STUDENTS WEREN'T SHOCKED BY DRUG SURVEY

Many Oldham County students took a drug survey last fall. After that,
nothing was really said about it. Until now. The results have been released
and according to an article in The Courier Journal, Oldham County adults
were "unpleasantly surprised." The survey found that 78 percent of seniors
admitted to drinking alcohol, and 30 percent admitted to binge drinking. The
students, however, weren't that shocked. "That sounds about right," said
sophomore Jamey Howe in the article. "The parents' extreme reactions show
how unaware they are of their kids' behavior," said senior Erik Glowark.

Oldham County is rural, has one of the highest income rates in the state,
and is full of nice houses and nice people. This might create an illusion to
some. They might think that the students in the county have too much money
to be caught up in drugs and alcohol. But money doesn't make a difference in
who does drugs and who doesn't. According to senior Jenny Stephens parental
involvement makes a difference. "Parents aren't involved enough with their
kids' lives," said Stephens. Some parents are out all day trying to make
money for their families so they can have nice things and make ends meet. So
they aren't home enough to spend time with their kids or even know what
their kids are up to.

According to Juliet B. Schore who wrote The Overworked American, the average
American's working hours have increased to an extra 163 hours per worker,
which is equivalent to an extra month's worth of work. It's no wonder why
parents are so shockingly surprised and apparently naive about what their
children are involved in. "Some parents aren't around so students think it's
OK," said Howe. Now that the county actually realizes that there is a
problem, solutions are already being processed.

A group of concerned parents called the Challengers, who released the survey
results, are trying hard to come up with possible solutions to the drug
problem. They said that they will work to inform more parents about
substance use among students. The people behind the solutions have good
intentions, but they may not know the right approach at solving the drug
problem. Students need to learn their values at home. If they don't hear
what is right and wrong from the people they are close to, they aren't going
to know.

In a survey conducted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the results concluded
that students who eat dinner with their parents every night are less likely
to smoke marijuana and more likely to rely on their parents' opinions.

Sure, most people know that they shouldn't do drugs. But if kids don't hear
the right thing to do from their family, or learn by their parents' example,
then they sure aren't going to listen to a bunch of school officials and
D.A.R.E. officers they barely know. The solution doesn't lie in better
information about how bad drugs and alcohol are. The solution lies in our
parents' examples.