That is very interesting.  Thanks for sharing this. 

-----Original Message-----
From: diversity-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:diversity-bounces at nifl.gov] On
Behalf Of Lilian Hill
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 4:25 PM
To: 'The Diversity and Literacy Discussion List'
Subject: [Diversity 100] Re: teaching difficult subjects and words



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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