Lesson 12-1:
What Does It Mean To Be Healthy?
Procedures: (continued) 7.
Begin a discussion of “self-image” and “self-esteem” by asking the following: What is self-esteem? What do we mean when we say someone has high self-esteem? Low self-esteem? Does your self-esteem change according to your surroundings, for example, when you are with your Deaf friends, or when you are with hearing friends? When you are here on campus, or when you are at the local mall? Does your self-esteem affect the way you behave? Ask the class how the broad definition of health they have just discussed relates to self-esteem. Explain that poor health— physical, social, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual—is linked to
Teacher’s Note: Key starting points in the curriculum for each grade level are the concepts of self-esteem and self-image. We start with these ideas because they are critical to how people act and behave, to how others respond and react, and to how these reactions and responses are perceived. Your students may have covered these concepts in earlier grades. If not, you may want to draw on the materials in lessons 7-1, 8-1, 9-1 or 10-1 as appropriate, in discussing these issues with your class.
low self-esteem. Ask students to brainstorm ways that low/high self-esteem can affect: Relationships: If you feel bad about your abilities, intelligence, or appearance, how do you think that might affect your relationships with your family? Deaf friends? Hearing friends? Other peers? Boyfriend or girlfriend? How would things be different if you thought highly of your abilities, social skills, intelligence, or appearance? Choices: How might the way you feel about yourself affect your decisions in trying new activities? Making friends? Working? Joining a sports team or school club? Using drugs, tobacco or alcohol? What differences do you think high self-esteem and low self-esteem make in these choices?
8.
Explore with your students the kinds of challenges relating to self-esteem and health that Deaf young people may face. Are these issues the same as those facing other adolescents? Are they different? How can your students deal with these challenges?
Journal: How does your sense of health—or lack of health—affect your self-esteem? The decisions you make? Which areas of your health do you most focus on? How do you promote your overall health in each of the five areas? What areas do you feel you need to develop further?
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