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THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN MY GUESSES |
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The New Jersey State Board of Education, “does not specifically require HIV, STD, or pregnancy prevention education to be taught in schools” (12). Along with this, the state does not, “provide funding for regular school health instruction in HIV, STD, or teen pregnancy prevention” (12). The state also mandates that public schools, “shall stress that abstinence from sexual activity is the only completely reliable means of eliminating the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and of avoiding pregnancy.” (12). The aforementioned statutes as to what should be taught in schools regarding HIV/AIDS are the only regulations given in the New Jersey State –Level School Health Policies: Curriculum and Instructions regarding HIV/AIDS. Despite this, I was exposed to limited amounts of information about HIV/AIDS in high school. I cannot remember the first time I heard about HIV/AIDS. The first time I actually explored AIDS in depth was in English class during my freshman year of High School. We were studying Africa and were able to pick any topic pertaining to Africa to research for a paper. I picked AIDS in South Africa. This laid a large foundation for my belief that AIDS is really only a problem in third world nations and, more specifically, in Africa. Our High School newspaper, The Mountaineer, published monthly contained an article about AIDS once a year on World AIDS day. It was usually an editorial written by a student who was appalled that our government would spend billions of dollars on a war, but allow entire countries to perish due to AIDS because they could not afford medication. Never once, however, did the articles mention anything about HIV/AIDS in our area. While we had assemblies about practicing safe sex, we never had specific presentations on HIV/AIDS, nor did the school nurse ever talk specifically to us about the disease. I do not remember much information being given out about HIV/AIDS in any of my health classes throughout my four years of high school. Sure, we were told to practice safe sex (i.e. use a condom) to prevent STD’s, but HIV/AIDS was never discussed in detail. Instead, in my senior year of health, we spent a week on all of the STD’s including gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, genital warts, and HIV/AIDS. Most of the information given focused on preventative measures we could take to avoid getting these diseases along with the different tests doctors used to diagnose them. On World AIDS day, red ribbon pins are given out in homeroom along with a pamphlet giving information on how to practice safe sex, what to do if you think you may have contracted HIV/AIDS, and where AIDS is a big problem. If you think you might be positive, the pamphlet urged you to visit your local hospital and doctor. The pamphlet highlighted third world nations in Africa and South/Central America, but no regions in the United States, much less New Jersey.
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