11th Grade

ELEVENTH GRADE

11.1 The student will evaluate individual strengths and weaknesses in relation to personal, educational, and career goals.

Descriptive Statement: Students are guided through a realistic self-assessment including working toward personal improvement, setting short- and long-term goals, formulating action plans, establishing priorities, and using school and community resources. Emphasis is placed on the variety of choices available to youth and the need for sound decision-making. The consequences of participating on social media and the short- and long-term implications on goals will be discussed.

11.2 The student will relate major theories of human development to his or her own situation and/or developmental level.

Descriptive Statement: A review of the major theories of personal developmental stages is followed by analysis of each stage as it relates to the student's own development. Students are made aware that these are theories, that they are not all inclusive, and that they may or may not relate to the student's individual life.

11.3 The student will recognize advantages of abstinence from premarital sexual relations, reinforcing methods of saying "no" to undesirable behavior.

Descriptive Statement: The physical, emotional, social, psychological, and economic consequences of premarital sexual relations continue to be stressed, and students’ progress in the development of assertive skills, including methods of saying "no" in ways that enable them to resist pressure from other teenagers and manage their own feelings and behavior. Instruction includes an emphasis on the law and meaning of consent and an understanding that consent is required before sexual activity.

11.4 The student will explain how mass media, television, and the Internet can have both positive and negative effects on the development to individuals--children, adolescents, and adults.

Descriptive Statement: Content includes types of messages conveyed on television, movies, in song lyrics, and on the Internet; techniques for analyzing programs and commercials; and strategies for evaluating media offerings according to their potential to entertain, to educate, to reinforce concepts, to guide or misguide behavior, to lure potential human trafficking victims, and to promote violence. Students will demonstrate how these messages affect mental health issues.

11.5 The student will express his or her own attitude toward parenting.

Descriptive Statement: This centers on the student's own opinions about parenthood-- possible reasons for becoming a parent, realistic role expectations for parenthood, and parental responsibilities. It also includes discussion of the responsibilities of parents who have children with characteristics that may be displeasing to the parent(s). Students will demonstrate the skills needed to utilize positive mental health practices in parenthood.

11.6 The student will develop skills in making parenting decisions.

Descriptive Statement: Students explore the relationship between personal and family development and planning for parenthood. They analyze the factors to be considered in family planning, such as education, career development, finances, marriage preparation and maturity.

11.7 The student will classify the major problems, issues, and decisions related to each stage of the family life cycle.

Descriptive Statement: The life cycle and how it applies to individuals and families is covered along with developmental tasks and needs of individual family members.

11.8 The student will identify parenthood options in terms of questions to be answered and decisions to be made.

Descriptive Statement: Discussion includes readiness to be a parent; family planning issues and spacing of children; choices resulting from infertility, genetic factors, and birth defects; and expenses associated with parenthood. Discussion also includes the positive aspects of parenting for the individual and for society.

11.9 The student will describe characteristics of newborn infants.

Descriptive Statement: Characteristics include physical appearance, medical tests to assess normalcy, observable infant behavior, emotional and physical needs of the child, and decisions related to circumcision.

11.10 The student will recall ways to cope with common fears and concerns regarding the care of newborn infants.

Descriptive Statement: The emphasis is on parent-child issues, such as bonding, special care requirements, feeding schedules, stress, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), sleep patterns, colic, apnea, medications, illness, post-partum depression, and breast and bottle feeding. Positive and negative effects of parenthood on mental health will be discussed.

11.11 The student will describe the adjustments family members face in the postnatal period.

Descriptive Statement: Adjustments to be considered include how the baby's needs affect other family members and their schedules. Consideration is given to the expectations of relatives and to adult needs for privacy, recreation, and time with other children. The issue of sibling rivalry is also discussed.

11.12 The student will explain the stages of growth and development in children.

Descriptive Statement: Topics included are the growth patterns of children, behavior patterns to be expected as children develop, and appropriate parent responses in reacting to and in guiding children's behavior.

11.13 The student will calculate the personal considerations and financial costs of childbearing.

Descriptive Statement: This includes the following considerations: the economic costs of raising a child, including the expenses of medical care before and after pregnancy; the costs of educating a child; the social considerations, including the investment of time and energy needed for quality child care; and the opportunity considerations, such as staying home to care for a child rather than pursuing an education or a career. This is balanced with discussion regarding the rewards of having children.

11.14 The student will identify criteria for selecting adequate child-care services.

Descriptive Statement: This is achieved by guiding the student in identifying child-care alternatives and in establishing guidelines for selecting appropriate care, considering pre-school education, after-school day care, the problems of children in self-care (“latchkey”) situations, and the need for quality and quantity of time in maintaining the physical and mental well-being of the child.

11.15 The student will analyze community resources to meet specific needs.

Descriptive Statement: This analysis focuses on community healthcare resources, employee benefits and programs support agencies and services, sources of educational information about child care and parenting, and family planning resources.