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MIDDLETOWN — A revision of the school district’s smoking and tobacco policy has arguments on both sides of the issue.
Matt Teleha, campus administrator at the Butler County Medical Center, backs Middletown schools’ revised smoking and tobacco policies, saying it promotes an overall healthier lifestyle for employees in influential roles.
The revised policies passed last week clarified that smoking was not to take place anywhere on school property — not just inside Middletown buildings.
Theoretically, a staff member or parent attending a school event could previously exit the building to smoke outside or in their vehicles. This is no longer the case .
Additionally, staff members are not to use smokeless tobacco products of any kind on school grounds.
Board member Chris Fiora was at odds with the policy change over staffers and eventually voted against it. It passed 4-1 on Feb. 28.
He argued that if secondhand smoke is a non-factor — as is the case smoking alone — the board shouldn’t be in the practice of regulating school employees’ behavior.
If an overweight instructor were teaching health, Fiora argued, would the board force him or her lose weight?
“In my mind, we’re trying to protect adults from themselves and I don’t think that’s our role at all,” he said. “I need to support the board policy. The vote’s over and I need to support what the board has decided.”
Teleha said the updated policy narrows the probability that students catch teachers smoking, thus deterring the act altogether.
“I would think young people would look to teachers to model,” he said. “I would say this is a very good thing.”
The new effects may even reach into the employee’s home to further deter smoking, potentially resulting in a healthier work force, Teleha said.
Teleha added this makes financial sense for the district because those who lead healthier lifestyles generally boast decreased health premiums.
Board member Katie McNeil, who said she occasionally smoked in college but quit cold turkey soon after, reiterated the board’s intent that teachers’ images will be protected.
“The bottom line is that we’re an educational institution,” she said. “We can’t be hypocrites here — the kids see right through you.”
Perception is reality for some kids
MIDDLETOWN — Kids are often described as creatures of emulation — they see, they like, they do.
So MHS sophomore Cynthia Hendricks agrees with Middletown school officials when they say the revised smoking and tobacco policy was primarily enacted because teachers are role models, and thus should not be smoking or using tobacco products on school grounds.
“There are certain teachers I go to because they’re really cool to talk to,” she said. “When a kid watches them they learn a lot about how to act, how they hold their standards in the classroom.”
Would her perception of a teacher change if she caught them smoking?
“Kind of,” she said. “If I was (your average teen) and I saw a teacher smoking it would kind of reinforce it.”
Statistics suggest tobacco use begins in adolescence and often because of early influences. More than 80 percent of adult smokers began before the age of 18. Additionally, a teen whose favorite star smokes is significantly more likely to be a smoker themselves, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Matthew Beatty, a senior, said one or two teachers have served as mentors for him throughout his last year of high school. They’ll offer guidance on how to prepare for college and study tips once he gets on campus.
“(Seeing a teacher smoke) could easily sway students who are lost or stressed,” Beatty said. “That’s mainly the children who are vulnerable, who are definitely the younger generation.
“It’s monkey see, monkey do.”
Although cigarette use has decline over the years, a little more than 17 percent of high school students smoked nationally as of 2009. About 5 percent of middle school students smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“(The new policy) makes a statement about who we are as a district,” said board member Katie McNeil. “Research today shows smoking is bad for your health and staff are role models.”
Stacy Elridge, a high school Spanish teacher, said that some students do view her and others in the profession as role models.
“I’ve had some of my students three years in a row,” she said. “They know me. They know my teaching style. They feel like they can trust me a little more with other things going on.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or asedlak@coxohio.com.
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