The program teaches children to respect rules and laws as the embodiment of social values and as tools for protecting individuals and society. It provides specific instruction about laws concerning drugs.
Students in the early grades learn to identify rules and to understand their importance, while older students learn about the school drug code and laws regulating drugs.
Sample topics for elementary school:
- What rules are and what would happen without them.
- What values are and why they should guide behavior.
- What responsible behavior is.
- Why it is wrong to take drugs.
Sample topics for secondary school:
- Student responsibilities in promoting a drug-free school.
- Local, State, and Federal laws on controlled substances; why these laws exist and how they are enforced.
- Legal and social consequences of drug use. Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The relationship between drugs and other crimes.
Sample learning activities for elementary school:
- Use stories and pictures to identify rules and laws in everyday life (e.g., lining up for recess).
- Imagine how to get to school in the absence of traffic laws; try to play a game that has no rules.
- Name things important to adults and then list rules they have made about these things. (This activity helps explain values.)
- Solve a simple problem (e.g., my sister hits me; my math grades are low). Discuss which solutions are best and why.
- Discuss school drug policies with the principal and other staff members. Learn how students can help make the policy work better.
- Explain the connection between drug users, drug dealers, and drug traffickers and law enforcement officers whose lives are placed at risk or lost in their efforts to stop the drug trade.
Sample learning activities for secondary school:
- Resolve hypothetical school situations involving drug use. Analyze the consequences for the school, other students, and the individuals involved.
- Collect information about accidents, crimes, and other problems related to drugs. Analyze how the problem might have been prevented and how the incident affected the individuals involved.
- Conduct research projects. Interview members of the community such as attorneys, judges, police officers, State highway patrol officers, and insurance agents about the effects of drug use on the daily lives of teenagers and their families.
- Draft a legislative petition proposing enactment of a State law on drug use. Participate in a mock trial or legislative session patterned after an actual trial or debate. Through these activities, students learn to develop arguments on behalf of drug laws and their enforcement.