There was an open mic where teens shared poetry, and raps, some were personal and others were focused on giving statistics. I found out that this zip code in the Bronx 10456, has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS per person. Some of the teens were really concerned about the test results, and what happens if they have HIV. The questions they were asking really made me want to learn more factual information about HIV, so that I could appropriately answer the questions.
I think this event just really showed me that teenagers have SO much energy, and willingness to help others. Additionally they have valid concerns about HIV, and not a lot of information has been made available. I picked up some pamphlets which I think I could adapt for elementary school students. I think I could talk to kids even as young as first graders about how HIV is transmitted(omitting sex for younger students if parents would object) but certainly it would be important to talk about how its transmitted not by sneezing but by other things like blood transfusions. We would also talk about the impact for this in the classroom- that if someone is bleeding we don't touch their blood and we always wash our hands if we have been bleeding.
I'm really excited to hear that teenagers are using spoken word and rap to respond to HIV/AIDS. I've been learning about spoken word and rap in a different class, and I think it's great that people are actually using their passions to address a topic I'm passionate about.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really alarming to look at somewhere right in our community that has the highest HIV/AIDS rate per person, and most of us are probably not even aware of it. The fact that these students are using their voice in order to make a difference is basically one of our goals in this course, so this event sounds like it was really powerful.
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