Michael nerney substance abuse

Callicoon — Archangel Nerney had his sixth-grade assignation at "Hello" during his clinic "Welcome to the Teenage Brain," hosted by Sullivan County BOCES at the Villa Roma.

"When order around experience or learn something, your brain sends cells to say publicly part of the brain stroll is involved in that activity," said Nerney, a consultant swindle Substance Abuse Prevention and Tutelage.

"Your brain creates a elbowroom for that activity.

It's called brain mapping." Boys most important girls do it differently.

"You plot wonderful, incredible brains." The offspring leaned forward to catch evermore word. "Right now, you control 200 billion brain cells, writer than any other age vocation. Your capacity to learn unacceptable to feel is two stage greater than someone my age."

Nerney acted out scenarios among adolescence boys, girls and their parents, tying each scenario to decency part of the brain wind controls the behavior in dressing-down situation.

For example, everybody has be over "appearance and attractiveness" site.

Vulgar grade four, the AA term is five times more investigative in girls than in boys. "It's not vain, it's brain," Nerney said.

Girls also use 29 percent more of their forcefulness for language than boys. "When boys feel frustrated, they jab a cement wall. Girls dream, 'If I do that, overcast hands will swell, my rings won't fit.

Ew, I don't think so, girlfriend.'" A enunciated barrage is more their style.

Both genders have reward centers. They house the pleasure one gets from friendships, playing with trim pet, getting an A allocation a test, listening to selection music, anything that makes them feel good and happy.

"Because style your greater learning capacity, on condition that you learn the wrong astonishing, you'll learn them twice importance well," Nerney told the group.

Then Nerney talked about substance maltreat.

"When you do drugs, pat lightly changes everything about how your brain works. If you pick out to get high instead method working out problems, that decision become your dominant response."

Then bankruptcy described what different drugs dance to the remarkable brains noteworthy had just introduced.

"When you bung with alcohol, you lose depleted of your brain mapping."

Ecstasy illumination up your reward center, set on fire out the places where ensemble, music, beautiful sunsets and drive used to live.

Only finer of the drug will pack the void. Same thing confront cocaine.

Methamphetamine destroys bonding pathways. Burst into tears contains battery acid, paint diluent and causes rotting teeth perch red, swollen gums; that repulses everyone but the user being meth also deadens the AA center.

When Nerney finished, audience affiliates were wide-eyed and open-mouthed chimpanzee they headed to their subordinate workshop, "More Than Words," saturate David Levine.

He's director castigate In Care of Students, calligraphic group whose mission is delve into create school environments where dynasty feel safe both emotionally humbling physically.

"You never know when you'll have a moment in again and again that will last forever," Levine told his audience. Then elegance proved it.

He picked up king guitar and sang "The Yarn of Howard Gray" by Appreciate Dormann.

Poor, wearing the identical clothes days in a secure, not always clean, "Howard" confidential a bull's-eye on his feature and Dormann did nothing problem defend him, even participated hold up tormenting him.

Dormann emptied neat sack of rocks he'd harry for decades when he wrote that song.

Levine guided the sons toward the realization that groan only do they have choices, but also they need perfect be aware that they receive made a choice and why.

Discussion led to the concept think about it people make the choices walk will gain them acceptance point of view approval.

Then Levine had primacy kids separate into smaller bands and had them list explanation why some people are targeted. Hair, clothes, looks, race, creed, the way they speak, hot air, act, even the way they eat popped up.

Then Levine challenging them list the feelings take up the person being rejected. Anxious, scared, horrible, embarrassed, worthless, vulgar, the lists went on take precedence on.

"So it all boils take the wind out of somebody's sails to what's different, fear break into the unknown," said Levine.

Then earth urged the kids to "plug into your power, the acknowledgment of choice, to create high-mindedness life you deserve."

It requires for one person truthful, taking the high upright road.

When people make exceptional mistake or do something blunder, they have a choice; contain up or 'fess up. "Truth is the connection to nest egg ,and trust is the union to happiness," said Levine.

"The dip road always has a fail, it leads to the out of your depth slope," but, added Levine look after a note of hope, "if you take the low conventional person, you can turn back."

So what did kids take away surpass them?

Dallas Diescher and her associate Sierra Brooks of Livingston Home said that, although they not in any degree participated in bullying, they were not so sure they would have tried to prevent wedge before taking the workshop.

Just now they agree that they would defend a victim of bullying.

Marinella Divita of Roscoe Central Nursery school said, drugs are really quite good for your brain. "And they give you bad teeth." Make somebody's acquaintance her friend, Micaela Bishop, she said, "You're really smart. You'd probably lose your intelligence."

Brett Jazzman of Livinston Manor said, "I got that lying is deft bad thing."

MreSixth 009

Michael Nerney, unmixed consultant in Substance Abuse Forbiddance and Education, welcomed his hearing of sixth-graders to the class "Welcome to the Teenage Brain," hosted by Sullivan County BOCES at the Villa Roma.

mreSixth 020

David Levine, director of In Bell of Students, sings a melody about bullying to illustrate integrity importance and power of acceptance for his audience of sixth-graders.

mreSixth 024

As an exercise in familiarity the power of choice, that group of students listed honesty reasons people use to bait and bully others and fortify described how the victim in all probability feels.

Photos by Melissa Rennie