Comments on: MrsDoF and D.A.R.E.

By: breakerslion

breakerslion — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 02:07:44 +0000

No D.A.R.E. program when I went to school in the 1970s. We received a really good drug education in 8th grade science class. Thanks to that experience, I had a list of drugs to avoid because of side effects and addictive properties. Many of those drugs, like Heroin and Amphetomines, saw a resurgence in popularity in the 80s and 90s. I guess the program they ran at my school was “too controversial” for not harping on the legal issues, or maybe just because it worked to a degree. The only joke in the program was a propaganda film against marijuana. They kept drawing comparisons between the intoxicating effects and cigarettes, and avoiding the obvious comparison to alcohol. Like web05 said, kids can smell bull excrement a mile off.

By: james old guy

james old guy — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 00:45:49 +0000

If parents did their job we would have no need of this waste of tax payers dollars.

By: webs05

webs05 — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:12:41 +0000

The programs I went through, roughly 15 years ago was a joke. Most of us kids made fun of the whole thing. We were treated like morons. We already knew what drugs were and all they were telling us was that it’s illegal and dangerous.

Got news for you cop, kids aint stupid! We know when an adult is bull****ing us and we can see right through it. The problem with DARE is it treats kids like morons instead of telling them the truth. Because someone thinks that telling kids the truth about sex and drugs will lead to crack babies…

DARE to me is just another waste of tax dollars when there are much more prudent issues to fix with that money.

By: *** Dave

*** Dave — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:56:52 +0000

I’d object strongly to teaching kids to narc on their families. Teaching kids to keep their eyes out for and be aware of drug paraphernalia is probably worthwhile.

Teaching kids about drug forfeiture laws is, yes, probably also valuable.

By: MrsDoF

MrsDoF — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 14:44:21 +0000

Our youngest son says he remembers the officer encouraging students to talk about stuff they might see at home, such as a bong (I think that’s a pipe for smoking marijuana).
Using the innocence of youngsters for hints about where to send patrol cars…..

The D.A.R.E. car in our community had been seized during a drug bust, then refurbished, proper lettering on the doors.
It sends the message that getting arrested for drugs can be quite expensive in several ways.

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:52:39 +0000

I wondered about “no teacher in the room”, too. I don’t remember being asked to leave. I imagine that varies from district to district, as well as from instructor to instructor. D.A.R.E. went through lots of changes as I remember. We had our officer in all classrooms once a month for awhile and then the program concentrated only on fifth and sixth grades.

I agree with Dave that being a good cop does not necessarily make someone a good teacher. The students at my school, loved the Officer and really loved the souped up special D.A.R.E. car that he drove. Never thought about who paid for it or why it was important. I suppose it was a form of advertixing.

By: *** Dave

*** Dave — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:42:49 +0000

I was teaching in LAUSD when DARE first started, and I (as the teacher of a 1/2 combo) was never asked to leave the room.

I thought the program was conceptually sound, but didn’t feel that the actual execution was any great shakes. Being a (presumably) good cop doesn’t make one a good teacher.

I think there is a role for law enforcement officers in drug education—but, yes, it’s something that should be done in conjunction with medical personnel, etc.