Education

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Alcohol was the topic of the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program Wednesday afternoon at Huron Heights Public School in Kincardine, and it was the perfect time to bring in members of the Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) from Kincardine District Secondary School.

Christiane Ritter and Rebecca Dadson explained the activities of OSAID which focus on alcohol abuse prevention and the messages: "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," "Arrive Alive, Drive Sober," and "Call a Cab."

In fact, they were encouraging the Grade 6 students, who are studying the DARE program, to write these messages on boxes to be used at the Kincardine liquor store to dispense alcohol prior to the May 24th weekend.

The OSAID message fit in with the lesson taught by South Bruce OPP constable Kevin Martin, community services officer.

Martin has been teaching this program for the past couple of years at Huron Heights, Kincardine Township-Tiverton Public School, Ripley-Huron Community School, and Formosa and Chepstow. It is gradually replacing the old Values, Influences and Peers (VIP) program, he said.

"The DARE program is great and I love teaching it," he said. It spans nine weeks and at the end of the program, the children complete a DARE pledge to be drug-free, alcohol-free and tobacco-free, and make good choices in their lives. They also offer feedback about what they learned in the program.

With Martin, comes "Darren the Lion." If a student has done something nice for someone, he gets to babysit Darren. The lion stuffed animal symbolizes the courage to do the right thing.

Answering a couple of questions from the students, Martin said the least-used drug in Kincardine is crystal meth. The most commonly-abused drug is prescription medication, he said. And a survey showed that 60 per cent of students in Bruce County have used alcohol.

In regards to marijuana, he said that often traffickers will call it by pet names, such as "dope," to make it more attractive to young people. "They want to make money off you guys," he said. "Don't let them."

Referring to alcohol, Martin said 20 per cent of Grade 8 students across Canada have used alcohol in the past 30 days. "That means 80 per cent are not using alcohol," he said, "so if somebody tries to convince you to drink alcohol because everyone else is, you know that's not true."

He said Bruce County's alcohol consumption rate for students is even higher than the national rate, "which is why I'm here talking to you guys."

Going through various situations, he urged the students to remember the DARE decision-making process: Define the problem, Assess your choices, Respond by making a choice, and Evaluate by reviewing your decision.

In five weeks' time, the students will be graduating and making their DARE pledge to be free of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

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Thursday, April 15, 2010