I first came across Peter Gray’s work in a Psychology Today column. He’s a brilliant psychologist and unpacks the value of play and unschooling using solid research.
This talk once again reinforces to me how much I’ve been brainwashed by the education system.
Schools today have shaped most of our thinking…to our detriment and to the detriment of society as a whole.
Filed under: Free Range Education, Uncategorized | Tagged: Peter Gray, play, unschooling | 1 Comment »
Is ADHD a disease? Nearly 10% of school aged kids will be diagnosed with, yes, what is referred to as “a disease” in America.
Here’s a few articles worth reading if you have ADHD swinging from your light fixtures.
The first one is an article entitled Why French Kids Don’t Have ADHD. It’s an interesting read and points out some of the cultural differences that drive the ADHD industry (or not.) One thing I don’t necessarily agree with though is the inference that if you just control your home environment, your hyperactive wonder will settle down. And even if you *did* have the perfect home environment, our schools and culture are a HUGE factor in facilitating gnat-like attention span.
I’ll say it again: I don’t believe ADHD is a disease. BUT…I do believe that some kids are wired in such away that they are at odds with box that is imposed on kids at younger and younger ages. So to suggest that parents just do as the French….well, these parents are already grappling with enough guilt and feelings of inadequacy.
The other article, Inventor of ADHD’s Deathbed Confession: ADHD is a Fictitious Disease caught my attention for a few different reasons. First, the enormity of the power of social engineering that is at work.
The other thing that never fails to take my breath away is the conflict of interest with the brains behind the DSM and their connections to big pharma. There’s a lot of money to be made in the ADHD industry.
What do you think about these articles?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: ADD/ADHD, ADHD, ADHD/ADD | 3 Comments »
If you’re new to my blog, you may be wondering who I am and why I write about these things.
In the podcast, Dr. Pei and I discuss our journey with ADHD, starting with when our oldest son was diagnosed around age five.
Here’s a few of the things we’ve learned:
Be sure to take advantage of the eBook offer on her page! Or sign up for email notifications on my blog and I’ll send you one.
Filed under: ADD/ADHD, Free Range Education, parenting, PDD-NOS, Resources, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Wow! It’s been nearly two years since I’ve written on this blog. Since that time, we’ve graduated our oldest, Daniel and we’re getting ready to graduate Molly this year.
So now I can say wholeheartedly…unschooling WORKS.
And that’s what I’ll be writing about more in the days ahead as I finish my next eBook on Free Range Education.
If you have a child with ADHD or other learning differences, come hang out with me!
I’m looking forward to reconnecting.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
It’s time to pack it in folks. I’ve been in the blogosphere for many years and have written hundreds and hundreds of posts. I’ve loved writing and I’ve appreciated each and every reader and commenter. But it’s time to move on.
I have a house full of teenagers and a major rehab project with our current home and there is only so much time. “Writing time” has always been a number one priority in my day but I’m finding that for the foreseeable future, it’s time I button up the puter and focus my energies elsewhere. (I look at my dwindling frequency of my posts and realize that this speaks for itself!)
Thank you so very much for being a reader and especially for the wonderful gift of friendship so many of you have given me. In the meanwhile, I’m sure I’ll continue scribbling away thoughts and pieces in my many notebooks after all, I am a writer.
You can still find me on Facebook and yes, I’m still available for coaching if you or someone you know needs some help navigating the ADD/ADHD waters.
Thanks again for being a reader…and for all the love and encouragement many of you have sent me over the years. May it return to you many times multiplied.
Warmly,
Theresa
Filed under: Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Have you ever gotten a product home from the store and discovered it doesn’t do what you expected it to do? Anytime there’s a gap between what’s sold and what’s reality…you know there’s been some marketing afoot.
I can think of no other place that illustrates this more than our school system. We are promised that school will be all things to all kids. We are told kids will be prepared for the future. Learning differences will be accommodated and bad teachers will be sent on their way.
One need not look very hard to see that these promises fall short on delivery. Our present educational models are failing our kids!
We need change and we need it now. Charter schools offer a great opportunity to do just that. Montana is one of ten states that do not allow charter schools and it’s high time to get with the program.
We need your help.
This Wednesday, the hearing on HB603 Public Charter will be heard at 3:00 p.m. in Room 303, at the Capitol.
Rest assured the the unions and higher ups in education will be there in full force. We need to let the senate hear our voices. I mean, really, this comes down to….who’s going to make the decisions when it comes to school choice (or lack there of) for our kids?
Come, be heard.
Filed under: Current events, Public schooling, Uncategorized | Tagged: charter schools, MT charter school bill, MT HB 603 | Leave a Comment »
Things continue to move forward with the charter schools. I listened in to a few of the law makers share their thoughts the other day. One advocated for the charters. The other opined ominously, “I’m not sure this is the time to try something new.” Sneaky me, I was able to catch that guy’s response on video. Here, take a look:
Do you remember this fellow? He’s bound to be anywhere there’s a new idea being considered.
I wanted to leap to my hiking boots, wave my arms and shout, “If not NOW, WHEN?!” (Like I needed to stick out more in my bright polar fleece in the sea of uber important looking suits filling the room.)
With all due respect though, I could follow his reasoning. Something new means it might not work. There might be waste. The results may not pass muster. It might FAIL. And we have been well trained to avoid failure at any cost.
I hope this bill passes and I hope it ushers in a new day of plenty of failure. Because failure means we’re shaking things up and moving forward. Failure means we’re trying new things, exploring uncharted territory. Change and failure go hand in hand. It is something we should pursue not avoid! And yes, it is scary.
To maintain and defend the status quo, broken as it is, is something far scarier to me. (Added bonus: If a charter does “fail” there is accountability and recourse unlike a typical public school.)
Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Henry Ford
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
I think that’s a reasonable question to ask since ADD/ADHD is considered a medical condition by many people. Like other “diseases”, it has diagnostic criteria, medication protocols, support groups and a host of therapies available for the afflicted.
I know, I know. I’ve watched too many House, M.D. episodes but the first thing that comes to my mind when I receive a diagnosis is….Is it fatal? Is this really just dandruff or heartburn? Or is this a symptom of some horrible auto immune disease that will lead me, flake covered and burping, to an early grave?
So what about ADD/ADHD? I think it’s fair to ask about the mortality rate. Of course, I’d have a hard time finding any data quantifying death by daydreaming (ADD- inattentive type) or by jiggling themselves to death. (ADHD, heavy on the “H.”)
Hopefully you realize by now I’m speaking tongue in cheek. Of course ADD/ADHD doesn’t kill. Not in the physical sense anyway.
But I do contend it does cause death. Kids that are told repeatedly, from the time they’re old enough to bounce off the walls, that they are defective. That they must sit still and pay attention. That their handwriting’s sloppy and fer crying-out-loud, clean up this mess would ya?
There’s something that dies in a kid when they are constantly bombarded with a steady stream of negative messages.
Yes, I know living with ADD/ADHD presents some challenges. Yes, I know they have a tough time in school. And yes, sometimes they DO need expert assistance with some of the issues.
But I’m going to say it over and over again….we need to ask ourselves how much of the “symptoms” are realized because these kids are put into an environment that is not healthy for them.
Fun useless factoid: My friend Marci hates these.
I wouldn’t expect a Russian olive tree in Montana to grow in Florida. Nor would I expect a Royal Palm tree to survive one week in Montana’s northern climate. They would both die.
Can't quite picture this growing atop the Continental Divide.
A typical classroom environment, something I’m not particularly nuts about anyway, is especially detriment to the child with ADD/ADHD or other learning differences. Even the best teacher in the world has system driven limitations that impede her efforts in helping these kids.
It’s a losing proposition all the way around.
What about a different approach to their education? How about one in which a child has the opportunity to explore their passions and direct their energies into topics they find fascinating? What about one where teachers become facilitators and encouragers instead of test monitors and compliance police?
How different would it be if parents decided their kids were uniquely wired and a special gift to the world? (Because frequently these kids grow up and become movers and shakers.)
What if we let these kids lay down their pencils and get their hands dirty with real world education? (Let’s face it; some of them will NEVER have decent handwriting anyway.)
I get pretty jazzed thinking about what happens in my heart when I reframe the challenges.
And instead of a “mortality” rate, ADD/ADHD could become the only “disease” process that can have an outcome of greater life and endless, wonderful possibilities.
Filed under: ADD/ADHD, education, homeschooling, Individuality, Labels are for Soup Cans, parenting, Personal development, Public schooling, Special Needs' Kids, Uncategorized | Tagged: ADD/ADHD, educating child with ADD, educational models, identity directed education, learning differences | 2 Comments »
This brilliant Seth Godin article made me want to shout. I’ve cut and pasted here for your viewing pleasure. I’ve studied the marketing tactics used by universities and colleges and this article is spot on. Don’t be fooled for a minute- today, many higher ed institutes are more driven by economy than the quest for knowledge and exploration.
And remember! Tonight’s the night I participate in my very first “Teleseminar” with Deb Ingino of My Wired Style. We’re going to have a great visit…only made better if YOU join us! Details are in my right hand side bar. There will be time for Q and A afterward so bring your questions!
For 400 years, higher education in the US has been on a roll. From Harvard asking Galileo to be a guest professor in the 1600s to millions tuning in to watch a team of unpaid athletes play another team of unpaid athletes in some college sporting event, the amount of time and money and prestige in the college world has been climbing.
I’m afraid that’s about to crash and burn. Here’s how I’m looking at it.
1. Most colleges are organized to give an average education to average students.
Pick up any college brochure or catalog. Delete the brand names and the map. Can you tell which school it is? While there are outliers (like St. Johns, Deep Springs or Full Sail) most schools aren’t really outliers. They are mass marketers.
Stop for a second and consider the impact of that choice. By emphasizing mass and sameness and rankings, colleges have changed their mission.
This works great in an industrial economy where we can’t churn out standardized students fast enough and where the demand is huge because the premium earned by a college grad dwarfs the cost. But…
2. College has gotten expensive far faster than wages have gone up.
As a result, there are millions of people in very serious debt, debt so big it might take decades to repay. Word gets around. Won’t get fooled again…
This leads to a crop of potential college students that can (and will) no longer just blindly go to the ‘best’ school they get in to.
3. The definition of ‘best’ is under siege.
Why do colleges send millions (!) of undifferentiated pieces of junk mail to high school students now? We will waive the admission fee! We have a one page application! Apply! This is some of the most amateur and bland direct mail I’ve ever seen. Why do it?
Biggest reason: So the schools can reject more applicants. The more applicants they reject, the higher they rank in US News and other rankings. And thus the rush to game the rankings continues, which is a sign that the marketers in question (the colleges) are getting desperate for more than their fair share. Why bother making your education more useful if you can more easily make it appear to be more useful?
4. The correlation between a typical college degree and success is suspect.
College wasn’t originally designed to merely be a continuation of high school (but with more binge drinking). In many places, though, that’s what it has become. The data I’m seeing shows that a degree (from one of those famous schools, with or without a football team) doesn’t translate into better career opportunities, a better job or more happiness.
5. Accreditation isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.
A lot of these ills are the result of uniform accreditation programs that have pushed high-cost, low-reward policies on institutions and rewarded schools that churn out young wanna-be professors instead of experiences that turn out leaders and problem-solvers.
Just as we’re watching the disintegration of old-school marketers with mass market products, I think we’re about to see significant cracks in old-school schools with mass market degrees.
Back before the digital revolution, access to information was an issue. The size of the library mattered. One reason to go to college was to get access. Today, that access is worth a lot less. The valuable things people take away from college are interactions with great minds (usually professors who actually teach and actually care) and non-class activities that shape them as people. The question I’d ask: is the money that mass-marketing colleges are spending on marketing themselves and scaling themselves well spent? Are they organizing for changing lives or for ranking high? Does NYU have to get so much bigger? Why?
The solutions are obvious… there are tons of ways to get a cheap, liberal education, one that exposes you to the world, permits you to have significant interactions with people who matter and to learn to make a difference. Most of these ways, though, aren’t heavily marketed nor do they involve going to a tradition-steeped two-hundred-year old institution with a wrestling team. Things like gap years, research internships and entrepreneurial or social ventures after high school are opening doors for students who are eager to discover the new.
The only people who haven’t gotten the memo are anxious helicopter parents, mass marketing colleges and traditional employers. And all three are waking up and facing new circumstances.
Filed under: College education, education, homeschooling, Labels are for Soup Cans, Personal development, Public schooling, Uncategorized | Tagged: college, higher education. alternative colleges, Seth Godin | 1 Comment »
I see that hand at the front of the class….yes….you, Sally.
Sally asks, “Theresa, you sure do a lot of bitching about the educational system. What do you suggest we do with our kids who have learning differences? And what makes you such a freakin’ expert?”
My response:
Yes, I am a critic of our education systems. I have been ruined through the teachings of people like John Taylor Gatto, Seth Godin or Sir Ken Robinson and will never view a government school in the same light. (And a tip of the hat to Chris Davis who was the first person to first send us on the wonderful journey of Identity Directed Education. I credit him with saving my sanity back in the early days of home educating our kids.)
But for me, the opposition to the systematic process of schooling got personal when I realized that to insist Daniel, now 15, fit into a Scope and Sequence at the age of 6 would end in disaster. Especially since by then he was diagnosed with ADHD, Sensory Integration Dysfunction and other garden variety delays.
I immersed myself in educating myself about these matters. I found it especially curious that much of the diagnostic criteria for ADHD is centered on a classroom. (“Has trouble waiting for turns…Will blurt out answers without permission….Homework is often missed, etc, etc…”)
And I also began to question the “pathology” behind Daniel’s unique differences. The occupational therapy evaluation stated he had a fine motor dysfunction. But yet when he was two, he removed all the outlet switch covers in the living room. That’s a task I have trouble doing….those dumb screws are so small.
And the developmental delay? This kid who, at age four, knew more about plumbing than many grown men? This kid who was dismantling things and creating new inventions by age 6? (Okay….so maybe the “rodent shredder” wasn’t such a good idea but I digress.)
My wake-up call was when the developmental pediatrician snapped, “This child needs to be in school and on medication!” And this is when I was challenged—Who was the expert on my child? This doctor who just spent 15 minutes evaluating him? Or Jay and I?
It was intimidating.
I hope this illustrates that I am, indeed, a freakin’ expert. At least when it comes to my opinion and the knowledge of my children.
And that first brilliant question, Sally. (Because we all know that education often begins with a question.) What do you do? How do you educate a child who is bouncing off the walls?
A caveat: I love what my friend Wayne Jacobsen says. He is very leery of questions that begin with “How do you…” or “What do you….” Why? Because underneath the surface, it is saying “Give me a roadmap so I can repeat the process and the resultant success I see in your life.” (Those are my words by the way…with apologies to Wayne.) It just doesn’t work that way, people. That’s an approach that works on an assembly line….not on humans.
REMEMBER: Every child, every parent is different and your journey is going to be unique. Seth Godin reminds us regularly that there is no map.
So with that in mind: First thing I recommend is to WAIT. Take time sort out your questions. This is especially important if you’re bringing your child home from school environment.
A few questions worth asking:
What is my child’s learning style?
What are they curious about?
What is my learning style as a parent? (This is important to know because if you are geared toward book learning like I am, you can unintentionally create a bias against your child’s learning style if they learn best through a hands-on approach.)
What are my child’s personality tendencies? Are they sensitive follower or a take charge leader?
It’s important to consider these things regularly with your kids, learning differences or not. But I will say that if you do have ADHD in the home, the fallout from NOT considering these things can be more significant.
There are great resources to help you sort this stuff out. Hop over to my friend Deb Ingino’s website at www.mywiredstyle.com and consider purchasing the personality profile kits for your children. She is a WEALTH of information and helpfulness.
Look on Amazon and plug in “learning differences” and peruse the books.
Talk with other parents who’ve walked this out and have older kids. My first homeschool mentor was Kathy and I will be forever grateful for her heartfelt insight from raising her handful. (Who, btw, is well into adulthood and doing very well.)
And it is from here that you develop your own course of action. Set aside the map and reach for a compass.
Filed under: ADD/ADHD, education, homeschooling, Individuality, Labels are for Soup Cans, PDD-NOS, Public schooling, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
