Comprehensive School Health Education: Totally Awesome Strategies for Teaching Health

Rating:
Summary: We love it!!
Review: As a instructor of preservice classroom teachers, I love using this book. The organization is sequencial and the amount of information just right. My students liked the book as well and most plan to use it as a reference as they start teaching. Great job Meeks, Heit, and Page.

Rating:
Summary: We love it!!
Review: As a instructor of preservice classroom teachers, I love using this book. The organization is sequencial and the amount of information just right. My students liked the book as well and most plan to use it as a reference as they start teaching. Great job Meeks, Heit, and Page.

Rating:
Summary: BEWARE - Extreme Political Correctness Lies Within
Review: I was amazed to see just how many political opinions and factual errors could be contained in one book. While obstensibly a Health book, Ms. Meeks has prepared nothing less than a treatise on how to indoctrinate our youth to the current "party line."

For example, we learn only that global warming is a scientifically proven fact, as true as gravity. No mention is given to the real fact that a majority of scientists do not believe people are changing the climate of the earth. We are not told that data showing warming of the earth for the past ten years does not exist. She fails to include the fact that computerized climate models from the 1980's, which started the whole "global warming" scare, predicted that by 2000 we would be starving due to heat-induced crop failures.

Likewise, second hand smoke is said to be a real health hazard. Ms. Meeks seems to be ignoring the majority of studies that show an inverse or non-existant relationship between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and health problems. She selectively picks and chooses data which supports her position and uses them as facts.

Finally, her most glaring problem is when she deals with the "health" issue of guns and gun control. First graders are told: "Stay away from anyone who carries a gun." There is no distinction drawn between policemen, parents who hunt, or criminals, and there is no mention in the text of the Constitution of the United States that guarantees the right of citizens to bear arms.

Avoid this text and strive to teach your students to really think for themselves. This text only furthers the dumbing-down of our future leaders.

Rating:
Summary: BEWARE - Extreme Political Correctness Lies Within
Review: I was amazed to see just how many political opinions and factual errors could be contained in one book. While obstensibly a Health book, Ms. Meeks has prepared nothing less than a treatise on how to indoctrinate our youth to the current "party line."

For example, we learn only that global warming is a scientifically proven fact, as true as gravity. No mention is given to the real fact that a majority of scientists do not believe people are changing the climate of the earth. We are not told that data showing warming of the earth for the past ten years does not exist. She fails to include the fact that computerized climate models from the 1980's, which started the whole "global warming" scare, predicted that by 2000 we would be starving due to heat-induced crop failures.

Likewise, second hand smoke is said to be a real health hazard. Ms. Meeks seems to be ignoring the majority of studies that show an inverse or non-existant relationship between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and health problems. She selectively picks and chooses data which supports her position and uses them as facts.

Finally, her most glaring problem is when she deals with the "health" issue of guns and gun control. First graders are told: "Stay away from anyone who carries a gun." There is no distinction drawn between policemen, parents who hunt, or criminals, and there is no mention in the text of the Constitution of the United States that guarantees the right of citizens to bear arms.

Avoid this text and strive to teach your students to really think for themselves. This text only furthers the dumbing-down of our future leaders.

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad book.
Review: This book is certainly thick with as many pages it has. I really enjoyed the book. I did not know as much about health until I read this book. This book provides sample lesson plans, goals, explanations of certain diseases,and an interesting behavior contract. This contract allows the student to create a contract to improve his/her health usually in a month's time frame.

Also, this book provides national standards with national contact phone numbers and addresses. This is great because since education now is really standards based, a teacher can reference this book for standars in creating health-centered or health-enriched lesson plans across the curriculum.

I would have liked to see it a litlle more user-friendly as far as navigating it. Also, would consider as a refernce book for educators and not a book for mild reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad book.
Review: This book is certainly thick with as many pages it has. I really enjoyed the book. I did not know as much about health until I read this book. This book provides sample lesson plans, goals, explanations of certain diseases,and an interesting behavior contract. This contract allows the student to create a contract to improve his/her health usually in a month's time frame.

Also, this book provides national standards with national contact phone numbers and addresses. This is great because since education now is really standards based, a teacher can reference this book for standars in creating health-centered or health-enriched lesson plans across the curriculum.

I would have liked to see it a litlle more user-friendly as far as navigating it. Also, would consider as a refernce book for educators and not a book for mild reading.

Rating:
Summary: Beware: "Political Correctness" Be Here
Review: This book is less an educational manual than a political advocacy tome. All positions on controversial issues are discussed only along the "party line" with absolutely NO latitude given that there may be other sides to issues.

For example, Ms. Meeks tells us that global warming is an absolute fact and that it is caused by human activity. While this is a postion that some environmentalists have taken, the majority of scientists have not. In fact, there is little documented evidence of global warming in the last decade. Environmental computer models run in the early 1980's had predicted that by the year 2000 we would be in the middle of a Malthusian heat-driven famine. Those models were wrong. The book, nvertheless, tells us that humans are destroying the earth and we must alter their behavior to prevent it.

Likewise, the issue of second-hand smoke is presented in a factually incorrect manner. Most studies show no correlation between health risks and exposure to smoke. Some show a negative relationship and others a positive one. Again, though, we are told to teach only that it is "bad."

The most egregious error involves the controversy on guns and gun control. First graders are told: "Stay away from anyone who carries a gun." There is no distinction drawn between policemen, parents who hunt, or criminals, and there is no mention in the text of the Constitution of the United States that guarantees the right of citizens to bear arms.

These are not lessons in health. This book is an example of a political indoctrination text. Linda Meeks should be ashamed to pass such obviously one-sided opinion as facts to taught to our children.

Do yourself and your students a favor: Teach them about these and all other issues in a way that will help them open their minds to all sides. One day they will have to think for themselves and this piece of propoganda does not show them how to do this.

Rating:
Summary: Beware: "Political Correctness" Be Here
Review: This book is less an educational manual than a political advocacy tome. All positions on controversial issues are discussed only along the "party line" with absolutely NO latitude given that there may be other sides to issues.

For example, Ms. Meeks tells us that global warming is an absolute fact and that it is caused by human activity. While this is a postion that some environmentalists have taken, the majority of scientists have not. In fact, there is little documented evidence of global warming in the last decade. Environmental computer models run in the early 1980's had predicted that by the year 2000 we would be in the middle of a Malthusian heat-driven famine. Those models were wrong. The book, nvertheless, tells us that humans are destroying the earth and we must alter their behavior to prevent it.

Likewise, the issue of second-hand smoke is presented in a factually incorrect manner. Most studies show no correlation between health risks and exposure to smoke. Some show a negative relationship and others a positive one. Again, though, we are told to teach only that it is "bad."

The most egregious error involves the controversy on guns and gun control. First graders are told: "Stay away from anyone who carries a gun." There is no distinction drawn between policemen, parents who hunt, or criminals, and there is no mention in the text of the Constitution of the United States that guarantees the right of citizens to bear arms.

These are not lessons in health. This book is an example of a political indoctrination text. Linda Meeks should be ashamed to pass such obviously one-sided opinion as facts to taught to our children.

Do yourself and your students a favor: Teach them about these and all other issues in a way that will help them open their minds to all sides. One day they will have to think for themselves and this piece of propoganda does not show them how to do this.

Rating:
Summary: Average Quality
Review: This textbook is my textbook for a course I am taking in college. I am in school to be a health teacher, and gym teacher. The book is layed out nicely for an elementary school teacher where you only teach 1, maybe 2 grades. In the back of the book, there are teaching stragies that help teach the content chapters. My problem with that is the layout. Instead of listing the content chapter for example..."Nutrition" then listing lessons for grades 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8.... they chose to list Grade 1--Nutrition, Personal Health, Growth and Development, Consumer Health, etc. Grade 2--Nutrition, Personal Health, Growth and Development, Consumer Health...etc

Rating:
Summary: A well-done compendium of health education for all ages.
Review: When I was taking classes to get a Ph.D. in Science Education, I had to take a class in which we were asked to find a book on curriculum (science) and analyze it and how well it was done. Since my BS and MS are in Neuroscience, and my concerns lie in educating Deaf students in science and medical literacy, I picked this book. It was and is being used for students who will be teach physical education. Now I really disagree on this matter, that ill-trained physical education teachers should be teaching such an important subject matter as health. It should be encorporated into biology, but that is neither here nor there concerning this particular book. I was very impressed with the work, with the ideas, and with the effort the authors made in this health book to make health education inclusive in its aims. Not only did they try to reach all students regardless of gender, race, and ability...but they taught specific lessons on disabilities which would explain and answer questions that some students may have concerning classmates/peers who have those disabilities. This book is five years old and needs to be updated in areas such as AIDS and Hepatitis C. Things have changed drastically in both these areas which have not been touched on in the book. However, their ideas and lessons were of the quality that I could make slight adjustments to the curricula to make it more accessible say to deaf or blind students, without having to teach them away from the rest of the class. I highly recommend this book to all teachers who are interested in protecting the health of the children/students they teach. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh