26 - North Shore News — Wednesday, June 21, 2000 Drug educatic defend themselves. Only 10 students refused to use DAK s because they had believed that they would not hundred From page 13 arouse there had not been enough time to use DARE strategies and they had had to Your Gompiete Autobody, Repair ecialists 183 Pemberton Ave, ‘aber 985-7195 (arr. Call 1-888-HSF-INFO (1-888-473-4636) Visit www-heartandstroke.ca d in high schools too program including curricula from the ministry —that can- not be improved, or that is without its critics. And, although at this time most materials used in DARE cle- mentary programs are pr pared in the United States, this is not inherently bad. In fact using U.S. textbooks in B.C. schools is not uncommon, as a perusal of any list of prescribed social studies texts sal con- firm. and seventeen encounters with drugs and alcohol and 150 potentially violent situations were successfully managed because students uti skills they learned in DARE, Certainly, a reader ot report will note aimed at improving 1 ARE and-Tam certain that these are presendy being considered by , as an educator, | am not aware of any school Whistler's MOUNTAINSIDE 42> LODGE “SY June Special From $69 Double or $99 Quad per night Spring cycling, hiking. Viliage location. Units have kitchen. f/p, whirl tub, outdoor poot & jacuzzi, kids 12 & under FREE. Trattoria restaurant. Reservations: 664-5643 — Email: msi@whistlerweb.com Fresh, small | California Peaches 19. Prices effective June 21-25, while quantities last Many mere fim-store specials A careful reading of the comments by the Youth Advisory Committee suggests to this reader that the commit- tee’s criteria for judging DARE appear to be more rele- vant for programs off high For example, tu nate since the DARE programs offered when my study was conducted were prepared for elementary, or “juvenile,” students. cr, although i am not a drug educator, it seems to me that programs examining societal and personal problems that might be correlated with drug use, di ions of the use of hard drugs, and realistic materials such as Through a Bine Lens are more appropriate at the high-school level than in the grades where DARE is presently taught. The research on drug edu- cation suggests that drug edu- cation programs tend to have elcome to our new website S www.kinsfarmmarket.com , Submit your feedback to enter a a lucky ¢ draw for a free, Fruit only a short-term effect, implying the need for pro- grams throughout both the elementary and high schoo! years. This would support the Youth Advisory Committee recommendation and that of many parents who were part of my survey that drug education be included in the high-school curriculum. And, according to the parents in my study, means for managing or controlling violence should also be taught in schools, at all grade levels. It should be noted that vio- lence-avoidance is an impor- tant aspect of DARE pro- grams. I concluded my report with the comment that “in a short period of time and with pro- . grams involving just a few hours each, DARE has man- aged to gain a solid reputation in West Vancouver — without _ compromising its message.” I sec no evidence that would cause me to change this con-. clusion.