Still going /www.summerhillschool.co.uk

Education authorities have several times tried to close
the place down. Luckily up to now they have failed.


>PMFJI,
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>>>I see the "diagnosis" of ADD in school age children more than anything as a symptom of the steady decline of our education system, the lowering of our educational standards and expectations of our children, deteriorating teaching and parenting skills (including proper discipline at home and at school) and 40 years of a welfare system that broke down a traditionally strong family unit. Directing and focusing a child is mostly a teaching skill, and our school systems have lost sight of what they were established to do. Ours are more focused on administrative issues and getting kids prepared to pass an academic assessment test instead of teaching them for life. Something memorized for a test is fleeting, while something learned is for life. How sad.
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>>I disagree with much of what you say here. In fact, I see the increased diagnosis of ADD as a symptom of our increased expectations for children. It's only in the last 40-50 years that we expect every kid to complete high school. There used to be a significant portion of the population who was happy to make it through 8th grade and then left school to go to work.
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>Obviously the so called rise in ADD diagnosis could have several causes ranging from diet to environmental to school and parenting expectations. Everyone will have their view on this.
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>My personal opinion is that the rise in the diagnosis of ADD in children is in direct proportion to the success in distributing Ritalin to control them. In other words we, the doctors, teachers, some parents, are starting to put the cart before the horse.
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>Once upon a time there was a child who genuinely could not focus or pay proper attention. His behaviour was distracting for the other kids and the teacher as well. A clever doctor, on the urging of big-pharma, gave this little boy a wonder drug called Ritalin and soon enough the miracle occured - the distracted little boy suddenly became a quite and settled pupil. And here, in my opinion, is where the problem starts because when the teachers and parents saw this change we started thinking, over the years, that this is how all kids should be. And now every child that is excited, energized, active, needs to be "calmed down" and made to "pay attention", to focus. He has ADD. He needs Ritalin.
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>The number of mis-diagnosed ADD I suspect is high but difficult to establish. I know a few kids in this category. Kids are meant to be active. They are meant to run around and enjoy life. They are not meant to be minature adults.
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>A great man by the name of A.S.Neill ran a school called Summerhill. This school took in every thug, bully, abused, and angry child rejected by the other "normal" schools and with love, attention, freedom, and genuine caring graduated every single one of them. And each of them went on to become productive members of society. And he did this for decades. And he did not have Ritalin. You can read his book "Summerhill School - A new view of childhood" by A.S.Neill. The guy was incredible.