Recently at Elm Street School in Mechanic Falls, Maine, a military man named Joe (as the kids referred to him) came and taught a six week program on drugs and alcohol. This program is taught to the seventh grade every year at Elm Street and I know that it is also practiced at many other schools, too.

I personally enjoyed the program more than anything else going on right now at school. Joe taught us about the effects of alcohol in a fun and easy way to understand. We did several hands on activities during the program and everyone that I have spoken with has had fun during this program.

We at first just got to know each other and we shared our own personal goals for ourselves and how we will get to those goals. Then we had a teamwork session where we had to help the person turned around backwards, figure out who the other classmate that was turned around was. We could not say any names and we could only use descriptors of that person. Who ever said it first won for that round and then we did it all over again. We also had to arrange ourselves in a certain way without talking or using our hands. Another short, fun, and easy activity that we did was seeing what it was like to get drunk. Not for real of course. But we put on drunk goggles that made us feel like we were drunk. There were goggles for the day and goggles for the night. He told us to catch a ball and to throw it back, and also to walk in a straight line and give him a high five. One of my classmates had accidentally hit Joe in the face! But that’s another story. We also participated in a jeopardy game and an egg drop. While doing all of these activities we learned a lot about how drugs and alcohol can harm the body and even kill a person.

The Adventure Program taught me a lot about what to do and what not to do in a situation like this. So I really had fun and learned a lot. But most importantly I want to thank Joe for taking the time to do this with us. He is a great role model and a great teacher. Thank You Joe!