This past week I did a transcription of an audio file that was a bit different than the files we usually transcribe for internet marketers and such. Norbert Georget (you can Google him) sent us an MP3 audio of a presentation he gives in high schools all across America and Canada. The topic of his assemblies: Drug and Alcohol Abuse among kids and teens.
WOW. It was extremely intense. At times I cried. At times I sobbed. You see, Mr. Georget is a paramedic who cleans up after folks who get killed in car crashes; he has been present at drug deals gone bad where his victim has been shot or has overdosed on meth or worse. He talks about finding young addicts lying in fetal positions on the streets of Saskatchewan. Prostitution. Suicide. He has seen it all. He doesn’t hold anything back with his listeners who are grade 7 through 12 students.
At the end of the presentation which consists of videos of accident scenes, cops telling parents their teen is dead, horrifyingly honest testimonials from drug users, Norbert calls a student up on stage to assist him in pulling something out of a container. Turns out it is a *used* body bag. He actually had used this particular body bag to pick up what was left of one of his “students” (which is what he calls the kids he speaks to) when he was a first responder to an accident one night. His student had been drinking and doing drugs at a party, and the student then got in a car, flipped the car, and was thrown from the vehicle.
Why am I telling you this?
I was impacted by what I heard. I was impacted by this man’s work. I was pulled into this sad and destructive world for an hour and eighteen minutes, and I found myself wondering how kids ever get into this sort of destructive cycle of crystal meth, E, pot, alcohol, and a mixture of the above.
Where are the parents of these kids who have rotted-out teeth from doing crystal meth? Why do parents allow their kids to go to parties where there is likely this type of behavior? Why don’t they know who their kids’ friends are and what kind of friends they have? Certainly there are warning signs, but why aren’t they heeded? I just do not understand.
Now I am not saying that homeschooled children are immune to this powerful blight on society today; however, by the very nature of schooling at home, parents can absolutely be aware of what is going on in their child’s life. Not only do I know where my children spend their free time, but I know who they are with, I can control who they are with, and I know what they spend their money on.
In short, homeschool parents *CAN* know where their children are at all times. The children are not gone for 8 hours (or more) of the day doing who knows what while they are out of their parents’ sight.
Yes, kids grow up and go out into the world; however, homeschooling allows a close bond to grow between parents and their children. Parents have ample opportunity to mold and shape their children’s thoughts on such dangerous and destructive behavior as drugs and alcohol. There is much more accountability on the homeschooled students’ part in general, and by the time they are old enough to be making their own decisions, a strong foundation has been laid.
And that could be enough to save my children’s lives.
Just another important benefit to home education that I had not been face to face with in a while.
Posted by urthemom 
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