EDITORIAL -Saving kids from drug abuse

With the country facing a serious drug problem, parents would want to protect their
children from the scourge. Going about this, however, needs careful planning and
implementation.

The law authorizes mandatory drug testing for students in high school and college. As the
secretary of education has pointed out, however, grade school children are excluded from
the coverage of the law. Now the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is hoping to
change this, by including elementary school students from fourth grade up or at least nine
years old in the public school system to undergo drug testing.

It’s not unusual for pre-adolescents to experiment with banned substances. Among the
extremely poor, even rugby is sniffed for a cheap high and to assuage hunger. Drug
abuse is also likely among children who are hired as mules by adult traffickers because
the law exempts juveniles from criminal prosecution. Parents – unless they themselves
are engaged in illegal drug deals – will want to protect their children from the drug
menace. And they will normally accept any help from the government to see this happen.

Children, however, need special handling and optimal privacy protection. Drug abuse is a
complex problem that is often linked to personal or family issues. Testing positive in a
school drug test can stigmatize a child and aggravate the distress, especially if authorities
are careless in sharing what should be confidential information.

Department of Education officials have reminded the PDEA about the exemption of grade
school pupils from mandatory drug testing under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs
Act of 2002. There is also the question of resources: DepEd officials estimate that drug
testing for 14 million students will cost P2.8 billion.

The PDEA is correct in wanting to clip drug abuse at a young age. It would be better for
the PDEA, however, to first consult DepEd officials, educators, parent-teacher
associations and even student groups to discuss measures for curbing substance abuse
among the young. The intention of the drug-testing proposal may be good, but if badly
implemented, there’s a well-known saying about what paves the road to hell.
 EDITORIAL: Bullying must be taken seriously

Bullying, in whatever form it takes, must always be taken seriously. 

When you just look at the numbers, the amount of bullying that happens in our schools and online is
staggering. 

Anyone who says “kids will be kids,” just doesn’t understand the problem. Young people have been
damaged for life and some have taken their own lives as the direct result of having been bullied by
their peers. 

A national organization that has helped to lead the charge in anti-bullying

campaigns, NoBullying.com, has reported that at least 50 percent of teens have been bullied online,
according to the iSafe Foundation.

According to the organization:

— About 10 to 20 percent of those teens are bullied on a regular basis per the Cyberbullying
Research Center.

— One-million children on Facebook alone were harassed in 2011 as reported by Consumer Reports.

— DoSomething.org claims 90 percent of children in grades 4 through 8 have been bullied at some

point.

— Safe Foundation reports 35 percent of children have actually been threatened online, some more
than once.

Thirty-four percent of those who participated in cyber-bullying did so both as a victim and a bully,
according to the Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey conducted in 2009.

Cyber-bullying is every bit as real, as prevalent and as dangerous as in-person bullying.

On its websites, NoBullying.com said, “Social media is one of the leading places in which children
today experience bullying. According to the Pew Internet Research Center, 95 percent of teenagers
have witnessed cyber-bullying while they have been using their social media sites. Of that
percentage, 84 percent have seen someone defend the victim and 84 percent have stood up for the
victim personally. However, 90 percent of those who witnessed bullying on their social media sites
have also ignored the behavior at some point with 35 percent of them doing so often. This shows that
sometimes teens are comfortable standing up and sometimes they aren’t, even among the same
group of teens.”

NoBullying.com points to a 2009 survey by the Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey indicating the
most common reasons for bullying include:
— 11 percent show off for their friends

— 14 percent want to be mean

— 21 percent are out to embarrass the victim

— 28 percent use it for entertainment

— 58 percent are trying to get back at the victim for various reasons

— 58 percent feel the victim deserves it

— 16 percent have other reasons

Student surveys consistently indicate young people realize bullying is a problem in schools and
online.

Though high school, middle school and elementary school students say bullying is a problem and
agree that it is wrong to bully another student, it still happens, and it happens way too often.

Parents must shoulder a lot of the responsibility.

Teachers address the problem of bullying, sometimes on a daily basis.

School counselors must spend an inordinate amount of time addressing the problem.

Mental health-care workers, social services and even law enforcement, sadly, must battle with the
fallout.

Students obviously are aware and many of them — including those involved in the proactive peer
program at Hahira Middle School — are doing what they can.

Like most things, the real solutions must begin in the home.

Violent homes produce children with violent tendencies.

Children mimic the behavior of their parents — plain, pure and simple.

Seeing adults act out at high school sporting events, or even at a little league game, for example,
sends a strong message and sets a bad example for children.

When children have parents and role models who act respectfully and treat others with respect they
tend to, in turn, show respect to others.

All young people need to be taught to treat others with respect and dignity.
They will learn those lessons in the classroom, at church or through anti-bullying programs, but they
must first learn those lessons in the home.