Hooked in the Heartland: Educators bring message home

A lot scares Tim Delmore about drugs after 40 years of teaching health.

It scares him that using the hard stuff inevitably will land users in jail or in a grave. It scares him that drugs can affect anyone, regardless of social group or economic class. And it scares him that each new drug seems more potent and unpredictable than the last.

"I've taught in five different decades, and the drugs have gone like this," the Red River High School teacher said as he moved his hand up and down.

The veteran educator says he believes children have started to use more dangerous drugs sooner in recent years.

"You never heard of a 16-year-old shooting heroin," he said. "Somebody who shot heroin was a 40-year-old who lived under the bridge. Now you have high school kids who are doing that."

Delmore's fears are not unfounded. According to Substance Abuse North Dakota, drug arrests in the state for substances other than marijuana, alcohol and prescription drugs among children ages 17 and younger reached 395 in 2014, a significant increase from just more than 250 in 1999.

Delmore doesn't know of one way to stop everyone from doing drugs. But still, he tries.

He believes education in schools about substance abuse is more important than ever because other traditional channels for getting messages out to students aren't as effective anymore.

"We're the only ones who really have the kids as a captive audience," Delmore said.

A decade ago, he explained, plastering anti-drug public service announcements on the radio, television and in newspapers would be guaranteed to reach children, but the rise of new technology, including social media, has reduced their interaction with those traditional platforms.

There's no one-size-fits-all message, and so understanding how to craft an anti-drug message so children will listen is another challenge entirely. Whether through ad campaigns, documentaries or class discussions, health educators must make the message relatable, because otherwise students will tune it out.

Building relationships

During his 20-plus years as an educator, Red River counselor Geoff Gaukler has learned the importance of building trust with students in order for them to confide in him.

"It's one thing to be approachable, it's another thing to be seen as trustworthy and seen as an advocate," Gaukler explained, "so they're not concerned about being in trouble, and they see someone who can help them through this."

He acknowledged that building those relationships takes time, and he makes an effort to get to know each student starting from the beginning of their high school years.

"Just reassuring them from time to time," is important, Gaukler said. "Maybe they come in to talk to you about a class or registration, something that's kind of trivial, but then just always finding those opportunities to just (ask), 'How's everything else going for you? Is there anything going on in your life that you want to talk about?' Just kind of extending that invitation, if you will."

Central High School health teacher Jeff Bakke expressed a similar sentiment.

"There have been kids who have insinuated that they are using drugs, and I haven't immediately sent them to the police station," he explained. "I think that's part of it, trying to let them know that it's not just about getting them in trouble; we're trying to stop people from dying."

'Faded'

UND literally drove the message about substance abuse home last spring with "Faded," a 45-minute documentary showing how addiction to fentanyl touched the lives of four young adults in Grand Forks.

Since its release in May, "Faded" has been shown in screenings and health classes across the region. Gaukler said it has been incorporated into the 10th-grade health curriculum, and school counselors also have shown the documentary to junior and senior classes to lead short discussions.

"The kids are definitely much more engaged watching it than maybe other things we've seen, just because there is this local connection," Bakke said. "They're seeing scenes from around town and places they recognize."

"It makes kids see that stuff does happen here, even the kids who went to our own school," sophomore Natalie Buck said.

"I think it's interesting to see how it affects the families," sophomore Josh McKeever added. "We don't get the perspective of here in Grand Forks very much ... It's kind of a wake-up call to see that it happens here, too."

Not buying it

Delmore said he believes smoking marijuana is almost guaranteed to lead to using more potent drugs, especially if children begin at a young age.

"There's no doubt that marijuana is the gateway drug," Delmore said. "One of the things that brain research has told us is that when kids start to alter their brain state, their brain gets used to it after awhile."

But not all students are quick to buy the idea. The breakdown seems to come when they see a difference between the message being sent and realities they see around them.

"I feel like a lot of people in this town who do marijuana don't do it enough that they need to go to that next high," Josh said.

Natalie agreed, saying "I think there's some people at Central who have definitely moved on from weed, but there's a lot of people who've just done it a few times."

Back to the well-framed message: "I tend to tune out the ones that talk about no matter what, your life is going to be terrible," Josh said. "Some of the things where they talk about if you do marijuana, you're guaranteed to go to the next drug and the next drug."

Gaukler said he sometimes has to adapt to these types of attitudes among students, especially those who have admitted to him that they have used drugs or are frequently in an environment with substance abuse.

"Is it my job in that case to make sure that student never smokes marijuana again? What is my role in that conversation?" he asked. "I recognize I'm not going to help lead every student to that resolution, so what's more important for me is keeping that dialogue going and helping that student be as safe as I can."

Sophomore Colton Kiley acknowledged the it-won't-happen-to-me attitude can make students more likely to tune out anti-drug messages.

"Sure, it happened to these people, but we think we're smarter than that," he explained.

Kennedy Hanson, another Central sophomore, said "Faded" helped her understand the connection between marijuana and other drugs.

"All of the kids who were in the video, they started out just smoking marijuana with their friends," she said. "Everyone says that marijuana is a gateway drug, and I didn't really understand how it was a gateway drug until I saw the video."

Delmore and Bakke said they spend time in class helping students understand the disruptive effect drug use can have on their everyday lives, an approach that seems to resonate better than shocking scare tactics.

"I choose not to do that kind of stuff because of sports," said Natalie, who plays volleyball, basketball and softball. "If you get caught doing that kind of stuff, you can't play, and sports are a big part of my life, so I wouldn't want to risk it."

Colton pointed to the potential effect on job opportunities as another motivation for steering clear of drugs.

"You have to do drug tests for work, so if you get caught or they hear anything ... I have a pretty good job. I don't want to risk losing it," he said.

Despite the uncertainty about whether anti-drug messages are getting through to children, Bakke said his colleague Delmore has offered some optimism. "He always stresses everyone always does focus on the negative, but at the end of the day, most kids are doing everything they should ... 'Here's a story for you (Delmore said): 1,100 students didn't get in trouble yesterday.'"