In fifth period Geoscience, we received a pleasant surprise. Free candy? Yes please! Here's the catch. With every piece of candy handed out, the teacher was instructed to recite a cheesy catchphrase to encourage students not to do drugs. For instance, with a jolly rancher, they'd hand it to you and say "Be jolly! Say no to drugs!" and with a small lollipop, they were told to tell us "Don't be a sucker! Stay away from drugs!"
Needless to say, this caused massive amusement to the students, particularly the less-than-stellar students who laughed at the fact the school honestly thought they could curb illegal drug usage by giving out free candy.
Drugs are a problem at Eureka High School. I don't have a single class in which I can say that every student in the classroom is completely clean. Marijuana, in particular, seems to be quite rampant at our school. The availability of drugs isn't the only problem. It's the apathy of the teenagers' parents, who either aren't parenting correctly or simply don't care.
It's not unusual to sit in the library and hear conversations about smoking pot. As I sit here typing, I'm listening to a group of guys talk about how they like to blow smoke from pot in their pets' faces and watch their helpless animals react to the drugs.
Red Ribbon Week, in my mind, is a failure. Most students have no idea the impact drugs have on their bodies. Those that DO know the impact, simply don't care.
If you want to gain a solid distaste of humanity, walk through the halls of a high school...it's natural selection at its finest. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't utterly ashamed of my generation.
Applause, Applause, Applause. Good for you for speaking up and submitting this blog for publication. You not only speak the truth, but you show more fortitude, wisdom, prudence and courage than most district officials, citizens and parents in the Rockwood Community. The truth is, numerous Rockwood students have spoken up and expressed their opinions and points of views on a variety of issues about their school community, but Rockwood Administration and Leadership don't seem to be listening (their words, not mine). Ms Heney response is a breath of fresh air. She offers no excuses, but solutions. She has respectfully acknowledged and validated your point of view; now follow through and accept her invitation. Attend RHORS, participate and make a difference! With admiration and respect, Eileen Tyrrell CoFounder and Spokesperson Rockwood Stakeholders for Real Solutions rsdstakeholders@gmail.com
While I believe you mean well in your response to Miss Di Valerio, your words seem condescending; and your response reads as though you are chastising her for speaking what is clearly the truth. This is Miss Di Valerio's opinion and real-life experience at her high school. I would bet you that at least 50% of EHS students would agree with her assessment of Red Ribbon Week. I for one don't believe Miss DiValerio is being a cynic, but a realist. It is time to LISTEN to our students and their solutions to many issues facing our district and their fellow students. They are wise beyond their years......and ours.
You did not read my response to the initial post if you thought that it was condescending.I never criticized her analysis of Red Ribbon week. I compliment her bravery and explain my agreement that the program is not effective.Nowhere in my response do I deny drug use amongst teens nor do I claim that she was less than sincere about examples of drug use at EHS. If she had ended the with a focus on drug abuse and ways to improve school interventions I would have never posted.I was focused on the last lines of her column. Instead of solutions she offers a mean spirited rebuke of her peers and generation.She uses the language of Social Darwinism to describe the social dynamic at EHS and writes off an entire generation of young people instead of focusing on the individuals she sees participating in poor behavior. You mention realism as if my post is not respectful of reality.The reality is that EHS is made up of 2,000 students, every one of them with something to offer the world. The reality is that even the students described in the article that are making seriously poor choices as teenagers, will mostly grow up to be decent human beings and contribute to society.Her criticism of Red Ribbon Week was realistic; her tone at the end of the article was cynical.The irony of your response Mrs. Tyrell is that you close by speaking to the “wisdom” of our young people and the importance of their voice.You defend the very generation that Miss Di Valerio seeks to condemn.
Please read my original post. 1.) Never did I discount any of Miss Di Valerio's criticisms of the Red Ribbon program. I clearly compliment her bravery and agree with her assessment of the less than effective program. Your perception that I in some way argued teen drug use is not a problem at EHS and that I am in my own “bubble” of reality is simply unfounded. 2.) My post is focused on the very last lines of her column where she condemns seemingly every high school in America and her entire generation. As an educator and a citizen I found her blanket condemnation to be offensive to every student that seeks to make better choices than those highlighted in her article. 3.) I too value the voices “from the trenches”. I have had several students come up to me to discuss the article and my response. The students I talked to also recognize the problem of drug use at EHS, however they felt insulted by the article and shared with me stories of many of the great things EHS students contribute to our community that Miss Di Valerio ignores in her post. I would point out to you Wildwood Taxpayer that their stories are just as valid and contain just as much truth whether you want to admit it or not. 4.) The sad part about your post is that you seem to think I in some way have mounted a defense of district leadership of district policy when in fact I did nothing of the sort. The only group I defend in my post are the students that I work with every day.
This is her opinion and she in entitled to it.Just as I am entitled to point out that I believe she was mean spirited and cynical. As a budding journalist she will face far harsher critics than mine. She already posted a rebuttal, which proves that my comments in no way have discouraged her from sharing her opinions. And my sappy statement is actually true. Statistics show that while a most teens will try illegal drugs, there is a very small population of adults that are regular users. (http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends). Having said that, I do understand that drug use is on the rise, and agree it is a problem. I am in no way minimizing those that become addicts or die, but the fact is that most young people are not deserving of the type of scorn evident in the comments above. Miss Di Valerio’s article points out that Red Ribbon week will not help to reduce teen drug use, well neither will insulting the very group we seek to help.
1) I am in no way ignoring the "good students" of Eureka. I simply chose not to address them because they, in no way, correlated to the subject matter at hand. 2) I have to disagree with you in that my article was "mean-spirited." It's not mean, it's true. Nothing I said was false. The truth is as bitter was wormwood and sharp as a two-edged sword. It's not pleasant. 3) Yes, I am ashamed of my generation. We're a pretty pathetic, ungrateful, spoiled bunch of people. Can we change that? Of course. But the first step to fixing a problem, Mr. Stanley, is admitting it exists. 4) The amount of support I have received from the "good kids" at Eureka for my article is overwhelming. Many of them agree with my statements and a solid majority have reiterated my statements about being ashamed of their peers. In fact the statement I made about "natural selection" is not original...It's germinated within me for quite sometime after hearing multiple students use it to express frustration with the stupidity of a few of their peers.
My final post (or more if I exceed the allowed amount per block). Miss Di Valerio, words are a powerful things and as you continue to hone your voice as a writer/journalist I hope that you will keep this exchange in mind. To address your points 1.) Your post did ignore the "good kids" at EHS. By using absolute language like "generation" you by your very words condemn every member of that group, good and bad. If your initial post had said "I am ashamed of the the worst elements of my generation" than you would have been more precise that there "good kids" actually exist. 2 and 3.) Words like "pathetic" are mean spirited, especially when used to describe other human beings. I cannot think of a situation where anyone would not agree with me. I respect your right to think and express whatever view you want, but please do not attempt to mask your condemnation by attempting to say you are only speaking truth. The truth must be born on the back of facts and objective analysis, simply saying something is the truth does not make it so. Your views of your generation are your opinion, the truth about teenagers today is far more complex and certainly cannot be expressed only in words like ungrateful and spoiled. For example, did you know that your generation participates in more hours of community service that any generation in history? That is a truth, and it does not fit neatly into your world view. If you want a complex assessment of your generation read the book
4.) Finally, I am glad that you have had the support of your peers, yet I must express my firm disagreement with your extremely one dimensional view that there are "good kids" and apparently "bad kids". The reality is that every student in EHS has the capacity for good and bad and most live day to day in the grey area that is life as an adolescent. Many of the students you condemn as "bad" might actually spend a lot of time doing good. They are not 100% defined by their bad choices and your language that seems to infer they must be is unfortunate. I had friends in high school that made really bad decisions, such as using illegal drugs, yet at the same time they also did things like participate in teaching art classes to students with special needs and contributing time working for Habit for Humanity. How would you classify them I wonder?
"Our students are athletes, scholars, and friends. Ultimately they are young. As a result they may make mistakes..." "The reality is that even the students described in the article that are making seriously poor choices as teenagers, will mostly grow up to be decent human beings and contribute to society." "Statistics show that while a most teens will try illegal drugs, there is a very small population of adults that are regular users. (http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trends)." "I do understand that drug use is on the rise, and agree it is a problem. I am in no way minimizing those that become addicts or die..." "I had friends in high school that made really bad decisions, such as using illegal drugs, yet at the same time they also did things like participate in teaching art classes to students with special needs and contributing time working for Habit for Humanity. How would you classify them I wonder?"
I appreciate you writing this article, first of all. Your ideas and opinions are most definitely well thought out and clearly conveyed. As a Eureka High School student myself, I agree that drugs are a problem that, most likely, will not be stopped with a piece of candy alone. But, I just want to say that, despite this fact, there are many groups around the school such as Student Council, FCA, or, even a group that reaches out to "inner beauty", that do an amazing job to advocate good throughout the school. And, like I previously said, candy alone will not work. I do agree with you, Miss Di Valerio on this. But, we do need to start somewhere. I personally have a great deal of respect and admiration towards countless students at the high school who display maturity and wisdom to advocate living lives that help others as well as themselves. Like Mr. Stanley said, our generation performs more hours of community service than any other. Statements like these make me incredibly pround and honored to be living in the generation that I am living in.