Elementary school, filled with fond memories of recess, school field trips and gym class games. Over the years we were taught many things, from our ABCs to how to do long division. One of the most important lessons many of us may have forgotten is a problem called Drug Abuse Resistance Education, D.A.R.E for short. Between 1983 and 2009 D.A.R.E was an educational program taught to children to help prevent children from drinking underage or doing drugs. It consisted of lectures and videos, meant to scare the youth into avoiding these temptations.
Now, if you don’t remember your 10-week D.A.R.E experience, don’t worry you are one of many. Scientists have discovered that in fact D.A.R.E did nothing to prevent us from doing drugs or drinking, it was essentially useless. With the help of scientific research over the past few years the organization that runs D.A.R.E has tried to reinvent itself in a way that can further connect with students and this time make a lasting impact. The new program is titled “Keepin it REAL” and hopes to differentiate itself from its failed predecessor. Co-Developer Michelle Miller May describes it as, “It’s about things like being honest and safe and responsible.” Scientists are now proud to report that since “Keepin it REAL” has launched there has been a “reduced substance abuse and maintained antidrug attitudes over time among students in early trials.” (Nordrum).
I am relieved to learn that elementary students aren’t going to turn into a bunch of junkies anytime soon but I was shocked by the amount of time it took for this program to be replaced. It took almost a decade of research to discover that D.A.R.E was making no impact on students. The lack of evidence and false assumption that the curriculum was working reminded me of our lecture on smoking. In both cases lack of information caused money to be lost and the public to be mislead. Its scary to think about all the other ways we are being misled due to a lack of research, unfortunately it appears we won’t know the answer for at least a dozen years or more.
My opinion on “Keepin it REAL” is that I am glad there is a program in place to educate students about the dangers of drug and alcohol. However the name it has adopted shows a clear generation gap. I personally would not be able to take a class seriously titled “Keepin it REAL” taught by a bunch of adults. Although the attempt to make the curriculum more relatable to students is admirable I feel there is still room for improvement in the future. I am pleased that organizations like D.A.R.E America take the time to employ scientists to review the impact the are having on their audience. Hopefully the next generation won’t be as hopped up on drugs as society says we are. Maybe D.A.R.E is the reason for so many posts on marijuana, who knows.
Work Cited
Nordrum, Amy. “The New D.A.R.E. Program-This One Works.” Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 10 Sept. 2014. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
photo link: http://www.lincolnparish.org/sheriff/pages/DARE.html
I had no idea the whole dare system ended in 2009. I remember it quite well, and thinking how scary and irresponsible and awful it would be to ever touch alcohol and drugs. I remember they used to scare us with facts on how at least 95% or higher of the grade would try alcohol or drugs in high school, and I promised myself that I would be in that 5%. I think they were really good at the scare tactic, and trying too implement it into our brains at such a young age that it was ridiculous. Now the DARE program is continuously sticking stickers all over the windows of our shops at home with the slogan “No Hope in Dope” sprawled across it. It looks something like this .
It’s sad to see that DARE had a very small effect, but I really don’t know what kind of program would. Most teenagers think they’re invincible and if you try to use the “scare” tactic to younger kids they’re going to forget a lot of it by the time they encounter drugs for the first time. The best way is definitely to just educate people about each drug and the harm it can cause and the effects it has on one’s body
I was just reminded of my kindergarten days, where a strange man came in for a few days and told us that certain death was upon us if we tried drugs or alcohol. It is interesting to hear now that studies are saying D.A.R.E. had essentially no effect. But that makes me wonder if any program would stand a chance influencing kids? I believe DARE was the first program of its kind, so there really is not much to compare its success to. It could also be a generational thing. Maybe our generation was predisposed to doing drugs based on how we grew up and what was prevalent in our lives and there was no way to stop it.