Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h0FKGSP01667; Wed, 15 Jan 2003 15:16:29 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 15:16:29 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <se2579c9.058@langate.gsu.edu> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Daphne Greenberg" <ALCDGG@langate.gsu.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:2436] weight as an issue X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 6.0.3 Beta Status: O Content-Length: 2355 Lines: 22 Something came up last semester in my very last class session and it caught me by surprise and I did not address it. Since it has been quiet on this listserv, I decided to throw it out as a discussion starter. Throughout the semester, I made it a point to talk about making ALL learners feel comfortable in the classroom, regardless of gender, orientation, skin color, religion, political leanings. We frequently discussed how our behaviors, words, body language, facial expressions, silence make others feel welcome, supported, comfortable or not. Never once during the semester did I discuss differences in terms of weight or height. It had become a habit in the last few weeks of the semester, for various learners to bring in candy to share. In the very last class, in the very last 10 minutes, someone handed out candy. One female learner exclaimed, "that is one good thing about this class coming to an end. If this class kept on going on, and people kept bringing in candy, and I kept eating the candy, I would get fat." Various students laughed. I was extremely disappointed by this remark. Although it was an innocent remark, not meant to be harmful, it was a perfect example of how hurtful our speech can be without us realizing it. I also realized that throughout the semester, I had never included weight/height issues in my examples of difference. When I heard this remark, this is what I wondered: 1. People in the class who consider themselves overweight, wish that they were not overweight and are eating the candy in front of their classmates-how do they feel when such a remark is made? 2. People in the class who may know that others think that they are overweight, but are comfortable with their weight, how do they feel when such a remark is made? Most importantly, I did not know how to turn this into a "teachable moment" without making the person who made the statement uncomfortable, and others in the class uncomfortable. Maybe there was nothing that could be done/said with 10 minutes left. But I am curious-what would you have done/said? What if there was one more session after this one? What would you have done/said? Daphne Daphne Greenberg Associate Director Center for the Study of Adult Literacy Georgia State University University Plaza Atlanta, GA 30303-3083 phone: 404-651-0127 fax:404-651-4901 dgreenberg@gsu.edu
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Mar 11 2004 - 12:17:43 EST