|
|
Curriculum Corner Vol. 13
|
November 2009
|
Dear Educators,
In this month's Curriculum Corner we
pay special attention to a very important day coming up soon- World
AIDS Day, on December 1st. We also want to recruit you to join our REAL
DEAL Selection Committee and to become our fan on Facebook. Finally, I
was deeply honored to meet and interview Reverend Dr. Carlton W.
Veazey, President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive
Choice in Chicago a few weeks ago and would like to share his words
with you here.
|
|
World AIDS Day
December 1st 2009
Every 9 ½ minutes someone in the US is infected with HIV or AIDS.
About one quarter of these people do not know that they are
infected: not knowing puts them and others at risk.
The theme
for December 1st, 2009 World AIDS Day is Universal Access and Human
Rights. Race, class, and gender all affect access to basic care and
information, yet universal access to treatment is essential to tackling HIV and
AIDS.
How can we
enable youth in particular to make healthy decisions? What is it that influences
them "in the
moment" to
practice safe sex? Our HIV/AIDS film compilation targets youth attitudes and behavior
with four films written by teens.
 Reflections:
(Written in partnership with BET's Rap It Up campaign). Three best friends learn to take the risk of HIV/AIDS seriously as they
navigate romantic relationships in an urban environment mired in economic
strife, drugs, and limited options.
 Just Like You Imagined?: A glimpse into the lives of six young people
dealing with the pressures of dating and relationships.
 The Monster: When three boys chat up the new girl on the block, only one gets
lucky. He, however, is forced to deal with a secret that not even his closest
friends know about.
 Nightmare on AIDS Street: 17-year old Isabel knows she can't take back what happened
during one hazy night with a guy. She decides to take responsibility and
bravely face her greatest fear.
Click here to purchase the Scenarios USA HIV/AIDS Compilation DVD.
Take action on World AIDS Day!
Throughout
the world, marches, memorials, school workshops, lectures, art shows, and free
testing will take place on December 1st to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.
2. Download World AIDS Day Campaign Materials in English, Spanish, and other languages.
3. Check out the events calendar.
4. Check out the CDC's HIV/AIDS website.
|
Join us on Facebook!
Online discussion
Become a fan and join our weekly
discussionsabout
masculinity on our Facebook
page. We're posting
activities and clips
from our films to raise
questions about how we view masculinity and what effect it has on our
lives. Share your ideas with other educators across the country!
Alternatively, send me your
ideas, questions or suggestions via email and I can post them for you.
|
|
We need you for our Selection Committee!
The
2009/10 What's the REAL DEAL about Masculinity? writing contest is fast
under way.
Thousands of students are writing this year and we would like to ask you
to help us pick the winners.
We need hundreds of volunteer readers across the country to join the
REAL DEAL Selection Committee
and help choose the winning submissions. If
you and your students are not already participating in the contest,
this is
your chance to get involved and to hear directly from young people
about their
world and how they see it. The
process involves reading submissions from NYC, Cleveland and South TX;
and will take about 2 hours, done in the comfort of your own home. The
deadline for joining is November 30th,
but spots are limited so join soon!
|
Spotlight on... Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
An interview with Reverend Dr Carlton Veazey
 "I am an African American minister. When I joined the RCRC
thirteen years ago, my mission was to broaden its agenda to
include issues of urgent concern in the Black religious community, such as
unintended teen pregnancy and the growing rate of HIV/AIDS. The civil rights
movement had made great political gains in the last 30-40 years but key health
issues in the Black community had not yet been addressed. The consequences of
not addressing these issues were devastating. By 1990 teen pregnancy rates had
gone up 700%. This epidemic of "children
having children" was accompanied by a huge expansion of the illegal drug
culture and an influx of young men into the criminal justice system."
One of Veazey's first actions was to host the National Black Religious
Summit on Sexuality at the Howard Divinity
School in 1997. More than 400 ministers, educators and youth from
around the country attended this three-day workshop on poverty and
sexual health.
At the Summit, Dr. Joycelyn Elders (former Surgeon General) explained
that 70% of poverty in the Black population can be linked to teen
pregnancy as youth drop out of school and their income levels and
their financial futures are affected. Also presented was Leon Dash's
study of how
13- to 15-year olds who have children can expect to see their own
children
become pregnant when they are the same age- a vicious cycle where teen
pregnancy sometimes becomes a rite of passage.
Veazey went on to say, "it was clear to us that abstinence-only education was not
effectively combating teen pregnancy. Even if we prefer abstinence as an
option, reality trumps theology. What we were preaching about being abstinent
was not addressing the issues; we were answering questions nobody was asking."
RCRC developed Keeping
It Real!, a comprehensive sexuality education program, which was now been
implemented in 800 cross-denominational churches around the country, reaching more than
13,000 youth. "The success at having so many ministers recognize the need to talk about
comprehensive sexuality education in church has been truly monumental." saidDr. Kelly Brown- Douglas
(Professor of Religion, Howard University School of Divinity)
"The change in administration has made me optimistic" says Veazey.
"President Obama recognizes that abstinence-only programs do not go far enough.
He recognizes the importance of comprehensive sexuality education and is
willing to spend money to save lives. Now lay people need to push their
ministerial leadership to speak out and address real issues!"
Click here for more information about RCRC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks
for reading. Let us know if this newsletter was useful to you and send
us any comments or questions- we love to hear from you! Also, please
forward this newsletter to your friends and colleagues.
Warm regards,
Ernestine Heldring
Education and Outreach Manager
Scenarios USA
|
|
|
|
|
