This chapter began with the history of Laurie. I really felt for Laurie as the author began describing how her personality changed with the induction of medicine for ADD. As teachers we all have students every year that exhibit the ADD traits and some are medicated and some are not. I have often thought I wonder how these children will be in 10, 15 or even 25 years. It seems almost cruel to have so many children medicated for such long periods of time. I know ADD truly exists and believe me I have had my fair share of students who have had ADD or ADHD, but are there really this many children today that have these disorders or is it poor parenting or even environmental issues? I find it hard to believe that sometimes up to 1/3 of a classroom can and need to be medicated for attention difficulties.
The academic difficulties that Laurie experience were very typical of students that have attention problems. I really felt for Laurie while reading. We all have students that just seem to really struggle with reading. I did wonder why Laurie was expected to do the same program as the other students when she was being taught by a “seasoned teacher” in first grade. I felt some interventions were really missed for Laurie in the regular classroom. She did have the Title One reading group, but by then the gap was really too big for her try and close. Early intervention is vital for struggling readers.
Laurie was also hindered academically by her home life. I felt so sorry for Laurie when I read about her dreams of a fairy tale family that she would never have. Sometimes life can be so cruel to children. Often adults are unaware of how much their children are hearing and internalizing. The home issues Laurie faced had to take a big toll on her personal and academic life.
The observer in Laurie’s classroom that eventually became her tutor played a vital role for Laurie. She was a friend, teacher and role model. She helped to give Laurie the attention and love that she needed during difficult moments in her academic career. Laurie’s mother and grandmother also helped to mold her personality. They created an independent, active and motivated little girl. I hope that in the future Laurie experiences even more positive things at school and home. If she continues medication, I hope to read that it will help her behavior and not hinder her bubbly personality.
Comments (7)
Beth, I think you made a really good point when you discussed early intervention being so vital to struggling students. It was so frustrating to me this year as a fifth grade teacher to have students who did not pass the EOG, not even close, because they quite frankly lacked the skills necessary to take the test. One student in particular failed both Reading and Math. Why? I believe a lot of his problem was that he should have been retained YEARS ago. Had he been retained in first or second grade, he might not be repeating fifth grade next year. In my opinion, it is much easier on the child to retain them at a lower grade than at a higher. When students get to fifth grade, or higher, it is such a social burden to put these students through. Older students have such a stigma about retention that I just don't think it's fair to let them pass through all these lower grades that they should have been given intervention or retention just to be stuck at the "Gateway". What does this say about our education system? ~Allison Reese
Posted by Allison Reese | June 12, 2007 3:08 PM
Posted on June 12, 2007 15:08
beth,
i totally agree with you about the medicine for add/adhd. i have had children on medication and some children that other teachers would say needed it but did not use it. i too wonder what kind of effects they will have years from now from taking this medication for so many years. some children that take it become so "out of it". and sometimes they just dont eat. when parents ask me if i think their child needs to be on medication...i quickly say that i am not a fan of medication for children and plus i am not a doctor! if i would not want my children on medication, then how can i tell another parent to give their child pills. i believe that sometimes you just have to meet the child where he/she is.
i also agree that waiting for intervention until second grade is far too late! the gap only gets wider and wider as a child waits for service.
really liked your post!
donna byrd-wyatt
Posted by donna byrd-wyatt | June 12, 2007 5:37 PM
Posted on June 12, 2007 17:37
Hi Beth,
Laurie’s diagnosis of ADD also bothered me as well. My biggest concern came from the fact that all of the inappropriate behaviors were occurring at home. I wondered why such behaviors were not occurring at school if they were happening at home. I too wondered if Laurie’s problems were environmental rather than behavioral. One wonders if Laurie could have been acting out in order to gain attention from her mother and grandmother. The author’s discussion of Laurie had told us previously that she had been almost like a caregiver to her siblings. By acting “badly” she might receive the attention that she needed from her family members. In any case, I too was saddened by the fact that the medication seemed to taker away her spirit and creativity. I have seen this too many times with students in my own classroom.
Kelly Mabe
Posted by Kelly Mabe | June 12, 2007 10:23 PM
Posted on June 12, 2007 22:23
Beth,
I also struggled with the fact that the "seasoned" teacher did not do more to help Laurie. She expected her to read and develop just as all the other students. How many more "Laurie's" were in her class that slipped between the cracks? What could the teacher have done to help Laurie once she realized her difficulties? It saddens me that it took an "outsider" to help her. This gives teachers a bad name.
Posted by Andrea Lehman | June 13, 2007 4:19 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 16:19
Beth,
I had many of the same questions as you while reading this chapter. Why did the ADD diagnosis occur, and was it really needed? The outburt behaviors seemed to be mostly at home, and perhaps different parenting strategies could have helped alter that behavior. Also I wondered about the teaching as well. If the shcool knew it wasn't working for Laurie, why didn't they try something different? I agreed as well that early intervention with struggling readers is the key. That is why I am so incredibly frustrated and stumped to say the least with my students that I have in 7th grade that have gotten where they are with what they have. At some point I feel someone has almost given up on them. They were Laurie's too I guess. I honestly don't know what the answer is.
Posted by Sarah McMillan | June 13, 2007 7:13 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 19:13
Sarah I shared similar sentiments with you and Beth. I too questioned the reason for the diagnosis if the behavior was occurring at home and this is what the child was observing.
Early intervention is the only way to truly help children get ahead and have a fighting chance. The later we intervene to help children the more difficult it will be to help them learn the skills they missed along the way so they can catch up.
Schools need to look at what is happening in a child's home life to see if it is affecting their learning. If so, we have to work with the child's in different areas to help him/her be successful. How do we do this? I am not sure, but we need to find resources and services or develop our own methods to help children like Laurie if we want to see all our children succeed.
Posted by Danielle Griffin | June 13, 2007 10:32 PM
Posted on June 13, 2007 22:32
I too wonder about the consequences of overmedicating this generation of children. I'm not sure what that will be, but I worry about drug dependency as being a major effect.
Does anyone know if the rise in medicating children has led to academic gains overall? Or if there is more social and emotional stability in the classroom as a result?
Posted by Alecia | June 14, 2007 8:38 PM
Posted on June 14, 2007 20:38