Teen drug Addictions are on the rise and one of the most enabling factors is the denial of both parents and the school systems. A problem with addiction is readily tolerated in the inner cities as a byproduct of challenging living conditions. Move out to the suburbs and its hard to get the parents and schools systems to admit there is a problem at all and therefore everyone looks the other way. In our local regional high school there is a Student Assistance Counselor and only in the last year did they institute random drug testing for all students. Prior to that drug testing was reserved only for those participating in sports. If a child tests positive for drugs or alcohol the child faces mandatory suspension. After returning to school the child meets 2-3 times with the Student Assistance Counselor and then resumes life as though nothing has happened. I have personally witnessed parents taking the school to task for having requested their child be tested at all. Well meaning teachers frequently look the other way when presented with signs of a child being under the influence. This especially occurs if the teenager in question is not a problem in the classroom. After I had a conversation with the Student Assistance Counselor, he confirmed what I had known for sometime. The parents are in denial about the drug problem as well. Each start of the High School year they run a program about drug and alcohol awareness for the parents. In a school population of over 1100 students only a handful of parents have shown up. This is despite the fact that there have been several heroin overdoses resulting in the death of students in the area. It appears that some of the parents actually buy the beer for their under age children to drink with the stipulation that everyone having a drink must stay over that evening and not drive. Perhaps they draw false comfort from the fact that they are controlling the situation. If the kids feel free to drink at home, they wont feel it necessary to drink outside the home. The teenager must then hopefully make the correct ethical decision that even though it may seem alright to break the law when drinking at home, it would not be alright to break the law in other situations, such as experimenting with drugs, drinking and driving, speeding etc.. It seems unfair that they must bear the burden of these mixed messages. Being the fact that they are teenagers, they do not always behave as their parents might hope. Teens are great for seeing issues as black or white. Teen drug addiction is actually increasing in part because of this kind of denial. A school system sees the benefit of not having a serious drug or drinking problem within its student population. The negative impact of such a problem would lead to a less favorable rating of the school system as a whole. This helps the administration to turn, if not a blind eye at least a very nearsighted one to the actual problems with substance abuse being experienced by the students. Teen drug addiction and teen addiction as a whole is a far reaching and a complex issue. It requires a response on many different levels. The fact that the parents of the teenagers and the school system that is greatly involved in their growth are the adults in this situation should at least spark a more unified effort to work on the teens behalf. Perhaps its time that they both look at this serious situation with eyes wide open. Teen drug addiction may not be prevented but we must at least make every effort try to help teenagers make a better choice for themselves. |
