Introduction

Background

When looking at statistics of the educational system in the Bronx, I can only look away in dismay. Fortunately for me, I found a way through the cracks to a brighter education. I attended KIPP Academy, a charter school in the Bronx that is completely different from any educational experience in the area. From 6^th to 8^th grade, I made KIPP my home away from home. Here however, there was not much stress on diseases such as AIDS in any course. The closest I came to learning of this debilitating disease was in a 6^th grade sexual education course. That course briefly covered sexually transmitted diseases on one day and we breezed through it. Most of the emphasis was put on being safe rather than the disease itself. We were not told to what extent AIDS had spread. As an 11 year old I simply took the information that was given to me and did not attempt to unveil anymore facts by asking questions. The fast pace and relatively small coverage of the topic allowed me to have a nonchalant attitude about it. All I learned was how to practice safe sex. After I graduated I moved on to a private boarding school in Connecticut, Choate Rosemary Hall. Here my science/health courses were very limited considering there was a strict requirement for graduation. My biology course did not even cover AIDS as a topic. Now that I think about it, I’m angered because it seems that they figured we already knew enough. I can bet that more than half of the school was not aware of the epidemic occurring right in front of them. It wasn’t until my senior year that the course requirements loosened up. I took this opportunity to take a class that I was very eager to take: anatomy and physiology. It had been the most interesting class that I had ever taken before so every topic stuck in my mind. Near the end of the course we had a project where we did a case study on a particular disease. AIDS was on the list but I chose another. It turned out that nobody chose AIDS so once again, the disease was not covered. Considering that Choate is a prestigious school, known for its outstanding academic record, I am shocked to realize that there were no courses or clubs that spoke truthfully and thoroughly about AIDS. It seems that my education played a large role when I guessed the number of AIDS cases in my hometown.

I was asked to estimate the number of AIDS cases in just my zip code. I said there were 150 cases and I could not have been more wrong. It turns out that there are approximately 2007 cases in total for my zip code. When I saw that statistic I could not help but think how terrible that was and how could I have ever guessed so low? Growing up, AIDS was not something I was exposed to, which made me think less of it and I was not an avid newspaper reader in middle and high school. The summer after my junior year in high school I completed an internship at the Metropolitan Hospital in downtown New York City. Seeing as this is a hospital, one can only assume that AIDS would be an issue that hospitals administrators would want everyone to know about, at least when they visit the hospital. However, the farthest my exposure got during my internship were bulletins posted on boards around the hospital, all of which spoke about the safer practices to help prevent contracting AIDS. Thinking about this leaves me in shock because the one place where AIDS should be most discussed is in a hospital. The lack of awareness in a New York City hospital leads me to believe that my sheltered life is not the only reason I, among many other New Yorkers, do not know enough about AIDS.