Just saying "no" might be the healthier thing to do, but drug and alcohol prevention program co-ordinator Sheena Campbell understands how hard it is to actually achieve.
Campbell reported to the School District No. 46 (SD46) board of trustees Tuesday night on the substance awareness program she offers to grades 7 and 10 students, utilizing multiple strategies to help youth make good decisions around drugs and alcohol.
"I teach the WHOA model," Campbell said. "It's not scorned as geeky."
"Wait, Have a brain, Options and Actions" is what the acronym stands for. Campbell said its purpose is to help young people slow down the decision-making process so they can negotiate each circumstance safely without losing face.
"Getting drunk doesn't just happen. I don't buy that. You make decisions all along the way, so we give them as much information as we can," she said. "How they change their behaviour is based on the situation."
Campbell said giving kids a way out with creative excuses that help them avoid a negative confrontation with their peers is acceptable and may aid a child in making a safer choice when faced with pressure to use a substance.
She said many kids say they'll have no problem saying no until they begin to role-play and then find out how difficult it really can be.
Campbell works with teachers to deliver five one-hour sessions around the subject.
Campbell said teachers utilizing her program for the second time are often more savvy about integrating the subject into their science, math or other curriculum. Campbell is working to transfer the information through other creative methods as well.
Relational programming is important for the success of the program. Campbell coached boys' basketball and is available to sit and chat over a coffee with youth who would like to talk to her informally.
Consultations with parents and teacher teams to discuss worrisome behaviour in a particular student is another option, and Campbell is working on a parent brochure for September to provide strategies to talk to kids about drugs and alcohol.
Campbell said split-age classrooms can be challenging as she noticed definite differences in maturity levels and exposure to substances.
"The Grade 6s are looking at me like I'm from Mars and the Grade 7s are nodding at me like 'I know exactly what you are talking about,'" she said.
Campbell said the program is not being utilized as well as it could be. She was invited to an Elphinstone Secondary School classroom through a substitute teacher and Chatelech Secondary School has requested her services only after students have been suspended. She would like to see a more preventative approach taken.
