Fighting Back: Part 6c

DRUG SERIES HELPS LEARNING DURING RED RIBBON WEEK

GULFPORT - South Mississippi teachers used The Sun Herald's "Fighting Back"
series to help teach students about the dangers of drug use as they
recognized Red Ribbon Week.

The weeklong series features personal stories about drug abuse, information
on the dangers of drugs and solutions to the drug problem. Teachers are
using the series, with 20,000 copies a day distributed in the schools, to
create a basis for discussions about drugs.

Sister Anna Quinlan of St. James Elementary School teaches a class of 29
sixth-grade students. Her class normally reads for one hour each day. This
week they substituted the newspaper for their reading text.

"It's a wonderful tool," Quinlan said. "I think the personal stories are a
very effective way of teaching children."

She said the students were already very knowledgable about the existence of
drugs and alcohol, but the conversations brought about by the articles led
to better understanding.

"We had a discussion at their level and they are very informed," Quinlan
said. "They were fascinated by the beer bongs. They thought it was funny to
be able to drink a gallon in one swig. They asked me what 'wasted' meant. I
told them you were 'wasted' when your life makes no contribution."

At Gulfport Central Middle School, the events scheduled for Spirit Week
were cleverly tied in to include Red Ribbon Week. Dress-up days, such as
"team up against drugs day," encouraged students to wear their favorite
sports paraphernalia to "team up" to fight drugs.

Guidance counselor Nikki Witherspoon said the students at GCMS see the
effects of drugs more often than the average South Mississippi student. She
added that because students often witness family members using drugs,
sending students a very negative message about drugs "is almost like
telling them their relatives are nothing."

Witherspoon said the newspaper is being used this week as part of the
school's "Drop Everything and Read" program. Witherspoon said students are
reminded that they are part of a family larger than their immediate family
at home.

Awareness of the drug problem, she said, is reinforced on a regular basis.
She said educators often learn perseverance from students and must take
into consideration everything a child is going through outside the classroom.

"We have to know what's going on out there. We don't just teach two plus
two. We really have to look at the whole picture."