Officer George Stephens did not like the energy he was getting from the seventh grade students in his Drug Abuse Resistance Education class at Briggs Chaney Middle School in Burtonsville. So the Montgomery County Police veteran stopped his lesson for a dance break.
Suddenly, two dozen students rose from their chairs and slowly started dancing behind their desks. Everyone was soon happily moving and singing a call-and-answer song about D.A.R.E., Stephens included.
Once the song ended, the students returned to their seats and the lesson continued as if nothing happened.
‘‘You have to keep them going," Stephens said later. ‘‘Teach, then have fun. Teach, then have fun."
Stephens has been doing both for 12 years with the D.A.R.E. program, teaching thousands of students at 30 county schools. His work was recognized this summer in Nashville, when he was awarded the D.A.R.E. America Lifetime Achievement Award.
The normally talkative Stephens, 42, of Burtonsville, was at a loss for words discussing the honor. ‘‘To be recognized for something you love to do and be recognized by D.A.R.E. ... It was unbelievable," he said.
On the way to class recently, however, it was Stephens doing the recognizing in the hallways. ‘‘You better stop running or I’m gonna call your mama," he called out to one student.
Stephens greeted and playfully teased many, complimenting one student on his new glasses and telling others to keep moving to their next class.
The constant movement and energy carried over to the classroom, where Stephens’ lesson dealt with the effects of drugs on the brain. His discipline comes across casually (‘‘Please stop talking, because I’m the police and I can see and hear everything") as to not interrupt his lesson.
Many of Stephens’ teaching methods were subtle but purposeful. Instead of calling on students raising their hands to answer questions, he tossed a ball for them to catch. Not only does that keep students involved, he pointed out, but it empowers them as the focus of the entire class.
Stephens also made clear there was nothing wrong with being wrong. ‘‘That’s the best learning opportunity," he said to a group of students afraid to guess an incorrect answer. ‘‘Do your best, that’s all I want."
Stephens became a county police officer 17 years ago after a stint with the FBI. One day he saw a notice for D.A.R.E. training and decided he wanted to teach.
For six years, Stephens was one of the county’s full-time D.A.R.E. officers until that department was disbanded. Currently, Stephens works in the police recruitment department and teaches D.A.R.E. part-time at Briggs Chaney and Galway Elementary School, as a well as a parent version of the program in the Northeast Consortium. Stephens also trains prospective D.A.R.E. officers both locally and around the world.
But home for Stephens is with his students, and not only in the classroom. He attends sporting events, recitals and other after-school activities and has even chaperoned field trips, often on his own time.
That is what makes Stephens effective, said Kimberly Johnson, Briggs Chaney’s principal. ‘‘There’s an honesty that comes along with George that students appreciate and respect," she said. ‘‘He gives students another image of what police are there for."
Before last week’s class ended, Stephens took questions ranging from how police know if something was bought with drug money (‘‘We have ways") to the veracity of a scene from the movie ‘‘Friday" (not true).
The D.A.R.E. lessons have evolved since Stephens began from ‘‘say ‘no’ to drugs" to focusing more on decision-making and group learning, which Stephens thinks is an improvement.
‘‘[Students are] very savvy and very educated," he said. ‘‘We can’t teach them like they don’t know anything."
Not surprisingly, Stephens’ favorite part of teaching is interacting with students. His greatest joy, though, usually comes from former students. Like the ones who wear their D.A.R.E. T-shirts the year after his class. Or the three Bowie State University students who gave him hugs during a recent recruitment visit to the campus and proudly told him they were still drug-free.
That he can have an impact on students’ lives well after class ends drives Stephens to reach out to as many students as possible.
‘‘It’s the intangible reward," he said. ‘‘You never know who you are going to touch."
by Danny Jacobs Staff Writer Gazette.net
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