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Audrey Lance, BA, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, 1900 S. Eads St., Apt. #431, Arlington, VA 22202, 734-223-1720, alance@gwu.edu
Many models of education focus specifically on teaching the literate, and people who cannot read are often completely left out. Especially in the United States, where the literacy rate is relatively high in comparison to developing countries, people are taught that in order to be successful in anything, one must learn how to read. I was someone who believed this, and when I went to South Africa to teach HIV/AIDS education to a mostly black population of illiterate people, I had to overcome the bias inside myself that illiterate people could not be taught, as well as bias about the intellectual capabilities of white people being superior to those of black people. While teaching in South Africa, I was proven wrong time after time, when people who had no educational background, who could not even read, were learning the HIV/AIDS module for illiterate people and teaching it in a way that was appropriate for their community, and a way in which the people in their community could relate to it. I had to realize that as an outsider, there was no way I could ever teach in these communities as well as someone from inside the community, regardless of the fact that I could read and they could not. In order to combat the issue of HIV/AIDS in a way that will effectively reach all people, it is imperative that people with race, class, and literacy privilege believe in all people's ability to learn, in their right to learn, and in their right to live healthy lives.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Health Activism, Poverty
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.