ADHD or just lazy teachers?

[Christy]

Okay Claire,

My son is dyslexic. His whole flippin family on his father's side is dyslexic. I informed the public school system from day one my kid was probably dyslexic. (they won't even test for it until 3rd grade).

3rd grade rolls around, he's tested. His scores match up to precisely what your run of the mill dyslexic would. The schools "findings" were that he showed "dyslexic tendencies" but they felt he was more likely suffering from ADHD.

You see Claire, ADHD is much easier to treat than dyslexia. With an ADHD diagnosis, you simply feed a child mind altering drugs and they sit like zombies in the classroom. Much easier for a teacher to deal with. They don't have to deal with a kid raising their hand time after time saying they don't understand. Drug em and they simply don't care.

I immediately cried and eventually pulled my kid out of public schools and homeschooled (while working full time). He made more progress in the few months I was able to homeschool than all the years he was in public school, but he was still behind. I stuck him in a private school and he's "magically" been able to learn. They don't do anything special in the school he's in. They simply focus on the basics, rather than all the touchy feely garbage in public elementary schools. My kid didn't require "special" treatment. All he required was an EDUCATION, just the basics, just the foundation.

The basics are no longer taught in public schools. Public school education is about a mile wide and an inch thick. It's all The "good" students are able to pick up the brief lessons in grammar, spelling, and math and go with it, but many kids (especially boys) don't, so they are classified as "learning disabled". They're held to a lesser standard. They don't have to know how to spell or to put a sentence together in order to pass with flying colors. They just have to "behave".

Sure my son has a harder time grasping spelling and reading, but amazingly, when his private school teacher put the hammer down on him and demanded he do his work properly, he managed to put out that extra effort to do so.

Anyway, off my soapbox and to the point at hand. Do we have a bazillion kids in the United States with ADHD, or our public school teachers, and the public school system in general simply lazy?

 

[Kizzy]

Your right, Christy.

I've posted here on in this board the problem I'm having with my youngest. He is just too busy and the teachers cannot handle a busy student. Now, my oldest is a wiz kid, but that doesn't mean every child in the public school system is. I know that acting now and seeing the problem with my youngest is half the battle. We have teachers that think the job should be easy with wiz kids, like my oldest, and they fish for a reason they cannot reach children such as my youngest. So, ADHD is a bunch of to me. I was told my youngest is ADHD by a teacher. The doctor said he is too young for some teacher to even say that.

 

[Christy]

Hey Im, I'll bet your youngest is a "wiz" too, just doesn't have much patience for learning via reading, would rather be "hands on". My kid is a "3 dimensional" learner, and learning anything from books simply doesn't interest him. He can figure out just about anything he can put his hands on, take apart, put together etc...

He also has a very good grasp on "theoretical" stuff, anything dealing with physics, space (like in the planets, their atmoshpere and it's effects, light years etc etc..) he completely gets (and I don't, well it just never interested me I suppose).

Not sure if you caught the picture of Einstein I have hanging beside my computer, but I bought it for him and it states "Imagination is more important than Knowledge, Knowledge is limited, Imaginatin encircles the world".

My feeling is that the public school system is "limited" and makes every attempt to squash "imagination" or any outside the box thinking in kids.

 

[Kizzy]

The next year will tell me a lot with the youngest. He will be attending a private school in the fall. I think in time he will surprise me. He went to the museum in Calvert today and he just had to know about everything. He sat there while I read the information off the boards to him and asked ton of questions. He was ticked off that they were closing, because he wanted to see everything a 2nd time. I thought this showed his willingness to learn, something the school he currently attends said he doesn’t possess.

 

[Christy]

See, IM, your kid IS a wiz. The best way I've handled my son is to keep it all in perspective. He was force fed so much negative in public school, like "you're learning disabled", "you have a problem" etc.. that his self esteem tanked. I tell him everyone sucks at something. (however, just cause you suck at it doesn't mean you don't have to do it.) I told him I've always sucked at math, and he finds great amusement in asking me math questions that he can easily answer and I have to really think about.

 

[Dymphna]

I wouldn't blame the teachers specifically. I'd blame the system. They hire people who specialize in the most common problems seen by public schools. They cannot afford specialists in every area. So anyway, any kid with a problem is sent before these specialists. They know there's a problem, but maybe not what it is, but it's their job to find a solution for this child. The result is, they treat them the only way they know how, usually by diagnosing them with ADHD and drugging them up.

This is a major flaw in the public school systems, but they have to cater to every student, covering the whole spectrum of problems that children can have and they have limited resources to do so. It has to be up to the parents to stand up for their child and get second, third opinions and find out the best treatment or learning options for their child.

 

[Christy]

Originally posted by cmcdanal
I wouldn't blame the teachers specifically. I'd blame the system. They hire people who specialize in the most common problems seen by public schools. They cannot afford specialists in every area. So anyway, any kid with a problem is sent before these specialists. They know there's a problem, but maybe not what it is, but it's their job to find a solution for this child. The result is, they treat them the only way they know how, usually by diagnosing them with ADHD and drugging them up.

My kid didn't require a "specialist" to "treat" him, as don't most kids. They require teacher interaction. My kid was shoved in the back of the classroom and ignored. He turned in crap work and it got stamped with smilie faces and stars. It's all

 

[pixiegirl]

Personally knowing a handful of public school teachers I'd have to say it's the system. My son will never ever attend a public school if I can help it. I've seen a few kids my age come out of college and start their teaching careers with so much stamina it's amazing. After a couple of years they are squashed by the system (the administration). The classes are too big and when there are a handful of kids with behavior problems (no matter why they have them bored, not challenged, they're just bad, etc....) they have to think about the benefit of the whole as opposed to the benefit of the few.

So these "bad" kids are labled as "troubled", "learning disabled", and "ADHD" and dealt with accordingly. Sometimes they're put in different classes with kids classified as having similar problems. These classes are much smaller and often don't use conventional learning methods.

Anyway, I guess what I'm getting at is it all looks good in theory. But the administration needs to recognize the fact that for the most part it's not working. I attended public school my whole life (except for my sophmore year) and it was ridiculous. I was never taught anything in class that I couldn't get out of the book myself at home. I dropped out of college for the same reason. Most kids are a lot smarter then we give them credit for.

 

[vraiblonde]

It's interesting to me that when I was a kid, we didn't have things like Ritalin and ADHD. Teachers knew nothing about it because, for all intents and purposes, it didn't exist. There were a few kids in my class that had learning issues and they went off to a special ed teacher for an hour a day to help them orient their brain for learning and catch up.

So I vote "lazy teachers". They've done everything they can to point the blame at other influences. So now we have a much longer school year, we have kids being medicated, the per kid expenditure has gone way up. None of it seems to be correcting the problem of students not learning. Yet teachers STILL insist it's not them.

 

[Dymphna]

Maybe I made that sound too clinical. Afterall, they weren't doctors, they were teachers and maybe psychologists. But as such don't have any right to "diagnose" ADHD. That is a medical condition.

The testing officials label kids that because they need to label them something so they can decide how to treat them (not treat in the medical sense but in a behavioral one)

My earlier point was that the school system is overwhelmed. There are so many issues kids have and so many of them are misunderstood, including dyslexia and ADHD. They can't possibly understand them all or hire enough people to understand it all. As a result, the public school system is not suitable for every child.

I read an article a couple of years ago about dyslexia and problems similar to yours, basically the school system not knowing what to do about it. I can't remember where I read it but I think it may have been the Washington Post. This one particular family in either Montgomery or Frederick County fought to have their child given special attention to help him work with his dyslexia. The school system mislabeled him, put him is special ed classes which didn't help. The family finally put him in a private school and sued the county to pay for it. I think the "no child left behind" act or some similar law requires the public school to provide the resources. It's along the same principle of hiring an interpreter for a deaf child or braille text books for a blind one, at least that's the argument the parents had. The lawsuit dragged out because the family had to prove that the interventions the public school tried (ie. special ed classes) were not appropriate for his problem and the school system should've known that. The schools' argument was it would've worked eventually, but the parents didn't wait it out long enough. If I remember correctly, the parents won the case about the time the boy graduated from high school.

It's not fair to you that you have to become the expert, that you have to research what options, teaching techniques, etc. that may help your son. The schools should have someone to do that, there should be someone, who, if they don't know the answers, it is their job to find out, maybe there is a person like that but there are far more kids and far more issues, learning styles and disabilities then there are people whose job it is to find out how to accomodate them. It's not fair, we are told that it is part of the American dream that every child get a free education. Now we are told that there will be "no child left behind." But it is our responsibility as parents to make the school system see our children and their individual concerns, issues, learning styles etc. in order to make the system work for us and our children. It's not fair, but I wouldn't call the teachers or the school system "lazy," just overwhelmed.

 

[Ken King]

I would say the system is the culprit. Too much special interest driven attention and making the child feel like they belong instead of the actual learning of reading, writing, and arithmetic basics. Some teachers with innovative ideas are squashed by the system because their idea doesn’t fit the structure and curriculum that they “must” follow. If we are all unique, as we are regularly reminded, wouldn’t it make sense that it might take differing approaches to help all the kids achieve the same level?

BTW is ADHD what they used to call “day dreaming”, usually brought about by a task too mundane to keep excitement and attention?

 

[pixiegirl]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
It's interesting to me that when I was a kid, we didn't have things like Ritalin and ADHD. Teachers knew nothing about it because, for all intents and purposes, it didn't exist. There were a few kids in my class that had learning issues and they went off to a special ed teacher for an hour a day to help them orient their brain for learning and catch up.

So I vote "lazy teachers". They've done everything they can to point the blame at other influences. So now we have a much longer school year, we have kids being medicated, the per kid expenditure has gone way up. None of it seems to be correcting the problem of students not learning. Yet teachers STILL insist it's not them.

Vrai, you and even I grew up in a different time then these kids. The whole system was different. Hell my mom was paddled at school. Of course kids are going to sit and be well behaved if they're going to get hit. When I was in middle school there were real concequences, stuff like detention. By the time I had reached highschool I'd get suspended (ohhhh big deal). I'm not saying that all teachers are great teachers because I know I've had a few that were not. Funny thing was most of my bad teachers were in college. It's easy to point the finger at the teachers but it's the entire system that needs to be evaluated.

 

[Kain99]

Originally posted by cariblue
ADHD is attention deficit with hyperactivity.

The ADHD diagnosis really scares me. I have no personal experience with the issue but from the outside it looks like a really bad excuse for people who don't want to do their jobs.

 

[Kain99]

Another thing.... It would be really easy to diagnos Biscuit with attention deficit.

He can't remember a darn thing I ask him to do. He's gets hyper as he!! over the things I do... and he bores easily.

Maybe I should have him drugged! Bet I'd get my way more often.

 

[Ken King]

Originally posted by cariblue
ADHD is attention deficit with hyperactivity.

I was probably thinking ADD. So just to be clear, the kids don't pay attention and run amok, is that right? Well it sounds like over half the kids I went to school with way back when. Seems the system isn’t trying very hard to keep all the children interested and getting them an education, just the easy ones. All that energy trapped in a boring class makes it tough to control, but as I recall the more exuberant students had tasks that helped with the class preparation and helped channel their energy into a useful product. Those that couldn’t be channeled ended up at the principal’s office.

 

[vraiblonde]

Let me correct myself - it's not the teachers, in and of themselves. They're just victims of the system as well as the children. So sorry to all you teachers out there - I know most of you are trying and that the deck is stacked against you. What I meant to say is that it's the school system.

However, as has been pointed out, there are certainly lazy teachers out there that would rather drug a kid than try to capture their attention. And some are just nuts.

 

[Bruzilla]

Who, or what, exactly is "The System?" Is it the county-level Administration? Is it the State-level Administration? Is it the principals and assistant principals? I don't know about you guys, but in all my time dealing with Administrations I've found that they are not interested much in the day-to-day activities of teachers. They are administrators who are focused on obtaining money and spending it. At the school level they are responsible for overseeing the teachers, staff, and facilities, not the students.

When I hear blame being placed on "The System" I have to believe what people are really talking about teachers. Teachers, not the Principals, Superintendents, or Secretary of Education, have the ultimate say over students. I've seen far more damage done to junior teachers and students by senior teachers than from all of the administrators I have ever known.

Teachers are just like any other human beings... as they get older they want life (and work) to be easier, not harder. They like things to move along swiftly and smoothly, and when they don't they move to get rid of the agitation as swiftly and smoothly as possible. If a new teacher comes in and wants to go the extra mile or two to make a difference, that means that the older teacher must also do these things in order to keep up. It's a lot easier to discredit the younger teacher than to change how you do business.

The only blame I would place on administrators would be their systematic abolishment of corporal punishment. When you had to worry about getting a hard wack from an oak paddle, you were usually able to come up with a way to behave yourself without the need for medications.

 

[RoseRed]

First Gay High School

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by RoseRed
First Gay High School

Very interesting. My first thought was, "What a great idea!" Then I thought about it a little more. Gays ARE different - they just are. They are outside the norm of society, which is overwhelmingly heterosexual. If my son or daughter were gay, I'd want them to learn to assimilate as best they could, not "stick to their own kind" and be sheltered from the realities of human bigotry.

If schools would punish the bullies and enforce a zero-tolerance plan, you wouldn't need to segregate gay students.

 

[pixiegirl]

Vrai, wasn't it you that use to have the sig line with something about personal responsibility? Someone did and personal responsibility comes to mind in the case of the school system. The public shcool system sucks and it's our responsibility to make sure our children are well educated. Sure the state, county, etc should have a decent place to educate all children but the fact of the matter is they don't and it's on us to make sure we either remove our children from the entire situation (home school or private school) or make up where the system is failing (helping kids with their homework, making concequences for bad behavior/grades). But just like everything else.... that's just my two pennies.