High School Health

Topics we discuss in class

5 Dimensions of health and life:

  Social-the individuals interpersonal relationships and relationships to the social environment.  Examples include memberships, friendships, marriage, child-parent, pets.

  Physical-the psychological, biological makeup of an individual. The individuals ability to accomplish a task.  Some examples include physical appearance, cholesterol level, activity levels, ability levels.

  Intellectual-(mental) The rationality ,logic, decision making, learning and intellectual development of the individual.  Examples include common sense, knowledge, creativity, problem solving ability.

  Emotional-The awareness of feelings, beliefs of the individual, self acceptance.  Examples include personal feelings, (happiness, depression, sadness) sense of belonging, self-worth, self-esteem, locus of control (external vs. internal) 

  Spiritual-Sense of fulfillment, sense of purpose, values, beliefs and self.  Examples include locus of control, meditation, religion, involvement.

Necessary Life Skills: 

Self Management: Overall personal health skill that enables an individual to assess and analyze one’s current health and safety status, apply appropriate knowledge and skills, monitor, evaluate and adjust one’s behavior to enhance personal health and safety. Self management includes the personal application of Stress Management, Communication, Decision Making, and Planning and Goal Setting to enhance personal health and safety.

Goal Setting:  Students will create three types of goals.  A behavioral goal they would like to improve on, an academic goal in which they would like to achieve by the end of the year, and a fitness goal.  These goals are stapled in their journals so the student can be reminded of the goals they would like to achieve by the end of the year.

Stress Management: Personal and social skills comprised of multiple sub-skills, that when performed together, enable an individual to manage positive and negative change in health enhancing ways. Stress management is performed as a separate skill and often in conjunction with the other health skills.

Relationship Management: Overall personal health skill that enables an individual to assess and analyze one’s current interpersonal and intra-personal knowledge and skills, monitor, evaluate and adjust one’s behavior to enhance personal, family and community health and safety. Relationship management includes the application of Stress Management, Communication, Decision Making, and Planning and Goal Setting to enhance personal, family and community health and safety.

Communication: Sequential personal and social skills comprised of multiple sub-skills, that when performed together, enable an individual to listen, understand and express oneself in respectful, safe and health enhancing ways. This skill includes verbal and non-verbal communication, assertiveness, refusal,negotiation, conflict management and collaboration.

Decision Making: Sequential personal and social skills comprised of multiple subskills, that when performed together, enable an individual to make well informed choices that enhance personal, family and community health.

Functional Knowledge includes:

Mental Illnesses: Anxiety Disorders such as phobias, OCD, PTSD, and Panic Disorders, Personality disorders, Clinical depression and manic depression.

HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness:  Each year in the beginning of December we go to the Empire State Plaza to see the AIDS Quilt. Today the Quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic. More than 48,000 individual 3-by-6-foot memorial panels — most commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS — have been sewn together by friends, lovers and family members. This is the story of how the Quilt began...Aids Quilt

Sex education with a focus on abstinence and preventative decision making: We begin with the reproductive system and the "Miracle of Life".  We talk about why abstinence is the best way to prevent disease and unplanned pregnancy.

Nutrition and Physical Fitness: Learning why it is important to make healthy decisions now to improve your future.  Students will keep an online journal of food and activity in order to see what they are actually putting in their body and how much activity they are getting.  Log onto www.Choosemyplate.gov to see what it's all about.  

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs: Addiction, Alcoholism, damage to the brain and other systems of the body, prescription drug abuse, heroin epidemic, and more.