These students aren't just having a ball.

They're learning the realities of the impact of alcohol

In one class, our students take turns wearing specially designed "beer goggles" that make it impossible for them to be sure they're walking in a straight line or throwing a ball in the direction they mean to throw it. The goggles don't simulate drunkenness. They do allow teens to know what it is like to be unable to trust their own senses.

• The point we make is this: drinking steals your hard-won good judgement.

We want all our students to understand that alcohol in the bloodstream distorts not just perception and motor control and reaction time-it distorts thinking itself.

• Getting teens ready for the challenge.

The choice not to drink or drive or ride with a driver who's been drinking must be made ahead of time.

The goggles help our students see why.