TRINITY STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT METH

Rhett Obermann, 8, first discussed methamphetamine a few weeks ago with his dad after watching a report about the drug on the evening news. Then, after this week's classes on meth at school, he said he knows more about it than his dad.

"I didn't know you could take it so many ways," said Rhett, a third-grader at Trinity Lutheran School. "I'd never try it. It could give you a heart attack."

Trinity is one of the schools in 16 Southeast Missouri counties testing a new meth education curriculum that could be available in several Midwestern states next fall, depending on this year's results.

The five-part curriculum was developed by Southeast Missouri State University professor Linda Ferrell and Dr. John Wade, chairman of the university's criminal justice department.

The course for third- and fourth-graders starts by defining meth, then looking at how meth use relates to health and law, and finally examining its costs and strategies for prevention and treatment.

Wade has heard few complaints that starting meth education with 8-year-olds is too young.

"The goal is to get them to realize the danger," Wade said. "It is along the same lines as poison prevention education using Mr. Yuck.'"

Trinity third-grader Allie Harris said she learned about meth by playing games on the Internet with her mom.

"She even e-mailed a few questions to Dr. Wade," said mother Colleen Harris, Wade's secretary. "She didn't understand how meth could be cooked, like food on a stove."

Teachers at Kelly Elementary School in Benton, Mo., are taking two weeks to go through the material, said third-grade teacher Vicki LeGrand. Parts of the material are complicated for third-graders.

Only one parent has expressed a negative reaction to the course on meth, LeGrand said. A father objected to teaching what ingredients go into meth.

Ingredients such as cold tablets, salt and rubbing alcohol are mentioned, but the complex process of combining all the chemicals is not part of the instruction. If children know what goes into meth, LeGrand said, they might recognize the signs of meth labs in their neighborhoods.

"I think kids are more aware of what's going on than most think," she said.

The methamphetamine curriculum will be used in January at schools at Dexter, Mo., and Jackson, Mo., Wade said. Puxico, Mo., schools taught about meth last week.

Sometime later, teachers and the program's developers will gather for feedback, Wade said.

No plans have been made to try the meth curriculum in Cape Girardeau's elementary schools, said Cathy Evans, assistant superintendent. She said she was not aware of the program, but that did not mean it could not be implemented in the future.

The dangers of illegal and legal drugs are incorporated into the existing health curriculum for elementary students, she said.

What do you know about meth?

Puzzles, math games and other activities are part of the methamphetamine awareness curriculum developed at Southeast Missouri State University. The following questions are a sample of a true-false exercise on beliefs about meth.

1. You can quit anytime.

2. One use won't hurt you.

3. Meth makes you lose a lot of weight.

4. You're OK until you "rig" (use needles).

5. Meth can cause organ damage.

Answers:

1. False.

2. False.

3. True.

4. False.

5. True.