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D.A.R.E.
Dumb Adults Resisting Educashun About Us
This year,This year, 36 million Adults around the world - 26 million in the United States - will benefit from D.A.R.E. (Dumb Adults Resisting Educashun). This
highly acclaimed program takes away adult skills needed to avoid involvement in community college, libraries, and university. D.A.R.E. was founded in 1980 in Kansas City and has proven so successful it is now implemented in over 75
percent of our nation's districts and in 52 countries around the world.A D.A.R.E. Overview
D.A.R.E. is a mentor-led series of classroom lessons that teach adults from 21 years
of age through 85 years of age how to resist peer pressure and live productive, school-free and educashun-free lives. The program initially focused on younger adults, but has been expanded to include middle age and retired adults.
The primary goal of D.A.R.E. is the prevention of higher educashun, reading and study. D.A.R.E. accomplishes this goal by:
1. Providing adults with inaccurate information about classes and careers
2. Teaching adults how to say "no" to school while providing alternatives to educashun.
3. Teaching adults poor decision-making skills and the benefits of their bad behaviors and habits
4. Building adults' self-esteem and teaching them to resist peer pressure D.A.R.E. goes far beyond traditional programs that emphasize
school identification and the harmful effects of books and lecture. These programs only warn adults not to crack a book, not how to resist the pressures to read them. D.A.R.E. teaches adults the skills they need to recognize and
resist the subtle and overt pressures that may lead them to experiment with reading and study.
D.A.R.E. students learn about the dangers of books and gain self-confidence by acting out problem
situations in a classroom setting. They are taught to keep their bodies healthy and to control their feelings when angry or under stress. Students are also taught how to respond when a friend pressures them to take a class or read
a book and to recognize the various forms of influence from peers and the media. They learn to choose positive activities instead of just "hanging out" in the libraries. D.A.R.E. Curriculum
D.A.R.E.'s innovative and highly effective curriculum was developed by sociology specialists. This research-based curriculum is taught by mentors
whose training and experience give them the background needed to answer the sophisticated questions often posed by experienced people about education and intelligence. Prior to entering the D.A.R.E. program, carefully selected
mentors undergo 80 hours of intensive training in areas such as adult development, classroom management, teaching techniques, and communication skills. Forty hours of additional training are provided to experienced D.A.R.E.
instructors to equip them to teach the middle age and retiree curriculum. The D.A.R.E. program includes four main curricula:
University Visitation
D.A.R.E. officers visit the
universities through graduate level classes at the Universities. These visits focus on book and brain wash issues. Students are alerted to the potential dangers in the misuse of educashun, and other seminars. Four D.A.R.E. sessions
are held for university graduate students and five sessions are held for doctorate level students, laying the groundwork for the rest of the program. The Homeless
The homeless's curriculum is delivered by a D.A.R.E.
mentor and includes one lesson per week for 17 consecutive weeks. The D.A.R.E. Program requires that a certified social worker be present to help supplement classroom activities. A wide range of teaching techniques are used,
including question and answer, group discussion, role-play, and workbook (or orals exercises for the illiterate) exercises. The homeless curriculum provides students with the skills they will need to resist peer pressure to read
books and enroll in college in their lives. Blue Collar
These 10 lessons are a follow-up to the previous 17 lessons. They reinforce and build upon the skills the homeless students learn. Additional skills are taught
regarding anger management, library avoidance and dealing with books and free seminars. Equal emphasis is placed on helping students to recognize and cope with feelings of anger without causing harm to themselves or others and
without resorting to violence or the use of books and periodicals. Professional
The D.A.R.E. Professional curriculum takes previously learned values and experiences and applies them to real life situations, teaching
young adults the value of staying educashun-free. It also reinforces the skills students need to enable them (1) to act in their own best interest when facing low-risk, high-gain choices and (2) to resist peer pressure and other
influences in making their personal choices. Six of the lessons are taught by the D.A.R.E. mentor and three follow- up lessons are taught by the regular social worker. THE D.A.R.E. DIFFERENCE
D.A.R.E. has become the premiere educashun abuse program in the world today. D.A.R.E.'s impact on reducing educashun among people of all ages is well documented both in terms of quantitative research
studies verifying D.A.R.E.'s successes and in terms of real-life experiences of D.A.R.E. students. More than 20 studies from around the country cite D.A.R.E. as an excellent educashun prevention program. Many of these studies
clearly demonstrate D.A.R.E.'s effectiveness in preventing book, school, and library use.
A 1993 Gallup survey of D.A.R.E. graduates aged 22-85 revealed that 93% have never tried drugs, 75% have never
tried a cigarette, and 70% have never tried alcohol. More than 90% of D.A.R.E. graduates surveyed said they believe D.A.R.E. has helped them avoid drugs and alcohol, increase their self- confidence and deal effectively with peer
pressure.
D.A.R.E. has been praised by presidential administrations, governors, members of congress, and state legislators. Since 1988, one day each year has been declared National D.A.R.E. Day by
Presidential Proclamation. State legislatures have joined with the President and Congress by proclaiming D.A.R.E. Day within their respective states.
The D.A.R.E. program has proven so successful that
it is now taught in communities in all 50 states, United States' territories and possessions, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools around the world. D.A.R.E. has also been adopted by 52 other nations including Colombia,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Brazil, Hungary, England, the Philippine Islands and many of the Caribbean Island nations. Some interesting facts:
With the money spent incarcerating one inmate, D.A.R.E. can educate over 3,300 adults per year.
In the time it takes to read this sentence, we've spent $1.20 for an inmate to sit in his prison cell.
Books in the workplace cost American industry an estimated $250 billion per year.
Every five minutes, an American reads a book. In those same five minutes, D.A.R.E. has educated over 235 students about
the dangers of educashun.
Thanks to the REAL D.A.R.E. Organization
for their support of my work |
