sevfiv Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 The TEA's Robert Scott announced that health education will no longer be a required class for high school students.Officials wanted to give students more flexibility to pursue electives of their own choosing, so while two required semesters of fine arts were maintained, a semester of physical education and two semesters of a technology class also were removed from the state’s recommended high school program.“It’s a major statement about where we’re going,” Everett said. “We’ve been trying to address the issue of childhood obesity, but we seem to be losing ground every time the Legislature meets.”One national health education advocate said removing the course requirement is likely to contribute to students making poor choices.“It runs the gamut, from tobacco use ... substance use and abuse, nutrition and physical activity levels, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, injuries,” said Susan Woolley, executive director of the Ohio-based American School Health Association. “It covers a wide area and it also covers being informed health consumers, knowing when to use medicines or over-the-counter products, properly using the health care system ... all of these things should and could be covered in a good curriculum somewhere between first grade and high school.”http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6518304.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 Another article: “Drink up, pork out, and enjoy your car’s backseat” seems to be the message being sent to high school students this fall from Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott. In a recent letter to school districts, Health class will no longer be a state requirement for high school students, making Texas one of the few states in the country with no required health education. Individual school districts can still require health classes as part of their curriculum, but must ultimately meet state requirements.[...] PLEASE send Mr. Scott an e-mail with your thoughts at his conveniently supplied e-mail below. Texas Education Agency: http://cistexas.org/sboe/commissioner.html Education commissioner Robert Scott’s e-mail: commissioner@tea.state.tx.us http://www.examiner.com/x-8616-Houston-Workplace-Examiner~y2009m7d8-The-new-Texas-school-program-Fat-pregnant-drunk-and-uneducated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmer Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Yeah, I saw this too and my first thought was "WTF?" But both my daughter and I took it in summer school, thirty-some years apart, and it was a waste for both of us. Teachers totally just mailing it in, no effort to actually make the material interesting or important. I wonder how prevalent that kind of thing is. I know that a really GOOD health class, with useful information about alcohol, drugs, sex, violence, emotional well-being, etc. would be of great value to high-school kids, but almost all of that material is so controversial that the class could really be hamstrung by political posturing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 In other state education news, Perry appointed Gail Lowe as the chair of the SBOE. Perry's first choice, Don McLeroy, was thankfully shot down by the senate, and the other big contender was Cynthia Dunbar...http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/breaking/6523164.htmlhttp://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6514838.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 I enjoyed Health Education when I was in highschool 4 years ago, I thought that it put across some interesting knowledge for me to pick up. But I guess these types of classes would be the easiest to start dropping in order to save money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 The TEA's Robert Scott announced that health education will no longer be a required class for high school students. Yay good news for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Yeah, I saw this too and my first thought was "WTF?" But both my daughter and I took it in summer school, thirty-some years apart, and it was a waste for both of us. Teachers totally just mailing it in, no effort to actually make the material interesting or important. I wonder how prevalent that kind of thing is. I know that a really GOOD health class, with useful information about alcohol, drugs, sex, violence, emotional well-being, etc. would be of great value to high-school kids, but almost all of that material is so controversial that the class could really be hamstrung by political posturing.My experience was similar. It was taught by a football coach, and mostly we just watched movies. Not documentaries, not edu-tainment, nothing at all related to the state-mandated coursework. We're talking about movies like "You've Got Mail" and "As Good as it Gets". To the extent that we discussed alcohol and drugs, it was an explanation of their effects (not including the long term physiological side effects) and qualities (i.e. the Proof ratings on liquor).Me personally, I would've been much better off taking an extra elective. To this day, I still use skills I picked up from high school vocational courses that I otherwise wouldn't have learned. Those classes were taught very well by people who actually gave a crap about their students and that enjoyed what they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 The sad thing is they make health requirements in food..leading to no tasty desserts and everything else bland and overcooked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 The sad thing is they make health requirements in food..leading to no tasty desserts and everything else bland and overcooked.I recall public school lunches being like that before health requirements were made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I recall public school lunches being like that before health requirements were made.Nah, when I was in junior high age or something around that, they sold this thing that was basically a chunk of mozzarella cheese baked in a yummy pizza roll-type thing and served with marinara sauce. Never saw it again after new statutes were made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 I remember those days too. Most of the kids where always sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gto250us Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 The TEA's Robert Scott announced that health education will no longer be a required class for high school students.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6518304.htmlTEA is a joke. Texas school requirements make education in Texas among the lowest in the nation. It is an embarrassment. Kid graduate from high school and if they go to college outside of Texas they have a rude awakening about how baddly they have been shortchanged by the TEA and Texas schools in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toggle3 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Three cheers for the wimpy State legislature! It's beyond time to drop a curriculum that rightly belongs in the hands of parents. No one needs the State taking over the role of parent in the guise of "health education". Education should be about academic rigor not touchy-feely "you're eating too much" and "don't do drugs" or "use a condom". Parents should be teaching their kids values that are important to them and not being preached to by the government.Public educators need to focus soley on academics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 At my high school health class was taught differently, depending on the teacher one got. My teacher had us read a textbook, with minimal talking, for the entire class period. There was no actual instruction from her; she just had us read the textbook for four class periods of the week. For the fifth we took a quiz based on the chapter of that particular book.It was funny seeing how some kids goofed off during the period, but I think this shows how some people teaching health didn't care about the subject at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 McLeroy's out, Ratliff most likely in for SBOE District 9 seat..http://ncse.com/news/2010/03/mcleroy-booted-texas-005354 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 McLeroy's out, Ratliff most likely in for SBOE District 9 seat..http://ncse.com/news/2010/03/mcleroy-booted-texas-005354Good riddance. If the son is anything like the father, Ratliff will be a welcome injection of realism and common sense on the SBOE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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