|
Living with HIV/AIDS
 When Quincy Mosby finally walked into Youth Radio’s studio to record this story, he joked, “Man, I feel like I could write a commentary about the writing of this commentary!” It had been a long road, from when Quincy first decided to talk about his mother’s illness, to the moment he sat down at the mic to read the script.
During those many intervening months, Quincy’s mother’s illness progressed. And Quincy’s feelings about her diagnosis also changed:
For the longest time, I used to be really angry. I was angry my mom waited so long to get tested, because she would have been a lot better off if the doctors had caught the virus earlier. I was angry I couldn’t be angry at her, because she was sick. But most of all, my anger was a little self-centered. I was angry my mom didn’t think enough of my sister and me to keep herself around. But now, I can no longer be angry with her. Because she’s going to die.
There were periods when Quincy almost walked away from this commentary without finishing it. But he always came back, once he had figured out how to approach the story in a way that felt right to him.
Click here to find the full script and audio for this story.
Teach Youth Radio
For this month's feature, you will be able to view these strategies and resources:
1. How teachers can align this Youth Radio story to National Standards in the classroom.
2. Suggestions for lesson plans that link the story's content to your classroom's themes and subject areas.
3. Suggestions for lesson plans that explore media literacy, using the story to re-read mainstream media.
4. Bios of the Youth Radio reporters who produced the story.
5. A list of resources and further research related to the story's themes.
6. Links to Youth Radio’s media production techniques as guides and inspiration for your students’ creative media-making projects.
1. NATIONAL STANDARDS: Standards Alignment
Subject: LANGUAGE ARTS
NL-ENG.K-12.1 READING FOR PERSPECTIVE
NL-ENG.K-12.3 EVALUATION STRATEGIES
NL-ENG.K-12.4 COMMUNICATION SKILLS
NL-ENG.K-12.5 COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
NL-ENG.K-12.6 APPLYING KNOWLEDGE
NL-ENG.K-12.7 EVALUATING DATA
NL-ENG.K-12.8 DEVELOPING RESEARCH SKILLS
NL-ENG.K-12.11 PARTICIPATING IN SOCIETY
NL-ENG.K-12.12 APPLYING LANGUAGE SKILLS
Subject: HEALTH
NPH-H.9-12.1 HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION
NPH-H.9-12.2 HEALTH INFORMATION, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
NPH-H.9-12.3 REDUCING HEALTH RISKS
NPH-H.9-12.4 INFLUENCES ON HEALTH
NPH-H.9-12.7 HEALTH ADVOCACY
Back to top
2. NEWS YOU CAN USE: Story content in your classroom, Suggestions for lesson plans
Language Arts:
Growing up: Speaking about his mother, Quincy says, “I believed she couldn’t die. I don’t believe that anymore. Just like the Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus, that fantasy became another childhood ideal snatched from me by the hands of reality, forcing me to see the truth.” Ask your students to identify a concrete moment when they realized that a childhood fiction they had long believed in was just that—a fantasy. Have them describe how they came to terms with their new truth.
Images: Quincy contrasts his mother’s positive attitude with his own response to her illness: “I don’t want to be a drama queen, but for me, my mom’s diagnosis was like a night terror in the daytime.” Have your students unpack the images Quincy uses in this line from his commentary. It can be very challenging, as a writer, to come up with images that neither trivialize nor sentimentalize an emotionally profound experience like the one Quincy describes. Ask students to reflect on what qualities make literary images powerful, and when they detract from a writer’s story or style. Revisit these qualities in discussions of students’ own writing.
Life Goals: Quincy explains his mother’s positive outlook on being diagnosed with HIV: “My mom always says getting HIV was the best thing that ever happened to her.” He talks about how she was motivated to do public speaking, to spend more time with her children, and to finish recording an album. Her actions embody the phrase, “live each day to the fullest.” What are your students’ life goals? What are their passions in life, their talents, and the special things they take pride in? How would they like to be remembered by others?
Health:
HIV and AIDS: While Quincy wrote and revised this commentary over time, his mother’s illness progressed from HIV to full-blown AIDS. Have students research what that change means—medically, emotionally, economically—for patients living with the new diagnosis, and for their loved ones.
References: Students can create pamphlets or flyers for the school restrooms with information on where to get HIV/AIDS tests, resources, and facts that can promote AIDS prevention. Include information that would be useful for young people with family members or friends who are HIV positive and/or living with AIDS.
Terminal Illnesses: What is the definition of a terminal illness? What is “hospice” and how does it differ from the standard care provided by hospitals at the end of a patient’s life? Have students do some journal writing, drawing on their own experiences and Quincy’s, about what it means to be “prepared” for death. Have students research the growing movement in the United States to provide coaching and counseling for families facing the “active death” of a loved one.
Back to top
3. CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY: Putting This Story in Context
AIDS in the Media: Using a search engine to find out about AIDS can produce interesting results about news coverage and the way that particular populations are depicted both globally and nationally. How is AIDS portrayed in the media? Why is there a stigma surrounding AIDS? How does the media influence the way AIDS is stigmatized in society?
Pharmaceutical Sales Industry: Have students research the drugs used to treat HIV and AIDS. How much do they cost? Who has access to these drugs? Who does not? Quincy talks about how hard it was for his mother to decide whether to start taking drugs, because she knew the medication could damage her singing voice. What are the side effects linked to various AIDS drugs? What do the advertisements look like? Who are they marketing to?
Sex Education: Government officials and courts help determine what schools can and cannot teach. Sex education is, for obvious reasons, especially controversial. Have students look up Jocelyn Elders, the Surgeon General, who was appointed and then fired during Clinton’s presidency, and William Bennett, the Secretary of Education during Reagan’s presidency, to find out their stances related to sex education. Stage a debate between these two opinions. Have students identify the stance taken at their own school. How, if at all, would students want that position to change? What can they do to advocate for that change?
Back to top
4. MEET THE COMMENTATOR
Quincy Mosby currently works for Youth Radio as a project associate. After dropping out of high school, Quincy received his G.E.D. in 2005. He currently produces music and vodcasts and hosts a moderately successful internet radio show on www.youthradio.org. Quincy loves to dance but not in public, and he has an unhealthy obsession with comic books.
Back to top
5. RESOURCES AND RESEARCH
• HIV InSite
• The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation
• YELL Youth Education Life Line
• Adolescent Provider's Guides
• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
• National Adolescent Health Information Center
• CDC: Adolescent Health
• "For the Families of the Dying, Coaching as the Hours Wane" (The New York Times 20May06)
• Health Information Resource Database
• Children Of Parents With AIDS
• Advocates For Youth
Back to top
6. MEDIA PRODUCTION FOR LEARNING: Making Audio Narratives
Click here to link to Youth Radio's guidelines for conducting interviews, writing commentaries, and producing features.
Back to top
|
|
