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DARE, Fighting
the war on drugs
What we know
about drug and substance abuse is that 61% of 12th graders will
have tried cigarettes, 64% will have been drunk at least once, 49% will have
tried marijuana and fully 29% will have tried an illegal drug other than
marijuana. (NASP) It starts younger than 12’ th grade. There
remains to be a steady increase in eighth graders using alcohol. In fact
6,000 young people die every year due to alcohol. (Join Together DARE) Not
only is alcohol a problem in today’s society we also need to be aware of the
drug abusing population. Did you know that Omaha NE is home the eight
largest methamphetamine users of the entire nation. (LCAD) It is evident
that something needs to be done here to try to prevent an increase in these
numbers. There are several drug and alcohol abuse programs that were
designed to target a younger crowd in hopes that by reaching the children at
a young age they would be educated enough to make the right decisions when
faced with drugs and alcohol.
The most
widely used drug program is DARE. The DARE program is used in 80% of the
elementary schools in the United States and has been used in schools for the
last 18 years. (DARE) It has also spread to other countries. The DARE
program is funded through the government funds. This program runs for two
weeks and uses police officers to spread their message. DARE covers several
issues for children including how to resist peer pressure, accurate
information about drugs and alcohol, and how to form good decision making
skills. The issue surrounding DARE is that it is not doing its job.
Several school systems have already cut their DARE programs and have begun
to replace them with other more affordable programs. Most of these programs
consist of a one-day speaker, video presentation, or classroom
discussions. In response to the recent criticisms, DARE has recently
changed it’s curriculum by adding some information and activities and
cutting others.
With all of
these statistics showing us the reality of today’s drug use, I now ask this
question. What is being done? The one program that has vowed eighteen
years to drug and alcohol prevention in schools is now under much scrutiny
on whether it is doing the job it is was created to do. I don’t believe
that the DARE program is the problem. I also feel taking the DARE program
away from our schools will only put an increase in the cases of children and
adults using drugs. There needs to be more support for the DARE program to
be successful. Children are only exposed to DARE for a two-week period in
fifth or sixth grade. How can we consider two weeks in elementary school
satisfactory in keeping a later adult off of drugs and alcohol? DARE should
be expanded to reach children more effectively. Children need to be exposed
to something new several times before they truly understand it yet when it
comes to drug and alcohol education we expect them to process and retain two
weeks of information for a lifetime. What good will it do us to take the
DARE program away all together? The consequences of adolescent substance
abuse are lifelong. The early intervention plan of reaching out to children
has a purpose. ‘We need to work with families in preventing drug abuse.
(Infants, Children, and Adolescents) One approach is to work with parents
early, before children are old enough to become involved with drugs. The
DARE program is meant for younger children, grades fifth and sixth. To find
out if DARE is truly working for our adolescents I went straight to the
source. Not some article on the Internet but straight from the mouths of
students. I surveyed 11 middle school and high school students ranging in
age from eleven to fourteen. I wanted to find out their opinion about the
DARE program to see if DARE really was a success. The results were nine out
of ten students, half boys and half girls, marked yes or sometimes when
asked if they thought DARE would keep them, or has kept them from using
drugs and alcohol. Ten out of ten students marked yes when asked if they
paid attention to what the officer was saying. Nine out of ten students
marked DARE as being successful, and they all added comments, which will be
covered on the next page. I choose this topic because when I found out some
schools wanted to cut the DARE program I was appalled. I remembered my own
experiences with the DARE program. I still have memories of the songs we
were taught and I also recall meeting a drug dog. Our officer’s name was
Officer Bob and we seemed to all respect him and think of him as a mentor.
Though I remember the songs and the officer, I am a little unclear of the
information I that was taught. It has been so long and I haven’t retained
all the information. That doesn’t mean it did not serve a purpose in my
life. I do remember knowing at a young age how gross and unhealthy
cigarettes were, and I’ve never held a cigarette in my life.
The Department of
Education will not spend any more money on the DARE program because
officials state the program is not scientifically proven and it does not
work. ( times) My response to this statement is that when something that
serves such a strong purpose is not fulfilling it’s purpose then you fix
it. The DARE program has recently been revised. DARE has a lot of
potential with students and according to my student surveys there are
several easy solutions that may make DARE more effective in reaching more
children. Nine out of ten students marked yes to when asked if DARE should
be continued throughout middle school and high school. The suggestions
offered by students were very clear. DARE should include more life
experiences with real people who had real problems. DARE should try
everything to show students the true impact of drugs including being honest
with them about death. Some students also encouraged more school
activities. Those who oppose of DARE seem to think they have their reasons
for why the program needs to be cut. Some say it is not worth the money and
some say it is the parent’s job to educate their children. According to the
text of Early Childhood Education Today, it takes more than one person to
educate a child. The text also states that schools and teachers cannot
address the many issues facing children and youth without the partnership
and collaboration of powerful sectors of society. Though the students
surveyed didn’t feel the message made a difference coming from an officer
rather than their teachers, I must say it made a difference for me. A
police officer was a very respected person in my family and I knew an
officer would not lie to me.
To conclude,
something does need to be done to curve the decline in drug and alcohol use
in our society, but taking the DARE program away will only make the job more
difficult. If we want to solve the problem we need to come together to help
support the program so that we may be a part of the solution. Repetition is
never a bad thing. If we encourage the DARE program to come up with new
creative ways to educate our young children we can then begin to make a
change. The DARE program is coming up with new programs every day. One of
their newest programs is the DARE dance team. DARE needs to be advertised
used effectively and used more often. If we present the information to
students in fifth grade then we can do follow up programs in seventh and
eighth grades. In high school DARE support is needed the most. Let’s make
participation mandatory. There can still be a trusted officer who is
familiar with the students and who can bring in guest speakers who may
include former drug addicts speaking about the affects of drugs on their
lives. DARE can also set up drug free walkathons to spread the word. I
think the real issue behind DARE is not to take money and programs away, but
to add programs and give additional money to truly make it a success.
Lincoln Council on Alcoholism
and Drugs Inc. Facts about Methamphetamine
www.lcad.org
NASP Donald Lynam Richard
Milich An Empiracl Look at Project DARE
www.nasponline.org volume 31 #4 December 2002
www.dare.com “Impact of a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)
Program in
Preventing the Initiation of
Cigarette Smoking in Fifth- and Sixth-Grade
Students” (J. Natl. Med. Assoc. 2002; 94: 249-256.)
The toll of
substance abuse
Join Together - March 17, 2005
Morrison, S George Early
Childhood Education Today
Berk, E Laura Infants,
Children, and Adolescents
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