DARE DOESN'T WORK; WE SHOULD STOP FUNDING IT

The Canyon Independent School District seems to be having a tough
time raising money to continue its Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program.

Before the parents who bankroll Canyon's Education Foundation throw
good money after bad, they might try to look at the DARE curriculum
and its final exam.

Ask DARE officials to put a set of their course materials on file at
your local public library for parents to inspect and see what
happens. They have never wanted parents to examine the materials they
present to our children.

They claim this is because the stuff is "copyrighted," as if the
textbooks children bring home aren't.

And the reason you can't see the final exam is because there isn't
one. The program consists of little more than feel-good propaganda
that any 10-year-old can see through, which most 10-year-olds
apparently do.

Research into DARE's effectiveness shows negligible effect, except
for a statistically insignificant increase in future drug use among
suburban kids.

It shouldn't be hard to determine why DARE doesn't work. It is
conducted by people with training in one area (law enforcement), who
replace people who are required to have four years' training in a
different area (teaching), who then lecture on a topic that normally
requires eight years' training (medicine).

And we're paying more for this service than for a certified teacher.

Would you want a police officer thumbing through a manual to repair your car?

If not, why do you think less of your children than your car?

Bob Ramsey

Irving