Jen,
your message reminded me somewhat of a scene in a recent hollywood movie called Mean Girls, where the health education was taught in the school gym. I think one of the lines is  "At your age, you're going to have a lot of urges. You're going to want to take off your clothes, and touch each other. But if you do touch each other, you *will* get chlamydia... and die." Of course, one would hope that this is not how most sex ed classes are taught, but at the same time, I think one of the reasons that this scene proved so popular is because it's a familiar scene to many teens in high school.

Of course, it's a caricature of the scenario, rather than an actual representation, but it does highlight your example of health classes being taught by non-health educators. I remember my sex ed in high school was taught by a nun who subbed as a french teacher. 

-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Jen Kimbrough
JBKIMBRO
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 8:00 AM
To: The Health and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1745] Re: health literacy in the schools?


I couldn't agree more.  When I did my dissertation research a few years
ago, I did a retrospective qualitative study of health education in NC
public schools.  Bottom line - the state of health education in schools is
abysmal... health education gets very little time, is frequently taught by
non-health educators (usually coaches with no health education training),
and the quality of the education experience is poor, resulting in
widespread health illiteracy.  I would argue that we need to start at the
beginning and help folks develop health literacy skills throughout the
schooling process.

We did the project with immigrant youth last year as a starting point to
see whether it is possible to enact authentic health education in a public
schooling situation.  Since ESOL classrooms have considerably more freedom
than traditional classrooms in our system, it made sense to give it a try.
I was deeply impressed with the way kids were willing to discuss the social
and environmental conditions that compound issues of health literacy.  They
were wise beyond their years and the project gave me hope that it is
possible to have meaningful health education that kids (and adults) can
relate to and apply to their lives.

I'm still working on how we can advocate for change in a larger way -
anyone harboring some brilliant ideas they want to share?


Thanks,
Jen

Jen Kimbrough, PhD
Associate Director
Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
336.217.9737



-----healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov wrote: -----


To: "The Health and Literacy Discussion List" <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
From: "Cheryl Pasternack" <Cheryl.Pasternack at nychhc.org>
Sent by: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
Date: 02/04/2008 03:33PM
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1740] Re: health literacy in the schools?


Let's not forget that it is not only the immigrant youth who need to learn
health literacy skills.  English-dominant youth are also lacking in these
skills.

Cheryl Pasternack, CHES
Director, Grants Management
Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center
234 E. 149th  Street, Room 4C-162
Bronx, NY  10451
Phone: (718) 579-5697
Fax:      (718) 579-4602
Email:    Cheryl.Pasternack at nychhc.org





>>> Jen Kimbrough JBKIMBRO <jbkimbro at uncg.edu> 2/4/2008 12:17 PM >>>

I am very interested in this topic too.  We have done some work with
immigrant youth and health literacy through ESOL classes with interesting
results.  The kids we worked with were very insightful and had a lot to say
about how health literacy impacted their families and their lives.  I think
this agenda needs to be pushed, especially in light of NCLB legislation and
the continued marginalization of health education in schools...

Jen Kimbrough, PhD
Associate Director
Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
336.217.9737



-----healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov wrote: -----


To: <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
From: lisa jones <lisamjones44 at hotmail.com>
Sent by: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
Date: 02/02/2008 08:41AM
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1735] health literacy in the schools?




We spend a lot of time discussing work being done on health literacy with
adults.  But wouldn't it be nice if people learned necessary health
literacy skills BEFORE they were adults?  So, I was wondering if anyone was
working on health literacy among elementary, junior high or high school
students?  How are you approaching health literacy?  Through existing
health classes or by integrating health literacy education into math or
english curriculum?



Lisa

Lisa Jones, MD


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