No Dumb Kids

Last post I described a phone conversation between me and a fifteen-year-old boy that called asking about ADD drugs.  When I explained to him how drugs like Ritalin and Concerta are essentially speed he asked what he could take as an alternative.  I said it depends on what the person you are asking believes about the label "ADHD."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, for instance, some people, myself included, don't really believe that ADHD, as it's defined, is a disorder.  The inability to concentrate, being disruptive in class, or any of those other things that irritate teachers are characteristics we all have when we aren't inspired by something.  It just tells me that the kid labeled as ADHD isn't inspired in school.  That says a lot more about teachers than children in my book."

"Well, I'm just bored in school."

"Exactly.  But I'll bet there are things you do that you have no problems concentrating on.  What do you like to do?  What do you love?"

"Sports."

"What do you play."

"Football...and baseball."

"What's your position in football?"

"Defensive end."

"So when the ball is snapped, and you're going after that quarterback, ready to crush his skull...are you thinking about something else?"

"Ha ha...no."

"So you don't have ADD when you're playing sports."

"No, I guess not."

"Everybody has ADD when they are forced to do something they are uninspired by.  When you are in school, you are likely uninspired.  Unfortunately for you, you've got to go to school until you are eighteen--that's the law.  In the meantime, find what you love and do it.  And when you are old enough to make your own life decisions, do what you love, and do it well.  You'll be more fulfilled that way."

He got it.  I don't believe there are any dumb children.  But I do believe that there are plenty uninspiring teachers out there.  Maybe they'd be better labeled babysitters, because if they are not inspiring every one of their students, then they are failing as teachers.  In my opinion, teaching is finding what the student loves and showing them how the subject matter relates to what they love.  Give me a room full of football players and I will teach them every math concept under the sun.  All it takes is teacher creativity.  But we all know that's lacking in our schools...we've all been there.

That wasn't my experience in college, however.  I was so lucky to have outstanding and highly creative professors.  My college algebra teacher was a comedian and a genius.  Nobody finished that class without a basic understanding of math and a hell of a lot of laughs.

Just watch the movie, Stand and Deliver, to understand what I'm talking about.  Teacher Jaime Escalante, "is able to win over the attention of the students by implementing innovative teaching techniques, using props and humor to illustrate abstract concepts of math and convey the necessity of math in everyday lives." ~ from Wikipedia

No, I'm not buying into ADHD one iota.  Find what inspires a kid, nurture it, and use that to teach them academic concepts, and that kid will thrive.  Giving them doctor-prescribed speed drugs is a cop out.

Prehistoric Brain Tonic

Good news for health naturalists: Ginkgo biloba extracts have shown promise as both pre and post-stroke treatment in mice. We have all heard of ginkgo's ability to improve blood flow to the brain, thereby enhancing memory and concentration. What better to help with stroke than a substance that increases blood flow to the brain?

A study out of John's Hopkins University showed that mice given ginkgo before a stroke suffered only half the damage than mice not given the substance. And mice that received the extract five minutes following stroke had 60% less damage than mice not receiving it, while mice receiving ginkgo 4.5 hours following stroke had a third less damage. Wow! That's incredible.

Researchers attribute ginkgo's benefits to raising levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an enzyme that acts as an antioxidant protecting cells against free radical damage. Free radicals are toxins that can damage DNA leading to aging, degeneration, and cancer.

Ginkgo is one of the top five highest-selling medicinal herbs in the U.S. Ginkgo biloba is a living fossil--it is the lone surviving species of an ancient order of trees which died out millennia ago. It grows wildly in Eastern China and has long been used for its medicinal properties.

I've never taken Ginkgo, but I must start. I just can't ignore all the many benefits it seems to offer. Since I'm into the power of my mind, why not an occasional tonic? I say occasional because I think it's always good to practice prudence when it comes to taking herbs or tinctures. But every once in a while can't hurt, now can it? Not according to this latest study. I do want to caution, though, that this study is preliminary, and extrapolating the findings to humans may be premature; but like I said, I just can't ignore all the positive press this herb has been getting. So I'll keep my eyes open, and my mind too; and I'll keep you all informed.

Too Much Dummy Tube Leads to ADD

We all know that too much T.V. isn't good for the brain, right? Well, at least most people with common sense suspect so, anyway. But now we have proof: Current research shows that young children who watch more than two hours of the brainfryer a day are more likely to have attention problems as adolescents.

Duh. You mean that constantly changing visual images rapidly flashing on a screen - sometimes faster than the human mind can comprehend (anyone hear of subliminal messages) - might have long term effects. You don't say?

Think about it for a second (I'd have you think about it for a minute, but veteran television watchers might change the channel): Television really does consist of rapidly changing images. As a medium, it does not engage your concentration. You just passively watch images and listen to the accompanying audio. No thinking or concentrating necessary. True, you are following a story (reality shows notwithstanding), but it's still a passive activity.

One might make an argument for educational T.V. (like Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and the History Channel), but you still passively watch and listen, which does nothing for the development of focus or concentration. Add to that today's popular programming - reality shows, awards shows, music videos - and the term dummy tube starts to take on a whole new accuracy, doesn't it?

The study, carried out at the Dunedin School of Medicine in New Zealand, showed that children who watched two or more hours per day were at a significant risk for developing attention deficit disorders later in life. And those who watched over three hours per day were at even greater risk. According to Carl Erik Landhuis, one of the lead authors of the study, kids who get used to watching lots of attention-grabbing TV may find ordinary life situations - like the classroom - boring. It's also possible, he adds, that TV may simply crowd out time spent doing other activities that can build attention and concentration skills, such as reading and playing games.

Yes, that's exactly it. Activities like reading, solving puzzles, playing sports and other games, learning computers or instruments, all require focus and concentration. They also require thinking and problem solving which leads to the development of dendritic pathways in the brain and nervous system, which leads to overall brain development. I'm sorry but T.V. doesn't do that - no thinking involved. Furthermore, learning to entertain oneself in the absence of mind-numbing image flashing is the gateway to the imagination. Give your kid a copy of Tom Sawyer, Harry Potter, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, or whatever, and let them learn to stimulate their own vivid and priceless imaginations. And get them away from the dummy tube. Trust me, our autonomy and self-sufficiency as a civilization depend on it.