Health education gives students the knowledge and skills to thrive physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. It contributes to students’ ability to successfully practice behaviors that protect and promote health and avoid and reduce health risks. Health education helps students to determine personal values and group norms that support healthy behaviors. Through comprehensive health education, students learn basic health concepts and influences on health. They develop the skills required to adopt, practice and maintain health-enhancing and safe behaviors. These skills include: analyzing the reliability and validity of media and health resources, communicating effectively using refusal and conflict management skills and setting goals and making healthy decisions. Health education helps students to: be better consumers of information, manage stress, and make healthy decisions in the face of conflicting messages. It assists them in living healthier lives.

Maine Learning Results, 2007