Katherine Kersten presents a good argument in her article entitled "Drug Education Does Not Discourage Adolescent Drug Abuse." Throughout her article she discusses the ineffectiveness of the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. The D.A.R.E. program consists of a lesson each week for 17 consecutive weeks. The program is designed to help adolescents steer clear of drugs and alcohol. Kersten maintains the audiences" attention by placing facts of the ineffectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program throughout the course of her article. The first appearance of these facts of ineffectiveness of D.A.R.E. is found on page 58 of her argument where her son implies that he, a student of the D.A.R.E. program, does not find it works, "It sounds weird, but in a way it kind of makes you want to try drugs, so see what they"re like." That does not sound like its steering young adults clear of drugs and alcohol, more like encouraging them to experiment with that of which D.A.R.E. apposes. .
Despite its huge popularity, and hundreds of millions in taxes and private contributions, no evidence exists that D.A.R.E. keeps youngsters off drugs. Kersten points out in her article that the only studies that indicate D.A.R.E. is effective are studies done by D.A.R.E. Kind of odd that the only people who believe that the program works are those who are involved in the program on a daily basis. Kersten does an excellent job of tackling both sides of the issue. Not only does she state the ineffectiveness of the D.A.R.E. program with numerous facts and detail but she adds an alternative program that with research has been proven effective. .
Life Skills Training consists of three major components that cover the significant domains found to promote drug use. The three components include: drug resistance skills, personal self-management skills, and general social skills. Research completed on the Life Skills Training has shown that with ALL three components students are less likely to engage in activities such as those that involve drugs and alcohol.
