Drug Education Just Isn’t
Talking About Drugs
By Stephen Newman
Special To The Post
Drug education isn’t just
talking about the illegal drugs
that we all hear so much about
like herion, cocaine, mariju
ana and L.S.D. As a matter of
fact the people working at the
Charlotte Drug Education
Center don't talk very much
about drugs at all.
Why would a drug education
program want to talk about
drugs in the first place? Well,
if it was true that people who
get into problems with drugs
don’t know much about the
drugs they are using it might
make sense 'to explain the
facts about the drugs so others
wouldn't make the same mis
take. The trouble is that many
of the people who do use a lot
of drugs know more about
them and their effects than
folks who have nothing to do
With drtio IlftP
The programs carried out
by the Charlotte Drug Edu
cation Center (D.E.C.) are not
programs about drugs,
they’re programs about peo
ple. We feel it’s more impor
tant to teach students how to
make decisions than to teach
them the effects of heroin and
its potential for causing addic
tion. We also feel its more
important to teach parents
how to listen to their children
when they have problems than
how to discover if they are
smoking marijuana by check
ing their eyes or going through
their pants pockets.
The D.E.C. has a course
called ombudsman that it tea
ches in the Charlotte-Mecklen
burg Schools. It is presently
being taught by D.E.C. staff
members at West Charlotte
High School, Windsor Park
Elementary School, Charlotte
Country Day School and Sel
wyn Elementary School. In
the past year it has also been
taught at Myers Park High -
School and Eastover Elemen
C„1_1
The ombudsman course
meets every week for an en
tire semester and it is taught
in three phases. The first
phase involves a series of
exercises designed to give the
individual student an opportu
nity to learn more about him
or herself and to discover how
very special and worthwhile
he or she is. The second phase
teaches group skills in com
piUMeattotr,“decision making,
K)lem solving and goal set
. The third phase is the
project outreach phase. Dur
ing the last phase the students
in the class pick a project to
carry out within their own
school or community. This
project gives the students the
opportunity to experience the
reward of reaching out and
helping another person.
During the second or group
phase of ombudsman each
cjass spends a day going
through the obstacle course
rim by Woody Woodward, dir
ector of Open House’s Stra
ight-Up program. Under the
expert supervision of Woody
all of the students go through
the entire course including the
twelv^ooUjjigh^alljdie^^^
EASTOVER SIXTH GRADER RANDY TATE
...Going through obstacle course.
teen foot cargo net, the tire
walk and the "life raft.”
The day at the obstacle is,
for many students, the high
point of the ombudsman pro
gram and, while they are hav
ing a good time, they are also
learning some important hu
man lessons. They are teach
ing that when people work
together they can often ac
complish more than when they
work separately and that
when an individual test his or
her limits by sticking to a task
he or she will, more often than
not, succeed.
Drug education used to
mean education about drugs.
It doesn't any more. It now
means providing individuals
with the self esteem and per
sonal skills necessary to deal
with life in a constructive way
and to face problems without
having to depend on drugs.
Ked Cross Schedules
Parenthood Classes
Home Nursing and Prepa
ration for~Parenthood classes
have been scheduled by the
Red Cross for April and May.
The Home Nursing course
will be taught each Monday
and Wednesday, from April 12
through May 3, from 10 a.m.
until 12 noon. Classes will be
held in the nursing classroom
of the Red Cross building, 2425
Park Road. There is no charge
for the course.
Home Nursing teaches how
to maintain a family’s good
health, as well as how to care
for a sick family member-giv
ing the best possible care with
minimum effort. Students are
taught to take temperatures,
administer medications, ma
intain records, change the bed
when the patient is bedridden
and other skills required to
care for the a sick family
member. Certificates will be
issued following completion of
the course.
Evening classes in Prepa
ration for Parenthood have
been scheduled for April and
May. The first course will be
taught each Monday and Wed
nesday, beginning April 21 and
continuing through May 10,
from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. The
second course will be taught
each Tuesday and Thursday,
beginning May 11 and continu
ing through May 27, from 7
p.m. until 9 p.m. There is no
charge for this course, which
also is being held in the nurs
ing classroom at Red Cross.
Preparation for Parenthood
covers both the pregnancy and
basic skills in the care of the
newborn. Expectant fathers
are urged to attend.
For registration and further
information call Red Cross
376-1661, ext. 231.
Keep your out-of-town
friends informed on what’s
happening in Charlotte by
sending them a copy of the
Charlotte Post each week. The
cost is only $8.00, plus tax per
Happiness Through Health
Baby Sitters Need Training
v»‘v mwiarnn
Special To The Post
Baby-sitting is a time
honored way for teen-agers to
put some extra spending mon
ey into their pockets. Many
look on it as simple work
during which they may read,
use the telephone, watch TV,
and snack a bit while keeping
an eye on the kids. No sweat.
But being a sitter and hiring
a sitter both carry responsi
bilities that are all-important
to the safety and well-being of
helpless babies and immature
youngsters. The good sitter
needs basic training and ex
perience in child care; the
parents will have to provide it
and assure themselves the sit
ter has the judgement to han
dle he job.
Many schools and your or
ganizations offer basic train
ing for sitters, including first
aid. Such courses will give
both the sitter and the parents
assurance that the teen-ager
can cope with accidents and
manage the house and child
ren in their absence.
Health, Education and Wel
fare Public Health Service
specialists in accident preven
tion have developed some sug
gestions for sitters, all built
around the motto: “Your Ma
in Job Is To Watch The Child. "
Tips for Baby-Sitters
The sitter should have in
writing where the parent can
be reached and also the name
and number of the child's
doctor, of a friend in the neigh
borhood and of emergency
numbers for fire, police and
ambulance.
A young teen-ager breaking
into the sitting game will soon
learn that the children are not
made of glass and can take
meir lair share of bumps and
scratches. But the careful
course is to scout out and min
imize any booby traps in the
house: hot stoves, electrical
appliances, gas jets, medicine
cabinets, open windows, stair
ways, small objects with
sharp edges; usually itis best
to make basement shops, stor
age sheds and garages off
limits. The parents should
warn of any special precau
ions.
Water and fire are the ma
jor threats. Keep matches and
cigarette lighters an flam
mable fluids away from child
ren’s reach No baby should be
left even for a moment in the
bathtub or wading paol.
The sitter also needs a clear
understanding of what the
young charges are to eat (and
what not to eat), where the
food and equipment are kept,
and how to prepare it. Don't
forget a quick run-through on
how to operate the stove
With experience, the sitter
will find these responsibilities
and precautions to become
second nature; he or she also
will develop a "bag of tricks"
that will keep the children
calm and happy as well as
safe and sound.
There's one footnote to safe
ty in the baby-sitting business
that's often neglected, and
that is the protection of the
sitter The sitter (and the sit
ter’s parents if possible)
should know something about
the family employing the sit
ter.
The sitter should lock the
doors, particularly at night,
and make sure of any callers
before opening the door After
a late job, the sitter should
always be escorted home,
even if only a short distance
(NNPA).
Diabetic Workshops Set !
Four diabetic workshops
will be held this spring by the
Community Health Associa
tion in the United Services
Building, 301 S. Brevard St.
The free workshops will be
hejd April 6. 13. 20 and 27.
Interested individuals, espec
ially those with diabetes or
those who have family mem
bers who are diabetic, are
urged to attend, said a recent
statement from the associa
tion. Registration requests are
being accepted by telephone
Call Trevis Heaggans at 372
7170, ext. 205.
“Foot Care of the Diabetic”
is the topic of the first work
shop scheduled for Tuesday,
April 6 from to a m. to noon.
Dr. Arthur Rockey, a podia
trist, will speak j
The second workshop will be
held Tuesday, April 20, also
from 10 a m, to noon. The
topic. "Children With Diabe
tes," will be discussed by Dr.
Robert Schwartz, assistant
chairman of Pediatrics at
Charlotte Memorial Hospital
and Medical Center.
Nurse Judy Outlaw of the
association will lead a discus
sion on the topic, "Stress, Our
Friend and Our Foe," Tues
day, April 20, from 10 a.m. to
noon.
The fourth and final work
shop will be held Tuesday,
April 27, from 10 a m. to noon ■
"Diabetic Menus Plus a Meal 3
Planning,” Will be discussed fl
by Karen Hauersperger. m
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