The importance of the emphasizing health classes in school by Nia

The importance of the emphasizing health classes in school by Nia - November 2021 Scholarship Essay

Each school has an array of classes lined up for students to take as they’re beneficial to them in some way. Despite what type of class it is, they’re all essentially “important” as they prepare students for the future or align with their interests. However, depending on the student and their interests, the level of importance a class holds varies because what one kid may like, another may despise. On the other hand, there’s one class, Health Class, whose importance never really fluctuates. If anything, the importance of taking a health class only increases as students progress through high school, which is why I believe it deserves more emphasis in school. These classes provide students with the insight they may need to make necessary connections about their own or others’ health, provide students who don’t have adequate access to the information the space they need to obtain it and prepare students for circumstances they may face.
Health classes are the only classes that supply students with knowledge about their own and other people’s health. Whether it be sexual health, mental health, or disease prevention, the class exposes students to important topics that they need to be aware of to make sure they are healthy, and if they’re not, presents students with solutions. For example, in health class students become knowledgeable of mental health disorders, especially those prevalent around their age group. With this knowledge, students can connect their struggles and possible symptoms to those of the mental health disorder they’re looking into and get the help they may need. Similarly, with adequate knowledge, students can seek out help for their peers in case they’ve noticed specific, unusual behaviors they’re carrying out, which in extreme cases, can save someone’s life. Without health classes, only a select few students would have access to this dire information.
Many topics, like sexual health, are considered “taboo” in certain households, thus leading to a lack of information given to particular children. Because of this, the child may live their life unaware of specific topics and may end up making preventable mistakes and enduring preventable occurrences like contracting an STD. Apart from taboos, simply not being comfortable enough to talk to parents or not having an outlet to talk to can also lead to ignorance regarding fixed subjects. This is why it’s pivotal to emphasize health classes in school. If students are unable to receive not just information, but the correct information from outside sources, they must be able to have access to a health class so that they can receive it and make sure they’re prepared for possible future situations.
Certain situations students may face may leave them confused and not knowing what to do. Participating in a health class helps students do so as many of the units covered explain how to handle and respond to real-life incidents. To illustrate this point, one big unit of heath class is drugs and alcohol. During this section, students are informed about the effects (both short-term and long-term) of drugs and alcohol on their bodies, how to negate addiction, and how to say “no” to these potentially addictive drugs. Specific incidents such as what to do if you see a peer trying to drive under the influence are covered, dispensing the correct responses to unfortunate circumstances students may face in life.
In conclusion, health class is the class I believe deserves more emphasis in school for many reasons. This class shares important information with students, thus allowing them the ability to learn more about themselves, take necessary measures to avert preventable experiences, and prepare for the ones they may face. Though many topics explored aren’t
academically educational, they’re still educational as they prepare students for the real world and familiarize them with real-world situations.