Drink and Drugs News have asked Robert Skilleter, a pupil from a North Yorkshire grammer school, to write about his drug education:
We began the topic by looking at what we already knew and we were handed some sheets to find this out. It had been decided that we would start by looking at drugs in general and the legal background behind them, so after completing the first sheet we were given a true or false task about the law and alcohol. My knowledge didn’t cover the full scope of questioning so I failed to get everything right, but I think that if I repeated the challenge today then I would be able to get 100 per cent.
Robert goes on to talk about the techniques the teacher used to help them learn about the subject. He particularly enjoyed being an active learner:
I believe that the idea of letting people do their own research and presenting to the rest of the class was a good way of getting the information across rather than being lectured by a teacher.
As well as what looks like five specific lessons the school organised a whole day where they invited visitors in to talk about drug issues. These included the local police and drug service and a fire officer. However, Robert was most impressed with the ex-user who came in to talk about his experiences:
The final talk was probably the most serious of all. It was delivered by an ex-drug taker who had taken cannabis and heroin. He now worked for Drugsline and his talk about how he had been drawn into the crazy world of illegal drugs really did deliver a strong message to us. He was, by far, the most important speaker of the day.
As regular readers of this blog will know whenever we read or hear about ex-users being involved in drug education we point to the government’s guidance to schools:
Involving ex-users in drug education should be considered very carefully. Without sensitive handling they may arouse interest or glamorise drug use or describe experiences which young people may find it hard to relate to. In some instances they may unwittingly imply that their own drug use represents a ‘safe limit’ that can be copied. If they are to be involved, this should be because they are skilled in facilitating pupil learning and not simply by virtue of their status as a former user.
That said it’s great to read that Robert and his peers found their drug education useful. He says:
In my opinion it went rather well and though I’m sure that some people will disagree with me, I think that it has really helped me. I would like to thank my form teacher and thank all the people who came into Ermysted’s Grammar School for the drugs education day. We really appreciated it.
Filed under: drug education , North Yorkshire
It would seem from the above that some drug education providers, would seem to hold reservations about ex-addicts shareing thier expierence with children. Well what a small minded petty view. Best not expose them to the writtings of dickens and many others then!
In my humble view I believe ex addicts or infact current addicts are the best education a on drugs you can have.
It is also my view that actually much drug education is of no value. Most drug problems stem complex emotional needs and not youthfull experimentation, and if young people had thier emotional and mental health taken more seriously on all levels then they would much less feel the need to self medicate!
For example at school I was considerd to be “remedeial” ie poor written english and a lack of concentration, being singled out and labled caused me much more anguish than my actual disorder which years later was diagnosed as dispraxia. This and many other childhood trauma is not what so much led me to search for a release but what made me cling to one (drugs) when I found then!
So as you can see it is not just Ex-addicts that can say damaging things, but teachers too, although I would never suggest thinking carefully before letting a teacher lose on our little treasures.
One last thing please forgive my spelling, grammer etc but thats just the remedial in me shining out
Thanks for your comment Alvin.
On the use of ex (or current) users in class rooms our view is that as long as they (or indeed any visitor, such as the police) are used carefully and as part of a wider contextual curriculum about knowledge, skills and attitudes then they can play a very valuable role in drug education.
But we do worry that some schools use these presentations as their entire approach to drug education. We worry this doesn’t give any time to enhance pupil’s decision making skills or help them develop a positive attitude towards their own health.
That said you won’t find us saying that drug education can ever innoculate young people against using or developing problems with drugs. We do think that combined with a range of other approaches good drug education can help enhance protective factors and reduce the risks that lead to young people developing problems with drugs.