Normally during the teaching of a Drug Unit a teacher:
There are a certain percentage of students who absolutely will not use drugs, and there are certain percentages that absolutely will use drugs. They have already made up their mind. When the opportunity presents itself they will do or not do it, no matter what. But most people are neutral until they are in a situation where they just flow with the group they happen to be with. As a teacher, I look for stories / quotes that will activate a students’ imagination, get them thinking about how they want to live their life, or memorable stories that will just haunt them. Stories / quotes can communicate an acceptable truth, where facts can be denied.
Here are two great resources for stories, anecdotes (short story where someone tells revealing things about themselves or people they know) and memorable quotes you can use in class.
Resource: DRINKING A Love Story by Caroline Knapp (can be found in your local library)
This may be a good source for high school / college health instructors or counselors. It is a story of a successful but lost, insecure lady with issues who connects with other lost, insecure people with issues and they do crazy things together / separately while sharing the addiction. This particular addiction is alcohol, but it could be any addiction.
I’ve provide 3 examples of quotes from the book that can be used to engage your students. If you read the book you may find others that resonate with you.
This is a great example of a quote to put on the board for the class to consider / discuss / write answers as a class, individually or in a group.
Discussion questions:
Teacher Notes:
2. “It’s the equation we all lived by, every single alcoholic I know:
Discomfort + Drink = No Discomfort. The mathematics of self-transformation.” (This is found on page 61)
Teacher Notes:
When I see the word Discomfort + Drink, I immediate think insecurity, low self- esteem, what’s the person’s personality style? Many times someone wants to be transformed because they are not comfortable and accepting of themselves and / or they’re comparing themselves and they come to the conclusion of they are not good enough.
“Next time you have diarrhea, try controlling that.” (This was found on page 54.)
Teacher Notes:
Understanding is about vocabulary. I never thought of addiction in terms of controlling a diarrhea moment, but this is an excellent, memorable emotional, illustration that connects the words addiction (alcohol), with the lack of will power and diarrhea. Anyone who has experienced diarrhea knows sooner rather than latter your body will have its will. At a certain point, restraint is over and the person has no control.
No one plans on being addicted.
Class Activity:
Examples:
Alcoholics can’t control how much they drink. They can’t have just one drink. They can’t go to a party and drink a coca cola while everyone else is drinking beer, wine or shots. They drink until. . . .
Someone who is addicted to gambling. . . . or other examples of addictions — drugs, pornography, internet, shopping, video game, plastic surgery, binge eating disorder etc.
Explain that there is freedom in: drinking a coca cola when everyone is drinking wine or in walking thru a casino and putting a dollar in a slot machine and walking out
Other Resources:
An excellent article about: Drinking A Love Story can be found out the link below. http://www.xojane.com/entertainment/drinking-a-love-story-caroline-knapp
Personally, I did not read the entire book. The destructiveness of addiction just got to me.
A Good Month for Murder
I picked up this book at the local library after listening to the author talk about his book. The hook, for me was that — every murder was someway linked to drugs and the gangs that supplied those drugs. That was the story I would tell my students — when you buy illegal drugs, remember you are linked / supporting the illegal sale / distribution of an illegal product that ruins peoples’ lives. Your neighborhood may be neat, clean and safe. But, there are parts of every town / city that are victimized by gangs and are not neat, clean or safe for men, women, children, or the elderly because of the consequences of the drug trade.
This book is a true story of a homicide squad whose job is to solve murders. This particular homicide squad covered the homicides in Prince George’s county in February 2013. There were 11 murders in 28 days. That is a lot of murders.
Where you have drugs, you have:
Few People consider these items when they start using drugs:
Book reviews:
https://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-good-month-for-murder-by-del-quentin.html (I read the entire book.)
Optional Lesson:
The asterisk (*) after the student question, “Why is saying No difficult for all human beings?” * refers to the link to a lesson plan on my Teacher Pay Teacher store dealing with the Techniques of NO Unit (how to say no with grace and style and still maintain your cool factor).
* https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Techniques-of-NO-Unit-All-Lessons-Bundle-1295079
2 Comments
Thank You very much.
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