DARE'S 'STRAIGHT TALK' CAN BE EFFECTIVE

For the past year,I have read countless articles on the ineffectiveness of
the DARE program.It appears that some of our nation's educators, school
district administrators and law enforcement officials feel that our top
juvenile anti-drug program, DARE, is not bringing in numbers to justify
their budget expenditures or to satisfy their local government bean
counters.

For the last two years, I have been teaching the DARE program to
sixth-grade students in Garden Grove and have taught over 3,500 students. I
know I am making a difference in their lives because I am building bonds
that will last a lifetime. In the 17-week curriculum I do not teach kids to
say "no." I teach them why and how to say "no" and the consequences of
their choices to use or not use drugs. My students also learn about
self-esteem, stress, violence and other issues that can interfere with
their ability to make good decisions. My "straight talk" about drugs and
gangs is open, honest, informative and fun. I can see my students
comprehending the importance of strong values and good decision-making
skills.

DARE was never designed to be a "cure all" for society's juvenile problems.
DARE is about prevention, not about taking responsibility away from parents
and the community. DARE also understands the importance of continued
education and therefore offers a follow-up curriculum for middle and high
school students, which includes a program for parents.

The overall effectiveness of DARE depends greatly on the support of the
community, the DARE officer's ability to teach and most importantly the
reinforcement by parents. It has been my experience that the parents are
not holding up their end of the deal. It is not unique for me to know
children whose parents or close relatives are addicted to drugs, in street
gangs or in prison. It is not easy for me to tell these kids that they
cannot afford to follow in their parents' footsteps. They must make better
choices that their parents because their futures depend on it. In some
instances, I am the only positive adult male role model in their lives.

What makes DARE effective is the fact that it is taught by a person who has
experienced first hand (not just read in a book) the devastating effects of
drugs and gangs on the human spirit. DARE's worth simply cannot be
evaluated based solely on written statistical documentation. Rather, it
must be viewed as an additional layer of psychological protection for our
children.

My students will remember DARE for the rest of their lives. The value of
the bond between the officer and the child is not something that can be
measured by traditional surveys or statistics. We can either pay now for
our children's education or pay later when we have to institutionalize
them. Believe me, it is far more inexpensive (and rewarding, I might add)
to educate them now.