The Two Main Problems of Health Education (With 2 Simple Solutions)

By the time I was a junior in high school, I was almost 300 lbs. I was prediabetic, had horrible heartburn, and very low confidence. This had gone on for years until I was finally fed up with living like that. I ended up losing over 100 lbs by the time I graduated high school and never looked back. Throughout that journey, God started showing me how he has made our bodies and how if we partner with that design and steward our body well we would be able and available to serve others better and to do all God has called us to. 

Since then, over the past 10 years, we have helped hundreds of adults and thousands of students understand how to build a solid foundation of habits in their health. It has been amazing what God has done. I believe the way to change the health of our nation is to equip and empower the next generation. That's why our mission is to get a quality health education to every student in America. 

As we were helping adults we started to see the real issue was that no one ever taught these adults how to live a healthy lifestyle while they were young. Sure, they learned some facts about the body and played some games in PE, but no one ever helped them build a foundation of habits outside of the classroom. 

Health education today is more important than it ever has been. But it seems like health education in many schools can be put on the back burner, is outdated, and doesn’t actually help students to create the habits they need to continue beyond graduation. This isn't due to the amazing teachers out there! They are doing the best they can with the resources they have. 

As we have partnered with schools all over the U.S. I usually see two main problems when it comes to their health education programs. I will break these two problems down below and give some simple solutions on how to fix them.

Problem 1: Priority

The first main problem I see in health education is the lack of priority. Health education is often treated as “less than” other subjects. It’s viewed more as an elective than it is a core subject. It is often put on the back burner and is the first thing to go in a crisis or if there is a lack of staff. While math, language arts, science, and history are very important, I believe health education is just as important and critical for students to learn. After all, the habits (or lack of habits) they create in health will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Their health will either be a blessing and empower them to do all God has called them to do, or it can be a burden and hinder them from fully sustaining the call God has on their life.

It’s not like educators do this on purpose. Much of this has to do with the education system and the standards in each state that dictate how much to focus on certain subjects. And unfortunately, the priority just isn't there. On top of that, educators are so busy with everything else, they never even have time to think about health education and how to make it better. The teachers that are actually teaching the Health and PE classes are usually coaching four other sports and traveling to tournaments in addition to having a full-time teaching job. It can be a lot! 

The last issue I will mention here is that colleges don't care about health education at all. There is no facet of the ACT or SAT that covers health. There are no aspects of one's health that can give them an edge in getting into college. Getting students into great colleges is often a primary goal for most private schools. Health education doesn't really help to get that done. So they check off the box and give them a completion grade so they can move on to the “more important” subjects that really matter when it comes to getting into colleges. Now I am not against college at all! I have multiple college degrees, but our goal in educating students isn't just  for college prep, it is also to help them become good stewards of everything God has entrusted to them (including their physical body) so that they can fully develop and step into their calling.

Solution:

We must prioritize health education and not treat it as a “less than” subject. This includes having content and systems that take work off of teachers, are relevant to students, and keep them engaged and applying what they learn.

Problem 2: Information overload

We don't have an information problem in America today. Especially when it comes to health. Anyone can go on google and look up “How to be healthy” and 50+ million results pop up. My friends, we don't have a lack of information problem in health education, we have a lack of application problem. 

Most information in the health education used in schools today is outdated and boring. I was talking to a school the other day and their resources were from 2001! Another teacher we work with was teaching his students from the same book he learned from in high school 12 years ago.  We give students a 300-page book with all of these facts about the body and we expect them to know how to apply these concepts into their day-to-day life. But the truth is, they may be able to study these facts to pass a test, but the moment they pass that test they forget all about what they learned last semester because it isn't relevant to their current life and situation. 

Many times the more information we give students the less they actually apply. Add on top of that, the thousands of different articles and opinions that contradict each other that are out there and it becomes quite confusing. Not to mention the additional stress of comparing  themselves to peers and people on social media. They are constantly feeling pressured to look a certain way or eat a certain way. These problems only get worse as their bodies change and their metabolism goes down as they age. 

Of course, we need to cover the standards and basic information about the body. It is super important to learn! But we can’t stop there. We must help students apply this information into their lives in a relevant way that they will be able to sustain. Our goal should be to help them build actual habits they can apply into every season of life so they can serve God and others better. 

Solution:

We must focus on application over information. Having systems and content that break down health into simple frameworks for students, are relevant and engaging, and are Biblically based is a must when covering the standards of health education. Health education isn't just about teaching the right things to do, it’s about teaching them the right way to think about health. After all, transformation comes by the renewing of the mind. (Romans 12:1-2)

Wrapping it up:

I have deep respect for educators. They sacrifice so much and don’t get compensated enough in return. Our heart is to partner with educators in health education to give them resources that simplify health for their students and make their lives easier. Creating a cohesive system for health education doesn't have to be time-consuming or complicated. We partner with schools all over the country to give them a turn-key system that fixes both of these problems. We also have free resources on our website to get you started. 

Be encouraged today. God will give you the grace you need to be the educator He has called you to be. What are some next steps you can take to improve the way you cover health education in your school?