DOPEY SKILLS

A Teacher's Graphic Lesson On Cocaine Use Angers Parents

When 11 -year-old Caitlin Harley came home from school in mid-November, she
had surprising news. "We asked. 'What did you learn in school today?'" said
her mother, Linda. "[Caitlin] said she learned how to snort cocaine."

Caitlin, in Grade 6 at Hamilton's Chedoke Middle School, reports her
teacher drew a circle on the blackboard to represent a mirror, with dots
for cocaine. She explained how the powder was pushed into a line on the
mirror, then snorted through a tube.

The graphic lesson, part of a "Substance Use and Abuse" class, made
headlines in the National Post after Mrs. Harley told reporters about the
incident.

Provincial officials were swift to respond. Dave Ross of the Ontario
Ministry of Education admitted the lesson was "not acceptable." especially
in an elementary school.

But Chedoke's vice-principal, Mary-lane Black, insisted such instruction
was essential to help children recognize and avoid certain drugs. She noted
only two parents out of "160-odd Grade 6 students who receive that
particular program" expressed concerns. However, Mrs. Harley. who has since
moved to Grimsby and enrolled her daughter in a new school, maintains
teaching elementary pupils "step-by-step how-to guides" for drugs is not
appropriate.

Judith Cobb, a Calgary mother of seven, agrees. She says she would not
tolerate such instruction of her children, at any grade level.

"That is absolutely nuts. It ranks right up there with teaching kids
homosexuality is normal. I hope that teacher got fired."