Another thing I have learned from my mother's experience as an immigrant is
that if you have an accent people are reluctant to explain what swear words
mean because they are often biologically related. One time I heard her say
"all that crap" which I knew was out of character for her but her friends
were saying it and she'd picked it up. Once I explained the literal meaning
I never heard her say that again. 

 

Lilian H. Hill 
Assistant Professor of Adult Education 
University of Southern Mississippi 
#5027, 118 College Drive 
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001 
601-266-4622 
FAX 601-266-5141 

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

Anais Nin 

 

  _____  

From: diversity-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:diversity-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of BLAIRE WILLSON TOSO
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 6:31 AM
To: The Diversity and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [Diversity 96] Re: teaching difficult subjects and words

 

Daphne,

Thanks for bringing this topic to a very public realm.  It is sorely missing
both in the K-12 realm and the adult realm.  Often, I think it is our own
discomfort (and politics) that keep(s) us from teaching about our bodies and
appropriate language, thereby continuing to make the topic a bit illicit.  I
think it is a brilliant idea to incorporate the vocabulary of "sex" as an
aspect of the rest of our bodies.  I had not thought about how sexual
reproduction and genitalia are set apart from other processes (e.g.
respiratory system, circulatory system).  I have worked primarily with ESL
students and never taught health components but in having conversation with
many women their approach to body parts was often more matter-of-fact than
mine (I was often surprised by the direct nature the conversations took and
at my level of inner discomfort).  It should be noted that these
conversations were strictly among women.  I am curious to hear other
responses to how different cultural outlooks might affect this topic and how
it can be addressed in class.

Blaire

On Fri, Jul 25, 2008 10:05 PM, "Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt"
<katherine.gotthardt at gmail.com> wrote:



Daphne, was there much giggling?  : )

 

Seriously, what a brave thing to do!  Good for you.

On Fri, Jul 25, 2008 at 9:26 PM, Daphne Greenberg <alcdgg at langate.gsu.edu>
wrote:

A number of people have emailed me off line about my previous posting
regarding the importance of teaching words such as vulva, labia, clitoris,
testicles, etc. in a health literacy classroom. They thanked me for posting
these words so publicly, and told me that they found it difficult to read
those words. Some add that it was too uncomfortable for them to even think
about writing about them in a public arena such as an electronic list. I
wrote back stating that I understood. Even though the above words are parts
of our body, like our pupils, our nostrils, our toe nails, we are taught to
feel uncomfortable labeling certain parts of our body.

What is the solution? Do we ignore teaching our learners these words? Aren't
they entitled to learn these words, just like the other parts of the body?

However, what do we do about the lack of comfort that many feel-both
teachers and learners?

I think that one way to do it is not to call attention to it, but to infuse
the words into other lists of words. So for example, instead of planning to
devote a unit to female sex organs, instead have a list of a few words that
are taught on different days. So for example, on Monday teach "v" words:
vagina, vulva, vein, vagus nerve, valve in the heart, etc. Have pencil
drawings of each, and run through them as you would teach any word. At first
this will be difficult, but if it becomes a routine, people will start
noticing it less intensely.

Many years ago, when I worked with the developmentally disabled, I insisted
that a group of adults with mental retardation could learn how to use a
condom to prevent AIDS when they were having sex. People didn't believe that
they could learn this. So after I taught them (using a model penis), we
decided to show the staff what they had learned. I was concerned that once
the skit began, and the clients pulled out the model penis from the shelf to
put on the condom, people would be shocked by the model and not focus on
what the clients wanted to show them. So I decided to have it in the middle
of the table so that it was the first thing that everyone noticed when they
first walked into the room. Yes, there were many loud reactions of shock
when people walked in. But, most importantly, by the time it was appropriate
for the clients to show the staff how to put the condom on the model,
everyone was used to it. I think that this type of approach could be helpful
for our adult learn
 ers who deserve to know how read, spell, pronounce, and understand the
names of the male and female sex organs.
Daphne
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-- 
Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt
www.LuxuriousChoices.net

***********************************************
Blaire W Toso
bwt121 at psu.edu
PhD Candidate, Adult Education
Pennsylvania State University



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