Economic hard times require hard choices. We all know that. Maine schools, faced with further state and federal budget cuts are preparing to make some nearly impossible choices. We all want what is best for the students and residents of our communities, but in times like these that can be hard to define.

How do we find further savings in budgets that have already felt like “bare bones” for several years? How do we give our children the education they deserve when we find little financial ability to sustain programs that are now considered “enrichment”?

Healthy Lincoln County is one of 27 local community coalitions across the state working to strengthen communities by helping to create better public health environments and by supporting people of all ages in making healthier lifestyle choices. We would like to weigh in on the importance of maintaining health education as perhaps the single greatest way to ensure not only the immediate well-being of our children, but to ensure the future well-being of our communities.

Why should we care about health education? Health education builds students' knowledge, skills and positive attitudes about health. Health education teaches about physical, mental, emotional and social health. It motivates students to improve and maintain their health, prevent disease and reduce risky behaviors.

Effective curricula result in positive changes in behavior that lower student risks around: alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, injury prevention, mental and emotional health, nutrition, physical activity, prevention of diseases and sexuality and family life.

Health education promotes learning in other subjects. Studies have shown that reading and math scores of students who received comprehensive health education were significantly higher than those who did not. In general, healthy students learn better. They have higher attendance, have better grades, and perform better on tests.*

Without basic health literacy, societies are at a huge disadvantage both economically and culturally. It may seem like a stretch to compare Maine communities to those in poorer or developing countries where knowledge about health and healthcare are not as widespread as in the U.S., but ask yourself, where did you learn about health and how to be healthy?

Most of us who are now adults, learned about the human body, health and disease, physical fitness and nutrition not just from our parents, but in school. Where will Maine communities be in 5 years, 10 or 20 years if we don’t ensure that our children learn about their own health and understand how to preserve it? The financial and social toll of disease and addiction will continue to erode our society if we do not prioritize health education at the core of our most basic skills-teaching in school. Math and reading are essential, but so is our health.

Finally, let’s ask ourselves this question: If we don’t provide health education in schools, what are our children going to learn from the general culture around them?

They are surrounded by a culture that is creating an epidemic of childhood obesity, of kids abusing drugs at younger and younger ages, and that advertises tobacco products specifically to appeal to them. If we don’t counter those cultural messages with information and support for making good choices, then we jeopardize both children and their parents who are trying to raise kids who will be healthy, productive members of society.

Yes, economic hard times require hard choices and schools are faced with a lot of them. But let’s not create more problems down the road for all of us by cutting health education to save us something in the short term.

*Source: www.education.nh.gov/instruction/school_health/health_coord_education.htm#health_ed/.