Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Liliana Celio
April 11, 2017
Pacific Oaks College
HD 412
Instructor: Chiquita Waters
Introduction
After years of working in the education field, I have observed that many of the families
within our communities do not follow a healthy lifestyle. For many parents, a day filled with
numerous activities may lead them to choose the convenience of a fast-food restaurant over a
home cooked meal. Long work days and homework-filled nights may often cause families to feel
that they have less time or desire for exercise. As a result, many families tend to follow a
sedentary lifestyle. While the daily bombardment of unhealthy food choices may result as a
major factor, this problem especially exists amongst families who struggle financially. For this
reason, I plan to implement a health and wellness workshop at Richard E. Haynes Elementary
School called, Healthy Huskies. The workshop will encourage families to adopt a healthy
lifestyle by showing them that clean eating and exercise is attainable through nutrition education
For my final project, I chose to focus on the community at the school for which I work,
Richard E. Haynes Elementary School. I chose this community because although the school
district has attempted to implement a health and wellness policy, several families continue to
disregard the importance of leading healthy lives. I believe that one contributing factor is that
most families have an abundance of fast food restaurants easily accessible to them at almost
every corner of their neighborhood. Sadly, this convenience opens the door for temptation. In
other cases, some families find that convenience foods such as frozen dinners and canned meals
offer quick, yet simple alternatives. Other families simply do not know how to prepare meals that
include fresh fruits and vegetables. More specifically, many families may lack knowledge
regarding calories, carbohydrates, sodium intake, and portion control. By providing families with
the proper tools, families may recognize that making their health a priority can be more than
manageable.
Financial struggles affect several families within the community at Richard E. Haynes
Elementary. According to the California Department of Education, about 85.9% of the student
means that several families may not only need financial assistance, but they may also need to
plan accordingly. For many, managing a family based on a low income may be difficult for
households who have multiple members. As a result, families opt to choose foods that help them
stay within their financial means. Unfortunately, this means that their options limit their food
choices. I say this because most inexpensive food options available in todays grocery stores and
restaurants may hold little to no nutritional value. Consequently, families may feel that their
options are limited to processed foods, over fresh produce. The cycle is almost inevitable.
As time progresses, our communities continue to suffer from a growing health crisis that
needs our support. Based on my observations, young children are malleable. More specifically,
elementary school-aged children are at the age in which they are easily impressionable. They
learn based on the environment and choices to which their family and friends expose them. In
this case, the environment outside of school has gradually taught them about food choices and
portions. Unfortunately, sources such as the media as well as the portions served in restaurants
continuously contribute to their distortion of what a proper meal or snack should entail. This may
include disregarding portion sizes and most importantly, food options that may affect their
growing bodies negatively. Oftentimes, this also affects the choices children make during school
meals. Based on my observations, many prefer to avoid consuming the fruits and vegetables that
the school offers them based on the concept provided by MyPlate; a guide that encourages
healthy eating and balance in the United States (MyPlate, 2017). Despite the schools support,
children ask for soda, chips, and candy to supplement their meal. These poor food choices not
only lead to the rising rates of obesity in the United States, but also health issues such as
childhood diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and sleep disorders (Roth, 2016). As
educators, our social responsibility is to provide additional support to this growing epidemic.
My goal for the Healthy Huskies workshop is to encourage and guide families as they
transition into a healthy lifestyle. I aim to help change their perspectives of healthy living from
unattainable to manageable. I say this because todays fast-paced lifestyles require convenience.
Oftentimes, too many families focus on getting through the day, that they do not make time to
spend quality time together. To remedy this, I aim to show them that eating healthy and
exercising can be simple and enjoyable. As an added benefit, the workshop can provide them
with a haven for which they can learn together about something that can help the entire family.
Ultimately, the quality time spent together is the bonus. In addition, although the students of
Haynes Elementary must participate in physical education twice a week, their bodies require
additional time. This is especially important for the children who do not have the opportunity to
be more active outside of school. I say this because according to the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), experts recommend that children and adolescents aged six-seventeen,
engage in a minimum of sixty minutes of physical activity daily (MyPlate, 2017). Furthermore,
when people consume more calories than they use, they tend to gain weight. In fact, if children
are not exposed or encouraged to be active by anyone important to them, the possibility of them
choosing to be active on their own is much less. In this case, the workshop would provide
children with additional exposure and role models that give them a positive example of the
Now more than ever, adults and children suffer in silence. I say this because many
children prefer to internalize their feelings to prevent bullying at school or at home. Furthermore,
their internal struggles may lead them to battle with health issues such as obesity. Oftentimes, if
children feel bored, anxious, or depressed, they may cope with negative emotions by reaching for
food for comfort; not necessarily because they feel hungry. Based on what I have learned
throughout my time in this course, I have learned that our macrosystem of attitudes and
ideologies may greatly affect our families microsystems and mesosystems (Waters, 2017). This
may happen as external events flow to the core of our individual ecological system. In other
words, the attitudes that todays society have about food have influenced people individually.
Consequently, the relationships we have with others have become affected in the process as we
allow them to influence the way that the families in our communities feel about food and
exercise. This in turn has affected the remaining environmental systems by affecting our
children. Clearly, the cycle needs to stop before children become further affected.
The event
To truly make a positive impact on the community at Haynes Elementary school, I plan to
implement a workshop that benefits the families mind and body. As an educator, I believe that
my social responsibility to the community is to not only care for their children during their time
at school, but I also need to encourage its members to practice self-care. I intend to accomplish
this by providing families and school staff with the Healthy Huskies workshop that will take
The goal of the Healthy Huskies workshop is for families to learn about the benefits of
living an active lifestyle. I plan to achieve this by providing families with an enjoyable
environment in which they can spend quality time together. The event will begin by encouraging
education. To begin, the active portion will include active games such as obstacle courses or
indoor sports. I would accomplish this by asking the schools physical education staff for
suggestions on group activities that work for them throughout the school year. During the active
portion of the event, student helpers will offer participants fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks.
However, to keep the workshops from becoming redundant, I would like to alternate between
active games and themed dance parties. Both types of activities would include friendly
competition by offering participants with prizes that community businesses may donate. In
addition, as family members dance and socialize they will have the opportunity to enjoy a
refreshing smoothie or juice bar. Furthermore, I also want to include more members of the
community. I intend to do this by asking the students if they personally know of anyone who
would donate their time to DJ each workshop. If this is not an option, I may ask students from
the local high school to help coordinate the entertainment portion of the event. I believe that if a
familiar face plays music that the children enjoy, this will essentially make the event more
gratifying.
Soon after the active portion of the event ends, participants will learn a new simple, yet
healthy recipe that they will make themselves. To supplement this, I would like to ask nutritional
experts to join us as they educate families about meals that they can make outside of school. In
fact, the nutritional experts will show families how to find affordable produce that fits within
their financial means. This may include shopping according to various stores weekly ads or
discovering resources within the community that may help them. In addition, I would like the
children to learn recipes that they can make themselves in case an adult cannot help them or if
they crave something specific. More specifically, I would like the children to learn about snacks
that do not require the use of a stove. If they require a knife, I would suggest that their caregivers
may pre-cut the necessary ingredients. In addition, families may learn to make healthy yet quick
snacks that they can make if they are short for time. Caregivers may also learn how to make
simple meals in which they may include the children. My ultimate goal for the meal portion of
the event is for caregivers and children to learn about the basic building blocks of clean eating
and exercise.
benefits, I would need to devise a plan of action. First, I would need to seek the approval of Mr.
Jamemy Barnett, the school principal. By taking this first step, I intend to not only gain his
support but also seek the support of the school staff. I believe that if the school staff becomes
aware of the details of my plan, they may essentially help me encourage students and families to
participate. They may also choose to participate themselves. Next, I would need to ask local
farmers and markets if they would like to donate produce. I would accomplish this by presenting
limit that I would encounter. Children and families usually have no problem preparing for school
events, as well as participating in cleaning up. However, if I gain the principal and staffs
support, I feel confident that this would not be an issue. Based on my experience with the school
principal, I have learned that he strongly believes in the progress of the community. Therefore, I
feel confident that if I encounter any issues, he would provide me with the necessary resources to
For this workshop to succeed, location is key. Considering that I intend to encourage a
minimum of twenty families to participate in my workshop, I plan to ask the principal if I may
use the schools multipurpose room. I say this because the room is large enough to accommodate
approximately three hundred people. The room includes air conditioning and has plenty of space
to allow people to not only make their food but also exercise. In addition, depending on the other
events taking place at the school, I plan to schedule the workshop to take place twice a month on
Tuesdays, after school. Since the event needs much collaboration, I would prefer to start at 3:30
p.m. and end around 4:00 p.m. Preparation would start about two hours before the event begins.
Once the school principal approves my action plan, I intend to research the needs of the
questionnaire focuses on exploring the needs of the parents and caregivers of the families. I
would like to ask questions such as, About how much time do you spend cooking every week?
Or, What problems, if any, do you face when purchasing food for your family? The second
questionnaire focuses on the childrens needs. For instance, I would ask questions such as, What
foods do you consider to be healthy? or, What options do you choose when you are hungry? I
believe that if I assess their needs, I may have a better idea of what recipes I would like to
Marketing
Great events stem from a great team effort. The success of the Healthy Huskies workshop
depends on a strong foundation. To promote the workshop, I plan to take several measures. For
instance, I plan to invite the schools student government to become a part of my monthly
workshop. They will help distribute flyers to every student and make posters that they will place
on various walls around the school. In addition, I would like to ask the principal if he can include
a reminder of our Healthy Huskies workshop in the daily agenda of announcements. This
would include posting on school district social media outlets such as twitter or Facebook.
Furthermore, I would also like the students and families to eventually take ownership of the
event. I say this because although this concept is my own idea, I would prefer for the school
community to feel as if the event belongs to them. I plan to encourage this process by also
inviting students and families to prepare and organize the event while I supervise. By
accomplishing this, I believe that the children in student government will have the opportunity to
learn leadership skills. They may help set up the ingredients for the meals, as well as the stations
to prepare each meal. They may also help organize the stations for the games and dance party.
I will not encounter many limitations. The principal and school staff often welcome any activities
that positively enrich the students lives. The school districts superintendent, Dr. James
Hammond, would also approve of the Healthy Huskies workshop. In fact, I would like to
eventually invite him to participate in the workshop alongside the children. Nonetheless, aside
from a possible lack of family participation, I may also struggle with produce donations. I may
also struggle with the people who would help me Children and families usually have no problem
preparing for school events, as well as participating in cleaning up. However, if I gain the
principal and staffs support, I feel confident that this would not be an issue.
Conclusion
strive for excellence. This includes teaching children inside the classroom, as well as, outside the
classroom. This is especially important because various negative factors can easily influence
young developing minds. They look to us as they make their choices daily. Therefore, as
educators and caregivers, we have a social responsibility to stop negativity in any way we can.
By offering the community with a positive learning outlet such as the Healthy Huskies
workshop, we can join forces in developing healthy minds and healthy bodies. Indeed, if our
children do not feel physically healthy, they may not feel emotionally healthy. The task is great,
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate
Richard E. Haynes Elementary using the California Department of Education SARC 2016-2017
application. (n.d.). School accountability Report Card. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from
http://www.sarconline.org/Sarc/Order/36678196036198?yearID=8
Roth, E. (2016, January 27). Childhood Obesity. In Gill, K. (Ed.) Healthline. Retrieved April 11,
children#overview1
Waters, C. (2017). Ecological Perspective [Class Lecture]. Retrieved from Pacific Oaks College