Experts Want Alcohol Awareness Education for Primary Schools
Experts gathered at a meeting in Warrnambool are calling for alcohol awareness classes to be taught in south-west primary schools in order to tackle the problem of underage drinking.
Deakin University’s Professor John Toumbourou conducted surveys at bottle shops around Warrnambool to monitor the sale of alcohol to underage buyers. Professor Toumbourou said that classes administered to primary school classes will help a generation avoid drinking during their teenage years.
We do have some work that’s done in primary schools but it’s not very effective according to Professor Toumbourou. As he explained this primary school education must be backed by information to parents which is not happening. This is significant because statistics show that most of the young people that are drinking underage are being supplied alcohol by parents and other adults in their lives.
The professor suggested introducing the classes in primary school and repeating them at secondary level. As he explained most alcohol is being provided by parents of teens and according to evidence from school surveys of 30 per cent of young people in grade six in the community use alcohol- according to data from 2006. While this number has come down slightly, it is still high and parents obviously also need education.
Professor Toumbourou went on to explain, according to an article on www.standard.net.au:
“I think we need to plan on those younger age groups because the problem has crept into younger age groups. You need to have education but you also need to deal with the actual law.
“The law says that adults shouldn’t sell or supply alcohol and that is still happening.”
Alcohol education is traditionally carried out in years eight and nine at secondary school.
The meeting of experts at Great South Coast Medicare Local heard the south-west has one of the state’s highest underage drinking rates.
South West Healthcare’s Dr Daryl Pedler said attention was still fixated on dealing with alcohol at emergency stages in adults.
“We really are dealing only with the people at the far end of the spectrum,” Dr Pedler said.
Source: http://www.standard.net.au/story/1877028/experts-call-for-primary-age-alcohol-warnings/?cs=72
The experts pointed out that what is required is a gradual cultural change around alcohol which we should approach similarly to how the tobacco problem was approached.
Another expert, Geoff Soma, the director of Western Region Alcohol and Drug Centre explained that we should try expanding alcohol awareness in year six on a trial basis.
Mr Soma went on to explain that this approach can be done as a trial first and then introduce it to an educational year. Thereafter we should follow up as to whether the approach made any significant impact, especially because the current system is not working.
The post goes on to explain:
But Warrnambool Primary School principal Peter Auchettl dismissed the idea.
“In our particular setting in our school with our students I wouldn’t see a need to include it in the curriculum,” Mr Auchettl said.
“At the end of the day it’s not our decision. If it is deemed necessary...then it would have to come from central office.”
Source: http://www.standard.net.au/story/1877028/experts-call-for-primary-age-alcohol-warnings/?cs=72
While education is key to changing the culture of drinking and the particularly problematic culture of binge drinking among teenagers, RSA staff must never forget their role in tackling this problem. Servers of alcohol must enforce RSA regulation including not serving alcohol to anyone who looks underage and is unable to produce an ID.