I strongly believe that the purpose of Health Education is to teach the whole student, by using a variety teaching techniques and strategies that are age appropriate to that specific population.  Health Education can provide opportunities to expose students to movement, strategies, teamwork, problem solving and other independent living skills.  In order for this to happen I strongly believe that health education standards should be used to drive the instruction so that all students are successful in becoming health literate individuals. 

In my own words the definition of health education is education that is focused on teaching students the various ways that they can take care of their bodies, physically, socially and mentally.  This means that any individual who is charged with teaching health education must take into account that they are not just teaching students about how their bodies work, but should be also teach young people how to manage their diet, seek out ways to manage their socio-emotional health, and how to be positive productive members of their communities.  In order to do this, a variety of teaching techniques should be used. 

I strongly believe that teaching techniques that are age and content appropriate are to be used so that students find success with health concepts.  As a Health Education teacher, I believe these teaching strategies should be incorporated in order to address students’ diverse learning styles.  Students should be formally and informally assessed in the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains using skill tests, rubrics, checklists and written evaluations.  I think that this is only fair since each student is an individual with individual needs and learning styles.   A learning environment that is productive, motivational and informative will be created for students by implementing a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate, skill-related, progressive, challenging and enjoyable.  To further improvement my skills as an educator, I decided to reenroll for a second MSEd. in Health Education for grades N-12.  I made this choice because it had been my goal to obtain an education degree in either Health or Physical Education in addition to wanting to be in a better position to properly provide the education that my students deserve. 

Additionally because there is no one way to instruct students, so I believe that it is crucial for health educators to attend professional development and other continuing educational forums as much as possible.  We should also subscribe and become part of national organizations that conduct research into various field of health education so that we can be up to date in our content.  That is why as an educator, I have always worked to create a program that can provide each of my students with the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities with the overarching idea that one should have fun while improving their personal health.  These activities were chosen and designed so that all students could find success in my program.  All of my students were given opportunities to gain essential life skills that I believed would be needed later in life to maintain a level of health that would decrease their chances of developing certain chronic illnesses.  My ultimate goal of the program had been to produce students who valued health education and its contributions to a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally.   

As a youngster, most of the schools that I attended did not have the best Physical and Health Education programs and when I took my first job in the fitness industry, I came to the understanding that many adults may have had the same experience that I did growing up.  After spending a somewhat significant amount of time in cooperate fitness, I decided to move into the education field on a permanent basis.  I felt and still feel that young people deserve to have a proper Health Education so that exercise and nutrition would not be so foreign to them.  My goal was and still is that my students would have the knowledge to manage their overall health so that they may lead healthy lives as adults.