New curriculum helps students make healthier decisions

This month marks a very special milestone for me and I cannot thank enough all those who made it possible. As a parent, teacher, coach, friend, MLA, member of the opposition and minister, I have continuously advocated for the health and well-being of our children and youth, and I am proud to announce that we have a new resource for the Healthy Living curriculum in our schools. This may be a first in Canada but, more importantly, we now have a means to start combatting the disastrous effects of alcohol, cannabis and prescription drug abuse in our communities.

This week we launched new lessons in Health Education Drug Prevention for students in grades 7-9. Drug and alcohol prevention education is important to help ensure our students have the right information to make healthy decisions. Usually, when children know better, they do better. This is a real-world curriculum based on best practices and research from the World Health Organization, and developed in collaboration with Grade 9 students. The program is dynamic and includes demonstrations, coaching, ongoing support, mentoring and feedback. It will be flexible, giving those who know their students best the opportunity to adapt and tailor the lessons to their students’ needs.

Dan O’Leary, a teacher and guidance counsellor from A.J. Smeltzer Junior High School, had this to say about the new lessons: “We take these lessons and create spaces for meaningful conversations with our students about conditions around their lives and the pressures they face. I’ve experienced these lessons in the classroom and I’ve seen youth speaking up and talking about their lives in ways I’ve never seen before.”

I have also seen some students demonstrate part of the curriculum and I can say that it was a powerful moment for me. The ultimate strength of these news lessons is their capacity to build decision making skills that go well beyond the classroom

Teachers, guidance counsellors, administra- tors and mental health clinicians have all been involved in training sessions to help in the implementation process, and training, support and coaching will be ongoing. The lessons were workshopped with Grade 7 and 9 classes in the spring of 2014 and again with teachers and students during the summer. The continued involvement of teachers and students is invaluable to the evolution and success of the program and to ensuring it is always up-to-date and meaningful. Senior high school students have also provided valuable feedback and we will continue to seek their input as graduates of the program.

These lessons are one component of a comprehensive approach to addressing problematic substance abuse and misuse. The voluntary 2012 Drug Use Survey revealed disturbing facts about our youth’s level of drug and alcohol use. Other programs are being implemented to confront this issue, including legislation, public awareness and education, support for individuals with pain and mental health and/or addiction-related problems, monitoring and surveillance and health practitioner education and support. We need to focus on all areas in order to properly address the devastating effects that alcohol, cannabis and prescription drug misuse cause to the individual, family, friends and society. We are all affected by this and it is time for us to start talking.

I would like to congratulate and thank Amy Graves, Dale Jalotta and the members of the “Get Prescription Drugs off the Street” (GPDOTS) Society for their continued efforts to better the lives of our youth, not only here in the Annapolis Valley and Nova Scotia, but across Canada. They have shown exemplary strength and leadership. Although they cannot undo the tragedies they have suffered, they have shown courage, tenacity and resolve to help the rest of us avoid such sorrow.

Through these drug prevention lessons and measures, we will remember those who have lost their lives through abuse and misuse.