Submitted by Tamara Pierson (not verified) on October 2, 2007 - 15:35.
After talking to my own children and their friends about the drug problem in our small, coastal CT town, they told me the people they have running the programs or "preaching" to them are people they can't relate. When I mentioned this to a friend who happens to have a son a few years out of the high school and is in a sobriety house, she told me a conversation she had with him. He made the request, as part of his program, to have a panel discussion or even to talk to the student body about his personal experience. He wanted the students to hear it from someone they could relate to as well as possibly know (our town is relatively small). His mom even said she would speak in conjunction with him or be willing to talk separately to the parents about the signs to look for and her experience before and during her son's recovery.
While this seemed like an excellent idea to me and to all the people I've mentioned it to, our schools have yet to take him up on it. I'm disappointed that our actions aren't matching our words. Kids often won't open up and will tune out a DARE officer but they will listen to one of their peers.
Reaching students
Submitted by Tamara Pierson (not verified) on October 2, 2007 - 15:35.
After talking to my own children and their friends about the drug problem in our small, coastal CT town, they told me the people they have running the programs or "preaching" to them are people they can't relate. When I mentioned this to a friend who happens to have a son a few years out of the high school and is in a sobriety house, she told me a conversation she had with him. He made the request, as part of his program, to have a panel discussion or even to talk to the student body about his personal experience. He wanted the students to hear it from someone they could relate to as well as possibly know (our town is relatively small). His mom even said she would speak in conjunction with him or be willing to talk separately to the parents about the signs to look for and her experience before and during her son's recovery.
While this seemed like an excellent idea to me and to all the people I've mentioned it to, our schools have yet to take him up on it. I'm disappointed that our actions aren't matching our words. Kids often won't open up and will tune out a DARE officer but they will listen to one of their peers.