Curriculum for Health Revised Again

After much debate, the Department of Health and Human Development will restrict their curricular reforms to incoming students for the 2019–20 school year. In the following year, the entire student body will be subject to those changes.

The proposals were initially passed as a result of shared faculty sentiment that more contact with students would allow the Health Department to more effectively curb high-risk behavior. These potential reforms, however, have sparked an uproar of student dissent.

The changes to the proposal were the result of potential modifications to students’ class schedules. “Since we don’t know what [the new daily schedule] may look like, it was just too much change in one year,” Health Department Chair Michelle Soucy said.

According to Soucy, the Health Department met with Principal William Rawson, Assistant Principal Karen Lassey and Dean of Faculty Ellen Wolff to discuss the potential impacts of the change on current students. “We talked about what would be the best for our students—what would have the least impact on student anxiety levels,” Soucy said.

The department did not feel that overwhelming students with change would be a positive step. “We just decided that it would be helpful to not have two major changes going into next year, particularly for uppers who are already so susceptible to the stress of that year,” Soucy said. “However, new students will still have to meet the new requirements because they have the time to plan.”

Faculty in the department still debated over these new developments. “I think that there was concern about what the new plan was going to look like and what new uppers might be missing out on,” Soucy recalled. “Still, it was just a call that we had to make. There was just so much change and so little time that people had a difficult time with the adjustment.”

To ensure that the new curriculum best serves the community, the Department has decided to host another open forum for students to give more of their input. This forum will take place during Faculty Meeting on April 11 in the basement of the Lamont Health and Wellness Center.

Next year, returning uppers will receive information on health through alternative means. “We always look for opportunities, as a Health Department, to think about ways that we can do things with dorms and residential life—conversation dinners, tabling, speakers—so that we can get important information out to all of the students,” Soucy said. “[Uppers] won’t not get any health education. It just won’t be in the form of an academic class.”

The initial changes drew significant opposition from students. On Bus Ride—a Facebook group in which students can anonymously submit their thoughts and opinions on Exeter’s student life—a petition against the reforms garnered over three hundred signatures, though some appeared to be from students outside the community. The Health Department is adamant that student protests were unrelated to the decision to delay the reforms, and the decision was “really about what’s in the best interest of our students’ health and wellness, stress levels and anxiety,” according to Soucy.

Members of the student body are appreciative of the delay. “It was very thoughtful of the Health Department to delay [their reforms]. I am glad they considered both student concerns about an overloaded schedule and how else that schedule might change, and I think this will be beneficial to the students,” lower Albert Chu said. “Now, I have more faith that the Health Department is just trying to help the student body.”

Lower Isa Matsubayashi shared similar sentiments. “I wasn’t happy about [the original changes],” she said. “I mean, who wants another required appointment?” Matsubayashi is grateful that she will have more free time to cope with the stresses of upper year, particularly the college admissions process.

Members of the student body also questioned the lack of any announcement by the Health Department on these changes. “I didn’t know about the [changes] at all,” lower Oliver Hess said. “I would only ask for more transparency from the Health Department.”

Despite the announced delay, the debate on the reforms themselves continues. “Health and Human Development felt unnecessary for me,” lower Mei Li Hart said. “All of the topics covered were not covered in great depth, and, as a result, I didn’t feel that I had learned much.” Hart feels that unless the Department of Health and Human Development can supplement its curriculum, additional class time would be ineffective.

Upper Sam Farnsworth agreed. “I thought it was a good introduction to Harkness and my classmates, but… I didn’t learn that much,” he said. “I think the curriculum needs to change, but I’m not sure if this is the best way to do it.”

Students who had positive experiences in Health as underclassmen also questioned the need for another term. “I found the curriculum informative and necessary,” upper Paula Perez-Glassner said. “However, I personal

ly would not have wanted upper health. As an upper now, I definitely saw a shift from my lower to upper year academically, and having an added load would have been really stressful for me.”

However, some feel that more time in the health curriculum could allow for discussion of critical issues. “The changes benefit us [because] health is important,” prep Charles Falivena said. “We need proper sex education, sexuality education and mental health education. Health [gives us] all of those things.”

In addition, the department’s changes involve a one-term reduction to the health curriculum for those in the prep class. “There’s a lot going around about extra class time, but new students will only have two terms of health their first year,” Soucy said. “It’s just drawn out over a longer period of time.”

Soucy is confident that, when in effect, the changes will benefit the community. “Spreading health out over time will give us important contact points at more age-appropriate, developmentally-appropriate times in an adolescent’s life,” Soucy said. “It can help heighten their awareness of someone else in our community who might need access to information or resources.” In the meantime, however, Health and Human Development courses will be absent from the lives of most returning uppers.