Miss Benning was a health teacher at the most financially challenged co-ed high school in the state. Although she had been teaching for only three years, she had already secured a reputation as an instructor with educational approaches that motivated and encouraged pupils to learn and to think.
For instance, one Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 she addressed the students in her classroom and stated the following: “For the next three or four days we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a general point of view and we are also going to learn about some of the most familiar signs of alcoholism from a more specific viewpoint.
Not all of these alcoholism signs will categorically reveal that a drinker with a drinking problem is a person who is alcohol dependent, but the more signs that an individual exhibits, the stronger the probability that he or she is an individual who is alcohol dependent.”
Miss Benning then explained to the members of the class that each pupil would be accountable for investigating two alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her conclusions to the rest of the class via a five minute oral presentation.
The Students are Energized About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Pupils About Alcoholism Signs
After learning about the diverse signs of alcohol addiction for a number of days, the time had arrived for the oral presentations. It was at once noticeable that her pupils were energized about the subject matter because the material that they presented was exceptional. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the fervor manifested by the students in her classroom regarding this subject could not be overstated.
The day after all of the students completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcoholism signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked the students in her class to study the list and rank the top seven alcoholism signs that were most indicative of alcoholism. After roughly fifteen minutes, Miss Benning collected the sheets of paper and informed her pupils that after she tallies the numbers, she will present her findings the next school day.
There was some real anticipation by the pupils while they were exiting Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.
The Students Contrast Their Answers With the Evaluations From A Panel of Substance Abuse Authorities
When the next school day finally came, Miss Benning gave out a piece of paper that listed the top three alcohol dependency signs according to the students’ rankings. To the left of these results, she included another column that was labeled “correct answer.” She then explained to the students in her classroom that the numbers in the new column she added signified the answers that were constructed by a group of drug and alcohol addiction authorities.
Miss Benning told the pupils in her classroom to look over the information on the piece of paper she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any concerns, questions, or issues. Within a minute or two, almost everyone in the classroom raised his or her hand. It was obvious that the pupils had some concerns, questions, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. For instance, almost every individual in the classroom disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, to be precise, “Do you feel really ill when you stop drinking?”
The Chief Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Addiction That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then told the students in her class why this answer was the most accurate indicator of alcoholism. She pointed out that the primary difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol addiction and not with alcohol abuse.
Essentially this means that when a person who is alcohol dependent suddenly quits drinking, he or she will suffer through alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then told the students in her class that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the lack of alcohol to which they had become acclimated. Stated more precisely, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an individual who is alcohol dependent that something is very incorrect and needs to be fixed. These signals consist of several dangerous, uncomfortable, and painful withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a loss of life if the proper treatment is not promptly received.
Miss Benning then discussed the many different alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be gone through when an individual who is addicted to alcohol abruptly quits drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underscore was this: an individual who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcoholism signs that the students had ranked, but the one sign or symptom that few, if any, alcohol abusers ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To articulate this as plainly as possible, Miss Benning stressed the point that alcohol abusers, unlike alcohol addicted individuals, are not alcohol dependent and consequently, when they quit drinking, they almost never experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Pupils Think They Have Uncovered A Variance With the Findings From The Group of Alcoholism Authorities
The pupils also had a problem with the second ranked answer given by the alcohol dependency professionals, to be precise, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to get rid of a hangover or to steady your nerves?”
Miss Benning told the students in her class that this sign does not inevitably signify that the problem is alcohol addiction, but that it does emphasize the need that alcohol dependent individuals have to drink in order to avert alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the importance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the individual who is alcohol dependent, the pupils started to recognize the essential difference between alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked her pupils to take out a sheet of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is alcohol dependent knew about every one of the alcohol addiction signs and alcohol withdrawal symptoms we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol addiction treatment?”
After approximately two or three minutes, Miss Benning asked for the pupils’ predictions. While many pupils figured that about 80 to 90 percent of alcohol addicted people would get alcohol dependency treatment if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol addiction signs, most of the pupils thought that this number would not be less than 60 percent.
The Pupils Were Amazed to Discover That Only 25% of Alcohol Addicted Individuals in the U.S. Seek Alcohol Treatment
To the shock of most of the pupils, Miss Benning proclaimed that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the people who are addicted to alcohol in the U.S. ask for alcoholism rehab. This amazed most of the pupils because they believed that first-hand knowledge of the alarming statistics and facts correlated with alcohol dependency would motivate most of the alcohol addicted individuals to get alcoholism rehab.
Miss Benning then stated that alcohol addicted individuals not only need alcohol on a daily basis in order to function but they also require alcohol on an everyday basis so they can steer clear of possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Clearly, the alcohol addicted individual’s need to drink on a daily basis is stronger than facts or logic. Certainly, because the desire for alcohol is “reality” to the individual who is addicted to alcohol, this is difficult to reverse.
A few minutes later the bell rang, indicating that the end of class had arrived. Based on the buzz manifested by the pupils when they were leaving the classroom, Miss Benning knew that she had inspired and stimulated the pupils in her classroom to stop and think about an important health and social problem that exists in our country.