Pubdate: Tue, 05 Feb 2008 Source: Mountaineer, The (Rocky Mountain House, CN AB) Copyright: 2008 The Mountaineer Publishing Company, Ltd. Contact: http://rmh-mountaineer.awna.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2336 Author: Jen Sputek Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) PIONEER STUDENTS GRADUATE D.A.R.E. Drugs and kids. It's a reality every parent must face--head-on. You can't deny it. You can't ignore it. But as parents or other concerned caregivers, you are your children's greatest resource. School Resource Officer Constable Harold Smits facilitates the D.A.R.E. program in Rocky and has just finished with a Grade 6 class at Pioneer Middle School. Over the course of 10 lessons, Smits has educated his students about drugs, tobacco, bullying, peer pressure, and alcohol through skits, worksheets, and journal entries. During Lesson 10, the students are given the opportunity to make a public statement about their choices to resist drugs and violence in a group setting. During the students' public statements the kids had things to say like: "The skills I have learned here will help me for the rest of my life," and "This program helps kids like me make good choices, I will live a drug and violence-free life." "If you use drugs you will waste your whole life away" was another statement made by the sixth graders, and "My plan is to stay drug, alcohol, and tobacco free, and to get my Grandma to quit smoking too." This year millions of schoolchildren around the world will benefit from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the highly acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 per cent of our nation's school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through Grade 12 how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives. Prior to entering the D.A.R.E. program, carefully selected officers undergo 80 hours of intensive training in areas such as child development, classroom management, teaching techniques, and communication skills. Additional training is provided to experienced D.A.R.E. instructors to equip them to teach the middle and high school curriculum. The D.A.R.E. curriculum includes the K-4 Visitation Program, the Elementary (Grade 5/6) curriculum, the Middle School curriculum (Grade 7/8), the High School curriculum (Grade 9/10) and the Parent Program. The program initially focused on elementary school children, but has been expanded to include middle and high school students. Gone is the old-style approach to prevention in which an officer stands behind a podium and lectures students. New D.A.R.E. officers are trained as "coaches" to support kids who are using research-based refusal strategies in high-stakes peer-pressure environments. D.A.R.E.'s primary mission is to provide children with the information and skills they need to live drug-and-violence-free lives. The mission is to equip kids with the tools that will enable them to avoid negative influences and instead, allow them to focus on their strengths and potential. And, that's exactly what D.A.R.E. is designed to do. Additionally, it establishes positive relationships between students and law enforcement, teachers, parents, and other community leaders. Every youngster should have the opportunity to grow up healthy, safe, secure, and equipped with the skills needed to succeed in life. Life, however, is rampant with challenges that could keep children from a positive life path. The primary goal of D.A.R.E. is the prevention of substance abuse and violence among schoolchildren. D.A.R.E. accomplishes this goal by: Providing students with accurate information about alcohol and drugs, teaching students how to say "no" to drugs while providing alternatives to drug use, teaching students decision-making skills and the consequences of their behavior, providing life-skills to resist peer pressure and high-risk behavior D.A.R.E. goes far beyond traditional drug abuse programs that emphasize drug identification and the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol. These programs only warn children not to use these substances, not how to resist the pressures to try them. D.A.R.E. teaches children the skills they need to recognize and resist the subtle and overt pressures that may lead them to experiment with drugs and alcohol. D.A.R.E. students learn about the dangers of drugs and gain self-confidence by acting out problem situations in a classroom setting. They are taught to keep their bodies healthy and to control their feelings when angry or under stress. Students are also taught how to respond when a friend pressures them to use alcohol or drugs and to recognize the various forms of influence from peers, parents, and the media. They learn to choose positive activities instead of just "hanging out" on the streets. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin