Is Media Outlets Slanting the Drug Debate?

Is Media Outlets Slanting the Drug Debate?Now that our President is, indeed, a 'Big Tipper', the students at the upcoming Drug Education Video game released will be forced to debate the morality of drugs in this year's 'Flight Movie' game. But, just because the questions and controversy have reached a boiling point does not mean that we as educators should retreat in our anti-drug battle.Drugs have been with us since the beginning of time, well before recorded history. We use drugs in all different forms: for relaxation, to get through hard times, to forget about the pain of everyday life and to forget the uncertainties of what lies ahead. The goal of these drugs is to help the user to cope with the daily mundane struggle. All too often though, drugs can destroy lives as opposed to helping them.As if this were not enough, drugs are now being abused by all types of media outlets and politicians are using this epidemic to increase their voter base. When an organization like this promot es a film about an addict battling a drug problem, it is all too easy to believe that this would be a good vehicle for a story and instead it is an opportunity to raise more issues and challenges in society. This means that the Flight Movie project, and in turn, students studying the issue, needs to take a different approach and maybe we need to question the ethics of the teacher.While it is tempting to just ask the students to go on and teach students about the issues surrounding drug addiction and substance abuse, we must remember that our responsibility as educators is to provide the best possible learning experience. If this means that we might have to cross the line into political activism then so be it. We have to educate our students on both sides of the drug debate.While these two subjects may seem to be a little off the beaten path, we cannot just keep away from them like some media outlets do. We need to make this an ever-present part of our 'flight movie' so that our stud ents are able to see these questions and controversies on a daily basis.It is critical that students ask the big questions that are under the microscope. If they think they are going to be praised for their stance when they are asked the big questions, they are very wrong.Instead, we must prove that we can be professional educators without asking the big questions. We must show that when students ask tough questions that we need to be there to provide answers or support.Unfortunately, many media outlets are afraid to discuss the many facets of the drug and alcohol problem in the United States. By doing so, we can provide better educational opportunities for our students and bring this important topic up front.