During the second week in March, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Forms attended a series of alcohol-and-drug-prevention talks with Mr. Luna Gayeski. Students met as a whole form and then were broken into smaller groups to enrich the learning experience.
“I liked that there were no teachers in the room,” Third Former Eric Xiao said. “It created a safe space for questions.”
“When an adolescent is told not to do something, they are naturally inclined to seek out why an adult would tell them no, and that curiosity often leads them to engage in the very risky behavior adults are trying to prevent.”
Mr. Luna Gayeski
Having no teachers in the room was also essential to the learning experience to further Mr. Gayeski’s technique of answering questions over lecturing. This was appealing to the younger upper school students, as lectures can often be boring.
The PreventionEd organization, Mr. Gayeski’s employers, has a modern, interesting approach to prevention. Mr. Gayeski never said that “drugs are bad,” nor did he express any personal opinions.
“Teenagers want respect,” he said. “We give them that through the ability to make their own decisions.”
“When I was in graduate school at Villanova University pursuing my master’s in counseling, we learned extensively about how those older methods like D.A.R.E. and scare tactics fall short,” Middle School Health Instructor Mr. Miles Katzen said. “When an adolescent is told not to do something, they are naturally inclined to seek out why an adult would tell them no, and that curiosity often leads them to engage in the very risky behavior adults are trying to prevent.”
Although the approach may be controversial, it is backed up by modern research, and this approach will likely be adopted when informing current and future Haverford students.
“I like PreventionEd because they present you with facts rather than opinions,” Third Former Tristan Doerner said.
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