Pubdate: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 Source: Pincher Creek Echo (CN AB) Copyright: 2004 Pincher Creek Echo Contact: http://www.pinchercreekecho.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1835 Feedback: http://www.pinchercreekecho.com/contact.php Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) BROCKET KIDS DARE TO SAY 'NO' An almost two-decade-old drug-education program has made its debut in Brocket. The "DARE" program was introduced to the Grade 6 class at Napi's Playground Elementary School for the first time Jan. 8. "I have to give the credit to Const. Christine Doiron," said Jo-Anne Smith, the school's principal. "This is all her initiative, and she's the first RCMP officer to approach us with this program." The program was developed in California in 1986 and designed to be a partnership between police and schools. Since then, it has expanded across the United States and Canada. "There are no teachers who teach DARE, only police," Const. Doiron told the eager Grade 6 class. Doiron was required to take a DARE training program before presenting it to the students. "Grade 6 is the perfect age to introduce this program to the kids," said Doiron. "They're getting ready to go into junior high, where they will be facing more peer pressure to smoke and take drugs." In fact, students demonstrated an early sophistication about the drug culture, when Doiron presented them with the question, "What is a drug?" "Marijuana, that acid stuff you put on your tongue, mushrooms, Cocaine, beer," were just some of the responses the students came up with. "What about Tylenol, or Buckley's Cough Syrup?" Doiron posed to the kids, who quickly acknowledged that these, too, fit the category of 'drug'. "What do you think abuse means?" Doiron asked next, moving to the second letter in the "DARE" acronym. "When people take drugs to make them feel better," offered Sage Provost. "It can also mean you're over-doing it," observed Myron Sharp Adze. Doiron let the students know they were on the right track, when she pointed out that some drugs, designed to make you feel better are actually good, like taking Tylenol to relieve a headache. Students learned the DARE program is not just about the dangers of drugs or alcohol, but about promoting positive behaviours and boosting self-esteem, as emphasized by the third and fourth headings in the DARE acronym: 'Resistance' and ''Education'. Doiron encouraged the kids to ask questions about anything they wanted to know. That prompted the inevitable from Kevin Crow Shoe: "Did you ever try drugs?" "No," was Doiron's response. "I have tried alcohol, because I'm an adult, and can make that choice," she went on to explain. "And I tried to smoke a cigarette when I was in Grade 9. But I coughed so bad that I never tried it again. It was horrible!" Doiron reminded the students that she had a goal to become a police officer from an early age - Grade 4 or 5 - and knew that taking drugs would interfere with that goal, so she had strong motivation to stay away from drugs. The students were satisfied with the explanation. "Kids appreciate honesty," Doiron commented after the session. "There's no use lying to them, because they see right through it, and you won't have their respect." Students were given personal workbooks to use throughout the 17-week course. "My hope is that the students learn drug and alcohol awareness and learn to say "No". Our problem on the reserve is very expensive," Smith said. "I hope they learn values with respect to abstaining, but also general values that kids don't seem to be getting in the world today," Smith pointed out, adding, "There seems to be a decreased emphasis on positive values in society in general. Our young are not getting the same teachings we did from our parents," observed Smith. At the end of the 17 weeks, a graduation ceremony will be held Smith emphasized the values taught in the course will be implemented throughout the school year. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh