There's a letter in today's (20 Feb 2010) West, headed ADHD solution. The issue of ADHD is serious, I'm not going to tackle it in this posting. But the letter raises another issue: What is the role of schools?
In the letter, "(for ADHD kids) reading and writing are very difficult to learn. So why do we put them (ADHD kids) into a system where the emphasis is so much on reading and writing?"
email nick leth at gmail dot com. Need solutions? No worries. Now. |
School is about education, not child minding. A school is there to teach students. Or, possibly, to provide an environment in which children are able to learn.
The basis of learning is reading and listening; to demonstrate your knowledge you need to be able to speak and write. So a school will emphasise reading & listening, speaking & writing. That is the absolute basis of education. Most children learn at home, to listen and to speak. Which leaves the school to teach reading and writing.
When the student has mastered reading and writing, they are ready to learn far more that the teacher can communicate in a classroom. Reading, in particular, allows the student to leverage their learning -- to use a small amount of learning in order to access a whole lot more.
No wonder the school emphasis is so much on reading and writing!
Education and self-esteem
"It is almost as though the education system is out to make it difficult for them to develop good self-esteem." That may be half right.
If you are unable to read and unable to write -- are you an absolute loser? Or do you have some other skills. Do you need to be able to read and write, in order to fulfil a worthwhile position in society? Not in my... books.
If you go to school yet fail to learn to read or write, then that may be unfortunate. It does not stop you getting a job. Just don't expect to get a job that requires the ability to read or write. Get a job where reading and writing are not required... you may need help redefining the job... and keep your self-esteem.
If you fail to learn to read and write, and friends, family or total strangers make fun of you, that is very unfortunate. That's a reflection of the lack of social sympathy of those friends, family, total strangers. Or, simply a reflection of their lack of sympathy and understanding. You lack certain skills that others have. This does not make you "better" or "worse" than those other people.
Look past the insensitivity of others. Do not reflect that insensitivity in your own response. Look at the person behind the comments. Hope that they, too, will learn to look past your differences, to look at you as a person.
Back to school
Back to the letter: A school is a place for learning. If, for some reason, your child is unable to learn the basics -- you need to look for an alternative.Sure, schools are expected to carry a huge burden of social responsibility. Every failure of parents towards their children seems to result in more demands for social education from schools. Every failure of society to care for children, results in calls for schools to take on the burden of caring. Every accident of birth, resulting in learning difficulties, results in calls for schools to be more "inclusive".
All of these social demands, calls for caring, demands for inclusivity -- they all stretch the resources of the school. Yes, the school has a role in each of these areas. Unfortunately, each attempt to provide a social service reduces the ability of the school to provide an educational service. And the "average" student receives even less.
Please do not demand extra services for your child. If your child does have special needs -- request the extra help. And, if at all possible, help your school to gain the extra resources that will be needed.
Do we actually believe that a school exists in order to provide an education? If so, then it really is time to re-think our demands on each school. We need to be more flexible... If a child is not able -- or not willing -- to gain an education, why force them to go to school at all?
Agamedes Consulting. Support for your thought: email nick leth at gmail dot com |
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