HIV and AIDS: The starting point

Where do we begin

• Where do we begin when teaching future teachers what they need to know about HIV and AIDS so that they will be able to support their young pupils’ health and wellness? How do we inspire future teachers to play an active role in reducing the impact of the AIDS pandemic? How can college lecturers or school teachers respond to the many complex and often emotional needs of their students generated by the AIDS pandemic when those same lecturers, teacher educators or teachers have not had a chance to understand their own relationship to HIV and AIDS or to heal some of their own emotional feelings and hurt generated by the loss to AIDS of people they love? These are not easy questions. We worry about young people’s lives and want to protect them from HIV. Yet how we begin to talk about HIV and how we overcome the powerful messages of our upbringings that tell us we should not be talking about sexuality or using particular words that refer to body parts are difficult and crucial challenges for teachers and teacher educators alike.
• HIV has forced us to examine our assumptions about what messages we think will keep young people safe.
  
• has also challenged us to let go of some of our taboos and ideas about politeness in exchange for helping young people gain the information they need to protect their lives.
  
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