Dear Critical Pedagogues:

Whether we are concerned with improving education on the local, national, or global front, for lower-income or middle class students, racial/ethnic marginalized students or students with a diagnosed disability, adult learners or younger students, all critical pedagogues should be unapologetically and vociferously backing healthcare reform initiatives. The education community has always understood the link between mental, physical, and psychological wellness to an individual's academic development. However, many educators may not understand how access to free, affordable, and quality healthcare is also a social justice issue. 

For example, in 2007 Nearly 18 percent of the U.S. population under the age of 65 were without health insurance (NCHC, 2009). Without access to quality and affordable healthcare, individuals are least likely to be diagnosed with a medical condition early, least likely to participate in preventive care, and more likely to acquire a debilitating health condition that could have been detected early enough for intervention (Presidential Address, 2009). Lack of healthcare coverage affects a large proportion of the U.S. population; however, young people and those from lower-income/working class families are more effected by our nation's broken healthcare system than other groups.

According to data from the National Coalition on Healthcare (NCHC, 2009) the number of uninsured children in 2007 was 8.1 million, while young adults (18-to-24 years old) remained the least likely of any age group to have health insurance in 2007. From a social justice perspective, it is difficult for critical pedagogues to openly and honestly address issues of educational inequality without confronting issues of healthcare inequality. How can students, parents, social workers, or even college students be concerned with learning and knowledge acquisition, if they are battling with diagnosed or undiagnosed medical problems. 

For instance, how many of us have had a pre-service teacher come into our office complaining about a headache, anxiety, toothache, allergy condition, or some other ailment. Then, we turn to the student and ask, "Have you been to student services?", and she says, "I don't qualify for student health insurance." Well, I have experienced this exact episode on multiple occasions, and I can say, it is difficult to convince a student to be an advocate for the marginalized and oppressed among us, when she cannot get pass her own aches and pains. Also, how can we convince paraprofessionals or others to continue their education (with the hopes of learning more about diversity and social justice), if they cannot afford to return back to school. Many Americans are experiencing an increase in medical related debt. There may be parents or students who do not qualify for financial assistance, because of poor credit caused by medical expenses. Nearly 40% of the uninsured population reside in households that earn $50,000 (NCHC, 2009).

With the above statistics in mind, how is it possible to talk about equal access to higher education, while ignoring the fact that lack of healthcare may prevent many racial/ethnic minority students from reaching or attending college in the first place.Due to the large numbers of African Americans, Latino/as, and Native Americans being reared in female-headed households, single-parent homes, and experiencing discrimination in the workplace, racial/ethnic minority groups disproportionately makeup the unemployed, underemployed, and part-time workers. Therefore, they are more likely to be overly represented among those with no healthcare coverage or access to low quality healthcare. Sadly, these are also the same groups of students whom are more likely to know someone who is affected by HIV/AIDS, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, sickle cell anemia, asthma, or mental illness.

Furthermore, this same group of students are more likely to miss school because of a medical problem, and are more likely to be diagnosed as having a mental, behavioral, or learning disability related to a missed medical diagnoses. For the sake of brevity, I will not go into detail here about the connection between learning disabilities and the lack of prenatal or postnatal care; however, suffice it to say here that there is a direct link between childhood medical care and educational outcomes.In sum, healthcare reform is an issue that the educational community at large should be concerned with politically. Even more, healthcare reform is an agenda that should be placed at the forefront of critical pedagogy and social justice education. We cannot discuss pedagogy for democracy and social transformation, while overlooking social problems (i.e. health disparities) that lead to educational, economic, social, and political inequalities.

Healthcare may be the biggest challenge confronting educational opportunity in our nation. Thus, healthcare advocacy needs to be at the forefront of our political agenda in education. From a critical pedagogy perspective, countering elitist hegemony is debunking the myth that in a "meritocracy only those who can afford healthcare, should have healthcare," or those "with more money, should have better healthcare" than those with less money. From a democratic perspective (which is the critical pedagogue's perspective) -to ensure human rights for all and to guarantee citizens full participation in political and civic life, is to first ensure that human beings are healthy enough to participate in political and civic life. And, this dialogue needs to begin educational media spheres, classrooms, academic conferences, lecture halls, writings, and at our kitchen tables.

In health,

Venus