As educators of Health, whether you’re a seasoned teacher or just starting out, it’s common to encounter adults in the community who have little understanding of what occurs in a health classroom. For many, their perception of health education is shaped by their own experiences, which may not reflect the Health Skills we teach today.
Through my district’s portal, I send bi-weekly updates that outline our classroom activities. These messages include the health skills we are developing, relevant content, resources for supporting adolescents, and snippets from our class discussions.
HINT: Use neutral language; I prefer phrases like “adults at home” and “your student” to foster an inclusive atmosphere.
Sample Message:
Good afternoon. In an effort to keep you informed of what is going on in health class, this is what transpired today; I (again) learned from the students!
I was explaining what a “whippet” was; I feel that there is a false sense of safety among teens with whippet use because it is “just nitrous oxide, like laughing gas,” “It is like helium to blow up balloons!”
Some students began to talk about “Galaxy Gas.” I did some research and found this ABC News Galaxy Gas. Students will watch this for a follow-up in class tomorrow.
How do our 6th graders know about this? Social media? Seeing people misuse it? The news? I didn’t question them as to how they became aware of it, but did encourage them to tell an adult if they were to see anyone using it. (Part of our assessment next week is to figure out how exactly to do that in a way that doesn’t make them feel like “a snitch.”)
I am the parent of a 6th grader, I understand it can be challenging to keep up with everything going on in their life. It’s important to take time for conversations. You can talk in the car, at the dinner table, while walking, or when you’re doing a project together, figure out a way to make it happen and have them often.
Feedback from adults:
- “While many people focus to have their kids excel on the academy, sport and music, l personally admire your motive on providing a living-life education to students. It really is going to navigate the students and direct them to live a healthy life growing up.”
- “I appreciate you discussing these topics with students and sharing these updates of new things kids share in class! Helps me stay informed as a parent! Appreciate all you do to educate our kids.”
Feedback from students:
Despite a few eye rolls because the students had to talk with their adults at home about health class, most comments are positive:
- “Yeah! My mom showed me that!”
- “Mrs. Zemke, we talked about this as a family last night!”
Blog sites to share links from:
Site for discussion starter videos:
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This microblog post was a featured post in #slowchathealth’s #microblogmonth event. You can search for all of the featured posts here. Please do follow each of the outstanding contributors on social media (including Patty Zemke, the author of this post) and consider writing a microblog post of your own to be shared with the global audience of slowchathealth.com
Pair this blog post with the following:
Advocate Like a Physical Education Teacher by Dr. Lisa Paulson
This Is Not Your Parents’ Health Class by Andy Milne
Positive Phone Calls Home by Mike Chamberlain
Developing Leaders in Health Advocacy by Kayla McGee
Being A Champion by Vickie Merrick
Have you read the latest Book of the Month recommendation?
#slowchathealth 
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