DRUG TESTING A DOUBLE STANDARD?

Adults create credibility issues with their children and other youth
unrelated to them. I know I probably did with my children.

We can see it in the entertainment industry where bad behavior is
glamorized and the offenders are generally rewarded with an even
bigger movie or music contract.

We tell our children not to do something, saying it isn't good for
them ... all the while we're either doing it ourselves or tacitly
endorsing similar actions by our friends.

Example: The promotion of good choices. We make the claim that our
teen sons and daughters need to make good choices, while we may not
be providing them with the examples with which they could retrieve a standard.

It's interesting how people perceive things as they get older and
embark on their careers.

In Nelson County, the county school system instituted a drug testing
policy for its students several years ago. This year, the school
system is attempting to institute a similar policy for its teachers.

We've seen the move toward student drug testing as we read area
newspapers and listen and watch the news. Our schools are either
testing or considering it for students, and, as I recall, there
hasn't been much debate over whether it should or would be instituted.

Some school somewhere tested the waters, the testing procedure met
legal standards and - poof - other schools followed.

But the 200-member association representing teachers in the Nelson
County System has voiced its displeasure. A survey of teacher
membership showed "an overwhelming majority" were against random drug
testing for various reasons ... lack of a known existing problem,
perceived lack of teacher input into development of the policy,
privacy concerns and the disruption of the educational process.

Double standard?

Nelson's superintendent acted surprised by the negative reaction,
saying she'd been working for more than a year to get the teacher
testing plan in place.

A parent spoke up at one of the school board meetings where the topic
was being discussed and said: "If they don't have anything to hide, I
don't know what they are worried about."

Think the teachers need a PR firm to handle damage
control?

Teachers claim they're in favor of a drug-free environment, but
they're unwilling, evidently, to put their money where their mouths
are. They don't have a problem with testing as long as it's a
follow-up to suspicion.

A guidance counselor suggests she's convinced the teacher testing is
a waste of time because no one with whom she works abuses drugs or
alcohol.

The counselor could be correct, but, if so, then the entire teaching
population in the Nelson County School System is bucking popular
statistical data.

The school system's registered nurse says it's that kind of naive
thinking that makes the case for testing.

I don't know if teachers deserve or need to be tested, but the
question does create a double standard and, if nothing else, creates
a credibility issue between the teachers and those they are hired to
educate.