Project N o.

2:
Institution Analysis
H ealth Education in Schools
Nataly Mena
Professor Alvarado - Sociology 001
28 June 2015

Education
Schools are one of the most influential institutions of
society
Because young people attend school about six hours a
day approximately 180 days per year, schools are in a
unique position to help improve the health status of
children and adolescents throughout the United States"
(CDC)
Education is, "One of the seven major settings relevant
to contemporary health education besides communities,
worksites, health care settings, homes, etc."
(med.upen.edu)

H ealth Education
Health education is important for
people to have the proper
knowledge and skills to be able to
make healthy decisions
It is important for people to receive
health education in order to be
aware of current issues as well as
learn to use resources available to
them
Health education is a method of
prevention, and our nation needs a
bigger emphasis in it due to the fact
that chronic diseases are the top
causes of death in the United States

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm

The First Institution of Education

Boston Latin School, 1635
Originated in Boston, MA by
Puritans
Oldest public school in America
Reverend John Cotton wished to
implement a school similar to the
Free Grammar School in England
John Hancock, Samuel Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Robert Treat
Paine, and William Hooper were
5 of the 56 signers of the U.S.
Constitution who attended BLS

http://www.bls.org/pics/bls2.jpg

http://www.fromgoodtooutstanding.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/05/peoples-questions-hie1337880778863.png

H ow is Education Perceived?
Education is an institution that
people are supposed to attend
From kindergarten to 12th grade,
or until 18 years of age, one is
supposed to attend school by law
Upper education is sought for by
many people in our society
If you do not attend school, you
are looked as inferior to others
School is a must in order to be
successful

Education: H ow it View s Itself

People believe that they are
not well enough funded to
serve the needs of many
communities
They feel, politically, that
they should be payed more
attention to
Many love their jobs
working within this
institution, but are not paid
well enough

Testimony of an 8th grade

teacher:
My school went a full year
without teaching anything
about health. They were
supposed to train strictly
the science teachers to do
it, but they never got
trained. The kids will go on
to high school without any
type of formal health
education.

H ealth Education O vertim e

In 1953, the American School Health
Then:
Association launched a nationwide
program in family life education

Now:

In 1955, American Medical Association

published five pamphlets that were
commonly referred to as "the sex
education series" for schools

Homosexual and heterosexual

relationships are taken into
account when education is being
provided

Many people were against sexual

education as they believed that it
increased sexual activities

There are more resources

available now at free or reduced
cost in certain communities

By 1983, sexuality education was

being taught within the context of
more comprehensive family life
education programs or human growth
and development courses

Some clinics do not even need

parental consent before the age
of 18

W hat Caused Schools to Change?

The rise in Sexually Transmitted
Diseases/Infections
Especially the rise in the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus in the
1980s

The rise in chronic diseases

Teen pregnancy
Smoking, Alcohol, Drugs very
common
There was a greater need for
prevention!

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http://backandforth.webcomic.ws/images/comics
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68630.jpg

W hat H as N ot Changed?

Still need
parent/guardian
permission to be able to
educate students
regarding sexual health
Not enough sexual
educationor any health
education in generalis
being incorporated into
school curriculum enough
Not enough resources
(money, educators, etc.)
needed for health
education

H ow Could this Institution be Im proved?

Absolutely, more funding!
Requiring schools to have a number of certified Health
Educators in staf
Having laws that require health education from
kindergarten to 12th grade
Not requiring parent/guardian permission to educate
students in certain topics
Assuring that every school has their own clinic that
provides students with necessary resources (condoms,
tests, extra courses, etc.) at a free or reduced cost

df/shpps-results_2012.pdf#page=27

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/shpps/2012/p

H ow Could this Institution be Im proved?

By increasing the percentages of the health topics

taught in elementary, middle, and high schools.

W H Y?
Each day, more than 3,200 people younger than 18
years of age smoke their first cigarette (CDC)
United States has highest teenage pregnancy rate
according to the 2013 statistics 52.1 per 1000 of
females population (age group of 15-19) (Top Tens)
About 208,000 Americans under age 20 are estimated
to have diagnosed diabetes (Diabetes.org)
Alcohol and drugs are the leading causes of crime
among youth and the leading factors in teenage
suicide (NCADD)

Functionalist Analysis

Providing jobs
Educating people
Providing a place for child care
during the work day

According to Jon Witt (2013),

education is positively used as:

An agent for transmitting culture

Social integration
Training and social control
Stimulating cultural innovation
Child care

Sexuality is human natureand so

are other health topics that are
vital to teaching students so they
become well-informed and
successful members of society
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This institution serves the

functionalist perspective in
many other ways besides:

Schools are a very important part

of a childs integration and
socialization with others, especially
figuring out their role in society

Confl
ict Analysis
Health education and its
promotion keeps on
improving through issues
that arise overtime
Jon Witt (2013) states that
schools help promote:
Inequality
Unequal funding
Credentialism
Submission to authority

Health education itself came

from conflict
Educating others about
current health issues and
giving them the knowledge
and skills for it gives them
the confidence and
opportunity to stand up
against things they believe
in
This can cause social change
through conflict

W orks Cited
"Characteristics of an Efective Health Education Curriculum." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 08 Apr. 2015. Web. 21 June 2015.
"Health Service Programs for Secondary Schools." NASSP Bulletin 41.230 (1957): 92-106. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2012. Web. 21 June 2015.
"Health Behavior and Health Education." Health Behavior and Health Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2015.
"FAQ."NCADD. National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 June 2015.
"Leading Causes of Death."Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 06
Feb. 2015. Web. 24 June 2015.
"Results from the School Health Policies and Practices Study 2012."CDC.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2012. Web. 24 June 2015.
"Statistics About Diabetes." American Diabetes Association. American Diabetes Association, 10 June 2014. Web. 25 June
2015.
"The First Public School Was Established in 1635. In Which City Was This School?" Infoplease. Sandbox Networks, Inc, June
2015. Web. 24 June 2015.
"The History of Sexuality Education." Rethinking Schools Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 June 2015.
"Top 10 Countries With Highest Teenage Pregnancies."List Top Tens RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2015.
Witt, Jon. "Chapter 8." SOC: 2013. Third ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 206. Print.