This taxpayer would love to see a unified appoach to education

There are some things that just do not work. After studying psychology at USM I took a liking to the cognitive behavioral model. This model of teaching and learning works. It laid out in plain simple language with scientific backing what would and would not effect human behavior. Recently in a attempt to change alcohol consuption by minors the city of portland funded a study by Erica Shmidz. The study confirmed that doing something was in the best interest of our city. Just what exactly should be done is where folks tend to differ. The study by Schmidz targeted the drinking behavior of adults and sought to impose more strict sentinces to people providing youngsters with booze.
I do not have a hard time with either of these ideas. I do have a hard time with how the city goes about doing this. The goal is to have kids not get hurt ultimately. I would argue we could kill a number of birds with one stone by approaching this with the Cognitive behavioral approach. Teaching kids more adaptive, alternative behaviors aimed at achieving the same rewards will encourage them to be more creative when they fraternise with thier peers.
We should concentrate on empowering adults who are around kids and the kids themselves. Right now the council is going after adults at bars with city permits raised. They are looking to teach adults who drink a lesson in prohibition. They want them to get the message, drink up so we can pay for our budget. Our city council needs to stop wasting our time. They need to stop being reactive when they are over budget. Proactive plans to help kids develop healthy attitudes around drinking are the answer.