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