I watched as every student of the FE Miley Grade School come into the gym and sat on the floor to watch the 6th grade graduate from Dare, an intense training, by a Chouteau County Sheriffs Deputy for the prevention of drug and alcohol use. There was a short presentation by Deputy Guderjahn, then two essays were selected from the six-grade class to be read. I watched the younger kids really listen to their role models. The younger classes loved the three skits presented by the six-grade class. They died laughing, but they got the message.
When I asked a 1st grader what they learned, a firm answer was, "Never to do drugs or smoke." When I asked about alcohol, he said, "no six glasses of alcohol. Maybe two or one a day."
And a third grader said, "if anyone takes drugs it's their fault. If they decided to do drugs, it's no one faults but theirs. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you learn. It's just a bad decision." The skits all had to do with calling the "cops". "It is ok to call the cops if you see something that shouldn't be happening. Because if you don't call it will just continue to happen, if you get involved you can stop it right away."
Sixth grade class said they are committed to not use drugs or drinking in high school because of what it does to their bodies and it will affect their careers. They know that if they do drugs and alcohol it would affect their chances of getting a scholarship. They believe they will have the strength to confront a friend, but "it does depend on the circumstance".
Dare graduation always challenges the adults watching. Do we have the strength ourselves or do we bow to peer pressure?
