Just say no

Niko and Lena came home from school chanting:

"No, no, we won't do drugs. Because we love our bodies too much."

Welcome to "Just say no" week at Hilton Elementary School.

The school will reinforce the message this week in a variety of ways, including allowing the kids to wear silly socks on Tuesday and their clothes backwards on Thursday.

And while I agree with the message, after listening to the chant for about an hour, I was ready for a new tune. So I asked Niko and Lena a question:

"What are drugs?"

"Umm. Well, umm. I don't know," Lena said.

Uh oh. What good is the message, if the kids have no idea what it's about, what they are supposed to say "no" too?

Is it a pill? A board game? A dance move? A powder? A piece of candy? Something you put in a pipe and smoke?

Now don't get me wrong. I don't think it's solely the school's responsibility to teach the kids about drugs. In fact, I think the responsibility lies squarely with the parents. And I did use this as an opening to talk with Niko and Lena about drugs, a conversation that will be ongoing for the next decade and a half at least. But if the school is going to send out a "just say no" message, it has to be more than a platitude. It has to mean something. Which means they have to back up the chants -- the easy part of the lesson -- with real solid and practical information about what to say no to, and how to do it.