LESSON WAS A JOINT EFFORT
By JOANNE WASSERMAN
How does a good teacher handle a difficult situation? Mimsie Robinson (above) says he was in a tough spot last year when a 15-year-old student announced he was a regular marijuana user and what did Mr. Robinson think about that? "How do you deal with that?
" asks Robinson. The question came, he says, during a class on how scientists develop drugs to fight infections. The student volunteered his marijuana habit and said he didn't think using the drug hurt him or that there was anything wrong with smoking pot. "He had no shame about it," recalls Robinson. The teacher's challenge was to figure out a way to present information about the drug without being judgmental about his student. So Robinson decided to show the class a video on how marijuana use can lead to harder drugs, how it can affect short-term memory and create "a feeling that one must rely on drugs to feel good.
" "Instead of just putting him down, I used his confession as an opportunity to teach a lesson," he says. A few weeks later, the issue came up again when the student borrowed a pen from Robinson. "He didn't remember to return it by the end of class," says Robinson. "I walked over to him and said, `You see? I told you it affects short-term memory!
"' Robinson says the student didn't realize what the teacher was talking about. So Robinson picked up the pen and said, "I got you.
" The student laughed. Robinson knows their discussions gave the student some "food for thought," but doesn't know if he's cut out pot smoking. "We'll probably keep talking about it," says Robinson, who knows the work of a good teacher is never ending.