Technology, temptation now greater for students

As summers go, I think this one’s been fairly mild, so I’m somewhat sad to see it coming to an end. But it’s that time of year again.

I was one of those kids who always loved school. To this day, there’s nothing like a visit to my kids’ elementary school to whisk me back to yesteryear. There are many elements that are just how I remember them – fresh-faced children with lots of energy, busy classrooms, teachers who really care about helping children learn and – is it just me, or do school cafeterias still have a distinct smell that’s all their own?

But boy, there are a lot of things that are different, too!

Students are so much more sophisticated now when it comes to technology. I remember when I got my first up-close look at a computer. It was second or third grade (read: early 1980s).

The computer was in the library, so my class tromped downstairs to watch a demonstration. The disks then were floppy, and we were told never, ever to touch them in the middle, or they wouldn’t work.

On the other hand, my boys, who are heading to first and second grade, have been tinkering with computers since kindergarten. Not only did the classroom have two or three computers, their kindergarten classes actually had time in the school’s computer lab.

The result is that I have an 8-year-old who’s better than I am at computer solitaire (and most other games), and the computer, to him, is a given – like his backpack or notebooks or really cool pencils. With the increasing prominence of technology in the workplace and in everyday life, I’m glad that children are being prepared from the very beginning.

Technology aside, today’s students are growing up more quickly in other ways, too, and not all of them are good.

For the 2004-05 school year, Springfield Public Schools has added a new substance abuse counselor, Jessica Heavin, to the district staff. But according to Marci Winston, EdD, coordinator of counselors and Title IV programs, which help facilitate safe and drug-free schools, Bruce Wood, another substance abuse counselor, joined the district last year. Wood spent one day a week at each of the district’s five high schools.

Much of what the substance abuse counselors do is assessments for cases in which students are given an automatic 10-day suspension for drug- or alcohol-related infractions at school. Most of those, she noted, involve alcohol or marijuana.

“If that student and the family agree to go to a substance-abuse assessment, then it’s reduced to a five-day suspension,” said Winston.

Prior to bringing Wood on staff, Winston said the district contracted with Burrell Center – where both Wood and Heavin worked before joining the district – to have the assessments done.

Heavin’s position was added because Wood got plenty of calls from middle schools in need of his services.

While she didn’t have the exact number of alcohol- and drug-related suspensions the district had in 2003-04, Winston said there were 49 assessments at the middle school level and 239 at the high school level.

“It is sad, but unfortunately, there is a need for this support,” Winston said.

Between the two of them, Wood and Heavin will serve all five of the district’s high schools, and their feeder middle schools, as well as the district’s two alternative programs.

I’ll admit that I grew up in a small Missouri town where I was somewhat sheltered from many things. In middle school, I knew what beer was, and I’d heard of marijuana, but aside from a unit or two in health class, we never really talked about it much. It was a concern, I’m sure, but nowhere near the problem it is now. Or maybe I just notice it more as a parent.

Winston said that the district felt it was important that the substance abuse counselors get involved with middle school students, because the earlier the intervention, the better. In addition to the assessments, the counselors will work with the middle- and high-school students to teach them about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and doing prevention-education exercises with them.

Drug abuse prevention education also will be made available to teachers, staff and parents, so that they can be involved in the fight against drugs. At the middle school level, Winston said that while there will be some assessments, it’s most likely that Wood and Heavin will focus on prevention and education.

They have their work cut out for them.