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From: "Eileen Eckert" <eileeneckert@hotmail.com>
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Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:632] health literacy
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Several things struck me in reading Andres' article on health literacy:
First, the distinction between academic ability and "real life" skills; it
is true, but often overlooked or undervalued, that people without much
formal education have knowledge and skills to perform complex tasks in many
contexts.
Second, the interrelationship among education, socioeconomic status, and
health. Some of the examples Andres gave have to do with individual choice
around healthy lifestyles; others have to do with the distribution of goods
and services and the spending priorities of governments (access to clean
water, for example, is usually not an individual issue). Study of economics
and political science in an ABE/GED class can be linked to real-life
examples of the impact of economic and political decisions; similarly, there
is a strong relationship between the family member and community
member/citizen roles (sometimes, community action is needed to provide for
family members).
Third, the issue of resistance among learners. At different points in the
article, Andres says that students resist traditional teaching methods that
teachers "throw at them" because such methods are so removed from the
students' lives. At other points, he says students have certain concepts of
what school is like, and they resist alternative pedagogies that don't look
like "real" school, even though the alternatives are often more relevant and
effective. Noticing this inconsistency is not criticizing it; I think both
forms of resistance are real, and often a single student will exhibit both.
But what to do? How can teachers address this issue?
Last, on collaborations, several things come to mind. In forming a
collaboration with, for example, a welfare agency, teachers may be seen by
students as picking sides and aligning themselves with "the enemy." Further,
the health care representative might come into class and talk at or talk
down to students, so that even if there is valuable information, it isn't
"learned." How can ABE/ESL programs form successful collaborations?
Thanks, Andres, for more food for thought ("health food!")
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