So last year at the PTA Parent Appreciation Luncheon they had a list posted to sign up for this year's events. I signed up for Red Ribbon Week along with another assistant GS troop leader. She and I hadn't had time to get together, other than the initial brainstorming which included an assembly for the kids with an officer from the DEA. When I bumped into her last week I asked her to email me a list of what she's been working on so we could compare notes and make things happen. I didn't receive anything. I emailed her and received the following message with this schedule attached (I left all the typos so you can see how painfully exhausting it can be to communicate with these people … honestly it was too painful for me to look at so I cleaned it up a little bit):
Hi,
Sorry it took me soooo long to get back to you. I had to worry about green ribbon week 1st. I will try to attach the schedule of what I have come up with. What I will need some help with, is helping the K-3 plant tulip bulbs. And, possibly with the older ones when they tie ribbons on the fence.
I hope you are doing ok. I went in the field trip with _______ [my daughter] yesterday and it was beautiful.
Thanks for your help. I'll try to attach the schedule and plan for the week to see if you have any ideas for fine tuning it.
thanks,
Schedule for Red Ribbon Week
Monday, Oct.20 Pass out strips of red paper to the classes to make chains. Also, pass out pledges to teachers.
RED RIBBON WEEK
Thursday, Oct.23 Do theme of the day. Have teachers pass out pledges. Teachers will get bags of Smarties to hand out.
Friday, Oct.24 Do theme of the day. Hang Friendship chain through school. Hang pledges.
Monday, Oct.27 Do theme of the day. Give teachers book markers to hand out.
Tuesday, Oct.28 Theme of the day. Have 4-6th graders tie ribbons on the fence. Have a box in front hall for canned food drive. Guess how many "Red Hots" in the jar contest.
Wednesday, Oct.29 Theme of the day. Start planting bulbs with K-3rd grades. Winner of " Red Hot" contest announced.
Thursday, Oct.30 Theme of day. Give teachers stickers and Dum-Dum suckers to hand out.
What in the hell do tulip bulbs, Smarties, red hots, and Dum-Dum suckers have to do with drugs? Why are we doing a food drive? Are we planning on supporting the local rehab clinic? Whose Dum-Dum idea was this?
So I respond with the following message:
I thought we were going to schedule an assembly to teach the kids how to fight against drugs? Did you still want to do that?
With the schedule you sent me it appears all the plans have been made. I'm not sure how you want me to help. Please let me know.
Thanks.
To which she replies:
I talked to a few people, and thought it might be hard balancing the line of not freaking the kids and parents out with giving out specific information. It's hard when you have to cover k-6 grades.
So, if you still have a thought about an assembly, let me know. Sorry I've just planned things, I just started working on things because I felt like it was going too be here way too soon.
To which I reply:
We could have scheduled two assemblies, one for K-4 and the other for 5th and 6th. I just don't see anything on the schedule that actually empowers kids to say "No" to drugs and thought that's what Red Ribbon Week was supposed to be about.
I won't interfere with your plans and will sign up on my own for an event next year or with someone else who wants me to assist them.
She called me that night:
"Uh, um, er, you sound upset."
Gee do you think? I'll never put my name on a sign up board with her again. She told me to wait until she was done with Green Ribbon Week. I waited. Then she plans the whole sugar-coated pill event without my approval, and my name is tied to it. I have a problem with that. I didn't say that too her though. What I did say was this, "I keep hearing you say how over-whelmed you are with too many things to do. I'm reaching my arm in the airs saying, 'Pick me to help' and you don't; so I'm tired of hearing people say how over-whelmed they are. How can we do a Red Ribbon Week without mentioning drugs? It's a little bit humiliating to have my name on a board saying I'm running something and I'm not running it. I don't even know what's going on."
She goes on to explain that a few years ago an officer did an assembly and came on too strongly thereby scaring children. I can see this happening. I've worked with police officers for years. Of course they're scary. Why? Because they see ugly stuff every day and it just becomes "normal" to them. Because if they scare kids into staying away from drugs they don't have to wake your sorry ass up in the middle of the night to come pick your kid up from jail for getting caught with drugs … or to deliver a "Your kid is dead from ODing" message to your front door while your standing there in your skivvies.
Nonetheless, having worked with many officers I can tell you this: When my partner and I ran assemblies at the same school we're planning for, no one was scared. They were intrigued. They listened. It was dead silent. We rocked that lecture hall! Just like every other group of people there are police officers who know how to work well with young children. You just have to know who to ask. I've extended myself for that purpose.
She apologizes in a somewhat embarrassed fashion … although it was likely only because she wanted to save face, needs my help in the future, and knows I bust my ass for the school. We hung up.
The next night she calls me again. "I spoke with the principal and maybe we could do a parent's education night to give them information to pass on to their kids." Beautiful! I'm hoping parents already have information to provide their kids. The one's who do have likely already had the conversation with their children … I hope.
I chew on the thought for a day. For a moment I veto it simply because I'm irritated and I feel like the principal, the PTA, and she are patronizing me. Then I think, "What the hell. It couldn't hurt." I call the principal myself to find out exactly what he wants and when he wants it so I can deliver it. I'm working on it now. Hopefully it's not too late to get someone scheduled. I wonder if we'll scare the parents??? *evil laugh*
I'm worried that by having Red Ribbon Week parents are going to assume their children are being provided pertinent information at school, think it's been taken care of, and not talk to their children. I'm also worried that no one will show up for this parent's education night. If schools are afraid to talk about drugs because they think parents are doing it and parents don't talk to them because they think schools are doing it, who's really going to talk to the kids?
What are your thoughts? Shouldn't we be scaring our children about drugs to some degree? They are scary. I want my kids to be very afraid of them. I want them to know what they look like so they aren't morbidly curious when they see them at a friend's house or at a party and head straight out the door to call me to pick them up.
I remember being an elementary age child in San Antonio Texas and being given a packet of information to take home to our parents which included tablets to burn to teach us what marijuana smelled like so we could avoid it. My parents lit them up in the garage and joked how detrimental it would be to my father's military career to have the police pull up. I still remember them laughing! I also still remember the smell of marijuana.
In honor of Red Ribbon Week click here to be linked to helpful information on how to get involved in teaching your children about drugs.
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