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03/08/2018
When I interviewed for a Health teaching position, I was asked how I would teach Health. My reply was, I focus on one key thing, my student’s future hopes and dreams. The Principal pulled out our State Health Standards, tapped on the page and said what does hopes and dreams have to do with these Health Standards? My answer was, Mr. ____________ if you don’t have hopes and dreams, it doesn’t really matter what you do today. So, steal […]
02/01/2018
Here is an activity where you can pose this simple question to your students the first few minutes of Health Class. Project this on the board or give your students a copy. Ask your students to consider if they ever think these thoughts or have acted them out. Jealousy is a health issue. It leads to unhappy, depressed and lonely people. This information can lead to a discussion if they see evidence of it at school, at home, in […]
12/14/2017
Wishing you all the best in 2018 and always: happiness, love, health, joy and everything you can possibly wish for! Hope all your dreams come true, no matter how big they are! Be sure to email me or make comments on the website if you like something or want to suggest something for us to discuss. Janet McCoy at: janet@thehealthymindcurriculum.com The Healthy Mind Curriculum Blog is taking a Holiday Break until after the New Year. But, we will leave you with […]
11/16/2017
Which is better, being an individual thinker or being a team player? Is it possible to be both? Well, Alexis de Tocqueville (Democracy in America) insinuated nearly 200 years ago that there was a possibility Americans were both. While touring the 13 colonies he observed a basic tension in our national character that was / is an important contradiction of American life. The tension was between Americans placing a big stress on individual rights, but they were also big conformist. […]
07/05/2017
As I read the article “Sex Assaults in High School Sports Minimized as “Hazing”, I was reminded of the movie American Sniper’s famous scene entitle “The Sheepdog Speech”. There are three kinds of people in this world — sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. The sheep prefer to believe that evil doesn’t exist in this world. The wolves use violence to prey on the weak. The sheepdogs are blessed with the gift of aggression and possess an overpowering need to protect […]
05/15/2017
I’ve noticed more of our students arrive at school preoccupied / focused on themselves and their feelings. They are ruled by their emotions which is a recipe for their unhappiness, and everyone around them. This is more than a teenage passing phase. We do live in a feeling based culture where people are urged to get in touch with their feelings and you have a right to express them freely (sometimes in class). I don’t see a lot of joy, […]
04/11/2017
Parents want their children to have the right type of friends for a very good reason. We know how important friends are. They are the people we got into trouble with when we were kids. We did things with friends we would never have done with our worse enemies. When you are with your friends, your guard is down and you go with the flow and hope you don’t get caught. We tend to do what our friends do. It’s […]
02/08/2017
I like to use stories to illustrate what I consider an important point. Sometimes, the stories are music videos, Dear Abby Columns, or Dr. Seuss. I recommend that Health teachers try something really crazy — partner up with a high school Literature teacher and start a Dante Club. It has been done before with great success. Clubs are where people have an opportunity to meet and talk about or do a particular thing. When people talk with each other, they […]
02/01/2017
There is always a Drug Unit in Health class because there are a percentage of students: · who already do drugs · who are curious and are open to experimenting if / when the right opportunity comes up · have older family members who use and / or deal drugs · will never touch drugs My main focus isn’t how drugs affect the body, it is to challenge teenage ideas / world […]