I have been learning a lot about how public health and education come together, and how they don’t always work together. So far in my experience the state department of education only seems to want to do only what they are federally mandated to do. I think I’m witnessing firsthand the gap between public health and education. On the public health side (my side) we are excited to help schools become healthy, and there are many FREE tools available for them to do so. In addition, there are many county and local community partners who can help the schools do this. From my understanding on the education side, they aren’t federally required to do so, so why should they? It’s a little frustrating, especially seeing how having a Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) can coincide with required National Health Education Standards, which schools in Arizona are mandated to teach and meet.
Right now I’m working on a matrix of how a CSHP works together with the newly mandated Local Wellness Policies (LWP) schools are mandated to have. In addition, I’m also adding how it can coincide with the National Health Education Standards. When I met with my supervisor the other day, she was very pleased with the matrix, and thinks it would be a great presentation to county partners who are having trouble selling the idea of having a CSHP at local schools.
Although I’ve been learning a lot, there is still so much more to learn. I’ve found I haven’t given myself proper credit for what I’ve learned so far in the three weeks since my practicum began. Instead I have been feeling as if I have more questions than answers on the subject. However, last night I realized I’ve only been learning about this subject for three weeks, and I need to give myself time to become more versed in it.
Thank you so much for sharing your perspectives, Marlene. Not only is it extremely helpful to hear about the frustrations you are feeling when trying to interface with schools, it’s very helpful to listen to your personal thoughts about learning. Each challenge, although it often brings us out of our comfort zone, helps us grow. Good for you to realize this and give yourself credit for the progress that you are making! Looking forward to more of your posts and hearing about all that you are learning. -Dr. Patsy
HI Marlene – Good points. What you describe is not unusual in public health nutrition, or even dietetics and nutrition counseling, for that matter. Not all parties involved – whether it’s a consumer in dietetics, a school, or other organization, are at the same readiness to change behavior – personal or organizational. It is our challenge to listen to the “customer”, “patient”, or “community group”, and try to find a way to encourage change on terms and conditions that are acceptable to them. Schools have many challenges and competing priorities – they have budgetary difficulties, staffing issues, pressure to succeed in standardized testing, requirements for the foodservice to run at a profit, etc. Thus, what may sound easy to implement may not always be so easy. Same with personal nutrition – it’s theoretically very easy to lose weight – simply eat less and move more. But the challenge is in operationalizing that – for every person, every day, with competing demands, financial issues, etc. It’s what makes nutrition as much an art as a science. No two schools will be alike, just as no two people are. So you will have some tailoring and problem solving to do! Hopefully, the coursework you have had at UMass will help. It sounds like the Grid you are preparing will be a very useful first step, and the presentation will be very useful as well. Sounds like a valuable practicum!
Dr C