Safe Sitter - Center for Social and Character Development
Safe Sitter - Center for Social and Character Development
Safe Sitter - Center for Social and Character Development
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Per<strong>for</strong>ming Arts; Comprehensive Health & Physical Education; Language Arts;<br />
Mathematics; <strong>Social</strong> Studies; Consumer, Family, & Life Skills<br />
<strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong><br />
By: Robert Dutches, Karen<br />
Semet<br />
Teaching Team:<br />
Karen Semet<br />
Joel Chisholm<br />
Cynthia James<br />
Sharon Reustle<br />
School: Egg Harbor Township<br />
High School<br />
Egg Harbor Township, NJ<br />
Grade Levels: 10<br />
Academic Focus/<br />
Core Curriculum St<strong>and</strong>ards:<br />
The Arts(Visual <strong>and</strong><br />
Per<strong>for</strong>ming): 1.2<br />
Comprehensive Health <strong>and</strong><br />
Physical Education: 2.1, 2.2, 2.5,<br />
2.6<br />
Language Arts Literacy: 3.3,<br />
3.4<br />
Mathematics: 4.1<br />
<strong>Social</strong> Studies: 6.5<br />
Consumer, Family & Life Skills:<br />
9.1 A, B; 9.2 A, B, C, D<br />
Core Ethical Values: Caring,<br />
respect, responsibility,<br />
trustworthiness<br />
Project Description:<br />
10 th grade students in Health Education classes will go through <strong>Safe</strong><br />
<strong>Sitter</strong> training. <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong> is a six-hour training course in which<br />
adolescents learn essential skills <strong>for</strong> babysitting. AtlantiCare<br />
Hospital, located in neighboring Atlantic City, will provide the<br />
training. The 10 th grade class will be taught safety <strong>and</strong> crisis<br />
management, behavior management, communication skills, <strong>and</strong><br />
business skills.<br />
After completing the course, students will receive a certificate<br />
recognizing their training. Teachers within the school that are also<br />
parents will be in<strong>for</strong>med of the students’ training. The teachers can<br />
then hire the students or refer them to other parents within the Egg<br />
Harbor Township community so that students can apply their skills to<br />
a real-life situation. The students will become involved in their<br />
community while developing employability skills <strong>and</strong> earning tangible<br />
compensation <strong>for</strong> their services.<br />
Target Audience:<br />
10 th grade Health Education students, parents within the community<br />
Timeline:<br />
One day to complete training course<br />
Project Scheduling:<br />
In-school activity. Students will have to secure permission from<br />
other teachers. Students will also have to have a parent permission<br />
slip.<br />
Equipment Needed:<br />
CPR mannequins, mats, desk, paper<br />
Academic Focus:<br />
The Arts (Visual <strong>and</strong> Per<strong>for</strong>ming): Students learn how to entertain<br />
the child they are caring <strong>for</strong> by being taught what activities are<br />
appropriate <strong>for</strong> the child, depending upon their age. Some examples<br />
of these art-based activities include painting, puppet shows, <strong>and</strong><br />
storytelling.
Comprehensive Health <strong>and</strong> Physical Education: The class will learn<br />
how to per<strong>for</strong>m CPR, AED, <strong>and</strong> the Heimlich maneuver. Students will<br />
also learn emergency preparedness such as knowing emergency<br />
numbers, keeping the house secure, <strong>and</strong> keeping their personal safety<br />
in mind. Issues regarding pets, water safety, <strong>and</strong> sanitation will also<br />
be covered.<br />
Language Arts Literacy: Students will learn how to confidently<br />
communicate with the parents of the child they are caring <strong>for</strong>. They<br />
will be taught to listen to the specific instructions of the parents <strong>and</strong><br />
to abide by them. The class will also learn how to gain the respect of<br />
the children they are caring <strong>for</strong> by communicating with them in an<br />
assertive manner.<br />
Mathematics: The class will learn how to create a rate plan in regard<br />
to the charges of their services. Students will take into account the<br />
rates of other babysitters, previous rates of the parents they are<br />
working <strong>for</strong>, the number of children they are babysitting, <strong>and</strong><br />
personal experience <strong>and</strong> training.<br />
<strong>Social</strong> Studies: Students apply economics when deciding how much to<br />
charge <strong>for</strong> their services.<br />
Consumer, Family, <strong>and</strong> Life Skills: Students that plan on having a<br />
family of their own <strong>and</strong>/or plan on a career in child care will develop<br />
the necessary skills of child care <strong>and</strong> development. The class will<br />
learn the communication skills that are required to establish the<br />
parental role <strong>and</strong> the actions needed to maintain it.<br />
The <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong> training will give students employability skills<br />
because parents will know that their children are in the care of an<br />
individual who is trained to prevent <strong>and</strong> respond to emergency<br />
situations.<br />
The <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong>s will develop critical thinking skills by observing<br />
their environment <strong>and</strong> making it as safe as possible. The students<br />
will know how to prevent emergencies from occurring as well as<br />
knowing the best response to an emergency situation that does<br />
happen.<br />
Students will develop character by recognizing that parents have<br />
entrusted them with their most prized possession in the world.<br />
Accordingly, they will be inclined to act ethically in order to keep<br />
that trust intact. Students will also build character by balancing<br />
their studies, extracurricular activities, <strong>and</strong> job as a babysitter. The<br />
class will know how to create a schedule of commitments <strong>and</strong> follow<br />
through with them. When a schedule conflict does occur, students<br />
will have to make difficult, but ethical decisions.
Hurdles Encountered:<br />
Hurdles: Dealing with large<br />
group of 35 students; ability to<br />
stay on task<br />
Solution: Time management;<br />
several instructors <strong>for</strong> better<br />
student to teacher ratio<br />
Educational Strategies:<br />
Per<strong>for</strong>mance-based Education: Students receive h<strong>and</strong>s-on training in<br />
CPR, AED, <strong>and</strong> the Heimlich Maneuver. Students take practical <strong>and</strong><br />
written exams to prove their competence in <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong> training.<br />
Cooperative Learning: Students participate in group activities that<br />
involve role-playing.<br />
Interdisciplinary Approach: Students combine skills in per<strong>for</strong>mance<br />
art, physical <strong>and</strong> health education, language arts, mathematics, <strong>and</strong><br />
family <strong>and</strong> life skills in order to become effective babysitters.<br />
Personal Growth Outcomes:<br />
Students learn the importance of caring <strong>for</strong> a child <strong>and</strong> how to do it<br />
in an effective way. The class learns to respect the rules that the<br />
parents of the child set. The students become aware of how heavy a<br />
responsibility child care is, <strong>and</strong> they are taught how to undertake<br />
such an enormous task. The students also come to underst<strong>and</strong> that<br />
the parents are entrusting the life of their child with them, <strong>and</strong> that<br />
they must act as ethically <strong>and</strong> responsibly as possible in order to<br />
maintain that trust.<br />
Celebration: students will have<br />
an awards ceremony with baked<br />
goods where they will receive<br />
their certificates <strong>and</strong><br />
Babysitter Bag.<br />
Recognition: Students receive<br />
a certificate that recognizes<br />
the completion of their<br />
training.<br />
Key Findings: not only is this<br />
class beneficial <strong>for</strong> future<br />
babysitters, it is an essential<br />
parenting workshop. The<br />
majority of students state they<br />
want to be parents one day.<br />
Taking this class is one aspect<br />
of being a responsible parent.<br />
Community Involvement:<br />
The parents of the community will recognize the training that the<br />
10 th graders received <strong>and</strong> hire them based on their <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong><br />
experience. As the <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong>s per<strong>for</strong>m their duties as they were<br />
taught, the students <strong>and</strong> parents will develop a lasting relationship of<br />
caring, trust, <strong>and</strong> respect.<br />
The AtlantiCare Hospital will provide the <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Sitter</strong> training <strong>for</strong> the<br />
students.<br />
Parents <strong>and</strong> Volunteer Involvement:<br />
The students can turn to their parents if they have any safety<br />
concerns prior to accepting a babysitting position. Also, if the <strong>Safe</strong><br />
<strong>Sitter</strong> is having difficulty while caring <strong>for</strong> a child, the babysitter can<br />
call a parent <strong>for</strong> advice or ask the parent to come to the house <strong>and</strong><br />
assist them.<br />
Reflection Activities:<br />
Students will observe Pre-school students in action <strong>and</strong> do a journal<br />
entry.<br />
Means of Assessment:<br />
Students will take an exam <strong>and</strong> instructors will assess skills at<br />
certain checkpoints/benchmarks.