The
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program, was
started in Los Angeles in 1983 to teach kids to say
"no" and how to say "no" to drugs.
D.A.R.E. provides students with information about the effects of
drug abuse and the consequences that it can have on other
aspects of their lives and the impact it can have on the
well being of the rest of their family. D.A.R.E.
helps build decision making and problem solving skills so
students can make informed decisions to resist drug use,
pressure from their peers and the violence that often
accompanies substance abuse.
Issues
inside the 21st Century School House have
evolved considerably since 1983 and D.A.R.E. has been enhanced
accordingly to meet the challenge of today's students with new
applications of teaching -- via stunning brain imagery --
tangible proof of how substances diminish mental activity,
emotions, coordination and movement. Mock courtroom
exercises are bringing home the social and legal consequences of
drug use and violence.
The D.A.R.E. program is presented to grammar
school children, usually the 5th and 6th grade as well as other
groups. It reaches 26 million children a year in 75
percent of all school districts and is admired by children and
parents alike.
With
research showing that adolescents, in particular, need to be
involved in the learning process, experts shifted the focus in
the new D.A.R.E. curriculum to include officer-facilitated work,
discussion groups, and role-playing sessions. “The resulting
"group dynamic"' of the New D.A.R.E. Program
encourages kids to work together on assignments and think for
themselves,” Included in the program is additional
information on the dangers of joining youth gangs as young
adults and anger management.
For more information about the
program, please contact Officer Duncan Baum, Certified
School Resource Officer (SRO) at: dbaum.pd@townofberlin.com
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