Running head: UNIT RATIONALE

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HES 470: Unit Rationale Marielle Counts Fontbonne University

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UNIT RATIONALE Unit Rationale When planning curriculum for a unit, it is important that the content be relevant to the learners, their developmental needs, and scholastic trends. When teaching my unit on Wellness and Stress relief at the Gateway 180 Transitional Housing site, I was addressing four AfricanAmerican mothers in their late twenties to mid thirties, all of whom were currently homeless. My reasoning behind the topic I chose (which in the full lesson plan included mindfulness meditation, yoga practice, and a focus on mental/spiritual health) was that although their situation was stressful, everyone can benefit from taking time to focus on their personal health, their outlook on situations, and how they are positively or negatively interacting with the world around them.

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One of the main FCS competencies I used when planning my lessons was 7.5.3: Illustrate coping or adjustment strategies and stress management practices for the participant, a caregiver, and family members (National Association of State Administrators of Family and Consumer Sciences, 2013). According to the research of Gill, Barrio Minton, and Myers (2010) spirituality plays a large role in the wellness of low income rural women, and I believe that it is important for low-income urban women as well. It has been said to me many times that although we cannot always control what happens to us, we can control how we react to it. It was my goal in my lesson to show the women that they had control over how they responded to situations, specifically focusing on the principles of The Four Agreements (Ruiz, 1999): Be impeccable with your word, Don't take things personally, Don't make assumptions, and Always do your best. These women are often under huge burdens of stress: trying to find jobs, trying to find homes, and trying to take care of their families. While having a good support system and outside

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resources is important, it is critical to have a strong spiritual and mental foundation as well. The work of Greeson et. al. (2010) suggests that positive changes in spirituality and mindfulness were connected to improvements in mental health. More specifically, research has shown that "spirituality has been identified as one component of a culturally competent therapeutic intervention for African American women", and is a key part of any intervention in a low income group of that nature (Arnette, Mascaro, Santana, Davis, & Kaslow, p. 909, 2007). It is often a stereotypical perception of society that women or men living in a shelter such as Gateway 180 Transitional Housing are indolent free-loaders, but that is not always the case. It takes a lot of mental tenacity to go out day after day to search for ways to make ends meet, and one must have a positive mindset in order to be successful. I am hopeful that my lesson helped to contribute to that. Spiritual and mental wellness is not just a topic for those who are already on the downand-out, however. It should be a major component in the lives of all individuals, and is definitely becoming more prominent in school curriculum. Schools across the grade levels have long provided counselors to help deal with students' concerns, but now things are being moved a step further by focusing on this and other types of wellness in the health class setting. According to the Missouri public school "Show-Me Standards", it is an expectation that students will acquire a solid foundation in the "principles and practices of physical and mental health (such as personal health habits, nutrition, stress management)" (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012). Whether in the school system or not, spiritual and mental wellness is an essential part of developing a positive outlook on life, and is a critical skill for interacting with the world. !

UNIT RATIONALE References Arnette, N.C., Mascaro, N., Santana, M.C., Davis, S., & Kaslow, N.J. (2007). Enhancing spiritual well-being among suicidal African American female survivors of intimate partner violence. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 63(10), 909-924. Gill, C.S., Barrio Minton, C.A., & Myers, J. E. (2010). Spirituality and religiosity: Factors affecting low-income, rural women. Journal of Counseling & Development, 88(3), 293-302. Greeson, J.M., Webber, D.M., Smoski, M. J., Brantley, J.G., Ekblad, A.G., Suarez, E.C., & Wolever, R.Q. (2011). Changes in spirituality partly explain health-related quality of life outcomes after Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 34(6), 508-518. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2012). Show-me standards. Retrieved from http://dese.mo.gov/standards/ National Association of State Administrators of Family and Consumer Sciences. (2013). FCS standards and competencies 7.5.3. Ruiz, D. M. (2012). The four agreements. San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing, Inc.

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