Talk to your mom friends. How many of them have children who are alphabetized? Maybe yours are alphabetized. You know the alphabet A, B, C... A.D.D. or A.D.H.D or.... think of a letter, come up with a syndrome. Or string them together... M.P.D...S.T.D.
I was talking with a dear friend about learning, teaching, testing styles. Our conversation focused on our local elementary school which is a multiple intelligence school but it truly teaches to a limited population of children. And that being the children who sit up straight, sit quietly, learn quietly, listen and then take tests in the prescribed time. Yes the students learn through Physical Education, and Art and Music the same concepts they are investigating in Science and Language Arts, but they teach to the pool, the model. And then they test. "You have 50 minutes. Complete this essay. Fill in these blanks." And if your child doesn't fit this mold, well then there is testing, meetings, I.E.Ps, and possibly medication.
Maybe my assessment is extreme, I will admit to not being a psychologist and I know I'm making huge generalizing here, but is it? There is little tolerance for variability in the public school setting. We must get through this material. The MCAS is coming. What I'm seeing is many many children are being labeled as deficit or delayed or whatever. It all means the same, these children are not up to speed. Well, all these children cannot be wrong or broken. There are too many of them, and their pool is growing. So where is the error in our thinking?
Many children and adults labeled with ADD and ADHD are wicked smart. They are passionate, neurons firing, sponges. They think and think and think of new ways to do things and even cooler ways to think. Exploring and developing. But not always able to convey in the mandated ways the importance of their explorations. So their value is not measured by standard tests. But there is awesome value there.
I'm proposing that before all this alphabetizing great engineers, musicians, scientists, mathematicians, writers, artists were just allowed to learn and explore, dream and develop and then produce on their own time. Trained as a scientist I have watched and been amazed at the wonder hypothesized by my more contemplative coworkers and classmates. They take in all this info, they ruminate and process all the data and their permutations, and then they produce beauty. It's an art form to be able to think.
I wonder if Galileo was ever timed over his discoveries? Or Michelangelo ever rushed over his art?
What am I saying here? I'm saying the pace of life is increasing logarithmically with the speed with which we can access information. The electronic age is bombarding us with data 24/7. It's a ever increasing constant. Does that even make sense? An ever increasing constant....
And the masters, the thinkers, the passionate, they remind us to take the required time to evaluate all the data, and then move forward. These thinkers are not disabled, nor are they working at a deficit. They are our artists for the future. Let them paint in their own time.
6 comments:
Nice riff. Well said. No arguments.
And then along comes reality and the need to do a lot with limited resources.
Like trying to find time to exercise even though we know how wonderfully beneficial it is.
Or finding time to volunteer because we know there are so many in need of our time or talent.
And then work, with a never ending stream of projects to take on (voluntarily) (on top of the day to day responsibilities).
And let's not forget all the great books we'd like to read, but they pile up collecting dust.
And the home improvement and fix-it-up projects that are clamoring for our attention.
Patty, hidden amongst all of this is a big pile of "figure-it-out". Not sure what the answer is, yet it takes a voice like yours (and many more) to move a mountain.
Praying the serenity prayer for you, the children, and the world. :)
Jeff,
The need to write, volunteer, exercise, food shop or/and laundry. All tasks that require our time. Adults are better time managers than children, usually. Learning that skill is a part of growing up. Not accomplishing everything we want is a part of life.
I just hope this fast paced world isn't killing the spirits of those who hold the best and brightest ideas towards mankind's future. We are looking for instant gratification. And by doing so not allowing for different thinkers to think differently.
In a fast paced world. I keep telling myself, 'Figure it out'.
Been thinking differently about balance, excuses, regrets, second chances, and permission for five solid years, and even before that.
There's the herd, and then there's the movement. It's in the book.
Can't wait for the book.
Realized recently I'm not part of the herd.
Never was. Never will be.
But being part of the movement; that's golden.
Patty, the herd is safe. Everything else is scary.
Taking risks is scary.
So is playing it safe.
Happy Thanksgiving Eve.
As we age we realize the herd is scary. And it's better to slip away moving with our own comfortable rhythm. There is comfort in being the best we know we can be, rather than who others think we should be.
"If you are kind and your kindness is rebuked, be kind anyway." Quote attributed to Mother Theresa
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