Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said education "is the best way to stop the epidemic of AIDS." But in the years since he made that statement, very little has been done to teach children and teens how to avoid this deadly risk. Concerned parents and educators who have wanted to provide their children and students with lifesaving information to protect them from HIV and AIDS have had painfully few resources to help them.
Teaching AIDS responds to the need for AIDS education material with a practice-based, interactive curriculum that will enable teachers to effectively educate students about the risk of AIDS and HIV infection. AIDS Book Review Journal calls it "a must book . . . well-written, straight-forward, and full of suggestions." Choice says, "This is an excellent ‘how-to' book with many realistic recommendations," and named it an Outstanding Academic Book of 1996.
The book's comprehensive focus provides the basic information that parents and teachers need to teach about AIDS prevention plus practical methods of presenting that information. Author Douglas Tonks also discusses the need to institute complete and thorough AIDS education in schools, which should include both the promotion of abstinence and the widespread availability of condoms.
"Many people already know how HIV spreads and how to avoid infection," Tonks said. "But what's been missing so far is action based on that knowledge. People who practice high-risk behaviors know their risk but choose not to do anything to reduce it. To effectively lower the spread of HIV, high-risk behavior must change to low-risk behavior, and our children have to learn how to make that change."
Beginning with a brief but strategic discussion of how teachers can create an environment of support for an AIDS education program, Teaching AIDS examines the political and educational implications for winning principal, district, and parental support for an AIDS curriculum and offers concrete guidance on such issues as abstinence, condom distribution, prejudice, and personal bias. The author presents the facts, fictions, and myths of AIDS and HIV transmission in a clear, concise manner that will enable educators to gain command of basic, vital information about AIDS with a view to helping them impart it effectively and honestly to their students.
The centerpiece of the book, which parents and teachers will find vital to their AIDS education efforts, is a thorough and detailed AIDS curriculum that they can utilize to educate students about the disease. Recognizing that AIDS education must differ for students of different age groups, Tonks presents tailored, age-appropriate content--what and how teachers should communicate AIDS information to young children, older children and teenage students. Topics covered include getting started, setting ground rules, introducing content, utilizing multimedia, peer education programs, cooperative learning and guest speakers. Tonks illustrates how to enhance this material through the presentation of individual and group activities and exercises. Teachers are encouraged to customize the material to deal with students of diverse populations and backgrounds.
Teaching AIDS also addresses actual methods teachers can use to influence their students' attitudes and behaviors by helping them to recognize problem situations in which risks might arise, and presenting them with the actual skills they need to protect themselves in such situations. Tonks outlines a series of refusal skills--sexual decision-making strategies--that students can practice in order to make responsible decisions when faced with the prospect of sexual activity. The concluding chapters concentrate on how to model and practice skills in the classroom through activities such as role-playing, peer education and the use of drama. This easy-to-read yet comprehensive manual for AIDS education breaks new ground in helping teachers provide the information that can literally save their students' lives.
This book, published by Routledge, is available in bookstores, online, or by special order from the publisher.
E-mail Douglas Tonks