DD’s latest volunteer endeavor is working with a group of high school students and she is in need of ‘hot button’ health-related topics that can be debated. The kids will be divided into small groups/pairs (depending on numbers), they will research the topics and ‘debate’ an assigned position. Two examples she shared are: to vaccinate/not vaccinate one’s children and pros/cons of the legalization of marijuana. I suggested the lowering the legal drinking age to 18–pros/cons.
I thought I’d tap CC as a valuable resource and find other topics that could work for her project. Her primary objective is to use this activity as a way for the students to get to know each other while educating them on a health topic pertinent to their age group. The larger group will serve as the audience for their ‘friendly’ debates…
Adding HPV to the mandatory vaccine schedules for schools.
Whether or not to ban pop and other sugary beverages in schools or even whole cities (large sizes).
Increasing LARC methods among high school girls.
There’s always the sex ed fallback.
A more obscure one is the change from AIDS to HIV stage 4 (pros and cons of the name change, larger societal implications, etc). This one is a pet interest but thought I’d throw it out there.
Whether or not teens should be allowed to get STI and pregnancy tests from schools and/or without parental permission elsewhere.
Is cafeteria mystery meat better or worse for you than junk food. On a more serious note, is the strain of long hours of school, homework and EC’s hurting the health of teenage students, along with the pressure they are under?
Should girls be allowed to get birth control, abortions, etc. without parental consent.
Something to do with driving, like Should students be allowed to drive with other kids in car?
Should the earliest driving age be increased?
Should condoms be available free at school?
