D.A.R.E.

D.A.R.E.





I thought I would share a little about my thoughts about D.A.R.E. or any drug education programs for that matter. I went to school in the 50’s and 60’s and I cant remember getting any drug information until I was in High School. By that time I was already on drugs so it didn’t do any good,although I suspect nothing would have helped given the conditions of my home. Later in College I had some drug education also but it was definitely too late then. I remember they passed around drugs encased in plastic containers so the students could see what they looked liked. I already knew what they looked like and my thoughts at that time were how could I steal the drugs out of the containers when nobody was looking.



Don’t get me wrong, Im not against drug education and I think it should happen as early as possible. In fact 15 years ago or so I contacted the D.A.R.E. program and volunteered to help them. I thought that since I had been on drugs 14 years and had been clean the same amount of time I could be helpful in educating the kids about the dangers of drugs. D.A.R.E. (in Los Angeles) rejected my help at that time saying they didn’t let anybody who had ever been on drugs help. Although Im not opposed to drug education , I have always doubted its efficacy based on my personal experience.



One time doing a radio show about the drug problem I mentioned to a psychiatrist/educator at some facility that I didn’t think education would work. He was shocked and aghast. He said ,”Well, if education isn’t going to work then I don’t know what will”



D.A.R.E. has been around quite a while now;long enough to be studied. Here are some facts:



1)The Arizona State Auditor said to drop D.A.R.E. after an Arizona study showed its not cost effective.



2)Police Chief Robert Olson of the Minneapolis Police Department has said that several studies have questioned the effectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program. “If your just using the single component, the fifth grade component, it doesn’t make a hill of difference”



3) An independent report released in 1998 found Houston's $3.7 million-a-year DARE program "only marginally successful" in steering youngsters from substance abuse.

The study, by University of Houston social sciences professor Bruce Gay, suggests the Drug Abuse Resistance Education curriculum in local schools may not be working.

"There is very little compelling evidence to suggest that the primary goal of the DARE program is being reached at a statistically significant level," Gay concludes.



4) The most damaging study was conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky and released in 1999. It tracked 1,002 sixth-graders who were divided into two groups: those who had taken the 17-week DARE class and those who had received basic drug education as part of their normal studies.Researchers followed the students until they reached age 20, when they were again polled on attitudes about drugs, actual drug use and self-esteem. The study showed that DARE was no more effective than basic drug education in any of the three categories. "In no case did the DARE group have a more successful outcome than the comparison group," researchers wrote.



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Look, Im not trying to knock D.A.R.E.. I think there are many sincere Police Officers trying their best to help. Im just trying to make the point that maybe education isn’t the answer at all. If a child comes from a home where there is abuse and no love, do you really think that a few hours of education over a period of weeks are going to undo the consequences of those traumas?



The belief that education is the answer to the drug problem is,in my opinion, a lie. What we need are good parents. Parents who love their children, set a good example, and don’t abuse them either physically or emotionally. But I find very few voices saying that this epidemic of drug abuse is caused by bad parents.



So what can a parent do?Well, let me give you an example. If there was an Opium Den that had a really good program of education would you send your children there? Of course not.





Drug use is rampant in todays public schools. That’s a well known fact. I have often read stories of Police Departments sending young undercover police officers into schools to make busts. I would politely suggest that sending your child to public school in many areas is little different than sending them to an opium den.





I would say the best course of action to protect children is to take them out of public school altogether. I don’t know of any study of drug use by kids that have been home schooled, but I suspect if there was such a study you wouldn’t find much drug use. Alternatively, a good Christian School that doesn’t tolerate drug use might be an option (If you can find one).



Come to think of it. Maybe all this values neutral education and Godless education in the public schools has contributed to the problem also.



If you are a gardener and your trying to grow a flower, you protect it from the weeds until it grows strong enough to live on its own.So get your kids out of public school where the weeds can destroy them, and don’t be a weed yourself.