I DARE you...

to show me why DARE is a good program. As the government cuts funding for it, I find myself perplexed..This is the second year I have sat and watched the DARE program take place in my classroom. The books were new this year, all in full color, half as many pages..why you ask? The DARE officer tells me they cut funding..

uhm, ok..so lets think this through. Any moron knows just by comparing the two books that it would cost about the same to print them, regardless, because one was black and white, the other, full color!!

So what did my kids do in DARE, you ask? They filled a box with useless questions all week for the DARE officer to answer, that is, if he showed up to talk to my kids. Did he actually teach? Are you kidding? The answer is NO..I'm not sure how 22 students managed to write a DARE essay on what they learned in DARE when I know first hand that he taught them absolutely nothing!

Read this page..read that page..oh, i'm about done with the program this year..graduation? Whats that? Oh wait, thats MY JOB..not really, but who else is going to take charge because it obviously wasn't the useless DARE officer! So I did it..because I'm not going to let my kids' parents see a half baked graduation..

Did my DARE officer show up for graduation practice? Of COURSE not!! Did he put the students' names on their certificates? Well, he lost the list, and I refused to do it the day before and made him come in an hour early to do it! He promised them pizza..12:15 I tell him..thats LUNCH time..when does he show up? 12:30!!

And my tax money pays for this program? Why? I keep asking myself why? Soon, I'll be asking the chief of police the very same question..because this year, DARE just didn't cut it..

but then again, does it ever?