says:
We need trained teachers licensed in health education to teach health. The DARE Program, although good for police/community public relations, has little to no evidence of effectiveness with any students other than early elementary school children. Adolescents tend to do the opposite of what both parents and police are telling them, so it sure isn’t effective with them. The abstinence only programs as well have no evidence of effectiveness. We need comprehensive health education where consistent messages are being provided to them through multiple channels.
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009, 1:53 pm
Cheri Reichel says:
Sex education, along with education about drugs and alcohol are taught in my Texas public school district in other ways. The DARE program and the Project Self Respect program cover these topics. Biology class should cover some of the topics and still others can be taught in a regular PE class. (Yes, I know they cut that too, from 3 semesters to 2.) My child already knows everything he would be taught in health class. Don’t forget that a lot of these topics should and often are taught in the home. The school can’t be everything to everybody. My child will make better use of that time by taking an additional elective on a topic he is interested in. I’m glad to see the change.
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009, 12:27 pm
Jane Bedford says:
From my experience in the Austin public schools, health classes were often relegated to athletic coaches, whose extra-curricular coaching duties often precluded any kind of in-depth preparation or professional development. Showing films without pre-screening and having students outline textbook chapters were often the desperate activities used by these time-constrained teachers.
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