By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
Last week, in reference to the Afroman trial, there was a mention of the D.A.R.E. program. The emphasis was on the fact that his hit song, “Because I Got High,” did more for drug awareness than its contemporary program D.A.R.E., which has recently come under fire. According to a 2023 NPR report, “numerous studies published in the 1990s and early 2000s concluded programs like D.A.R.E. had no significant impact on drug use. And one study actually found a slight uptick in drug use among suburban students after participation in D.A.R.E.” Several reports regarding the program suggest that the program operated similarly to a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme, where officers allegedly received financial incentives or "kickbacks" for recruiting other officers to the program.
For me, D.A.R.E. actually educated me on different drugs, and on how and where to hide them. I was made aware of a world I knew nothing about by participating in this program. We were given a free t-shirt and a slice of pizza for our participation. Around this same time in elementary and middle school, we religiously participated in D.E.A.R., which stands for “drop everything and read.” We were encouraged to read whatever we wanted from magazines, books, news articles it didn’t matter as long as we were reading. I remember a student bringing in a manual for a lawnmower and being captivated. At times there would be a visible timer, but I began to realize teachers would wait for us to be engaged and then turn the timer off empowering us to get lost in the text as long as we were all quiet and focused. Several of our teachers would give us activities to do with the material we read. For example, writing a summary and presenting to the class. There were even teachers over the years who would share reading materials they had set aside just for me based on my interests. D.E.A.R. is a direct reason for my love of reading today.
I fear that students today are not experiencing reading as a priority; it is more of a task. As a career educator I’ve seen a variety of lesson plans and substitute plans and D.E.A.R. no longer appears to be a priority. It is essential that we encourage and develop a love of reading in our youth. Reading encourages ideas, increases vocabulary, and can empower future generations with historic insights to take our society to new heights.
