Dear Parents, Guardians, and Community Members:
Years ago, I attended fall parent teacher conferences for my kindergartener. I’ll never forget this particular face-to-face because the teacher said something very confusing to me. She said, “Well, as you know, (child who shall remain nameless) is shy, and so…” At that point, I interrupted because she clearly had my child confused with another as I knew that particular Dillon was decidedly NOT shy. The teacher, who I greatly esteemed, firmly and gently corrected my perception of who my child was and is. That’s when it hit me: I’d had my very first ‘not my child’ moment and I was humbled. After all, who knows a child better than her mother? Teachers. Educators know children are not always who we think they are in every setting or given situation. This fact of life is especially true of high schoolers. The first few years of adolescence are marked by very rapid changes in all aspects of development. They move from being concrete thinkers to being able to grasp and wrestle with abstract thought. Students in this age group are trying out new ideas and adopting moral standards and values that will help guide their decision making. A large part of that process is experimentation. Here’s my point: in order to help our students make their way through the trials and tribulations of adolescence, it’s really important to avoid the ‘not my child’ trap.
Correspondingly, we have to be realistic about what our students may be getting into at school and in the community at-large. We cannot allow ourselves to believe that we live and work in a place that is perfect. High schools are not utopian societies. By the very nature of who comprises our customer base, we cannot ever be confused with Shangri-La. We are a place where learning is happening and it’s sometimes messy, rarely flawless, and always presents opportunities to learn and discover. As our students navigate the perils of growing independence and exposure to new ideas and behaviors, there will be times when we want to pull our hair out. There will be other times when we will be tempted to believe we are exempt from certain societal challenges because of where we live, who we associate with, and how we have raised our children. Our students are wonderful, kind, considerate humans. But, they are young people and they will make mistakes. Our job - yours and mine - is to be there to help them figure out how their choices impact their future selves and how to avoid making the same mistakes over again.
A few weeks ago I shared some resources about juuling. This was not a random decision. I shared these resources with you deliberately because I am concerned about this growing epidemic of use and abuse by kids in our community. Juuling, which is essentially the same as vaping only with a different device, is on the rise nationally. We are not immune. While I can say with some degree of certainty the issue is not widespread, it is clear to me that it is happening. Even though a majority of our students are not actually experimenting with juuling, just about all of our students know someone who is. So, it’s time to talk to your children. Not sure where or how to start? Check out this discussion guide for some ideas. I know some of you might be hesitant to bring up topics like drugs, sex, and alcohol because you don’t want to expose them to ideas or subjects they aren’t ready for or you think they haven’t heard about yet. But, this is high school and we have students who have engaged in all of those categories of behavior. So, I ask you to consider the alternative: do you really want your child to be unprepared for encounters where peer pressure might win out? Do you want their first exposure to these issues to be a discussion they have with other kids who may be similarly unprepared to deal with or answer questions? Think about it. Read the resources we’ve linked here. Search out more information on your own and consider how you will work to ensure your student comes to you with their problems, questions, or concerns. I know it’s hard, but you can do it. I know you can.
Centennial High School really is an excellent place to learn and grow. I am so very proud to the be the principal here and to be a partner with you as we raise the next generation of productive citizens together.
Cindy Dillon
More on Juuling:
Time: Students Are Juuling At School. Here’s What That Means. - March 27, 2018
Vox: Juul, the vape device teens are getting hooked on, explained - 5/1/18* (Highly recommended read.)
NPR: Teenagers Embrace Juul - 12/4/17
NYT: F.D.A. Cracks Down on ‘Juuling’ Among Teenagers - 4/28/18
Science News for Students: Concerns explode over new health risks of vaping. Researchers link e-cigs to wounds that won’t heal and ‘smoker’s cough’ in teens - 4/25/17