Attention Deficit Disorder or Simply Poor Concentration Skills? Part 2
You may be interested to know that the decisions to limit vocabulary and to end phonics were a result of ideas that originated in the 1890s. In the 1890s, one group of educators disagreed with an earlier group of educators. They wrote books and lectured and more than 100 years later we have books with pictures, limited words, and no phonics.
Driven by 1890s ideas
I am not just talking about reading either! Almost every subject being taught in today’s classrooms is being driven by these 1890s ideas. We are still following these early ideas virtually unchallenged. Their philosophy is not understood even by those who assume its truth and write new materials based upon its assumptions.
Failure not a negative aspect of life
Today’s classroom programs are merely the application of these ideas. One of these ideas was that self-esteem can be damaged by failure. Nonsense! Self-esteem develops precisely because we learn that we are capable of dealing with life – of overcoming failures!
Another belief was that language is for communication. Even worse claptrap! Language is for thinking. Communication flows from thinking. Education today uses language as a blunt instrument; an imprecise means of conveying feelings – of communicating.
But learning language is about precision. It is about meaning. It requires clear thought. It requires time for integration and learning – everything that today’s programs do not allow. The results are all around us. Kids who can’t read, concentrate, or pay attention; kids who are not motivated.
An unmotivated mind is a passive mind. Motivation means finding a way to show your children that changing is to their advantage. Children can begin this process by learning that while life is full of joy and triumph, it may also contain failure. Because we love our children and don’t want them to be hurt, we often try to avoid situations where they may fail. If we fight too many battles for our children or shelter them from the stings of little defeats, they never learn that victory is won at a cost.
We must teach our children that if they learn certain basic sets of rules, they will experience success. Children must be able to say to themselves, “Even if I don’t succeed right away, I am capable of understanding, trying and eventually succeeding.”
Initially, parents can help this process along by creating small challenges and giving occasional rewards, such as stickers, praise, tickets to the water slide or even the occasional cheeseburger. Obviously the best and longest lasting motivation comes from the development of a healthy self-esteem. But occasional treats are not entirely bad.
Children with passive minds will not develop healthy and robust self-esteem. Being active means making the attempt. Being passive means waiting for someone to act for us. Helping a child to develop an active mind is not only one of the greatest gifts a parent can give but also is one of the greatest challenges we face.
Excerpt from Active Minds! by Dr. R. N. Whitehead, Director, Oxford Learning.
where can I get a copy of Active Minds! ? It looks like an outstanding article.
Send us an email at [letstalk at oxfordlearning dot com] with your address and we’ll ship you a copy. If you’re near an Oxford Learning, please stop by and pick one up. There’s a location search tool in the right side bar or visit our locations page (www.oxfordlearning.com/locations/).
my son who just turned 6 is gifted. he has had a hard time transitioning into kindergarten. they say he is emotionally immature. But, i think he is emotionally intense. he feels everything deeply. they say he tests higher than any child in their kindergarten program, but takes the easy way out and is not motivated. Also his listening skills are not good, because he is a day dreamer. i enjoyed your article. and surmised that maybe the program is not appropriate for him. before he went to kindergarten he had an intense joy of learning. thanks. now what to do about it?
Motivation is lost when kids are asked to do something that they don’t understand or makes no sense to them. In your son’s case, he may find what is presenting to him holds little interest to him. You don’t say what he was doing prior to Kindergarten. Was he in another program or programs? If he has been in programs outside the home, try and reflect on what worked for him in those programs. Was he allowed to follow his own path or was it a structured program? With the little information given, I am inclined to think that the current program he is in is not a good fit. The question now is, what to do about it? Are there other scholastic alternatives that you can explore? Would some meetings at the current school result in a greater empathy to your child’s needs and perhaps some altering of the curriculum? I would also want to hear from your son as to what he wants to get out of his school program. Gifted kids need help setting realistic goals so that they can enjoy the environment that they are in. Perhaps he entered Kindergarten with thoughts of building bridges or analyzing Harry Potter only to discover that he will be finger painting and building with blocks. The disconnect between perception and reality will cause the lack of motivation, “taking the easy way out (not entirely sure what is meant by that)” and the day dreaming. The one absolute truth is that you need to act now before he gets turned off school completely. Good Luck!
I have a 6 year old, in grade 1 and she cannot pay attention in classe. The teacher has send me notes and talk to me about this, but i am totally lost i don’t know what to do please help me….
I have an 8 year old son and he iscurrently at the end of his bonus year in2nd grade.I have been to many meetings at school.and now his special ed teacher told me right out in front of a few cars in the pick up line all of Kyles bad points he said he dosent see kyle ever suceedding unless we get him on some medicine to help his attention.I asked the teacher to lower his voice because people were close enough to hear and he replied no their windows are up and I replied no they are not look and the lady in front of me had her window down and was ease dropping I need eny help or even things I can do at home to help his attention.His special ed teacher said he had gotten f’s all week in math and was taking 40minute bathroom breaks why was he allowed to stay gone so long in the first place and why didnt I get a note of all this going on Im desparate I called the board of education and asked the call to be private instead Mr /// I cant say his name discusssed what I asked him not to discuss I feel like I have no were to turn .The special ed teacher knows Mr/// so he probably made me sound like a over involved parent the special ed teacher even mentioned I shouldnt ask my son how hes feeling after he had been having trouble with vomiting .He had some bullys pick on him on the bus and the principal took care of it but still Kyle was nervous and did feel ill so special ed teacher made out like I actually caused my son to throw up because we are a close family and I care what happens to my children and I feel a parent should care he had a nervous stomach after the bully thing happened I guess I could go on and on I need desparate help I actually thought about home schooling him special ed teacher said their wasnt enything else they could but what they were trying and they would continue to do so but then he just said I give him a f when he dont finish his paper he can do the work when his teacher is their monitering him but when he moves on he loses him along with the attention then they say he scored above alittle on his I Q signed a desparate Mother Please any advice will be helpful he still cant read he is reading less than kindargarden and then hes at 1st grade level HELP I NEED ADVISE
Hi Sherrie, Wow! You really have many different things going on. First off, I would suggest speaking with someone at one of our centres. If you would like to send your location information to letstalk@oxfordlearning.com I will direct you to your closest Oxford Learning. I recommend speaking to your family doctor about some of these matters. Particularly, in regards to your son being ill due to what seems as stress and anxiety. A big concern is the confidentiality issue. The teacher should not be discussing your child’s needs in front of other parents. Children are smart and can tell how teacher’s feel about them, therefore some of your son’s anxiety is probably due to the fact that he knows the teacher does not expect success from him. I will also send you a copy of our publications “Will You Please Pay Attention” and “Learning to Listen”. (again send your mailing address to the above mentioned address). [Update - Will you Please Pay Attention is now available online] http://www.oxfordlearning.com/add/ These are wonderful sources of information and even include some strategies that you can use with your son. Attention and focus are something that need to be learned just like reading and writing, so I believe with the appropriate strategies and guidance your son will be successful! I completely understand your frustrations and look forward to receiving your location information. We can help! Regards, Emma
Angela, I just saw your posting and I would urge you to check out this long reputable professional organization for those parents and professionals who deal with CAPD issues on a daily basis. http://www.ncapd.org/php/index.php If you have any more questions please contact the nearest OLC to you from our website locater, I believe you will find answers and help there as well.
My son is 6½yrs old. His father and I from England but live in Sweden, where our son was born. Our son is fluent in both English and Swedish. He could hold a conversation at 18mths, knew the entire alphabet at 2, could add + subtract at 3, read 1st grade books at 4, and now reads books for 9yr olds as well as being able to mentally add numbers using hundreads and thousands. We have always encouraged our son’s curiosity for learning by various ways like answering his questions, looking up things with him that he was interested in. We consider our son to be smart, but as children don’t begin regular school until 7 here we also feel that maybe he is at the same level as an English child who would begin school at 5. Our son began English preschool last August where they are learning the ABC and how to count to 10. We talked to his teachers about the fact our son could already do these things, and that maybe he would require an extra challenge, or possibly move directly into 1st grade. They told us that because of his age he couldn’t possibly move up a year, and that he had to do the same work as everyone else. We have now been called, once again, for a talk about our son’s lack of concentration. They are considering calling in medical assistance as they are adament he has ADHD or something along those lines. We don’t want to be parents in denial, but we really can’t see he has concentration problems, as in other situations -at home, at friends, at clubs, he is able to concentrate and do as he is told. We believe it is lack of stimulation. We are at our wits end, as here in Sweden if teachers believe a child has a condition like ADHD etc, it goes onto their records to follow them through school, and those children become labelled as problematic. Do you have any advice?
I too am desparate. My son is ten and a half years old and we moved this year so he started in a new school in September. The problem s that he is very bright but has absolutely no concentration. His writing is appalling and he is very slow at taking things down. He seems to have no pride whatsoever in his work. Can anyone help? C
Hi Ciara, I know it can be overwhelming at times and frustrating too when you know your child is capable of doing so well, but he just can’t seem to focus. Your son is also going through a lot of change right now, and this can have an effect on his motivation and desire to succeed. I would highly suggest that you drop by one of our centers to pick up one of the books that the founder of Oxford wrote on ADD/ADHD. It is filled with great tips on how to get your son’s motivation back and how to have him be more aware of what makes him loose focus in class. Oxford also offers a variety of great summer programs to help ensure that your son goes in to next year with more confidence and feeling more in control of his learning.
My son is 7 and he is very bright, great at Math and Reading. However he struggle with simple tasks. For example, when riding his bike he is not aware of his suroundings, even after explaining the danger of riding on the street he “forgets” and will ride on the middle. If we give him a set of instructions, he will forget them in a couple of minutes and ask again. He does not like to play in his room or by himself with toys. His creativity and imagination are very limited. He struggles also when ask to write a poem or a story for school. I want him to develop his attention skills. What can I do to help?
hi my name is Roy and I am 41 years old, I have this problem of not being able to pay attention still today.I have recently thought that it is ADD but when Im confronted by something that interest me I can pay attention to it for the most part.Im having problems in my everyday life paying attention and leading a successful life and Im needing help fixing this problem.Some of my problems are listening to someone speak and thinking about what they are saying before they are done and not getting all the details, or talking about something that I am not interested into ether at all or somewhat, which seems like Im being self centered and not caring about any one els. I even find myself doing this to my kids and my spouse. I believe you are onto something with this whole thing of “short bits of info” thing as I have noticed that when watching tv or listen to an interesting topic I can pay attention. please write to my e-mail address so I can get a solotion to this problem,thank you and have a great day.