The start of S.E.T.tling down

Koushita Gouri Reddy V -

Hi everyone!

 

I would like to preface that the following blog posts might be a little repetitive in terms of “new information” I’m adding to the project as I’m currently working on putting everything together.

Speaking of which, I had originally planned to have a draft of my curriculum done by today but never realized how many different pieces I truly had to put together. So far this is what I have:

 

Ages 8-12: 

  • Topics: swim suit parts + puberty
    • “No one is allowed to touch you when you feel uncomfortable” 
    • Body will be going through changes in the following years, it’s important to know what the changes are
  • Why this age?
    • Puberty begins ~8-14
    • Importance of having a “safe person”
  • Already established curriculum: NCERT syllabus 4th and 5th grade topic of relationships
  • Cultural/Parents:
    • there are specific cultural events that surround a kid’s coming of age time (celebrations)

Ages 12-14:

  • Topics: basic biology and mental health
    • I’m currently struggling with how to incorporate mental health as a part of the class but might end up having it as a separate class
  • Why this age?
    • Mental health foundation found that 50% of problems that arise from mental health struggles start at 14 
    • Around this age there is also a heavier focus on testing and grades (testing stress)
  • Already established curriculum: CBSE 8th grade science syllabus’s covers how babies are formed
  • Cultural/Parents:
    • Parents, while aware of stress, don’t know the effects thus the pamphlet that would go home (mentioned below)

Ages 15-18:

  • Topics: STIs, healthy attitudes, etc.
  • Why this age? 
    • They are about to enter the real world
  • Already established curriculum: NCERT 11th grade human physiology, NCERT 12th grade reproduction + biology and human welfare
  • Cultural/Parents:
    • Many believe that children will just figure it out after marriage (in the past they learned through things like movies and has been male driven)

Pamphlet information:

  • I have decided to make a pamphlet or booklet for specific topics in each age group which children would be able to take home and use and maybe even talk to their parents about
  • The one for the younger kids would be more interactive (coloring pages) 

 

The best way to explain the stage I am at for my project can be seen through the words of Vincent Van Gogh “great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” As everything is coming together, I hope my project is one of those great things.

 

Thank you for reading!

  • Koushita

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Comments:

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    Jen Smetanick
    Great job to create a parent/community communication solution! It will be wonderful to have an interactive booklet. What language(s) will this booklet be written in? Could you please give us some content examples?
    March 28, 2024 at 11:48 am -
    ayushi_y
    Hey Koushita! I love how you separated the topics of discussion based on age group! I was wondering how much focus would be on mental health since it is also a topic that holds a lot of stigma in India and also doesn't have as much/as direct of a relationship to sex-ed.
    March 28, 2024 at 4:45 pm -
    koushitagourireddy_v
    Hi Ms. Smetanick! Thank you! I currently plan for the booklet to be in English as I hope to first reach the English-medium schools as they are more open to westernized topics. As time goes on the curriculum would be translated. As for content examples, one would be the topic of mental health being very basic information and focused on what the children would be going through at that age (stress) and the content would be simply focusing on “symptoms” “what is it” “how to help”.
    April 3, 2024 at 10:45 am -
    koushitagourireddy_v
    Thank you Ayushi! I completely agree, mental health is not seen in as much light as it should be, I plan to tackle this by reinforcing the topic with the concepts seen in basic biology. Meaning “this is the brain and how stress changes the chemicals in your brain” or “lack of sleep is a symptom and the effects include the following”.
    April 3, 2024 at 10:47 am -

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