Understanding AIDS

Using the same approach as Eating: Out of Control and Handling Stress Today and Tomorrow (reviewed above), Understanding AIDS is basically a combination of high school discussion group talk and interview clips from professionals. The difference between this program and the others is that here the moderator is on the ball. Rather than asking the students a bunch of open-ended questions, she rapid fires specific queries which forces the kids to think in specific terms. Beginning with a definition of what AIDS is, the group moves on to explore the ways one can and cannot contract the AIDS virus, and the options that teenagers with active sex lives have before them (abstinence, monogamous relationships, safe sex, etc.). In addition, the group discusses the problems facing young teens who are not ready to begin having sexual relations, but suffer from peer pressure, or pressure from their boyfriends/girlfriends. Since there are already a number of AIDS-related videos (even for teens) on the market, this program would not be an economically feasible choice for public libraries; school libraries, however, might want to consider this admittedly low-budget production that doesn't pull punches when it comes to openly discussing the AIDS disease. Recommended. (See EATING: OUT OF CONTROL for availability.)