Dreams Versus Drugs

A trusted colleague of mine recently sent me this quote by John Holt:

Fish swim, birds fly; man thinks and learns. Therefore, we do not need to ‘motivate’ children into learning, by wheedling, bribing, or bullying. We do not need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning. What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world as we can into the school and the classroom; give children as much help and guidance as they need and ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do the rest.

As a parent, as a student, as a educator....do you agree with the above position?

We work hard to create the culture that we put in place at CtK. We strive to embrace student success and excellence. We aim to "…bring as much of the world as we can into the school and the classroom."Yet I do struggle with "we can trust them to do the rest?"

We have suspended an inordinate number of students in the last few months for possession of marijuana and/or drug paraphernalia. This is of great concern to both the administration and our staff.

We try and do the right thing and ensure that the student continues a semblance of his/her studies at home or at the Suspended/Expelled Students Program. In addition, we arrange for drug counselling through ADAPT and ensure that there is contact with a social worker and/or child youth counselor during this process.

This is a major reason that I struggle with the "trust" issue for our students? What is happening to our students at school? What is happening to our students when they go for lunch? What is happening when they go home? Where do they go on the weekends? How are they getting access to these drugs? Most importantly, why are they doing drugs?

We all have logical responses to the above questions with varying degrees of veracity. Where does "trust" play a role in the equation of accountability and responsibility in our youth?

We had Keith Hawkins with us recently. He has been to our school several times now as a motivational speaker. His most recent topic was coined:

Dreams versus Drugs

He stated that every kid knows not to do drugs. “The message has to be something bigger than drugs…something that burns deep inside a young person’s heart…like a dream!” He cited that "When a young person is involved in activities or finds something they really like, it makes them happy, it gives them self-worth. When a student sees and feels that type of value, they’re not going to let drugs or alcohol get in their way.

"His focus on "The Power of the Dream" seemed to resonate with our student population. They were very attentive and participative throughout his presentation. Our students were very engaged.

We continue to allocate as many resources to our Catholic Learning Community to help our students reach their dreams.

I pray and hope that the partnership between home, school and church will support our students as we "trust them to do the rest."