Drugs and Christian Schools

Your students are not immune.

drugs and ChristiansChristian schools are not immune from students who deal with drug abuse, mainly because those kids are real people with real temptations and weaknesses.
Being a Christian doesn’t protect us from those temptations, but can provide the strength to overcome them.
But not always.
Sometimes we give in to the basic nature that haunts us, and do the very thing that we’ve vowed not to do.
There’s an added problem that comes with that. When we do the thing we know not to do, not only do we have to cope with the fear of people we respect discovering our weakness, but we have to deal with the internal guilt of knowing we sinned against God along with disappointing others.
There are some problems that are unique to Christian schools and the drug abuse that can occur.

  • Since Christian school teachers and administrators don’t expect to see drug abuse, sometimes they aren’t looking for the very obvious signs of the use of drugs.
  • The stigma and derision that a “drug scandal” in a Christian school would evoke from the secular world sometimes causes Christian schools to quietly expel offending students, hoping no one notices.
  • Very few Christian schools have designed programs to deal with chronic abusers, thus their only option is the quiet expulsion.

So is this an impossible problem to solve?
Absolutely not!
That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but will require a commitment to the mission of giving help to all our students, not just the ones who transgress by being late to class or laying the F-bomb on a teacher.
A major hurdle to overcome is that the expenditure of money is often involved in addressing this problem, and if you’re associated with Christian schools you know that is usually the proverbial straw that cripples the camel.
At some point, however, Christian schools have to get over the excuse of not enough money or “we can’t serve those students.”
There are some things that Christian schools can do to initiate helping those students who become drug abusers.
Don’t ignore the problem
Don’t just think the problem will go away by punishment alone
Understand that drug addiction is not necessarily and only a moral problem
Know that there are Christian-based detox and rehab programs
Be brave enough to ask for help from experts in the treatment field
Let’s face it, the problem is real, it exists. It is incumbent on the leadership in Christian schools to be proactive in addressing this problem openly and aggressively.

Finally, don’t give up or give in.

Fight on. Keep the faith. Win the battle.