inspi[red] by recent events

if you dont work in a kid-filled arena, you may not know what red ribbon week is.  if you do, it has been probably been the talk of your workplace for the last few months.  red ribbon week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in america.  it targets america's youth in the hopes of informing kids on the dangers of and preventing the use of drugs at an earlier age.  over the years, rrw has become a campaign to prevent not only to drug use, but tobacco use and underage drinking as well. it is a huge event that is celebrated throughout the entire country during the last full week of october.  rrw was developed as a program targeted to reach elementary and middle school students in hopes of stopping drug and alcohol abuse before it starts.  currently, rrw has been working with many other campaigns to develop programs for high school and college students. they have already established co-campaigns with events like post-prom and fraternity/sorority pledging.  the rrw foundation believes that it is never to late to help a child with the struggles related to alcohol and drugs. children are faced with the temptation of drugs and alcohol at an earlier age now than ever before. many dont have the positive role models to help them out of these tricky situations. hopefully, with the help of rrw, some of these problems will cease.

the campaign was started by the family of enrique "kiki" camarena, an anti-drug activist who was killed while working undercover in mexico. he was suspected to be killed by government officials and political figures involved in a large drug cartel importing and exporting in the country. he spent his entire life giving back, through the marines, police enforcement, and eventually the usdea. after his death, friends and family began to pledge to be drug-free by wearing red ribbons and bracelets. its grown from there.

ill admit. when everyone at the first staff meeting started talking about red ribbon week, i just nodded my head and took notes. when i got back to my classroom, i googled it. i had no idea what rrw was. or why everyone was making such a big deal about it. im a new teacher. its not that long ago that i was in school myself. how did all of these veteran teachers know about rrw and i didnt have a clue? as i dug further into my research, i realized what a difference rrw actually makes in the lives of children.

at my school, the resistance is definitely there. unfortunately, many of my seventh grade students have already been exposed to alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.  some of they may have even used. they are not very open to being told what to do. in order to amp up student involvement, we turned rrw into a spirit week. students are being asked to "turn their back"on drugs and wear backwards clothes, "sock it" to drugs by wearing funky socks, and "keep their head in the game" by donning sports jerseys. the students show that they "can" say no to drugs by donating canned goods for the local soup kitchen. the week culminates with a guest speaker on friday. the kids will all be in red. i always think a large mass of people wearing one color is impressive and moving. im hoping it has the same effect on my students.