Responsibility · Activity
Responsibility around Drugs
5th & 6th Grade
Activity: Students learn about how to plan to be responsible around alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, and other unhealthy substances Materials needed: the “Teaching about drugs and alcohol” script; supplemental material from “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens” (which is provided here as well) Directions: This activity is both a presentation by the teacher and a dialogue between teacher and students. Present the information and pause from time to time to ask for feedback. Throughout the presentation, provide enough time for students to share their experiences and thoughts about this sensitive and important subject. Start with an introduction to the topic: “We all want to be happy, right? What are some of the things you do that make you feel happy? (wait for responses) We laugh when something funny happens, or we feel really good when we win a game or get something we wanted. We enjoy time with friends and family or when we’re on some adventure. But does it last? Things happen everyday that make it hard to hold onto that happy feeling, and we might go through struggles that we don’t know how to solve. Is there a magical, quick way to become happy and make it last? Feeling good about yourself and your life takes effort and good decision making, and you probably wonder - like most people, both children and adults - about how to do that. Sometimes it helps to look at mistakes that others make, and learn how to avoid those same mistakes. Today’s activity is about a mistake some make in their pursuit of problem solving and lasting happiness - it’s about the choice some make to use drugs.” Using drugs is the wrong way to solve problems: “Some people try to take a short cut and they try to find happiness in a way that seems easy, but it’s a trap. You may have seen people in your community, family, in movies who use drugs, alcohol, or smoke cigarettes. Use of these artificial stimulants and depressants is risky because chemicals in them can make a person addicted. A person who becomes chemically dependent on drugs is an addict. They may want to stop using drugs because they realize that this is a very bad habit, one that is making them sick and causing big problems. But it’s very, very hard to stop, even if they really want to. You’re old enough now to learn about this so you can plan ahead how to respond in situations where you might be around drugs and alcohol. I want you to have this information so you can make good decisions now and in the future.” Be proactive: Ask students the question: “what are some ways you can make sure you don’t make mistakes around drugs and alcohol? ” Wait for responses. Guide students to understand the following proactive practices: choose to be friends with people who really care about you and are into healthy activities; stay connected with the supportive adults in your family - parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other adults who are part of your life, like teachers and coaches; practice good habits that keep you on track with your long term goals. Know what to do when you get stuck: Explain: “Even when we practice good habits at least most of the time, we can experience stress and anxiety, feel unhappy, stuck, or bored. The important thing to focus on is what to do when we’re experiencing those feelings, because we don’t have to stay stuck. Researchers have done studies and learned from drug abusers why they chose to take that risk. Studies show that people turned to drugs and alcohol when they had uncomfortable and negative feelings that made them very upset. They either didn’t know about healthy ways to get themselves out of troubled thinking, or they knew but didn’t apply what they knew. Here’s a list of some of the things they thought drugs could help them with:
\t- Fear, anxiety and nervousness around people
\t- Having a hard time and feeling a lot of pressure and stress about relationships with family, friends, and others
\t- Negative or depressing thoughts
\t- Wanting to have more energy, more focus, or better athletic performance, and looking for an easy way to make that happen
\t- Bored and looking for more excitement, thrill, risk and adventure
\t- Curiosity about how using drugs might feel
Wrap it up: Explain: “People use drugs thinking they might help with these problems, but experience shows that drugs don’t make the problems go away - drugs make the problems worse. The good news is that there are many healthy things we can do that will help with everything on this list.” Provide students with lots of opportunities to discuss and learn about how to deal with the conditions on the list. Additionally, some students may be dealing with problems in the home with drug and alcohol abuse. Let your class know that they can talk with you if this applies to them. Follow the procedures recommended by your school and if recommended by administrators, refer the family of any students who are in this situation to helpful resources. One resource is Alateen, which is for teens, ages 13 - 18 who have loved ones with addiction problems. These students are not yet old enough for the Alateen program, but at least they can know about it for future reference. Undoubtedly there are resources in your community for this younger age group, too. Supplemental information for extending the activity about how to address life’s challenges without using drugs or alcohol. Here’s a way to get this conversation started with a bit of humor. Let’s read what Sean Covey says about “The 7 Habits of Defective Teens” ( p. 7 in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens). What he’s saying is that when you practice these negative habits, you’ll probably feel like you need alcohol or drugs to get by, because your life stinks. Here’s an adapted version of Sean Covey’s list of negative habits:
\t
React: blame others for your problems and be a victim; don’t take responsibility for your mistakes; when upset with someone or something, don’t think about it, just react
\t
Begin with no end in mind: don’t make goals or plans, just do what you feel like when you feel like it
\t
Put first things last: Leave the important things and just do the unimportant things first, the activities like using social media that are fun and time-consuming
\t
Think win-lose: life is about either winning or losing and you’re in competition with everyone
\t
Seek first to talk, then pretend to listen: Monopolize conversations and try to get everyone to always agree with your point of view; don’t really listen to anyone else
\t
Don’t cooperate: forget about teamwork, it doesn’t benefit you; your ideas are always best anyway
\t
Wear yourself out: “Be so busy with life that you never take time to renew or improve yourself. Never study. Don’t learn anything new. Avoid exercise like the plague. And, for heaven’s sake, stay away from good books, nature, or anything else that may inspire you.”
Read pages 7 and 8 of Sean Covey’s book to get the entire explanation of these negative habits and the rest of the book to find out about the positive ones! Wrap-up
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