Through a broad program structured by the teacher's organization, headed by Alfonso Cepeda Salas, General Secretary, it was possible to inform and reflect with students from secondary and upper middle education, on the risk of addictions as well as the importance of physical and emotional health care.
The actions were carried out with the participation of 53 union sections all over the country, during the period from May 8 to July 14, in 25 000 secondary schools and 7,300 upper secondary schools.
In the program, students had the opportunity to dialogue and reflect with people in rehabilitation and specialists in the field. Likewise, videos were produced, and students and parents participated in the design of wall newspapers, posters, and leaflets, based on the guides that the educational authority distributed among the school community.
In the different outreach activities with the students, it was discovered that there is an information gap about the effects that drugs cause to health, as well as the belief among young people that narcotics are not "so harmful." Many were surprised to learn that certain substances can cause addiction from the first time they are consumed.
The environment of trust generated by teachers opened the possibility of continuing with the prevention of addictions in the educational communities.
When taking stock of their participation in the "Strategy in the classroom, prevention of addictions. If you take drugs, you get hurt”, promoted by the Federal Government, the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) announced that this program will continue to be developed to support education workers, students and parents in the fight against this scourge.
To obtain better results, the SNTE worked in coordination with different organizations and institutions, including the Secretary of National Defense, the National Council Against Addictions, addiction care centers in the states and some universities, although the main alliance was with mothers and fathers.
It is important to underline that the Union received requests for the campaign to be extended to primary schools, in order to start prevention from an early age.
The SNTE reiterates its willingness to continue collaborating with the Ministry of Public Education in this campaign proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to safeguard the health and physical integrity of children and young people, avoiding drug use.