There are many back to school needs and many anxieties about anything new that the student has to face. The best thing any parent can provide is love and information about the future and its needs. For example, if a student has a learning disability have they owned the problem and do they know what accommodations they need in order to be successful? I have sat through too many school meetings where they student did not know what their diagnosis was yet alone what they needed to be successful. These were juniors and seniors in high school who were not prepared to deal with the real world. Students need to be able to speak for themselves. I have also sat through too many of these individualized education plan meetings where the student’s career goals were not aligned with their abilities. It is fine for a kindergarten student to think about being anything when they grow up. It is not fine or realistic for a senior in high school to have an unattainable career goal that does not match his abilities and minimizes his weaknesses.

Does your student know about drugs and the legal and financial consequences of using/selling drugs? Legal charges can eliminate certain careers and eliminate financial aid.

Check out Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for more information. In general do they understand the consequences of drug use?

Check out my math lesson Heroin Hell on the www.theslipperyslopeofsubstanceabuse.com or do they think they are invincible?

Check out my algebra lesson: Narcan and the Invincibility of Youth on www.theslipperyslopeofsubstanceabuse.com .

This lesson is a good algebra refresher and an eye opener to drug use. Does your student know that Narcan does not always relive an overdose? Does your student know how to prevent or stop bullying? How savvy are they with social media and how do they handle the pressure of social media? In an age where you can download a recipe for meth and cook it in your kitchen, does your student know the fast and ugly way that meth changes a person? Check out my lesson Meth Math at www.theslipperyslopeofsubstanceabuse.com                                                              

Cocaine is always a popular drug and the math lesson Crack Cocaine on the website teaches math and valuable information on cocaine. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are still very important but today's students need to know so much more in order to survive and be successful in high school and beyond. Don't just buy them a new backpack; provide your students with love, information and the confidence to succeed in school.

Patricia Petrusik, author of The Sober Cat retired from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation in the Pittsburgh area. She holds a guidance certificate K-12 and an addiction certificate, C.A.A.P. She also developed an educational game, “The Slippery Slope of Substance Abuse.”