Pubdate: Mon, 25 Feb 2008
Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON)
Copyright: 2008 Osprey Media Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1544
Author: Malcolm Swoboda
Note: Malcolm Swoboda is a co-op student from St. Mary's High School 
in Owen Sound currently working in the newsroom at The Sun Times.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

A WELCOME CHANGE IN ANTI-DRUG PITCHES

It is pretty much a given that a large number of the students who 
filled the OSCVI auditorium on Wednesday for Mitch Dorge's 
presentation about drugs didn't feel like they needed to be there in 
the first place.

Anti-anything presentations tend to be a necessary trade-off for not 
having to go to class, and many students who sit for hours hearing - 
note how I didn't say "listening" - to a stranger about how 
fill-in-the-blank is bad for you automatically turn off their 
conscious minds for a while.

This isn't to say that guest speakers are not needed or that they 
offer nothing to students.

On the contrary, keeping drugs, alcohol, bullying and other such 
issues in the limelight at schools increases awareness and helps 
develop negativity toward trying anything that would endanger 
yourself or others. Examples of deaths from drunk driving and 
personal testimonies from gambling addicts actually can make a 
definite difference to a high schooler. Those who volunteer their 
time and energy to show teens a better way are to be lauded. But 
here's the problem - we've heard it all before.

There is a fine line between being engaged by something and being 
desensitized about it. It may seem like a good idea for guest 
speakers to pass around gruesome images of injuries throughout their 
presentations but, most teens are at the point where even these won't 
deter them in the slightest. You can hear snickers in even the most 
serious anti-drug speech.

This was thankfully not the case when Mitch Dorge, the drummer for 
the Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies, took the stage. He 
appeared to be well aware of the response he would receive if he dove 
directly into his main talking points, so he made sure there was 
plenty of time to warm up the audience with jokes and off-putting, 
yet hilarious, requests. Creating an atmosphere where teens are 
enjoying themselves so much that they don't even realize they are 
absorbing information is key in dealing with us (you know, short 
attention spans and all).

Advertisers bank on this technique, so it's nice seeing it being used 
for a more positive result.

Even if we don't mean to, teens can fall into a daze when listening 
to anything over an hour without break. Dorge caught this before it 
happened by periodically giving random compliments to the audience. 
He would be discussing meth lab burn victims and smoothly segue into 
describing how spiky someone's hair is. Just when the crowd should be 
drifting off, Dorge starts playing the drums to wake them up.

Group participation was no problem, everyone was paying attention 
and, judging from the smiles in the audience, enjoying themselves 
immensely. In fact, only twice have I have seen such enthusiasm for a 
guest speaker and both times it was for Dorge - Wednesday at OSCVI 
and last year at my own school, St. Mary's.

It's understandable that not every speaker can express themselves 
with such enthusiasm as Dorge, but his approach is certainly the most 
effective in reaching teenagers without being either condescending or 
so "cool" that the message is lost.

Malcolm Swoboda is a co-op student from St. Mary's High School in 
Owen Sound currently working in the newsroom at The Sun Times.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom