The Health Teachers Network

SEX......here we go, clear the throat and get ready to think on your feet teachers, this is the mothership of health classes where anything can happen. But does it have to be this way? Lets discuss.  SEXTING.... adults often work in a reactive manner toward negative incidents, scrambling to put out the fire of the situation. Adults will then stake claims that sexting is a serious crime and be avoided by all young people. Reflecting back to voice and participation, students may take the adults claims and rebel against strict opinions. Young people are aware, Albury suggests rather than focusing on the positive and negative we invite openness to our discussions with young people in an attempt to reduce the fear and shame that opposition can create. Schools do need a reactive plan in place for serious incidents. Image; Selfie from my backyard completing essay's with a coffee. BODY Image...  Due to the over sexualisation of today's media young people both male and fem...

Do you remember sitting in a waiting room, and meticulously looking for a magazine, health pamphlet, fitness  brochure or a cheeky burn fat with Woman's Day (guys I'm looking at you too)? Do you remember being unwell and needing to see your doctor, waiting an hour for a 5 minute appointment to only basic advice? Lets face it most of us in the teacher profession have experienced this. But how do you search for health information now? Importantly, how do our students source information? It's easy to forget how we used to behave prior to the digital age, with the touch of a button, or an "ok Google" we can know anything our mind desires. Excitingly, so can our pupils! The digital healthcare sector is evolving everyday, and we are constantly further informed about our health and wellbeing (if we want to be). Now a doctors appointment can involved; researching your symptoms on WebMD, booking your doctors appointment through an online booking system, see the doct...

Do you remember being taught nutrition in school? Remember learning calories, Kj, Carbs, Fats, Proteins and Fats....Did I say fats? And then how to eat all these things from a range of sources, but not to much, although if you do this much exercise you can eat more. Hang on, what about my BMI? Bored Yet? Well believe it or not, for the majority of students nutrition dense information continues to have little effect on their health. Consequently, the new curriculum has changed the focus area of 'nutrition' to the more appropriate topic of 'food and nutrition' ( Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2014).  The inclusion of food signifies that health education is not merely about teaching children and young people the nutritional values and guidelines, but also about food ways, food literacy and food studies more broadly. Whilst understanding  food intake and how the body utilises nutrients for growth, development and health is...