The Ineffectiveness of Formal AIDS Education

In opposition of many academic scholars’ opinions, we should not feel that the increase in knowledge and awareness of AIDS in today’s youth will put this generation at a lower risk of contracting the disease. Many of the academic elite on the study of AIDS agree with Uzi Brook’s statement that the “importance of adequate knowledge about AIDS in relation to infection control is evident” (272). However, I disagree with this statement. The younger generation maybe more learned on the subject of AIDS, but they also carry with them a perceived vulnerability about contracting the disease. With seventy to eighty percent of school children having a sufficient amount of knowledge on the subject, many narrow minded adults are lead to believe that these young people apply this knowledge to their everyday lives (Brook 275). The reality, however, is that today’s youth is “experiencing a growth rate of HIV infection” (Crosby 186).
Though the amount of knowledge about AIDS ...