The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
Northgate High School in Walnut Creek is giving Saturday school to kids who are caught vaping on campus. However, their parents must also attend Saturday school with them.
QUESTION: Do your kids tell you about how many students are vaping at their school, and do you think giving students Saturday school with their parents could be a way to end the vaping problem?
Talk about it….
Best idea yet. Parents need to be held accountable for their Child’s actions.
Watch them closely and intervene during these crucial years, before sending them off blindly to College with the overbearing peer pressure that exists.
Don’t have a child in school,…just see people vaping around town and in cars. But, the idea of a Saturday class with student and parents may be a good idea, since most of the kids in high school are under 18 years old.
Love this idea. There can be no constructive parenting outside the home, especially in a school setting, without intimate parental involvement. Parents shouldn’t see this as a punishment, but a chance to educate themselves about the realities of daily life as a kid.
im sure all parents will totally be on board having their parenting questioned and second guessed by public school teachers.. i dont remember parents coming in for saturday school when they caught kids smoking cigarettes.
That is not at all what is happening, Mike. The class is about educating both student and parent. Parents did not grow up around the products, and they change everyday- most don’t even know what they are looking for. The goal is to teach them, so that they can follow up armed with a little more knowledge than they had.
maybe not how its intended, but thats how parents will take it. instead offer a class to inform parents who would like to know more, not have it be mandatory punishment.
Hey Mike,
I teach the Saturday Vape program at Northgate and the parents are only required to be there for the first 45 min to an hour. We focus on educating parents about all the different types of vape devices that are out there, inform them about research that has been done, and provide them with resources should they need them. We are finding that a lot of parents don’t even know what the newest vape devices look like and actually have a lot of questions. We have a lot of success with the program and the number of re-offenders is really gone down. Definitely proud to be part of this program where kids are educated rather than punished (suspended) for first vaping offenses.
i guess if parents really don’t know what they look like and don’t know how to google image search they should probably be in saturday school. I concede. Curious though, how do you respond when asked “is it safer than smoking cigarettes?”
“Curious though, how do you respond when asked “is it safer than smoking cigarettes?””
Why does that matter for high school students? Both are illegal until age 21.
@Rollo Tomasi when the kids asking are already vaping i don’t think they really care about legality. just because something is illegal doesn’t mean you should be ignorant to the facts.
@Mike Kennedy: if they don’t care about legality then why tell them the truth. The adolescent mind will use the truth as incentive to continue or step up use. Tell them it’s five times as carcinogenic as smoking, they’ll get Saturday school only after the first offense, after that it’s suspension followed by expulsion. Time for that generation to learn consequences.
Agree with the others. This is a great idea.
The legal age to buy vaping devices or accessories is now 21 in California.
Your first question should be, where do the kids get their vaping devices?
I know parents who have bought these devices for their kids. Start there.
A graphic lung photo would shiver their timbers.
Who remembers Signal 30? Scaring works since no one spanks anymore.
and how is this going to be enforced? what happens if they don’t show?
My daughter graduated from NG last June…she said it’s an epidemic with how many students vape…totally out of control. Glad to see they are doing something about it.
Great idea. Vaping is one of Northgate’s biggest problems. At that age, the last thing a kid wants to do is be seen with their parents. Make them sit right next to their parents for the entire day!!
These kids maybe think the vaping eases their stress, or perhaps they are addicted to nicotine? If I were hooked on vaping I’d treat my nicotine addiction, and offer myself a replacement behavior like chewing gum. In the case of it being for stress relief, I drink “stress balance” herbal tea-which of course if I were taking prescription medicine I’d have to check with my doctor first for interactions. I also take B vitamins and a multi vitamin, and Calcium-all help with my stress. I avoid gluten also. If teens won’t eat veggies they will at least eat lettuce on something like a sandwich, and they’ll maybe eat baby carrots.
Not an idea that will work. I would say if they are caught vaping take their hardware away. Send a letter home to parents that needs a return signature.
Brings me to the idea of stopping the sale of flavored vaping material. Vaping was going along until the marijuana industry got involved. They are the ones killing people not flavored stuff. Banning the flavors will send more to the marijuana products.
Sit the kids down, give them a carton of Lucky Strikes and make them smoke them until they turn green and puke…. Old School remedy. My folks did that with me and a 1 lb. box of See’s chocolates when I was 7 or 8…oh wait, that didn’t work either, I ate the whole box. Will there be breaks during these “learning sessions”….smoke’em if you got’em.
As of tonight the death toll continue’s to climb,At least 8 have died ,2 from here in Ca.With over 800 sick with some kind of lung failure.And its now being linked to the tabacco pens as well as the THC,and CBD units.One Young man who died had just started Vaping in May of this year..I believe He was in late teens to early 20’s. Scientist and the Medical community are racing to find out what the exact cause of all this is but research as We all know takes a lot of time and money..Of the 800 sick I’m afraid We may see many more deaths with this type of progressive lung failure.This is a whole lot more serious then just getting cought smoking cigarettes in the Boys room.I think that every parent with Kids under 18 and in school should be ask to attend with their Children a couple hour evening,or Saterday,or Sunday or Midnight informational class.I think most parents would be happy and grateful for a chance to do something like this if only they were ask.These classes are in no way punishment with all thats going on with this issue This maybe the the very thing that saves their lives.This is no different then those overdosing on Fentonyl . Even worse in some ways,because its so much more subtle.This is the time if You love and want to save Your childs life then be all up in Your Child’s business Be stuck to them for awhile,rather their a little embarrassed or not What ever it takes to protect Them and keep Them alive
Do you have an article to back up to the link to nicotine vapes? Everything I find even the CDC articles link it to illicit THC vapes and vitamin e. Vaping has been around for 15 years now if it were that harmful the deaths would have been occuring the entire span if anything even more when it first started and things were far less regulated.
Not to mention this is a drop in the bucket compared to tobacco deaths.
Nicotine is extremely addictive. I’ve met people who quit heroin and alcohol, but can’t seem to give up the smokes.
The recent deaths related to vaping are likely being caused by aftermarket and black market hash cartridges, but I still feel like vaping isn’t all that good for you. I smoked for about 5 years, quit for 5 years, then smoked for about a year or so. I then switched to vaping and did that for about 18 months. I also smoked cannabis for about ten years, but quit about four years ago.
Over that period of time, I would experience bouts of being unable to catch my breath, and frequent coughing. I would even be sitting or driving, and suddenly feel like I wasn’t getting any oxygen. I am in decent shape and I work a physical job, and I never felt that way when I smoked cigarettes or cannabis. I firmly believe that it was from heavy vape use.
In four days, I’ll be one year clean of nicotine. Since quitting, I have not felt that shortness of breath that was happening when I was vaping.
There definitely need to be more health studies on vaping, if only so consumers can make a more informed decision about whether or not they choose to vape.
Hmm,Thank You . My comments were based on a CNN, innerview 09/20/19 with Denise Hinton,Chief Scientist with the FDA..One of the questions She was ask was ,Are these illnesses isolated only to the THC products,or due they also include the nicotine products as well. She said they are finding illegal imports mostly from China with the same vitamin E additives in some of the Nicotine units..This is only a small number of bad stuff that has crept into our Country .Most are as safe as safe can be when it comes to these things.I think sticking to what one knows ,works is best here.And You most certainly are right it wont ever come close to the numbers of people who died or dying from Tobacco Use.
YES, it is the VITAMIN E in the cartridges!!