Promoting Health in Young Adolescents

EMD 335 | Newberry College

Promoting Health in Young Adolescents

• Describe why it is important to address adolescent health and wellness. • Outline ideas to improve adolescent health and wellness from research and

real-life examples.

Health and wellness are supported in curricula, school-wide programs, and related policies.

TWBA (2012)pp. 169-180

Health-promoting schools are essential to the academic and personal success of young adolescents. This places a fundamental status to the placement of health in exploratory, related arts, or family and consumer life skills education.

- TWBA (2005), p. 154

Reasons to promote wellness

1. Poor health practices drain resources. 2. Behavioral, physical, and emotional problems

interfere with learning. 3. Youthful choices affect health.

Health problems are generally holistic. Solutions must be as well. Addressing one symptom and ignoring all the others or the problem itself has almost no chance of creating change.

What can we do?

• Collaborate with community organizations. • Weave positive health practices and messages into the

curriculum. • Create a healthy school environment. (Assess your school –

see Wisconsin DPI instrument on TWBA 2005, pp. 159-160.)• Research and develop a coordinated school health system.• Teach/practice negotiation, coping, decision-making, and

refusal skills. • Advocate for student health needs with parents and in the

community.

Take a read…

• ASCD – “The Link between School wide Food Practices and Student Weight”

• ASCD – “Schoolwide Environmental Interventions to Improve Healthy Eating Habits”

• Thomas Lickona – “Character-Based Sexuality Education: Bringing Parents into the Picture”

• NMSA – “Advice for Parents” (regarding adolescent health and wellness)

• Laura Warner – “A Place for Healthy Risk-Taking”

Activity #5Choose and read one article. List three big ideas that speak to you from the article. Be sure to explain your reasoning for each.

Teachers are often students’ only models of health and wellness

TWBA Video Clips

Health & Wellness

“Morning Exercise”“Nutrition Break” “Physical Fitness”“Multiage Grouping” “Safe Environment”

Activity #6List and describe three ways your school can focus on and help improve student (and teacher) health and wellness.

The school actively involves families in the education of their children.

TWBA (2012)pp. 181-198

TWBA Video Clips

Family Involvement

“Student-led Conferences”“Student Agenda Books” “Community Liaison”

Activity #7TWBA outlines six types of family involvement. List the types and, for each one, describe what you already implement and/or would like to implement at your school.

The school includes community and business partners.

TWBA (2012)pp. 199-210

TWBA Video Clips

Community & Business

“Art-based Partnerships”“Piano Lab” “HS Tutors”“Community Liaison”

Activity #8Read about this characteristic in TWBA, then watch at least two of the associated videos. How can your school maximize community and business partnerships?

What’s next?