OTTAWA -- Canadian teens still have some shocking misconceptions about AIDS, but activists say schools can help students teach themselves in the classroom with a little guidance.

Some teens still think the disease is only a concern for gay men, says 17-year-old Toronto resident Emily Cordeaux. Others, she notes, think there will be a cure in their lifetime, which lulls them into a false sense of security.

Cordeaux, a member of a Foster Parents Plan youth council, says schools teach the basics about AIDS in Grade 9 sex education classes, but teens learn much more by talking among themselves.

Cordeaux was one of 1,000 youth delegates who took part in the International AIDS Conference in Toronto in August. As a member of the foster plan’s Canada Youth Advisory Council, she has also travelled to schools giving speeches and moderating discussions.

The classroom opportunities are much more helpful in drawing attention to the AIDS crisis than the sex education offered by schools, she says. It is through these discussions that teens can learn how much of a threat AIDS poses to them.

That’s what motivates Jason Rochester, a.k.a. Juice. The 23-year-old Toronto rapper says the constant negativity of young people in the tough downtown neighbourhood where he grew up inspired him to send out a positive message through his music.

Juice has toured schools and First Nations reserves across Canada as part of the 411 Initiative for Change, a group that uses musicians and the arts to educate youth on social issues.

His song Priceless, which he says is a response to misogynistic attitudes in rap, takes aim at immature sexual attitudes with lyrics like, "You gotta take they hand. Show ’em the blueprints like they a part of your plan. Listen man, that undercover brother never lied. For every strong brother, there’s a woman by his side."

He says he’s happy to use his celebrity to help the AIDS awareness cause. The frank discussions his appearances have spawned have helped to clear up misconceptions teens have – as well as a few he had.

"Some of them still talk about (getting AIDS via) shaking hands and saliva," he says. "They still don’t know about how to contract the disease. I’m learning too. We’re all learning."

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