From CEC Smart Brief:
A small study at the Washington Neuropsychological Institute has found that young adults with ADHD who took Adderall XR once a day drove more responsibly in simulators than peers not receiving treatment for their ADHD symptoms. A spokesman for the Attention Deficit Disorder Association says teen and young adult drivers with untreated ADHD may pose a public health threat. Doctor's Guide /Washington Neuropsychological Institute (8/1)
2 comments:
Teacher Sol, it's Liz from I Speak of Dreams I'm a regular reader. I read this today and thought you might have something to add to the conversation.
From Help Me Make Our Middle School Strong
http://tln.typepad.com/tln_betsyrogers/2006/05/middle_school_e.html
Brighton kids care about each other and what a wonderful example they are to us as adults. I just wish the adults making decisions about their futures cared as much.
In previous blogs, I have been very outspoken about the needs of our middle school students. This past week in reviewing mid-nine weeks progress reports, it was discovered that 30 out of the 42 students in eight grade are failing English for this last nine weeks of school. My heart breaks for our students, as I know we have failed them. I look in the faces of our kindergarten students who have made so much progress this year and know we have very little to offer them for the future. Unless things change, one day they will be eighth graders in a school that is not equipped to prepare them for high school.
I've mentioned in past blogs that because of our campus set-up and our district staffing and resourcing rules, being a K-8 school puts us at a serious disadvantage as we try to improve. This past week it was announced to my principal that our school would remain K-8, even if we are given a new building in the future. When she first told me this news I wanted to wave a white flag and say, "I am defeated, I am done, I have lost all hope." However, I cannot look in the faces of the Brighton children and give up. In the next breath, I asked my principal if I could move to our middle school building next year.
Middle school is not my area of experience or expertise, so I need responses from any of you who are middle school experts. Where do you start to create a school for 122 students in grades 6-8, many of whom have poor reading skills and weak foundations in math?
This is what we have to offer:
• Student teacher ratio of 1-10,
• Good reading resources,
• A computer lab
• Outstanding art and music programs
• Girls and boys basketball
This is what we do not have:
• Honors classes
• School clubs
• Extracurricular activities
• Sufficient staffing
My question is, how do you get them ready for high school?
I would so appreciate any and all responses to help these students. I know there are some in my district who wish I would quit talking about this situation at Brighton. After all, in the second largest school system in the state, 122 kids in one small school do not deserve this much attention, so I am told.
However, I cannot remain silent on this issue. The only hope for these students lies in the time they spend at school. They deserve our best effort. We cannot continue to fail them.
I forgot to say, sorry about the comment hijack.
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