Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #83 – February 19, 2011
“Educators say non-fiction is more difficult than fiction for students to comprehend. It requires more factual knowledge, beyond fiction’s simple truths of love, hate, passion and remorse. So we have a pathetic cycle. Students don’t know enough about the real world because they don’t read non-fiction and they can’t read non-fiction because they don’t know enough about the real world, “claims Jay Mathews, a writer for the Washington Post.
I say, it’s all in the presentation. Start presenting non-fiction at an early age, use materials you know will catch their interest, and you just might hook a student and have him or her begging for more. Since 80-90% of what we read and write is non-fiction, I would affirm reading more non-fiction is an important piece of today’s education.
Reading interesting non-fiction articles during Read Aloud time, will give kids experience in listening for information, which is the purpose of this genre. Teachers consider it a challenge to find lessons including non-fiction. Adding non-fiction to reading lessons, marks a shift after years in which they put most or all of their energy into getting students excited about storytelling and reading fiction.
Children deserve more exposure to non-fiction, as most of their adult world will consist of this type of reading and writing. Kids deserve to be exposed to a variety of nonfiction books - texts in different formats, about different topics, and written by different authors. Read aloud is a perfect time for students to fall in love with nonfiction. Some of the non-fiction topics I have found that spark an interest with children include:
Animals, Heroes, Amazing & Weird True Stories (on practically any topic), Biographies/Autobiographies, Sports, Music Legends and Dinosaurs. One of the best sources I have found for interesting non-fiction articles is Kids National Geographic (online). Imagine asking your students, “Have you heard about the tattooed mummy found buried with the gigantic war clubs of a warrior? And to everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be the body of a woman in her early 20’s?”
When you think about it, from the minute you wake up in the morning, browse through the morning newspaper, follow the road signs to work, listen to the local news and weather report on your radio, grab the mail from your inbox, it is predominantly a non-fiction world. Let’s make it interesting, fun and compelling for our kids to learn and use all things non-fiction.
Oh, just in case you had a little spark of interest in finding out more about the tattooed mummy, here’s the link: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/tattooed-mummy/
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Father of American Education
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #83 – February 12, 2011
As Americans, we are so fortunate to have a free education. According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), even in today’s highly technological world, one billion, (approximately 26 percent) of the world's adult population is illiterate. Women make up two-thirds of all non-literates. Most of us take this privilege for granted. Let’s take a moment to recognize the man responsible for our good fortune.
Mann’s Beginnings
Horace Mann is known as The Father of American Education. Horace was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, May 4, 1796. As a boy, he lived in poverty and hardship on the family farm. His schooling was limited to about three months of instruction during each year, due to his duties helping family on the farm.
Mann studied hard in his spare time and after receiving some private tutoring, qualified for the sophomore class at Brown. When he graduated, he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1823.
Early Careers
Horace Mann had a brilliant career, first as a State Representative and then as a Senator, in the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1837 he accepted the position of First Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts. His humanitarian impulses led him to abandon a highly promising career in politics in favor of education. He took office at a time when glaring weaknesses existed in public education in Massachusetts. Here are some of Mann’s achievements during his twelve years as First Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education:
Achievements for Education
a. Campaigned for Education. Realizing the need for public support and public awareness of the educational problems of poor teaching, substandard materials, inferior school committees and pupil absences, Mann campaigned throughout the State. This campaign was eminently successful. The schools were improved everywhere in the State.
b. Established Schools For Teacher Training. The first Normal School for Teachers was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839 through the efforts of Mann.
c. Established School District Libraries. Horace Mann improved education by successfully advocating for the establishment of free libraries.
d. Won Financial Backing for Public Education. Mann knew the importance of money in making educational progress. Through his efforts, the wages of teachers were more than doubled, supervision of teaching improved with compensated school committees, fifty new secondary schools were built, State aid to education doubled, and textbooks and educational equipment improved.
e. Horace Mann edited the "Common School Journal" and wrote twelve Annual Reports which became famous.
Famous “Annual Reports:”
Due to Mann’s tireless efforts to improve our free educational system, many of his ideas spread and were implemented across this great nation. Here are some of his most important Annual Reports:
(1) Fifth Annual Report (1841). Mann argued successfully that economic wealth would increase through an educated public. It was therefore in the self-interest of business to pay the taxation for public education.
(2) Seventh Annual Report (1843). Horace Mann inspected and appraised favorably the Prussian school system. This report led to widespread improvement .of education through the educational theories of Pestalozzi, Herbart and eventually Froebel.
(3) Tenth Annual Report (1846). Mann asserted that education was a natural right for every child. It is a necessary responsibility of the State to insure that education was provided for every child. This report led to the adoption of the first State law requiring compulsory attendance in school in 1852.
(4) Twelfth Annual Report (1848). He presented a rationale for the support of public education through taxation. Society improves as a result of an educated p public. He argued for non-sectarian schools, so the taxpayer would not be in the position of supporting any established religion with which he might disagree in conscience.
(5.) LAST YEARS. Horace Mann resigned in 1848 to take a seat vacated in the United States Congress. In 1853 he assumed the Presidency of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He became President to implement his educational ideas in higher education. This college was coeducational and non-sectarian. The labor of raising funds for Antioch College weakened his health. He died August 2, 1859.
Final Remarks
Horace Mann had the insight to understand the importance of providing free public education for all Americans. He persevered and was a fierce champion in this effort. I for one am so glad he did!
Education is the transmission of civilization.
Will Durant
As Americans, we are so fortunate to have a free education. According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), even in today’s highly technological world, one billion, (approximately 26 percent) of the world's adult population is illiterate. Women make up two-thirds of all non-literates. Most of us take this privilege for granted. Let’s take a moment to recognize the man responsible for our good fortune.
Mann’s Beginnings
Horace Mann is known as The Father of American Education. Horace was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, May 4, 1796. As a boy, he lived in poverty and hardship on the family farm. His schooling was limited to about three months of instruction during each year, due to his duties helping family on the farm.
Mann studied hard in his spare time and after receiving some private tutoring, qualified for the sophomore class at Brown. When he graduated, he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1823.
Early Careers
Horace Mann had a brilliant career, first as a State Representative and then as a Senator, in the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1837 he accepted the position of First Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts. His humanitarian impulses led him to abandon a highly promising career in politics in favor of education. He took office at a time when glaring weaknesses existed in public education in Massachusetts. Here are some of Mann’s achievements during his twelve years as First Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education:
Achievements for Education
a. Campaigned for Education. Realizing the need for public support and public awareness of the educational problems of poor teaching, substandard materials, inferior school committees and pupil absences, Mann campaigned throughout the State. This campaign was eminently successful. The schools were improved everywhere in the State.
b. Established Schools For Teacher Training. The first Normal School for Teachers was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839 through the efforts of Mann.
c. Established School District Libraries. Horace Mann improved education by successfully advocating for the establishment of free libraries.
d. Won Financial Backing for Public Education. Mann knew the importance of money in making educational progress. Through his efforts, the wages of teachers were more than doubled, supervision of teaching improved with compensated school committees, fifty new secondary schools were built, State aid to education doubled, and textbooks and educational equipment improved.
e. Horace Mann edited the "Common School Journal" and wrote twelve Annual Reports which became famous.
Famous “Annual Reports:”
Due to Mann’s tireless efforts to improve our free educational system, many of his ideas spread and were implemented across this great nation. Here are some of his most important Annual Reports:
(1) Fifth Annual Report (1841). Mann argued successfully that economic wealth would increase through an educated public. It was therefore in the self-interest of business to pay the taxation for public education.
(2) Seventh Annual Report (1843). Horace Mann inspected and appraised favorably the Prussian school system. This report led to widespread improvement .of education through the educational theories of Pestalozzi, Herbart and eventually Froebel.
(3) Tenth Annual Report (1846). Mann asserted that education was a natural right for every child. It is a necessary responsibility of the State to insure that education was provided for every child. This report led to the adoption of the first State law requiring compulsory attendance in school in 1852.
(4) Twelfth Annual Report (1848). He presented a rationale for the support of public education through taxation. Society improves as a result of an educated p public. He argued for non-sectarian schools, so the taxpayer would not be in the position of supporting any established religion with which he might disagree in conscience.
(5.) LAST YEARS. Horace Mann resigned in 1848 to take a seat vacated in the United States Congress. In 1853 he assumed the Presidency of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He became President to implement his educational ideas in higher education. This college was coeducational and non-sectarian. The labor of raising funds for Antioch College weakened his health. He died August 2, 1859.
Final Remarks
Horace Mann had the insight to understand the importance of providing free public education for all Americans. He persevered and was a fierce champion in this effort. I for one am so glad he did!
Education is the transmission of civilization.
Will Durant
Saturday, February 5, 2011
PARENTS ALLOWING KIDS TO SKIP SCHOOL NOW A CRIME IN CALIFORNIA
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #82 – February 5, 2011
Is it okay to let kids miss school? When students miss school, they miss lectures, notes, class discussions, assignments, quizzes, and tests. It doesn't matter how conscientious students are about making up their work, they can never make up all of what they miss, even when they're absent for only a day or two. It’s hard enough to catch up after a legitimate absence, such as illness, let alone an illegitimate reason.
I have worked in schools where parents sometimes take their kids out of school for two to three weeks for a family vacation. Excuse me, but did they ever think of using the eight weeks they have off during the summer for this purpose? Then, when the children can’t catch up and receive low or even failing grades, the parents complain that it’s the school’s fault. There are also parents, believe it or not, that condone their children missing one or two days of school every single week!
Parents who allow their children to miss school when they aren't ill, not only hurt their children's education, they also send a message school isn't really that important. If your child doesn't want to go to school, or if you're seeing a pattern of excuses to miss school, talk to your child or to your child's teacher or school counselor and handle whatever the problem is.
Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1317, a new statewide anti-truancy bill that officials hope will curb chronic absenteeism in elementary and middle school students. The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, and allow state officials to prosecute parents when their kids don’t show up to school.
The initiative was pushed by California attorney general hopeful Kamala Harris, Harris has smartly tied crime rates with dropout rates; the correlation between kids’ educational achievement and the rate of their criminal convictions is direct. And yet the solutions are alarmingly punitive.
Parents whose kids miss any more than 10 percent of their classes can be charged with a misdemeanor and slammed with a $2,000 fine or a yearlong jail sentence if, after being offered state support and counseling, their kids still fail to improve their attendance. Before SB 1317, parents could be prosecuted under a child endangerment statute. Now kids’ absenteeism has become a crime all its own. The state labels a student as truant if they have more than three unexcused absences in one school year on their record.
On the lighter side, if you think that today's students aren't learning all they should, check out some of the writing by their moms and dads. The following are actual excuse notes received by teachers:
(I left all grammar and spelling in the original format and boy was my Spellcheck going nuts!)
Dear School:
"Please eckuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33. "
"Please excuse Mary for being absent," wrote a parent. "She was sick
and I had her shot."
"Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating."
"Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was
hurt in the growing part. "
"Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. "
"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels."
"Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his
boots leak."
"Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forget to
get the Sunday paper off the porch. and when we found it Monday,
we thought it was Sunday."
"Please excuse my son's tardiness. I forgot to wake him up and I did not
find him till I started making the beds. "
"Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend a
funeral."
"My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent the
weekend with the Marine's."
"Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover."
"Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat,
headache, and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore
throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't
the berst either, sore throat and fever. There must be the flu going
around school, her father even got hot last night. "
Isn’t it absurd to have to go so far as possibly arresting parents to get a point across? What are these parents thinking? Children need good role models to say, “I know it’s a beautiful sunny day, but you can’t go to the beach; today is a school day.” Children must go to school the same way parents must go to work. By allowing children to decide when they will or will not go to school, you are setting them up for failure in the real world. This is what life is about, making the responsible decisions and choosing the right path.
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. ~Confucius
Is it okay to let kids miss school? When students miss school, they miss lectures, notes, class discussions, assignments, quizzes, and tests. It doesn't matter how conscientious students are about making up their work, they can never make up all of what they miss, even when they're absent for only a day or two. It’s hard enough to catch up after a legitimate absence, such as illness, let alone an illegitimate reason.
I have worked in schools where parents sometimes take their kids out of school for two to three weeks for a family vacation. Excuse me, but did they ever think of using the eight weeks they have off during the summer for this purpose? Then, when the children can’t catch up and receive low or even failing grades, the parents complain that it’s the school’s fault. There are also parents, believe it or not, that condone their children missing one or two days of school every single week!
Parents who allow their children to miss school when they aren't ill, not only hurt their children's education, they also send a message school isn't really that important. If your child doesn't want to go to school, or if you're seeing a pattern of excuses to miss school, talk to your child or to your child's teacher or school counselor and handle whatever the problem is.
Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1317, a new statewide anti-truancy bill that officials hope will curb chronic absenteeism in elementary and middle school students. The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, and allow state officials to prosecute parents when their kids don’t show up to school.
The initiative was pushed by California attorney general hopeful Kamala Harris, Harris has smartly tied crime rates with dropout rates; the correlation between kids’ educational achievement and the rate of their criminal convictions is direct. And yet the solutions are alarmingly punitive.
Parents whose kids miss any more than 10 percent of their classes can be charged with a misdemeanor and slammed with a $2,000 fine or a yearlong jail sentence if, after being offered state support and counseling, their kids still fail to improve their attendance. Before SB 1317, parents could be prosecuted under a child endangerment statute. Now kids’ absenteeism has become a crime all its own. The state labels a student as truant if they have more than three unexcused absences in one school year on their record.
On the lighter side, if you think that today's students aren't learning all they should, check out some of the writing by their moms and dads. The following are actual excuse notes received by teachers:
(I left all grammar and spelling in the original format and boy was my Spellcheck going nuts!)
Dear School:
"Please eckuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33. "
"Please excuse Mary for being absent," wrote a parent. "She was sick
and I had her shot."
"Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating."
"Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was
hurt in the growing part. "
"Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. "
"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels."
"Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his
boots leak."
"Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forget to
get the Sunday paper off the porch. and when we found it Monday,
we thought it was Sunday."
"Please excuse my son's tardiness. I forgot to wake him up and I did not
find him till I started making the beds. "
"Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend a
funeral."
"My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent the
weekend with the Marine's."
"Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover."
"Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat,
headache, and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore
throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't
the berst either, sore throat and fever. There must be the flu going
around school, her father even got hot last night. "
Isn’t it absurd to have to go so far as possibly arresting parents to get a point across? What are these parents thinking? Children need good role models to say, “I know it’s a beautiful sunny day, but you can’t go to the beach; today is a school day.” Children must go to school the same way parents must go to work. By allowing children to decide when they will or will not go to school, you are setting them up for failure in the real world. This is what life is about, making the responsible decisions and choosing the right path.
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. ~Confucius
Sunday, January 30, 2011
MANNERS MATTER?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #81 – January 29, 2011
Should we bother to teach our children good manners? Well, let me ask you this; have you ever had a child come up to you and say, “Your hair really looks stupid” or point at someone when shopping in the mall and yell, “Look at that fat man”?
As an adult, would you think of these two scenarios:
A man comes up to you and says, “Hey lady, let me see your watch.”
A man comes up to you and says, “Excuse me, can you please tell me what time it is?”
Seeing Is Believing
A lot of the teaching of good manners comes from how you treat a child. Ordering a child what to say and how to act is not respectful. It is not the kind of manners you want her to learn. Thanking her when she is being helpful or being kind and generous towards others, should really be the heart of your teaching tools. Children really do assimilate what they see, hear and experience around them.
The key words used by people with good manners are still “please” and “thank you”. Encourage your children to greet their friends politely, to say "thank you for coming" when their guests depart, and "thanks for having me over" when they leave a playmate's house. If you model using these words consistently, your children will get the idea and be well on their way to practicing good manners wherever they go.
The Golden Rule
Between the ages of 2 and 5, your preschool child is most receptive to learning the rules of polite conduct. "When children are very young," says Linda Altman, a Georgia-based counselor and educator, "they want to do anything you ask. Grab the opportunity to teach appropriate behavior."
The key from the beginning, according to Marianne Drew-Pennington, executive director of West Side Family Place, a Vancouver parent-resource center, is to treat your children with the same respect you expect from them. "Children learn primarily by example," she says. "You can't be rude to them and then expect them to be polite to other people."
Take “in the moment” opportunities to teach good manners. For example, when I saw Jason shove another student and shout, "Move!" After the incident, I asked Jason, "Could you have said that more politely?" The child thought for a moment and then said, "Move please?" Hmmm. "That's a little bit better, but how about saying 'excuse me?' "To which the child replied, "Why should I say that? I didn't burp." "He honestly didn't know." "They can't know if you don't teach them."
Drew-Pennington advises us to take every opportunity to praise polite behavior. Comments like "It sounds so nice when you remember to say 'please' and 'thank you,' "or "I think it made Aunt Mary feel good when you told her you liked her present." Let your child know that his efforts make a real difference. With good role modeling and praise for appropriate behavior, your children will “learn” good manners as a natural matter of course.
Good manners is the art of making those people easy with whom we converse. Whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best bred in the room.
Jonathan Swift
Should we bother to teach our children good manners? Well, let me ask you this; have you ever had a child come up to you and say, “Your hair really looks stupid” or point at someone when shopping in the mall and yell, “Look at that fat man”?
As an adult, would you think of these two scenarios:
A man comes up to you and says, “Hey lady, let me see your watch.”
A man comes up to you and says, “Excuse me, can you please tell me what time it is?”
Seeing Is Believing
A lot of the teaching of good manners comes from how you treat a child. Ordering a child what to say and how to act is not respectful. It is not the kind of manners you want her to learn. Thanking her when she is being helpful or being kind and generous towards others, should really be the heart of your teaching tools. Children really do assimilate what they see, hear and experience around them.
The key words used by people with good manners are still “please” and “thank you”. Encourage your children to greet their friends politely, to say "thank you for coming" when their guests depart, and "thanks for having me over" when they leave a playmate's house. If you model using these words consistently, your children will get the idea and be well on their way to practicing good manners wherever they go.
The Golden Rule
Between the ages of 2 and 5, your preschool child is most receptive to learning the rules of polite conduct. "When children are very young," says Linda Altman, a Georgia-based counselor and educator, "they want to do anything you ask. Grab the opportunity to teach appropriate behavior."
The key from the beginning, according to Marianne Drew-Pennington, executive director of West Side Family Place, a Vancouver parent-resource center, is to treat your children with the same respect you expect from them. "Children learn primarily by example," she says. "You can't be rude to them and then expect them to be polite to other people."
Take “in the moment” opportunities to teach good manners. For example, when I saw Jason shove another student and shout, "Move!" After the incident, I asked Jason, "Could you have said that more politely?" The child thought for a moment and then said, "Move please?" Hmmm. "That's a little bit better, but how about saying 'excuse me?' "To which the child replied, "Why should I say that? I didn't burp." "He honestly didn't know." "They can't know if you don't teach them."
Drew-Pennington advises us to take every opportunity to praise polite behavior. Comments like "It sounds so nice when you remember to say 'please' and 'thank you,' "or "I think it made Aunt Mary feel good when you told her you liked her present." Let your child know that his efforts make a real difference. With good role modeling and praise for appropriate behavior, your children will “learn” good manners as a natural matter of course.
Good manners is the art of making those people easy with whom we converse. Whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best bred in the room.
Jonathan Swift
Friday, January 21, 2011
Are Pen Pals Passe'?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #80 - January 22, 2011
Anyone remember writing letters to Pen Pals? Once upon a time, in many cities and towns in this great nation, children got excited about writing letters and receiving correspondence back from children their own age. Many times the “Pen Pal” was from a different state or even a different country. The cool thing was we were all connected by a common language, English.
Due to the extent of the British Empire, countries all over the globe have English speaking inhabitants. And, get this, many of their children, who are not fluent in English, want to correspond with American children in order to improve their English language skills. By the same token, many of our children are interested in learning what kids of their age group do for fun in their countries.
Exchanging letters or emails with a pen pal can offer learning experiences about life in other parts of the country or around the world. Your child may be surprised that children of similar ages do things very differently in other places. If your child is lucky enough to have an international pen pal, a further learning experience about foreign customs, traditions, and even language is possible.
Having a pen pal can also teach them about different sports, hobbies, and other interests. It is a great learning experience to be able to share an interest with another person. Pen pals can ignite the imagination and encourage your child to try new things. Having a pen pal or two can open up a whole world of experiences and education for your child. Not only can it help with writing skills, it can also teach them about different parts of the country or the world, and how life is the same in some ways and different in others.
Parents and teachers, this is a win-win situation. It’s a way to get your children excited about reading and writing and actually enjoy doing it! Of course, you will need to take the proper precautions since this does take place on the Internet. Make sure your child doesn’t give out his or her home address to anyone without your approval.
There are a myriad of websites to help you start on this new adventure. Here’s one that offers a variety of websites for prospective email Pen Pals. Bon Voyage!
http://www.pcfl.net/channels/kidszone/penpals.htm
Anyone remember writing letters to Pen Pals? Once upon a time, in many cities and towns in this great nation, children got excited about writing letters and receiving correspondence back from children their own age. Many times the “Pen Pal” was from a different state or even a different country. The cool thing was we were all connected by a common language, English.
Due to the extent of the British Empire, countries all over the globe have English speaking inhabitants. And, get this, many of their children, who are not fluent in English, want to correspond with American children in order to improve their English language skills. By the same token, many of our children are interested in learning what kids of their age group do for fun in their countries.
Exchanging letters or emails with a pen pal can offer learning experiences about life in other parts of the country or around the world. Your child may be surprised that children of similar ages do things very differently in other places. If your child is lucky enough to have an international pen pal, a further learning experience about foreign customs, traditions, and even language is possible.
Having a pen pal can also teach them about different sports, hobbies, and other interests. It is a great learning experience to be able to share an interest with another person. Pen pals can ignite the imagination and encourage your child to try new things. Having a pen pal or two can open up a whole world of experiences and education for your child. Not only can it help with writing skills, it can also teach them about different parts of the country or the world, and how life is the same in some ways and different in others.
Parents and teachers, this is a win-win situation. It’s a way to get your children excited about reading and writing and actually enjoy doing it! Of course, you will need to take the proper precautions since this does take place on the Internet. Make sure your child doesn’t give out his or her home address to anyone without your approval.
There are a myriad of websites to help you start on this new adventure. Here’s one that offers a variety of websites for prospective email Pen Pals. Bon Voyage!
http://www.pcfl.net/channels/kidszone/penpals.htm
Saturday, January 15, 2011
A Closer Look At ADHD
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #79 – January 15, 2011
Three-quarters of ADHD Diagnoses are Wrong
Before you immediately accept a diagnosis of ADHD given your child, consider this. ABC News Online (Australia) reports that diagnoses labeling children as AD/HD are wrong up to 75% of the time. This discrepancy was discovered after careful examination of labeled students by a team specializing in ADHD. New studies published in the Journal of Health Economics suggest that nearly 1 million children are mistakenly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Todd Elder, Michigan State University Economist, would be in support of these findings. He suggests that about 900,000 children diagnosed with ADHD in the United States may not have the disorder at all. Often the suggestion of ADHD comes first from a school or daycare provider, and their completely subjective feedback can be instrumental in whether a pediatrician ultimately makes the diagnosis of ADHD and subsequently prescribes stimulant medication. ADHD is being treated as a “disease.”
Is ADHD Really a Disease “On The Rise?”
The article states, although 5% to 10% of American children are diagnosed with ADHD, other countries are not as quick to do so. For example, in England, well under one percent of children carry the diagnosis. In countries like France and Italy, many if not most doctors do not believe the condition exists. Are American children more hyperactive and distracted than those in other countries or is there something else going on?
Children are active, imaginative, and sometimes hyper individuals by nature. They are supposed to move around continuously, jump on things, often not listen to what they are told to do, and go off in their own world and daydream a little. If they weren’t doing those things then they wouldn’t be acting like normal kids. So why then, are children who are acting in normal child-like fashion, being quickly diagnosed as having ADHD? Why are doctors telling parents that to fight childhood obesity we need to keep our kids steadily active, and then almost in the same breath telling parents that something is wrong with their child if they happen to be overly active? What makes society want to put a label on children who are simply just being kids?
Follow The Money
The production of the stimulant medications Adderall and Dexedrine (commonly prescribed drugs for ADHD), has increased by 4,516% between 1993 and 2003. At the same time, the production of Ritalin has also increased by 375%. Drug companies spend 20 to 30 thousand dollars per American physician on things like junkets, free meals, trips, trainings, free samples, and cash rewards to high-prescribers. It is almost impossible to find a researcher who would advocate the use of stimulants for ADHD that is not on the drug company’s payroll.
In Understanding ADHD and the Creative Child, Colette Bouchez reports that ADHD students and gifted, creative children frequently share some traits. People who don’t understand intelligence and giftedness and creativity think that if you’re smart you ought to know how to behave, and if you don’t behave you’re not smart – or you have something wrong with you – but “that couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Minnesota child psychologist Deborah Ruff, PhD, National Gifted Children’s Coordinator for American Mensa and author of the book, Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind. In addition, it is understandable that a gifted or intelligent child would be the one to finish the assignment early and then get in trouble out of boredom. Children probably are over diagnosed. If we look at the diagnosis cycle, we find that parents commonly get their first recommendation from their child’s teacher. The parent then takes the child to the family practitioner or their pediatrician where diagnosis is made in short order – twenty minutes of interview time. Pediatricians and family practitioners are typically not specialists in ADHD, but they wield the authority to prescribe medication. As for ADHD being a real “disease,” according to Dr. Ron Receveur, ADHD expert, ADHD remains merely a clinical diagnosis, meaning that there is no scientific test for ADHD only an interpretation of symptoms.
What’s A Parent To Do?
Parents should be slow to make a decisionon whether to medicate their child. Until recently, the most important question concerning Ritalin or amphetamine administration has not been asked. Do these drugs make a difference in the long-term outcome? A comprehensive examination of this subject carried out at the Montreal Children's Hospital discovered a startling fact. At the end of five years, hyperactive children who received Ritalin did not differ significantly from children who had not received. Although it appeared that hyperactive kids treated with Ritalin were initially more manageable, the degree of improvement and emotional adjustment was essentially identical at the end of five years to that seen in a group of kids who had received no medication at all.
There are side effects to the ADHD medications. If you’re still undecided about medicating your child, here are the side effects of the most commonly used medications (as listed in the Physician’s Desk Reference):
Common Side Effects
•Addiction
•Nervousness including agitation, anxiety and irritability
•Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
•Decreased appetite
•Headache
•Stomach ache
•Nausea
•Dizziness
•Heart palpitations
Other Serious Side Effects Include
-Slowing of growth (height and weight) in children
-Slowing of growth of body organs (including the brain)
-Seizures, mainly in patients with a history of seizures
-Eyesight changes or blurred vision
How Can I Help My Child Focus Better in School?
If you have an active child that has a challenge keeping focused during school, here are some suggestions that have proven to be of help. Research suggests that a good breakfast helps a child do better in school. For example, a 1998 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, showed that children who ate breakfast regularly had higher reading and math scores, lower levels of depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity, better school attendance, improved attention spans, and fewer behavior problems.
For children with ADHD, the menu matters, too. In a 1983 study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, researchers at George Washington University tested three breakfast types (high-carbohydrate, high-protein, and no breakfast at all) on 39 children with ADHD and 44 kids without the condition. For the hyperactive children, performance on several tests, including a test for attention, was significantly worse with the high-carbohydrate breakfast, as compared with the scores of the children who ate the high-protein breakfast.
As a former school principal, I can testify that eating a breakfast high in protein resulted in a major improvement in children who previously had problems focusing during class time. I tested this and had great results. Believe me, I know, as a working parent, it’s much easier to let your kids just grab a bowl of cereal. However, giving them anything they like that has protein, such as eggs, bacon, peanut butter, string cheese, etc. will help them immensely. Why risk harmful side effects, especially when the effectiveness of the drugs are suspect? Spending the extra time to give your child a nutritious breakfast can help prepare them mentally and physically for a successful day at school.
“A child in the crowd calls out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all and the cry is taken up by others. “
Three-quarters of ADHD Diagnoses are Wrong
Before you immediately accept a diagnosis of ADHD given your child, consider this. ABC News Online (Australia) reports that diagnoses labeling children as AD/HD are wrong up to 75% of the time. This discrepancy was discovered after careful examination of labeled students by a team specializing in ADHD. New studies published in the Journal of Health Economics suggest that nearly 1 million children are mistakenly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Todd Elder, Michigan State University Economist, would be in support of these findings. He suggests that about 900,000 children diagnosed with ADHD in the United States may not have the disorder at all. Often the suggestion of ADHD comes first from a school or daycare provider, and their completely subjective feedback can be instrumental in whether a pediatrician ultimately makes the diagnosis of ADHD and subsequently prescribes stimulant medication. ADHD is being treated as a “disease.”
Is ADHD Really a Disease “On The Rise?”
The article states, although 5% to 10% of American children are diagnosed with ADHD, other countries are not as quick to do so. For example, in England, well under one percent of children carry the diagnosis. In countries like France and Italy, many if not most doctors do not believe the condition exists. Are American children more hyperactive and distracted than those in other countries or is there something else going on?
Children are active, imaginative, and sometimes hyper individuals by nature. They are supposed to move around continuously, jump on things, often not listen to what they are told to do, and go off in their own world and daydream a little. If they weren’t doing those things then they wouldn’t be acting like normal kids. So why then, are children who are acting in normal child-like fashion, being quickly diagnosed as having ADHD? Why are doctors telling parents that to fight childhood obesity we need to keep our kids steadily active, and then almost in the same breath telling parents that something is wrong with their child if they happen to be overly active? What makes society want to put a label on children who are simply just being kids?
Follow The Money
The production of the stimulant medications Adderall and Dexedrine (commonly prescribed drugs for ADHD), has increased by 4,516% between 1993 and 2003. At the same time, the production of Ritalin has also increased by 375%. Drug companies spend 20 to 30 thousand dollars per American physician on things like junkets, free meals, trips, trainings, free samples, and cash rewards to high-prescribers. It is almost impossible to find a researcher who would advocate the use of stimulants for ADHD that is not on the drug company’s payroll.
In Understanding ADHD and the Creative Child, Colette Bouchez reports that ADHD students and gifted, creative children frequently share some traits. People who don’t understand intelligence and giftedness and creativity think that if you’re smart you ought to know how to behave, and if you don’t behave you’re not smart – or you have something wrong with you – but “that couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Minnesota child psychologist Deborah Ruff, PhD, National Gifted Children’s Coordinator for American Mensa and author of the book, Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind. In addition, it is understandable that a gifted or intelligent child would be the one to finish the assignment early and then get in trouble out of boredom. Children probably are over diagnosed. If we look at the diagnosis cycle, we find that parents commonly get their first recommendation from their child’s teacher. The parent then takes the child to the family practitioner or their pediatrician where diagnosis is made in short order – twenty minutes of interview time. Pediatricians and family practitioners are typically not specialists in ADHD, but they wield the authority to prescribe medication. As for ADHD being a real “disease,” according to Dr. Ron Receveur, ADHD expert, ADHD remains merely a clinical diagnosis, meaning that there is no scientific test for ADHD only an interpretation of symptoms.
What’s A Parent To Do?
Parents should be slow to make a decisionon whether to medicate their child. Until recently, the most important question concerning Ritalin or amphetamine administration has not been asked. Do these drugs make a difference in the long-term outcome? A comprehensive examination of this subject carried out at the Montreal Children's Hospital discovered a startling fact. At the end of five years, hyperactive children who received Ritalin did not differ significantly from children who had not received. Although it appeared that hyperactive kids treated with Ritalin were initially more manageable, the degree of improvement and emotional adjustment was essentially identical at the end of five years to that seen in a group of kids who had received no medication at all.
There are side effects to the ADHD medications. If you’re still undecided about medicating your child, here are the side effects of the most commonly used medications (as listed in the Physician’s Desk Reference):
Common Side Effects
•Addiction
•Nervousness including agitation, anxiety and irritability
•Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
•Decreased appetite
•Headache
•Stomach ache
•Nausea
•Dizziness
•Heart palpitations
Other Serious Side Effects Include
-Slowing of growth (height and weight) in children
-Slowing of growth of body organs (including the brain)
-Seizures, mainly in patients with a history of seizures
-Eyesight changes or blurred vision
How Can I Help My Child Focus Better in School?
If you have an active child that has a challenge keeping focused during school, here are some suggestions that have proven to be of help. Research suggests that a good breakfast helps a child do better in school. For example, a 1998 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, showed that children who ate breakfast regularly had higher reading and math scores, lower levels of depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity, better school attendance, improved attention spans, and fewer behavior problems.
For children with ADHD, the menu matters, too. In a 1983 study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, researchers at George Washington University tested three breakfast types (high-carbohydrate, high-protein, and no breakfast at all) on 39 children with ADHD and 44 kids without the condition. For the hyperactive children, performance on several tests, including a test for attention, was significantly worse with the high-carbohydrate breakfast, as compared with the scores of the children who ate the high-protein breakfast.
As a former school principal, I can testify that eating a breakfast high in protein resulted in a major improvement in children who previously had problems focusing during class time. I tested this and had great results. Believe me, I know, as a working parent, it’s much easier to let your kids just grab a bowl of cereal. However, giving them anything they like that has protein, such as eggs, bacon, peanut butter, string cheese, etc. will help them immensely. Why risk harmful side effects, especially when the effectiveness of the drugs are suspect? Spending the extra time to give your child a nutritious breakfast can help prepare them mentally and physically for a successful day at school.
“A child in the crowd calls out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all and the cry is taken up by others. “
Saturday, January 8, 2011
SHOULD CHILDREN BE ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #78 – January 8, 2010
Have you ever noticed when you are busily working on something at home, like washing the car, or cleaning the windows, many times your child will eagerly come up and ask, “Can I help?”? Perhaps your child has even seen you actively participating in a volunteer capacity such as: cleaning up the local park, bringing cards or gifts to a local senior citizen’s center or dropping off toys during the Toys for Tots Campaign. Children innately like to help.
As a high school teacher, one year I decided to involve my eleventh grade students in a Service Learning Project. This is a project where students volunteer and help their community in some capacity. From personal experience I can tell you, it’s not that easy to find places that will allow unsupervised volunteers under the age of 18. I was lucky to find two local elementary schools that allowed my students to visit their first grade classes and become a “Reading Buddies” to some classes of first graders. The experience was an incredible “win-win” for all.
Many of my students wrote comments in their journals indicating they actually felt they had received more than they had given. As they watched the joy and exuberance displayed by their “buddy”each visit and noted the increased enthusiasm the child had toward reading, they felt pride in the important gift they were able to impart to that child.
Upon recalling this tremendous experience, I was wondering how it would be possible for even younger children to volunteer. After a bit of research, I found the following activities children can do as volunteers:
-Collect canned food and other necessities for people in shelters
-Devise ways to raise money for a charity of their choice (car washes, bake sales, etc.)
-If your child is in a musical group (choir, band, etc.) they can perform at a nursing home
-Drop off baked goods or reading materials at a home or shelter for the needy
-Send letters or greeting cards to our troops overseas
-If your child likes animals, the Humane Society offers programs where children can help care for the animals (with parental supervision)
Here are a few websites that encourage and offer volunteer opportunities for kids and youth:
Volunteerkids.gov, Dosomething.org, Blossom International.org/children.htm, Volunteermatch.com, Artistshelpingchildren.org/wayschildrencanhelp.htm.
The fact is, the significance of children volunteering cannot be easily measured, but its worth is inestimable. When kids volunteer, their self-esteem increases as they build confidence in their ability to assist others. Volunteering also enables children to view themselves as essential to the world as they become aware of the fact they can truly make a difference. Even the youngest children can bring joy to others when they volunteer. Next time a child asks, “Can I help?” realize the full potential of the question. Should children be active volunteers? What do you think?
“To do more for the world than the world does for you - that is success." Henry Ford
Have you ever noticed when you are busily working on something at home, like washing the car, or cleaning the windows, many times your child will eagerly come up and ask, “Can I help?”? Perhaps your child has even seen you actively participating in a volunteer capacity such as: cleaning up the local park, bringing cards or gifts to a local senior citizen’s center or dropping off toys during the Toys for Tots Campaign. Children innately like to help.
As a high school teacher, one year I decided to involve my eleventh grade students in a Service Learning Project. This is a project where students volunteer and help their community in some capacity. From personal experience I can tell you, it’s not that easy to find places that will allow unsupervised volunteers under the age of 18. I was lucky to find two local elementary schools that allowed my students to visit their first grade classes and become a “Reading Buddies” to some classes of first graders. The experience was an incredible “win-win” for all.
Many of my students wrote comments in their journals indicating they actually felt they had received more than they had given. As they watched the joy and exuberance displayed by their “buddy”each visit and noted the increased enthusiasm the child had toward reading, they felt pride in the important gift they were able to impart to that child.
Upon recalling this tremendous experience, I was wondering how it would be possible for even younger children to volunteer. After a bit of research, I found the following activities children can do as volunteers:
-Collect canned food and other necessities for people in shelters
-Devise ways to raise money for a charity of their choice (car washes, bake sales, etc.)
-If your child is in a musical group (choir, band, etc.) they can perform at a nursing home
-Drop off baked goods or reading materials at a home or shelter for the needy
-Send letters or greeting cards to our troops overseas
-If your child likes animals, the Humane Society offers programs where children can help care for the animals (with parental supervision)
Here are a few websites that encourage and offer volunteer opportunities for kids and youth:
Volunteerkids.gov, Dosomething.org, Blossom International.org/children.htm, Volunteermatch.com, Artistshelpingchildren.org/wayschildrencanhelp.htm.
The fact is, the significance of children volunteering cannot be easily measured, but its worth is inestimable. When kids volunteer, their self-esteem increases as they build confidence in their ability to assist others. Volunteering also enables children to view themselves as essential to the world as they become aware of the fact they can truly make a difference. Even the youngest children can bring joy to others when they volunteer. Next time a child asks, “Can I help?” realize the full potential of the question. Should children be active volunteers? What do you think?
“To do more for the world than the world does for you - that is success." Henry Ford
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