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Need Help with 2nd Class req. #8


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Second Class:

8. Participate in a school, community, or troop program on the dangers of using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, and other practices that could be harmful to your health. Discuss your participation in the program with your family.

 

The boys attending our public school system meet this requirement by participation in the D.A.R.E. progam through the schools.

 

Our troop membership includes a significant number of home-schooled boys. There is currently no "program" of this type in which they participate. At my suggestion, one of the home-school parents had spoken with the school DARE officer about running a DARE program for the home-school group and the officer was more than willing to do so. Problems arose with the content of the DARE program and the home-school group has decided that is not the way they wish to go.

 

I'm looking for directions to steer the group; suggestions for alternatives to the DARE program that they could look into. We are approaching this with open minds, simply needing to balance a need for the boys to complete the requirement, do so in a way that meets the intent of the requirement, yet be done in a manner acceptable to the parents. The parent I'm working with on this is willing to do the leg work, organize the effort, and follow it through to completion.

 

For those of you whose childeren are home-schooled or who have home-schooled boys in your troops, what alternatives to the DARE program do you use? How has this requirement been handled by others in similar situations?

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Last year we split our first year scouts into two groups (~4 per group). They each put together a program on the dangers of drugs and alcohol. They then presented it to the troop at a troop meeting, and also reviewed it at a COH. We felt that made them think about it more than sitting through a presentation.

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DARE has been shown to be an excellent program for improving police force / citizen interfaces and a great pr tool. However, as a program to reduce illegal drug use it is a miserable failure.

 

IMO, a wonderful program would be to visit a hospital ward for COPD patients and discussing what they witness with their parents or visit ER and witness those involved in drunk driving and or DUI accidents(This message has been edited by acco40)

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ACCO,

 

COPD? Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease? How does that tie in with drug/alcohol abuse?

 

 

My suggestion is to contact a drug treatment program in your area and see if one of their counselors would be willing to work with your group. Or get in touch with your county's porbation department. They usually run some type of education program for their offenders that thay might be willing to tailor for your needs.

 

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The two most abused drugs in the USA and the world are alcohol and tobacco. COPD many times is the result of tobacco abuse.

 

For my boys, I had them watch the Simpson's episode where Homer crosses a tomato with a tobacco plant producing an addictive fruit/vegatable. It had a profound effect on them! (Yes, I'm kidding.)

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There also is a program that the BSA had a few years ago that the troop could use to fulfill this requirement. I think it was called Drugs a Dangerous Game. I have also heard of homeschool co-ops having DARE classes. You might suggest one of the parents bring it up to a group they belong to.

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  • 2 months later...

Our public school system has an annual "Drug Week" on the effects of different drugs. It's the same every year and most of the kids seem to sleep through it.

 

This year we had a guest speaker from a nearby police department. He held the boys' attention for a full hour, yes, they even missed their game. His emphasis was on the effects of drugs on people's lives in terms of crime, jail time and physical damage. He really seemed to get to them.

 

Check local police departments, or school administrators. (That's how we got on to this guy.)

 

 

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