Taking A Stand
by: Gail Lang

It's been more than six months since I sat in that crowded lunchroom at Newington Elementary School watching the DARE graduation ceremonies of my 11 year old son. In listening to the officers give speeches and several children read their essays I realized that I really didn't have a clue what DARE was all about. Sure, I knew it was something against drugs and alcohol. Anything that encouraged my kids to stay away from those things was fine by me. But I'd never taken the time to really find out just what DARE was. I had thought it was one of many clubs that kids joined in school. If your school was anything like mine, you should remember - they had everything from art, to Latin, to math, to Bible clubs. Surely, this must be just another club. Boy was I wrong!

As I listened to the children read their essays and heard the words and emotion behind them I began to realize this was so much more. How could I have been so busy not to have noticed, not to have realized how important this was?

The one young girl spoke softly with tears in her eyes. She told of her own first hand experience with drugs and alcohol. Drugs had caused her sister's death only weeks before. It was a senseless car accident, and no, it wasn't her sister that had used drugs or alcohol. It was the other driver. Even at her young age, she understood that her sister's death came down to one critical factor - someone had used drugs and alcohol, and because of that her sister had died. She was determined to build strength within herself to never use such things herself, to be drug-free. She would remember her sister by always being strong herself, and never allowing herself to be connected with drugs in any way. It was only coincidence that she was participating in the DARE program at the time of her sister's death, but it was that coincidence that helped her find the strength to go on.

The room was silent for just a moment and I thought surely the young child would break down in tears. But then, suddenly, all around the room children began to rise up and clap. They all understood her pain and felt her sadness, but instead of turning a deaf ear they had been taught to be strong for themselves and for others. They stood together to cheer their friend, to let her know they cared, and to show their support and agreement to her words and decisions. They also wanted to do their best to be drug-free and learn to take a stand for what was right.

I left this ceremony with a strange sense of confusion. So many thoughts filled my head. This was obviously an incredible program, at least to the children here. There could be no denying that fact. So I decided to find out more about DARE and have researched it to both understand it and to share what I have learned with others. I invite you to take just a few moments and read through the accompanying files and learn yourself what this program is about. Perhaps it isn't perfect, but DARE is a worthy investment in our children's lives.

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