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Baptist Children's Home
and Family Services
SMART Education Program |
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SMART Education©
Saving Marriages And Relationships Together
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SMART is for schools,
churches, community
centers ... anywhere
youth gather!
A curriculum designed to promote healthy relationships, create awareness about relationship abuses and encourage high school age youth to make smart relationship decisions. In a world where so many relationships and marriages are in trouble and falling apart, SMART Education© offers alternatives and education to youth at a time in their lives when relationships are of the utmost importance.
This healthy relationship curriculum is a program authored by Pathways Counseling, South Eastern Illinois office in Carmi, IL. It was developed in response to watching and working with local youth. So many of their ‘normal’ behaviors and choices in relationships were in fact unhealthy and destructive! It is no secret that divorce rates continue to increase and that even relationships that remain intact are often full of problems…even violence and abuse. In high school, youth are ‘practicing’ relationship skills they will carry with them into adulthood. SMART Education© provides the opportunity for youth to examine themselves and their decisions and to learn valuable relationship skills before they become adults. Program research has already shown that students are learning about how to have healthy, happy relationships and many report seeing positive changes in their personal lives as a result. Read on to learn more about this amazing program:
SMART Education© can be implemented in schools, youth groups, domestic violence shelters, YMCA and similar organizations, etc. Anywhere there is a regular gathering of high school age youth and a responsible adult to facilitate.
- Facilitators do not have to be psychologists, counselors or social workers. Although the program does address therapeutic issues, SMART Education© offers a study guide and explicit instructions to help even the novice facilitator.
- A DVD is also available with the complete curriculum message. By purchasing this DVD, the SMART program can be presented to a group without a facilitator.
- Youth participants receive education and hands on activities to allow them to immediately put into practice healthy relationship concepts
- The information and skills learned through SMART Education© not only apply to romantic relationships but can be generalized to peer relationships, family relationships, teacher/student relationships, employer/employee relationships, you name it!
- SMART Education© promotes respect, assertiveness, open communication, and positive conflict resolution – in language that the age group can use. At the same time, youth are educated about types of abuse and warning signs of an abusive relationship. They are given tools to make decisions about how to handle negative relationships.
- SMART has been implemented in several high schools since fall 2006. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and every school has asked for the program to continue. Students have reported very positive outcomes such as recognizing and ending abusive relationships, having better communication with their partners and being able to share concerns with their friends who have destructive relationships!
The youth in your area could benefit too from having SMART Education©!
To start getting SMART about relationships, click here to order your curriculum materials…
For more information, please contact:
Pathways Counseling
Kristin
Melton, LCPC
SMART Coordinator
949 County Road 1300 N
Carmi, IL 62821
office: (618) 382-3907
email: SmartEducation@BCHFS.com
www.SmartRelationship.com
