Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive

Inside/Out

From the Inside/Out Teacher's Guide

The goal of health education is to promote the well-being of children. This is also the goal of "Inside/Out." Yet "Inside/Out" with its distinctive approach is different from traditional health education. The series emphasizes communication skills, involvement of the learner, and interacting with others rather than rote memorization of the bones, muscles, and good health practices.

"Inside/Out" relies on student listening, valuing, and decision-making rather than on the presentation of the moralistic rules for healthy living often found in personal hygiene courses. The lessons are not even called mental health or social health; the emphasis in the series is on helping the whole child develop a personally effective life style. The difference is that

"Inside/Out" teaches mental health instead of teaching about it. The programs and lessons deal with situations that, if poorly handled, often cause the human hurts that appear to underlie many kinds of self-defeating behavior. "Inside/Out" provides. a "feelings" approach to health education. The series recognizes that the way a person lives, the kinds of decisions he makes, and how he feels are as important to his well-being as heredity, environment, and the medical care he receives. The programs can also be used as opportunities to initiate topics or categories of health education required by state or local boards of education. Studies of the effects of alcohol and tobacco, drug abuse, family living, safety, nutrition, and human anatomy can all be approached through the affective lessons of "Inside/Out."