Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Chapter 4: Age-Appropriate Information. |
| Authors: |
Tonks, Douglas |
| Source: |
Teaching AIDS. 1997, p53-66. 14p. |
| Subject Terms: |
*AIDS education, *Health education, *Students, *Child development, *Kindergarten, AIDS awareness |
| Geographic Terms: |
United States |
| Company/Entity: |
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (U.S.) |
| Abstract: |
This article examines the right age for students to learn AIDS education. Students should be taught as much about AIDS as they are prepared to understand. AIDS education, then, should be keyed to children's level of development. Children are ready to learn about HIV and AIDS as soon as they are old enough to come across the subject on their own, overhearing a parental conversation or a report on television news. Some sort of AIDS education should be initiated as early as kindergarten. If teachers determine that their younger preschoolers already have an awareness or concern about AIDS, they should introduce their classes to the subject as well. AIDS education can perform at its most perfunctory level for young children ranging from kindergarten to third grade. Children in these grades are at very low risk for encountering HIV and at virtually no risk for becoming infected by it. They need to know very few details about the virus or the disease, and likely would not understand any but the most basic. Still, AIDS has most likely permeated their awareness and must, therefore, be addressed in some way. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, students should be told that AIDS has made some adults very sick, but that children do not easily come into contact with the disease. |
| Database: |
Education Research Complete |
