Beyond Wearing Red: MS Students Learn the Impact of Choice

Beyond wearing the color red, the seventh and eighth grade faculty wanted students during Red Ribbon Week to experience how their life choices can leave lasting consequences.
Through interactive group activities and open conversation, students explored the dangers of drugs and alcohol as well as how the lives of others are forever impacted by poor decisions. At one station, students participated in a simulation showing how their accuracy and reaction time would be affected by trying to text while driving. At another station, they were asked to use statistics about teen substance abuse to represent what that percentage could look like in Mount Vernon’s group of seventh and eighth graders. Through reflection, each student recorded a video clip sharing the impact they wanted to leave on the world and how the choices they make today affect who they will become. Some of the most vivid stations allowed students to read articles and watch videos that captured the devastating experiences of others who made life-changing decisions.
Amy Wilkes, the Head of Seventh Grade and Dr. Kelli Bynum, the Director of College Counseling, organized the entire experience. Wilkes shares, “Students seemed very engaged and affected by the stories they heard and the experiences they had. The conversations were open and honest by digging deep to the root of the issue. I think students were thoughtfully considering the impact the choices they make can have on their future.”
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