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k925 · 09-12-2005, 07:48 PM

Very good and well-worded points, Analog.

I agree that such programs should definitely continue, however, educators and the police should work together to present their message of safety more effectively (i.e. maximum psychological impact with minimal gory, mind-numbing slideshows).

For instance, I remember in driver's ed. when a mother came to talk to our class about how her son died and killed another random girl while driving drunk. Her story was personal, true, and there's no doubt it had a deep psychological effect on the whole class. The only remotely gruesome part of it was when she recalled seeing her son's lifeless body covered with a sheet after the accident. She showed us pictures of her son before the wreck- someone with whom she used to laugh and play- and that boy she raised and loved was now gone forever. She told the story with raw emotion, as if it happened the previous month and was still fresh in her mind... It had actually been more than fifteen years since she buried him. She's probably still going around to schools telling her story the same way today. The fact that she effectively communicated to us the pain, suffering, and the loss associated with the direct, permanent result of drunk-driving absolutely negated the need for graphic pictures.

I've never driven drunk, none of my friends have ever driven drunk, and nobody in my driver's ed. class ever had to see a bloody torso or crushed skull to keep them from driving drunk.

Lack of imagination (poor execution, like what Martian said), disregard for the dead, and insensitivity to the minds of children- that's what is occurring in that Knoxville school.

I wonder if (and really hope) the families of the deceased have given permission to show the mangled remains of their loved ones to 12-year olds. If not, that's another thing that is totally ridiculous about this story.

A dead person shouldn't be used as a visual aid in a safety presentation for kids. Let the emotionally stable adults and CSI-types look at the blood and guts, but don't crush the minds and imaginations of the children.

09-12-2005, 07:48 PM	#32 (permalink)
k925 Tilted Location: Inside an econobox	Very good and well-worded points, Analog. I agree that such programs should definitely continue, however, educators and the police should work together to present their message of safety more effectively (i.e. maximum psychological impact with minimal gory, mind-numbing slideshows). For instance, I remember in driver's ed. when a mother came to talk to our class about how her son died and killed another random girl while driving drunk. Her story was personal, true, and there's no doubt it had a deep psychological effect on the whole class. The only remotely gruesome part of it was when she recalled seeing her son's lifeless body covered with a sheet after the accident. She showed us pictures of her son before the wreck- someone with whom she used to laugh and play- and that boy she raised and loved was now gone forever. She told the story with raw emotion, as if it happened the previous month and was still fresh in her mind... It had actually been more than fifteen years since she buried him. She's probably still going around to schools telling her story the same way today. The fact that she effectively communicated to us the pain, suffering, and the loss associated with the direct, permanent result of drunk-driving absolutely negated the need for graphic pictures. I've never driven drunk, none of my friends have ever driven drunk, and nobody in my driver's ed. class ever had to see a bloody torso or crushed skull to keep them from driving drunk. Lack of imagination (poor execution, like what Martian said), disregard for the dead, and insensitivity to the minds of children- that's what is occurring in that Knoxville school. I wonder if (and really hope) the families of the deceased have given permission to show the mangled remains of their loved ones to 12-year olds. If not, that's another thing that is totally ridiculous about this story. A dead person shouldn't be used as a visual aid in a safety presentation for kids. Let the emotionally stable adults and CSI-types look at the blood and guts, but don't crush the minds and imaginations of the children. __________________ I can has furburger?