Teachers are not here to solve drug problems

Most of the people giving quick comments about drugs in our schools had the right idea — parents need to be doing their job of raising their children.

Being their pal won't work for most teens. They really want you to say "no" so they don't have to make those decisions that they really aren't ready to make. They don't realize how taking drugs or drinking too much alcohol will affect their future.

Please don't ask the schools to do more. I taught for 38 years, and teachers are asked to do more and more all the time. If we are to concentrate on teaching the standards that have been handed down to us to teach, we don't have time to do the parents' jobs as well.

As an elementary teacher I was asked to teach sex education, drug education, toothbrushing skills, study skills, health and more, depending on the grade level — and don't forget to teach reading, math, P.E., writing, social studies and life, earth and physical science.

Oh yeah, don't forget geography, so they won't be one of those people on the street who doesn't know where the capital of their country might be!

How many of you know the three branches of the government and what they do? Standards say that all third-graders should know this information.

So please don't ask teachers to also solve the drug problems in our schools.

Parents need to step up and parent the children they chose to bring into this world.

Janet Ferguson
Lodi