Why Public Schools Pressure Parents To Give Their Kids Mind-Altering Drugs

http://americandaily.com/article/13499


By Joel Turtel (05/13/2006)

Nothing condemns our public-school system more than the fact that many
school authorities across America pressure parents to give mind-altering
drugs to millions of normal, innocent children to stop bored kids from
fidgeting in their seats or "not paying attention." Too often, school
authorities refuse to accept the blame for our public schools' failure to
teach our children or hold their interest in class.

Public-school teaching is structured in such a way that it inevitably bores
millions of normal, active children who are forced to sit in classrooms six
to eight hours a day with about twenty other immature children. The teacher
has to cover the curriculum, so she is pressured to teach all the kids the
same material in the same way. Few teachers have the time or patience to
know each child's unique personality, interests, strengths, or weaknesses,
or give different instruction to each student.

Middle-school and high-school children often have to learn subjects they
can't relate to, are not interested in, or that frustrate them, such as
history, trigonometry, or foreign languages. As a result, many students get
bored, watch the clock, and wait for the school day to end.

Classroom "learning" usually consists of forcing students to read
dumbed-down textbooks, memorizing facts from these textbooks, and then
regurgitating these meaningless facts on dumbed-down tests. Like Pavlov's
obedient dogs, students go from gym to math to English literature to
American history every hour at the sound of each period's bells. Their day
consists of disconnected lectures on disconnected subjects. Each class lasts
only fifty minutes, so their train of thought breaks off at the sound of the
bell.

Young children in elementary school have natural high energy, and each child
has his or her own unique personality. Most teachers simply don't have the
time or patience to teach different material or use different teaching
methods with each child. Just being cramped into a classroom with twenty
other children and told to learn certain tasks by an adult they may not
like, can annoy or frustrate many normal, high-energy, but emotionally
immature children with a will of their own.

Overworked teachers are under a lot of pressure today. They must teach many
students in their classes, cover the curriculum, test and grade the
students, and prove to parents and the principal that their students are
learning and doing well in their studies. Even worse, a teacher's job may
now be threatened or she could be disciplined if her students do poorly on
the new standardized tests. The No Child Left Behind Act puts pressure on
teachers and principals to make sure students pass these tests because the
school can lose funding if students' test grades don't measure up to minimum
standards.

For all these reasons, over-worked teachers are under enormous pressure to
maintain discipline in class so they can do their job. If some students are
disruptive, don't pay attention, or cause trouble in class, the teacher must
do something about these children to keep order. In the old days, teachers
could discipline kids by smacking or restraining them. If a teacher tried
this today, parents would quickly slap her and the school with a lawsuit, so
that kind of discipline is now impossible. Also compulsory-attendance laws
and other Federal regulations now make it extremely difficult to expel a
violent or disruptive student.

So how do school authorities solve this discipline problem? Too often, they
pressure parents to give Ritalin (or similar drugs) to "calm" children down
or make them "focus" on their work. However, school authorities needed a way
to justify "recommending" these mind-altering drugs to parents. They found
this "justification" by going along with the psychiatric establishment's
claim that millions of bored, high-energy, or "hyperactive" kids sitting in
boring public-school classes, have an alleged mental illness called ADHD.

By claiming that high-energy or easily-distracted children (which is normal
for most boys) might have a "mental illness," many school authorities feel
justified in pressuring parents to give these kids potentially-dangerous
mind-altering drugs to "correct" the problem. Many well-intentioned teachers
and principals have come to believe the ADHD rhetoric so strongly, that they
sincerely believe they are helping children they think have ADHD.

Well-intentioned or not, schools also get many important benefits by taking
the easy way out with Ritalin. School districts today are strapped for money
because many States are running huge budget deficits. Schools can't spend
the time, money, or effort it takes to find out what makes bored kids not
pay attention or "problem" kids act out. The bureaucratic public schools
don't have the resources to give these children intensive, individualized
instruction or time-consuming psychological counseling. So pressuring
parents to give Ritalin to their normal but "unruly" kids to "quiet" them or
make them "pay attention" became the typical American quick-fix for solving
complex problems.

A public-school system that pressures many parents into giving their
children mind-altering drugs that are potentially addictive, dangerous, or
sometimes even lethal, is a moral abomination. A public-school system that
recommends drugging innocent children to make them "pay attention" in class
is a frightening and embarrassing failure.

Parents, don't let public schools pressure you into giving your children
potentially dangerous mind-altering drugs. It is far more likely that your
public school has PSTD (Public-School Teaching Disorder) than your normal
child has an alleged disease called ADHD. Consider taking your children out
of public school, homeschooling them, or enrolling your kids in the quality,
low-cost Internet private schools I talk about in my book, "Public Schools,
Public Menace."

Now saying that the school system is to blame for many problems
(including ADD) is one thing (and for the most part, I agree), but
saying that ADD doesn't even exist at all is something else entirely.

But hey, what the hell would your average op. writer know about the
subject, anyway?

Justin wrote:
Now saying that the school system is to blame for many problems
(including ADD) is one thing (and for the most part, I agree), but
saying that ADD doesn't even exist at all is something else entirely.

But hey, what the hell would your average op. writer know about the
subject, anyway?


Blah.

While I agree with the article WRT the attrocious conditions of most
public schools (having been a public school teacher myself), that has
nothing whatsoever to do with ADHD. In addition, I've NEVER seen or
heard of any school system forcing parents to medicate their children,
except in the fiction posted online. That's kinda what's known as
practicing medicine without a license. Not a good thing for a school
administrator to do.

In my family, ADHD is normal. It's the rest of the world that's out of
sync. So we find ways to work around the rest of the world, with or
without meds.

When my son was on meds for ADHD, it wasn't the school that encouraged
that. AAMOF, they didn't even know about it. But it *was* because his
teacher that year wouldn't work with me on techniques that would help
him that was the reason for us taking him to the doc for an official
diagnosis.

The next year, we began home educating. YS's response was, "Mom, now
that I'm not in public school, can we work on my learning to focus
without meds?" And he's refused to take them since, even during times
when it would have been extremely beneficial for him to take them
temporarily.

It wasn't the school that had him dx'd or placed on meds. But our
choosing to do so was a result of the school not working with us to
insure that he was getting the education he needed.

Kitten

Thank you for this outstanding post. Jan, even now there are
unsuspecting parents on this newsgroup giving these strong drugs to
innocent kids that are TEN YEARS old. And Jan, I hope this wont upset
you too much, but some of those kinds are even younger. MY GOD. We as
a nation and a caring population must rise up and stop this NOW!

Thanks again Jan!

On 19 May 2006 21:43:08 -0700, "Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe"
said:

In addition, I've NEVER seen or
heard of any school system forcing parents to medicate their children,

I have. (This is Kentucky.)

--

Buy my book about school bullying he

http://www.lulu.com/content/112781 (recommended)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...sbn=1411626559
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411626559

Private schools are usually far worse though.

--

Buy my book about school bullying he

http://www.lulu.com/content/112781 (recommended)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...sbn=1411626559
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411626559

"Florence Henderson Had A Mullet" wrote in
message ...
On 19 May 2006 21:43:08 -0700, "Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe"
said:

In addition, I've NEVER seen or
heard of any school system forcing parents to medicate their children,

Amazing the lies told....

That is NOT what was stated.

The use of the word *force* was a blatant. lie.



I have. (This is Kentucky.)

--

Buy my book about school bullying he

http://www.lulu.com/content/112781 (recommended)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...sbn=1411626559
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411626559

As to the origins of "ADHD" (given that it really does exists, at least
according to many parents), it seems to me the following possibilities
need investigating:

1) mercury vaccines
(http://groups.google.com/group/misc....47793e9cfce17b)

2) lack of breast feeding

3) junk food
(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/GMFr...ools/index.cfm)

4) birth asphyxiation resulting from premature cord clamping
(www.cordclamp.com)

There may be environmental factors involved as well, such as endocrine
disrupters, but the above factors stand out as being abnormal and
needless stressors on children's growing brains. Needless to say, they
also stand out as resulting from the boundless arrogance of our medical
"profession".

Caitriona Mac Fhiodhbhuidhe wrote:
Justin wrote:

Now saying that the school system is to blame for many problems
(including ADD) is one thing (and for the most part, I agree), but
saying that ADD doesn't even exist at all is something else entirely.

But hey, what the hell would your average op. writer know about the
subject, anyway?



Blah.

While I agree with the article WRT the attrocious conditions of most
public schools (having been a public school teacher myself), that has
nothing whatsoever to do with ADHD. In addition, I've NEVER seen or
heard of any school system forcing parents to medicate their children,
except in the fiction posted online. That's kinda what's known as
practicing medicine without a license. Not a good thing for a school
administrator to do.

If it ever happened before, the 2004 amendments to the IDEA added a
provision prohibiting mandatory medication--at least mandatory
controlled medication.

The IDEA now provides:

Section 1412

(25) Prohibition on Mandatory Medication.

(A) In General. The State educational agency shall prohibit State and
local educational agency personnel from requiring a child to obtain a
prescription for a substance covered by the Controlled Substances Act
(21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) as a condition of attending school, receiving an
evaluation under subsection (a) or (c) of section 1414 of this title, or
receiving services under this title.

(B) Rule of Construction. Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed
to create a Federal prohibition against teachers and other school
personnel consulting or sharing classroom-based observations with
parents or guardians regarding a student's academic and functional
performance, or behavior in the classroom or school, or regarding the
need for evaluation for special education or related services under
paragraph (3).


Before Congress passed the above, it was my understanding that public
schools couldn't require *any* type of medication in order for children
to receive special education services. Now, thanks to Congress, I think
there's an argument that could be made--and I suspect some school's
lawyer somewhere will eventually make it--that by passing a prohibition
against only controlled medications, Congress has now given their
implied approval for schools to require medications *other than*
controlled meds.

That would mean that while schools couldn't require ADHD students to
take methylphenidate (Ritalin, etc.), they could require them to take
non-controlled medications such as Strattera.

Please understand, I'm not making that argument, and I think it's wrong,
but some school, somewhere may make it.


Nancy
Unique, like everyone else

wrote the following on 5/20/2006 11:10 AM:
As to the origins of "ADHD" (given that it really does exists, at least
according to many parents), it seems to me the following possibilities
need investigating:

1) mercury vaccines

I delayed vaccines with all my children because...

2) lack of breast feeding

....I exclusively breastfed for a minimum of six months and count my total
time nursing each child by years, not months.

3) junk food

Whole grains and homemade foods here. No processed baby food.

4) birth asphyxiation resulting from premature cord clamping

Home births with delayed cord clamping.

Still, I have two children with ADD and one with autism.

Karen R.