Grade 15 - Human Services
Counseling and Mental Health Services (Credit: 0.50)The mental health field is diverse. There are many different options available to those interested in working in the counseling and mental health field. This course introduces and exposes the students to some topics, issues, and populations that are related to the counseling and mental health field. Students will first receive information about on the history of the mental health system in the United States and about some common mental illnesses. They will then explore different counseling and mental health topics, populations, mental health needs of these populations, and work place settings. Some topics and populations discussed are addiction, dual diagnosis disorders, vulnerable children, different vulnerable populations, and mental health issues in the criminal justice system. Some workplace settings of counseling and mental health workers analyzed are the criminal justice system, school systems, acute psychiatric care settings, community mental health centers, and child protective services.
This course will also introduce students to various careers in the mental health field. Some of the professions reviewed are, psychiatrists, psychologists, school counselors, social workers, social and human service assistants, dual diagnosis disorder counselors, recovery coaches, correctional counselors, forensic psychologists, crime victim advocates, geriatric psychiatrists, and recreational therapists. The roles, responsibilities, and duties of these workers along with the educational, licensure/certification, job outlook, and salaries of these professions are discussed. Lastly, the ethics and competencies important to these professions are presented. Students are provided with resources in order that they may be able to conduct online research of schools and credential requirements of their individual states. This course will equip students with information and resources on counseling and mental health careers, and the coursework will give students the opportunity to apply some of this knowledge in practical scenarios.
Early Childhood Development & Services (Credit: 0.50)Early Childhood Development (ECD) is an introductory course offering a detailed overview of both developmental stages and areas of early childhood, and how early childhood education professionals provide optimal assistance during these important years of growth and learning. An examination of the history, theories, teaching models, research, and policies that grew with the advance of early childhood education, as well as an introduction to the achievements of many leaders in this field, provide students a thorough grounding in the science and practice of early childhood education. This course further provides students with keen insight into why these years are so important to the life of the child, what areas of physical, emotional, and cognitive development are manifested from birth through age five, and what developmentally appropriate practices are proving to be most effective.
Students will see how state, county, and community programs and non-profit social service organizations benefit from a combination of contributions and regional and federal funding mandated through national legislation; students will also appreciate the role ECE professionals play in their work with families, organizations, and licensing administrators. Students will be able to identify the advances, the challenges, the results, and the trends in ECE, explore a wide spectrum of professional possibilities, and learn the requirements and responsibilities of those positions. The complex interaction of state and federal policymaking on program funding and availability is covered in depth, as are codes of ethics and legislation affecting the quality of preschool and kindergarten programs.
Diversity is a key topic, and inclusion of families and children of cultural, economic, linguistic, and ethnic and ability diverse backgrounds are covered in depth. The rights, programs, and services available for children with disabilities and their families are reviewed. As the areas of study show, the need for highly qualified, engaged professionals in preschool classrooms, child care centers, and school readiness programs is growing. Teachers and other professionals in the field need to be not only educated in ECD, but also adept at building positive relationships between teacher and child and parent and colleagues, with the sensitivity to, enthusiasm for, and awareness of diversity issues and developmentally appropriate practices requiring skill and ongoing training.
Through creative projects in each unit, leading to completion of the capstone project, students become the professionals they are studying to be, hypothetically designing preschool curricula, counseling parents and working with infants with disabilities in mental health home intervention visits, researching credentials and education pathways for careers, investigating state funding and licensure requirements for programs, and getting involved in advocacy for major issues in the field. This course prepares students to make more informed decisions about their education and career pathway possibilities, endowing them with a solid understanding of the field and its importance in the well-being and success of not just a few young children and their families but of society and future generations.
Family & Community Services (Credit: 0.50)This course introduces applications within professions related to Family and Community Services. You will identify degree and credential requirements for occupations in this pathway and identify individual, social, historical, economic, and cultural context to increase awareness of family and community services. You will develop the abilities necessary to evaluate and identify a range of effective communication strategies and skills for establishing a collaborative relationship with others. You will also complete a variety of projects to apply your skills and knowledge.
The course begins by introducing you to Family and Community Services, associated careers, and general requirements. The first unit requires you to investigate the skills required for many professions, including effective communication and critical thinking. The remaining units are divided among career fields. Each chapter begins with a lesson that discusses the general role of the professionals, their required skills and knowledge, educational requirements, employment opportunities, and salaries. The following lessons in each chapter then discuss various aspects of the career in greater detail.
Introduction to Consumer Services (Credit: 0.50)In this introductory Consumer Services course, students analyze various career paths in terms of employment opportunities. We will discuss educational requirements, including applicable hard and soft skills, certifications, and licensures for different pathways. Developing research, analytical, and presentations skills will be key components.
This course is designed as an overview to prepare students for a consumer services-related career and to introduce them to specialty areas. Emphasis is placed on the human services aspect (vs. corporate concerns) of consumer services. Social issues and advocacy, as well as ethics and legalities, are a recurring theme. Students will gain knowledge of current issues affecting various consumer services professions, and the impact of local, state, national and global issues on consumer services.
Introduction to Human Growth & Development (Credit: 0.50)This course focuses on human growth and development over the lifespan, as well as careers that help people deal with various physical, intellectual, and socioemotional issues, such as physicians, nurses, nutritionists, substance abuse counselors, clergy, teachers, career counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists.
This course is important because it gives the student a background in human growth and development from before birth, through childhood, into adulthood, and through death and grief. It gives the student perspective and highlights where people in the caring professions are most needed.
Students who take this course will come away with a broad understanding of all the careers that help people from birth to death. They will understand how people in the helping professions interact with each other and how continued growth in this sector can give them flexibility, good pay, and high job satisfaction.
Introduction to Human Services (Credit: 0.50)This course introduces high school students to the possibilities for careers in the human services professions. Through anecdotes, lessons, and a variety of assignments and projects, students will learn about the broad variety of jobs available in the human services. These begin with entry-level positions, such as associate social workers, that require only a two-year Associate of Arts degree. At the apex of the profession, being a psychiatrist brings the most prestige and the biggest salary, but only after many years of school and training.
Students will learn exactly what the human services are and the ethics and philosophies of the helping professions. The history of the profession will be covered, as well as the impact of the cultural, social, and economic environment on individual people, especially those who are in need of social services assistance.
By the conclusion of this course, students will have a firm introductory understanding of the social services professions. Employment at all levels of social work and related jobs is projected to grow rapidly over the next decade. Students will have a better idea of whether this is a career course they would like to explore further.
Personal Care Services (Credit: 0.50)This course in Personal Care Services introduces students to a variety of careers in the following areas: cosmetology (including hairstyling and haircutting, esthetics, manicuring, makeup, and teaching) and barbering (including cutting and styling of hair and facial hair and manicuring for men); massage therapy, teaching body-mind disciplines (yoga, Pilates, and the martial arts), and fitness (general exercise classes and acting as a personal trainer); and mortuary science (embalming and funeral directing). The course teaches students about what each career entails and the education and training they will need to become credentialed in various career specialties. In addition, about half of the course is devoted to teaching knowledge associated with the various professions, so that students can get a feel for what they will have to learn and whether they would like to learn it.
Five of 30 lessons are devoted to anatomy, which will be a subject covered in some fashion in most educational programs that students undertake to become personal care professionals. The first anatomy lesson in Unit One covers the major organ systems. Additional anatomy lessons are on the integumentary system (Unit Two), the musculoskeletal system (Unit Three), the respiratory and cardiovascular systems (Unit Four), and the blood and lymph systems (Unit Five). Moreover, technical information that would be learned in the study of each profession is systematically covered as the course progresses through career tracks and particular job titles. Each unit also contains important information on health and safety issues, including legal issues, as they relate to various personal care professions. Ethics as they ought to be applied to the personal care professions are also covered in some depth.
As they progress through the course, students will learn about the educational requirements to pursue various job titles, along with how they will prepare themselves to become credentialed in a chosen profession. Most of the job titles discussed in this course will require some sort of professional licensure, and students are provided with detailed information on that subject. In some cases, job titles may require a credential from a recognized professional association. This information is also laid out in the course, and students are directed to where they can find additional information about education, training, and credentialing of personal care professionals. The course also provides important information about public and private options for education and how costs may differ.
The introductory material for each lesson is designed to pique student interest in the lesson content, and this preparatory material is highly engaging and covers a wide range of topics. In many instances, the teacher can actually use the material that is in the lesson's introduction as part of the course content, since many of these introductions do contain additional useful information about the lesson's topic. Finally, the course has distinctive environmental and holistic health strands, which are also reflected in the final project, and the teacher can choose to emphasize this portion of the course and even augment it with additional material.
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