As a teacher and someone who was affected by having a mother with an alcohol addiction, I found myself learning and growing with the students. It was beautiful to witness their socratic seminars and how important different perspectives are. I also believe it is very important that students lead the conversations so that a variety of voices are heard. It is crucial that community members and professionals joined this project. Alateen, the DEA, TURN Organization, Judge Tim Nader, and others were key components in our learning as a class.
Hearing that addiction was the main part of the project was mind blowing because addiction is an issue which is rarely discussed in schools. We discussed these addictions through socratic seminars as well as research papers that helped increase our level of understanding on the topics. Not only were these discussions helpful for the project, we also understood more about each other’s opinions and experiences. We knew we had to spread the awareness about addictions so we planned to design a billboard. With the money raised in a walk-a-thon, we were able to get our billboard displayed in Barrio Logan for two months. Overall this project has made a huge mark on all of us. It was so moving, meaningful, and developing.
