ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I recently interviewed my 77 year old cousin in an attempt to preserve family history in danger of being lost. He attended a one room school where first through eighth grades were taught by one teacher. He talked about the benefit of hearing lessons presented to the older students and thought the multiage classroom was valuable for learning. I would add that it probably also promoted self discipline because students had to work independently when other age groups were engage with the teacher.

I think people (teachers, doctors, etc...) need to look at the whole child in each situation. The current education system doesn't fit many children - possibly a strong reason that homeschooling is gaining momentum. We homeschool, try to keep a slower pace, don't watch TV, and limit any screen time for our children. Yet, our 6 year old has symptoms of ADHD. He may or may not actually have ADHD - the symptoms overlap with other possible issues. We will NOT medicate him! We have actually found out that he needs glasses and vision therapy (again, the symptoms overlap). Since we homeschool, we can provide the best environment for him without drugs! And our learning is ACTIVE - we don't sit with paper and pencil all day!
Also, if the government could see the benefits to the structure and philosophy of the Waldorf schools, our children would have a better chance for success in their world!

Fantastic article! The assumption that children need to be medicated for any obscure behavioral momentum is absurd. Our society has created a fast living world holding back creativity. This results in utter confusion. We need to approach each child as one. One alone and just as special. Allow this individual's creativity flourish and live. Live without the bonds of medication and their side effects. Thank you for such an impressive, well thought article. Very refreshing.

In an article published in QWeekend on January 15, 2011 there is an indepth interview and story about "The Remarkable Mr. Rush". ' Rush describes his boyhood self as the "skinny little boy by the water's edge", a late bloomer in love with the planets.....When his friends were in love with West Indian cricketers he was in love with Copernicus and Tycho Brahe.......
"I was a very late player. I used to play under the house with friends five years my junior, really. A sense of play existed well into my mid years of high school. And then I got caught up in the school drama club and there was another outlet of play on a different level."


Imagine what would have happened to Geoffrey Rush if he had been forced to do other than "play". We might now not have the wonderful actor that he has turned out to be. What if someone had told him that he should not associate with younger children.....

We should take from this article that every child in an individual, with strengths and possiblities beyond comprehension. Educators only have to encourage children to be themselves.

Finally I heard something that it is meaningful and make sense. However, I am convinced that there are real ADD & ADHD "patients" who really need other alternatives such as drugs. But most of the "patients", in this case children are misdiagnose and treated for being responsive to all the information sent to them at the same time. So, the question is: How are we going to address the Change?
Our system trends to stay the same as 30 years ago. How come? We want humankind stay the same, but in the contrary we continiuosly keep evolving and developing. Which will be your role in the line of CHANGE?
Think!

Has this been forwarded to the President and the Arnie Duncan? I would think if Educational reform is on the platform, thinking like this needs to be at the top of the pile. . .

I knew something was wrong with my 7 year old granddaughter when she hit the age of 6. She was more then just the bratty ordinary every day difficult child.

I would have loved to not put her on meds for her ADHD. We tried changing her diet. We tried behavior modification. We tried a strict routine. Nothing worked.

Now that she is on meds she can focus on her thoughts. She can focus on her school work and is absorbing it all. Math is making sense to her. Sentences have meaning. This was not the case pre med.

I enjoyed reading your article but unless you have had a child with ADHD, true ADHD you wont understand.

It might take us a while to find the right med but hopefully we will. Before you make such a big statement like that you might want to investigate with some of the families who are dealing with the real issues.

But still a good article.

Thank you Leslie Young

I read The ExchangeEveryDay daily. I most say this one stabed me to my heart.
I have always felt this way about giving young children medications (drugs) to calm them down. I am gald to hear that there is someone else out there that feels the same.

All children are not the same in their thinking, actions, emotions and defendently not in energy levels. So as Parents, Teachers, Professional educators, and Early Childhood Providers. We need to step up our level of activities or conversations to occupying their time with the amount of energy they process.
I think of it this way. All that energy is just them expressing their minds, running,and bounceing, looking for ways of things to learn. That's why we hear all the questions about any and everything.

This speech is greatly enhanced by the graphics; I hope your readers were able to download them. It's not really about ADHD; it's about education and its harmful effects on children and older students. Everything we know about brain development enforces the author's belief that the model is creating toxic stress in our children's bodies -- stress that prevents them from learning and achievement in life. That's a chemical process in the brain and nervous system. It can't be offset by deadening children's senses to affect their behavior in class. So AHDH is relevant but the problem is the education system.

I have believed this for years. We need to teach children and begin where they are and help them achieve as they progress rather than expect everyone in a certain class to be doing the same thing at the same time.

This is a GREAT read...will check out the video when time allows. Thanks for promoting.

While I applaud his assertions about changing how we think and structure our educational system here in the US to allow every child to learn from their indiviudality, I do take issue with some of what he says about ADHD. I do not advocate for always medicating a child with ADHD, medication is a part - a very helpful part for some, in managing the symptoms of ADHD. I can say that for my son, medication does not put him to sleep, it supports his brain in doing what it is not naturally built to do. It helps him filter incoming information, determine what is most important at that moment and focus on it. Not all individuals with ADHD need medication to help them filter stimuli. I agree there is not an epidemic of ADHD, there are no more individuals with ADHD than there were 100 years ago, but then could we not say the same thing about individuals with other conditions, such as arthritis? It is simply that we are more advanced in the medical field and have identified it and begun to treat it when indicated.

Changing the education system would support all children for who they are and as they EACH learn best...that I am all for.

This is a wonderful video. I have been urging schools and centers to show it to parents along with a discussion on the importance of play. His other TED talk on creativity is terrific too.
So glad you shared this!

excellent link. can't wait to watch the video.