Fading Fads: Drugs in Schools

The lighter clicks open and the bright flame lights the end of the cigarette. Smoke rises as it is passed from person to person around the bathroom. Tommy walks in and sees the group smoking and turns to walk away. When the boy holding the cigarette asks if he wants a drag, Tommy turns and says no. The other boys tell him that if he walks away, then he is a loser. Tommy could easily turn away from the boys and tell an administrator, but he wants to be cool so he takes the cigarette and begins to smoke. Peer pressure to smoke, however, will get Tommy into trouble rather than making him look cool. As the smoke fills the restroom and floats into the hall, a teacher notices and walks in on the boys. Instead of worrying, the boys assume that they will be let off with a warning. The school handbook, however, includes a zero tolerance policy. Tommy and all of the other boys have been suspended.

Drugs in school are not only seen in the theoretical example of Tommy. At eighteen years old, Renee is the top of her class. As a star athlete, Renee must constantly train to run faster for each meet. A girl on her team is getting thinner and faster, so Renee asks her secret. The girl hands her a bottle of steroids saying that it is not cheating, only “enhancing.” Renee refuses the steroids immediately. A week later, the girl is faster than Renee. This causes Renee to take more and more steroids when she cannot catch up. During a meet, Renee collapses because of the overuse of steroids. She is banned from track for steroid use and falls behind in her classes without the motivation of keeping her grades up to be eligible.

Both hypothetical examples of Tommy and Renee show what drugs can do to students. Tommy was suspended ...

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... brittle hair that have trouble paying attention due to withdrawals. In order to have the best schools in the world, first the best students in the world are required. With so many challenges in the world already, drugs do not have to play a part in the lives of students. Drug education is an absolute must for the country and all of its schools or the drugs that they were never taught to avoid may trap the lives of future generations. Education holds the key that save the world and drugs will be just another fading fad.

Works Cited

"Day in the Life of a Teen, A" Science World. 62.13 (24 April 2006): 8. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 8 Jan. 2012

Fuerstenau, Greggory. Personal Interview. 18 Jan. 2012

Hixenbaugh, David. Personal Interview. 17 Jan. 2012

Martin, Tim. "Survey: Teen Marijuana Use Rises, Alcohol Use Down." Natl. Public Radio. 14 Dec. 2011 Web.