VIII.+Speakers+-+EPAVL-A

Hey groupies! So, I have a report on the drug and alcohol speaker from Gateway Rehab. Paul Granger, who came to talk to our students about 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was a disaster like no other i had known before. The students were prepped and ready due to the fact we had been studying the nervous system but unfortunately a few strong negative leaders took that class in a wrong direction and it became confrontational even when I tried to redirect their energy. I think along with being led in the wrong direction, this is an area that hits close to home for alot of students and they didn't want to "hear" what this man had to say even though he was a wealth of knowledge. About half of our 20 students REALLY wanted to listen but it became so disruptive we had to start tossing students out right and left. It really disturbed me all night when I went home---just trying to figure out the dynamics. I am SOOOOOOOO in favor of bringing the "outside" into the jail to open up thier experiences but this really made me gun shy. It only takes a few students to take it in the wrong direction. I apologized profusely to Paul Granger about the behavior...I was actually embarrased and pretty much chewed the students out after he left the room. My students knew I was horrified by their behavior. It kills me when they come back with "We're in jail, what do you expect"??!! I came back with, "you are not defined by your surroundings....you define yourself and how dare you be that weak to let your surroundings influence you like that!"....it was definitely just one of those days. I would highly suggest him for a different audience of students.....I just think it will be a long time before I dare into that area again. Lynn