NCJ Number
178937
Date Published
1999
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This educator's guide shows the reader how to use the New York Times as a valuable resource in an overall anti-drug education program and recognizes the use of newspapers in the classroom is a time-tested strategy employed by teachers of many levels and disciplines.
Abstract
Ways in which newspapers can engage students have particular benefits in the context of anti-drug education. Specifically, these include: (1) providing real-life stories that engage students and open the door to productive discussions and other forms of interactive learning; (2) stimulating critical thinking in general and about the influence of advertising and media in particular; (3) enhancing academic skills in reading comprehension and vocabulary; (4) creating awareness of larger issues affecting the community; and (5) allowing students to select and interact with material that is personally relevant to them. Research on key elements of effective drug prevention programs is examined, with emphasis on how to recognize social pressures to use drugs, the development of personal and social skills necessary to resist peer pressure and drug use, the improvement of academic competence, and normative education. The socialization process of young people and its effect on the development of beliefs, values, and self-worth are examined. Lessons in the guide focus on such topics as prevention, healthy choices and self-expression, teenage drinking on television, addiction, how to help young people stay away from drugs, learning responsibility through community service, behavioral perceptions of drug use, media literacy, image interpretation in evaluating risks and making good decisions, and the development of social skills to resist drug use through role playing. Additional information on standards and resources related to anti-drug education is provided in three appendixes. Figures and photographs