18 years of age, under conditions where there would be at least somewhat greater control over this behavior than there is at present. This is what a majority of teenagers themselves seem to want. However, before undertaking wholesale revision of our laws in this area it would appear both desirable and feasible to undertake a large scale study into the probable consequences of such changes. Some states today make alcoholic beverages legally available to anyone at age 18; other states make beer available at 18 and other alcoholic beverages only at the age of 21. Still others make the purchase of any alcoholic beverages illegal for any person under the age of 21. It seems possible to investigate the consequences of these various approaches to the control and use of alcoholic beverages by late adolescents and to determine whether there are any viable reasons why some, if not all, alcoholic beverages should not be made available to youth at age 18 at least under some circumstances-for example, possibly only by the drink. The findings of such a study would provide a rational basis for the assessment of any change contemplated in current laws controlling the age at which alcoholic beverages may be purchased legally. Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, Committee on Education and Labor, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR JOHN: Enclosed is a copy of the position taken by the National Education Association Legislative Commission regarding H.R. 9312, 9313, and 9314, the "Drug Abuse Education Act of 1969." We would like this statement to be inserted in the appropriate place in the record of hearings on the bill in lieu of oral testimony. We would like to thank the Select Subcommittee for giving us the opportunity to submit a statement on this bill. Sincerely, JOHN M. LUMLEY, Assistant Executive Secretary, Legislation and Federal Relations. POSITION OF NEA LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION ON H.R. 9312 The National Education Association associates with the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, an affiliate of the National Education Association, in support of H.R. 9312, the "Drug Abuse Education Act of 1969." We commend Representative Meeds and the other co-sponsors of this legislation for their interest in and concern over this growing problem. At the same time, we must emphasize our conviction that the schools alone cannot assume the blame for the situation, nor can they solve it alone. H.R. 9312 recognizes the vital role that can be played by education, through cooperation with parents, legal agencies, and the community at large, to attack the problem of drug use and abuse. It provides a strong and sensible approach to a complicated problem for which no quick and easy solutions are possible. The provisions of H.R. 9312 are in accord with official NEA policy with regard to both curriculum content and training of teachers. For example, an NEA Resolution favors constant curriculum evaluation and revision to relate curriculum to current issues, and refers specifically to mental hygiene as one of such issues. NEA also supports provision of psychological and preventive services in elementary and secondary schools to detect and treat problems at their inception. and the provision of comprehensive community health facilities for treatment of children and adults. The sorts of problems which are contemplated in the NEA position include but are ton limited to the problem of drug abuse. With reference to the training provisions of H.R. 9312, NEA believes that all educators should wish to seek continuous upgrading of their knowledge, skills, and all-around professional preparation. Thus NEA is in favor of the aspects of the bill which provide for preservice and inservice training for educators and others in the area of drug abuse. Although NEA would prefer to see greater authorizations than those provided in H.R. 9312, we can fully support the intent of the bill. The interagency cooperation mechanism in the bill and the recognition of the proper relationship with the State education agencies are especially laudable provisions. Again, we commend all of the sponsors of this legislation for their concern over the major social problem of drug abuse. NATIONAL GOVERNORS' CONFERENCE 61ST ANNUAL MEETING, COLORADO DRUG ABUSE The National Governors' Conference is concerned with the extensive proliferation of the narcotics and drug abuse problem. The Governors of the states recommend the following urgent efforts to combat these pervasive problems: 1. Enactment of state drug control legislation which: a. Grants courts and correctional authorities sufficient flexibility with user to permit individualized sentencing and treatment. b. Requires prompt disposition of the offender's case. 2. An increase in state and local efforts to educate the public, particularly younger persons, by : a. Design of a statewide program for dissemination of factual drug education information. b. Provision of drug education programs in the schools to reach levels from kindergarten through grade twelve. c. Organization of in-service training programs which deal with drug abuse for directors of pupil services, school principals, counselors, and other involved school staff members. 3. Development of state programs for the rehabilitation and treatment of offenders requiring close supervision and control while correcting problems of drug abuse by providing alternative methods for disposition of drug users by the establishment of adequate facilities for both voluntary and involuntary admissions. 4. Initiation of national and statewide research to determine the causal processes which promote initiation, continuance, termination and relapse in drug usage. NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, Washington, D.C., September 9, 1969. Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. BRADEMAS: Your letter of August 8, 1969 to Mr. Robert Carleton was routed to me for response. The National Science Teachers Association has no objections to your including the proposal for a Drug Abuse Education Project for Teachers and Pupils of the Secondary Level in the permanent hearing record of the legislation. For this purpose I have enclosed an updated copy of the same proposal. Please use this one in your report. Attached is a statement of the purpose and theory behind the Project, its activities and accomplishments and excerpts from a few of the unsolicited letters from participants. We at the National Science Teachers Association and in the field of drug abuse education sincerely appreciate your interest and efforts to alleviate this grave social problem. Sincerely, A. L. BRASWELL, Assistant Executive Secretary. PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION ON THE 1969 DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION PROJECT The Drug Abuse Education Project is a major educational effort to help halt drug abuse among students. Under a $200,000 contract with the National Institute of Mental Health, the Project was launched in June 1968 jointly by the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation and the National Science Teachers Association, the nations two largest organizations of health and science educators. As opposed to a strictly legalistic, moralistic or even pharmacological approach, the work of the Project and the attitude of the Association encompasses a more comprehensive orientation toward a mental health approach, emphasizing the imperative of establishing productive, meaningful, communication between teachers and pupils, especially in regard to the use of drugs. Recognizing the crucial role of school teachers in influencing the lives of students, the Project had as its goal the production of a manual or guide for use in organizing and conducting in-service training workshops for teachers. 35-525-70-pt. 2-31 The guide was the product of a nineteen (19) member writing team after ten days intensive theoretical and real life encounters with experts and users. Results produced by trial of the guide in ten pilot districts and two national conventions confirmed its effectiveness. The next logical step is the national dissemination through a pyramiding of nationwide training sessions. For details, see sections entitled, "Rationale" and "Groundwork" of the following Proposal for Drug Abuse Education for Teachers and Pupils of the Secondary Level. RATIONALE Despite the fact that currently 43 states, by legislation, require teaching about narcotics and dangerous drugs, drug abuse is escalating to proportions causing grave concern on the part of the responsible public. The immobilization, diversion, and plain destruction of potential human resources (to say nothing of the human misery) through the use of drugs is unpardonable. Regrettably, the most rapid rate of increase of use is among the intellectually talented pupils. Twenty five percent of the arrests of children under 15 years of age and 16% of the arrests of children over 18 are for drug law infractions. Instruction in this area has fallen into various health, social studies, senior problems, physical education and science classes, but the science teaching community really has not shouldered its responsibility. By its very nature, the area of science should have long ago been engaging the pupils in ferreting out the objective facts concerning use and misuse of drugs. Currently, the words and admonitions of the teachers (or any adult) are suspect, because we have unwittingly squandered our credibility on sensational scare tactics and moralizing. The characteristically worldly wise pupil of today, however, has continuously before him evidences of the productivity and trustworthiness of science. For this reason, among others, science classes must deliberately make a more systematic provision for treatment of this subject through preparation of teacher-trainer materials, classroom instructional guides for teachers, and curriculum materials for the pupils. GROUNDWORK With the realization that a more systematic approach is needed, the National Science Teachers Association during the past fiscal year has collaborated with the American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (AAHPER) on a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) supported project in the production of materials for drug abuse education. Recognizing the crucial role of school teachers, the Project had as its goal. the production of a teacher trainer manual or guide for use in setting up and conducting in-service training workshops for teachers. To insure the usability of the guide, 19 health and science educators, designated by administrators of school districts representing a cross section of the United States, were convened as a writing team. Prior to commencement of the writing, they received an intensive ten day orientation to the problem of drug abuse, including in-depth sessions with representatives from the fields of psychiatry, psychopharmacology, sociology, social work, medicine, the ministry, education law, psychology, and panels of drug users. Encounters with the inmates at Mendocino State Hospital. Hillcrest Juvenile Hall, and residents of the Haight-Ashbury district contrib uted to the realism of the orientation. Excursions to a variety of treatment and rehabilitation centers were included. The rudimentary guide was given trial in ten local in-service training workshops in various parts of the country and in the two-day seminars preceding the national conventions of the two collaborating associations. Feed-back from all of these trial workshops is currently being incorporated into the final draft with a tentative availability date of October 1969.* PROPOSED PROJECT The NSTA proposes a triple-branched attack, including the following: 1. Writing conference and workshop for preparation of pupil materials (pupil activities and reading matter). 2. Production workshop for elaboration of curriculum guides for classroom instruction. 3. Leadership training institutes for the preparation of teacher trainers. *Refers to guidelines for conducting in-service drug abuse education for teachers, soon to be published by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Elaborating on the above, our present thinking provides that: 1. Pupil materials will consist of open-ended teacher or pupil laboratory demonstrations which generate a variety of laboratory investigations for pupil follow through. Curriculum materials would include appropriately adapted research reports and annotated bibliography or other pertinent satellite materials. Portions of existing documentary films on the effects of drugs on animals will be adapted to single concept films. Selected portions of the curriculum will be produced in programmed form. Evaluative instruments for assessing pupils' knowledge and attitudes will be prepared for pre- and post-testing. These materials will be prepared by a writing team comprised of representatives from science teaching, health education, sociology, and psychopharmacology. Resource persons will be called in as needed on a consultant basis from the fields of law enforcement, pharmacy, narcotics, pharmacology, anthropology, psychology, and mental health. Pupils will be used variedly as contributors and sounding boards for appropriateness and palatability of the materials. 2. Classroom instructional guidelines for the teacher's use in lesson planning will consist of some general guidelines for methods of integrating instruction on drugs with science and health curriculum. Specific examples of what material to introduce and when to introduce it will be provided. Since most pupils are effectively "turned off" by the existing drug education films, instructions in salvaging some credibility for the presently "incredible" drug films would be provided. A collection of current research studies will comprise part of the background resource material in the teacher's guide. An annotated bibliography of selected references will complement the studies supplied. Evaluation instruments for teacher's self appraisal of knowledge and attitudes will be prepared. These materials will be elaborated by a team comprised of members of the pupil materials production team, complemented by representation from the high calibre resource personnel utilized in the pilot workshops during last year's project with NIMH. Top flight consultants from NIMH and other appropriate federal agencies will be called in as needed. 3. Support is asked for twenty drug abuse education leadership training workshops of two weeks duration, each workshop to produce thirty leaders prepared to utilize the teacher training materials in their respective school districts for training their own teachers. The location of these workshops will closely correspond to the twenty major population centers of the fifty states. Surrounding school district administrators will be asked to nominate, as applicants for the workshops, the teacher or supervisor who is responsible for his district's drug abuse teacher education program. Implicit in the district's participation is the commitment to follow through with a similar workshop for teachers of the district, thus pyramiding the "experts". It is expected that teachers of science and health will be predominant among the nominees. These leadership training sessions would entail an intensive, live-in working relationship, the first week being spent in orientation and training sessions while the last few days will be dedicated to elaboration of plans for the program "back home". Included in the orientation portion is a marathon bombardment with information, to be provided through the following: Qualified lecturers in pharmacology, psychopharmacology, law enforcement, etc. The prepared audio-visuals Intimate exposure to treatment centers, court, juvenile halls, and estranged youths activities Pursuing the program recommended by the NIMH guide for conducting in-service drug abuse education for teachers * Orientation in the use of the pupil materials and the instructional guidelines will be achieved through actual work with the materials. Planning the attach back home will be done before returning, in order that they might share ideas with each other while expert staff is at hand to advise and support. Pre- and post-evaluation of these participants is an integral part of the program. A follow-up workshop evaluation program is planned to insure follow-through on the part of these newly developed leaders. In this way encouragement of the newly trained is proffered, as well as concomitantly assuring dissemination of the prepared materials. *Refers to guidelines for conducting in-service drug abuse education for teachers, soon to be published by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Work should commence as soon as possible on the pupil and teacher materials in order to have them tested and ready for the proposed 1970 summer leadership training workshops. In NSTA's commitment to pure and applied science, the Association feels that it has a commitment in the area of drug abuse education and feels that its previous experience in this area warrants the continuation of its work to alleviate this rising social problem. The National Science Teachers Association and its constituency is committed to this task of promoting relevance of science to society and respectfully solicits your favorable consideration of this proposal. Following are some excerpts from unsolicited letters from participants in the drug abuse education workshops. ... A repeating student, in an afternoon makeup and chatting session said. 'You're so different-the students talk so much more.' My observation might have been, 'She's matured,' but I strongly suspect she doesn't turn us off, as she did the first time around. I am experimenting happily." "... allow me to thank you again for giving me the golden opportunity to be a participant in a workshop that was surely the 'work of the masters."" "I'm truly still quite 'turned on' and I've been using my 'hung up' vocabulary to 'turn Atlanta on.' Needless to say, as a result of my experiences in the San Francisco Bay area, I'm really quite good at it. I've managed to 'flip out' the members of the staff here at the Instructional Center and now the 'scene is shifting' to interested principals and P.T.A. groups." "... Not only was I excited during the two days but I am still enthusiastically going through the note book and other materials received at the seminar. I only hope that I can follow through and be of some beneficial service for the State of Idaho relating to Drug Abuse education." "... The real reason for writing this letter is to acknowledge my heartfelt appreciation for being one of the chosen few to participate in your wonderful wonderful Drug Abuse Education Project. I feel so grateful for the opportunity that was given me and am so thankful for everything that was done for me and the others during the conference. It was truly an experience of a lifetime and one that I wish all my fellow teachers could experience. The Conference really helped me 'personally'; I feel I've gained a new insight into life, a fresher, cleaner look at things around me, a more understanding respect for humanity, and a greater zest for my work. I deeply appreciate your helping me grow ten feet taller in just a little less than two weeks." "... The very well-planned program, the interested, sincere, staff and participants, and the emphasis on human relationships did much to revitalize for me those things that I believe most fundamental to good teaching..." ". . . First let me say that the two weeks I spent in San Francisco was by far the best educational experience I've had in my whole professional career. The people involved in the conference were all 'top drawer,' staff we well as participants. I don't think I'll ever have another opportunity to be taught by such a wellchosen and illustrious staff ..." Regarding a workshop for in-service teachers in drug abuse education one participant stated: "... Miss Gould led us through a maze of experts 'live and on film' in the areas of psychology, medicine, guidance, and drug education. We all believe that our eyes have been attuned to see much more, our minds have been stimulated to think more deeply, and our hearts have been sensitized to feel more empathetically..." "Now that I have had time to relax for a week, I thought I would like to let you know that I really appreciated the opportunity of participating in the twoweek conference. My original ideas and thoughts have surely been 'jolted' and a lot of re-education has taken place . . ." Hon. JOHN BRADEMAS, THE AMERICAN LEGION, Washington, D.C., September 10, 1969. Chairman, Select Subcommittee on Education, DEAR CHAIRMAN BRADEMAS: Enclosed is a copy of Resolution No. 158 adopted by the 1968 National Convention of the American Legion instructing the organization, among other things, to support educational efforts to rid our Nation of the problems involving the use of narcotics, dangerous drugs and hallucinogens, including marijuana. |