Positive Speakers' Bureau
A Sydney high school teacher on what PSB contributes.
At East Hills Boys Technology High Shool we have developed a close and regular association with People Living With HIV/AIDS New South Wales over the past five years. As part of the mandatory Crossroads program, senior students are required to participate in a four day course that exposes students to a variety of issues both social and health that they will face and come in contact with, these include sexuality, safe sex, drugs and safe driving.
The People Living With HIV/AIDS New South Wales presentation is an important part of the program that we run at East Hills Boys, giving students an insight into the life of a person who is living with hiv.
Students are given a 30 minute talk on what it is like to be hiv positive. The talk also draws attention to ongoing issues including recovering from illness and the attempts at leading as normal a life as possible. At the end of the talk students are then given the opportunity to ask questions to the presenters. The end of the talk opens the floor for discussion and question time. One of the most reqarding aspects of this presentation from my point of view as a teacher has been the consistent reaction that the students at East Hills Boys Technology have displayed. They have always asked well-considered and interesting questions. The maturity of their questions make us aware that a successful course can tap into this nature of students that they work hard to keep hidden. This interaction and involvement of the students is derived from the relevance of the presentation, knowing that these dangers exist and face them in the wider community.
It is interesting to sit back and watch the interest that students display during the talk, a typical presentation will quickly show the presenters how well behaved and well mannered our students are. There is no talking by students, rather an audience that is captivated by the enormous importance of the whole hiv issue in our society and knowing that they have the power to not only avoid unsafe practices but also educate others.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the whole presentation is the talk's overwhelming impact on the student audience. Students do not leave the room and forget about what has been presented to them but rather talk and discuss among their peers for weeks after.
The two presenters who have been yearly visitors to the school are Luke Chipperfield and Tony Creighton. They are both unique in their own way as they do a completely different type of talk and presentation to students and this gives more variety to the session. Luke is not too much older than our students and therefore relates well to the audience. While older, Tony adds humour to his talk and involves the students in his discussion.
In the five years that we have been involved with People Living With HIV/AIDS New South Wales, I have been able to help promote what we do at East Hills Boys within a series of networks that have been established with schools in our district. By sharing our positive teaching and learning experiences we feel proud knowing that implementation of the course is being adopted to achieve positive teaching and learning outcomes in our school and others.
