James Monroe Tackles Tough Issues for Teens - WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and Sports

LINDSIDE, WV (WVVA) - Sex, drugs and depression - all touchy subjects to talk about, especially with your own children.

These topics, however, weren't too tough to address at James Monroe High School.

The school brought back an old tradition to tackle new issues for teens.

"These are issues they deal with everyday," school nurse Allsion StClair said.

Tuesday is "Teen Issues" day at James Monroe. Students took a day off from traditional classroom discussions to tackle teen angst issues head on.

As one speaker commented, "They are at that age when they think nothing can happen, they are bulletproof."

Offering 24 special sessions, teens attended 9 topics of their choice ranging from drugs, alcohol, relationships and std's to self esteem and depression.

"Our students deal with things that some people think are only adult problems, by they aren't just adult problems. They are happening right now," StClair said.

Teens say they walked away from the presentations with a better grasp on tough issues.

"It's all a touchy topic to talk about in classrooms." 9th grader Laura Jane Dransfield said.

"Today was a good day to be able to just talk about those issues."