In less than a week Spring Break will be here, marking the completion of three quarters of the school year. The shift in season is evident in our hallways with more laughter and a louder buzz amongst students. It’s amazing what a little sun and pause in tundra like temps can do.
Among the average high school student body, with the change in seasons there is the tendency for a more care free spirit that can sometimes be accompanied alongside impulsive behaviors. Our kids are precious and irreplaceable. Throughout the year I am in classes addressing topics pertaining to good decision-making, and always stressing how fragile and fleeting life can be.
I believe that we have some great kids out there, but the reality is that teenagers are at higher risk for impulsive decision -making and sometimes the best kids can make some potentially life altering decisions. Even the smartest of kids may choose the wrong option in the midst of peer pressure and timing.
Driving under the influence is a topic that most students would say has been around for as long as they can remember. What I’d like to examine is not the driver, but the passenger. Before our students graduate from Seneca I will have likely been in two to three of their classes, one of which, is driver’s education. I’ve come to the realization that many of our kids would never drive under the influence, but the line is much grayer when it comes to entrusting their safety to a peer or family member driving under the influence.
After one drink a young person’s perception begins to be altered. After taking a hit off a pipe or getting high off of a bong, the mind is altered. This may seem like common sense, but that’s not always the case. When someone doesn’t appear intoxicated it can be more difficult to say no. The one point I always try to convey is that both alcohol and marijuana do affect reaction time. There are some who believe driving under the influence of marijuana, compared to alcohol, isn’t quite as risky. But even a two second delay with a light, stop sign or turn can mean the difference between life and death.
I believe that if a young person is in a situation like this they have a choice to spend the night or call a parent or a loved one. We can empower our kids that in the most precarious of situations, they have the ability to rise above and do not only what is safe, but the right thing. My hope is that as we approach spring break and then into the summer months our young people will know that there are so many chapters ahead of them, but the quality and quantity of our years can so often be dictated by the decisions we make.
Every choice is an important one and it's so very critical we continue to maintain that dialogue of good decision making with our young people because there is nothing more precious than our kids.
