Principles of Health Education

Health education is required in most schools. Each community has different health problems that need to be addressed. Health education should show students what puts their health at risk as well as emphasizing behavior that increases good health. Health education can be taught as a separate class or used as part of other classes.

Identification

Health education should teach students how to prevent conditions that lead to poor health and give them the knowledge and attitudes to take care of their health. Washing hands to avoid spreading germs, covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, eating the kinds of food that keep you healthy, and avoiding habits that can harm your health, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking drugs are behaviors students should learn to practice to improve health individually and as a group.

Significance

There are principles of health education set up for schools to follow. Health is much more than not having a disease. Students should be given every opportunity to learn to improve their health. Formal and informal education, in traditional and alternative settings inside and outside of schools, should be used. Students should be able to put together all the facts about healthy lifestyles so they can live healthy lives and encourage family members and others in their community to do the same. As an example, schools should provide a healthy atmosphere for students.

Function

Health education in schools should help bring together local services and people who need these services. Many people in a community don't realize there are places to go to take care of their health if they don't have insurance or money. Health education teachers often have access to the information members of the community need for healthy conditions.

Methods

Some teachers provide health education as a separate class while others include it in other subjects. Some use both methods. Health classes can easily be added into courses like science, social studies, physical education and home economics, but there are a lot of resources that directly apply to health education. Different students learn in different ways, but all students seem to benefit from hands-on learning. Checking your pulse and heart rate after physical activity means more to a student than reading a list of the benefits of exercise.

Considerations

Health education is important for all students. Children with poor health can't learn effectively, and knowing how to improve your health and actually doing it has a positive effect on students, their families, community members and teachers. When everyone joins to improve health conditions, everyone is likely to benefit from living in a healthy environment.

Resources

• School health and nutrition