In article .com,
Fred Goodwin, CMA wrote:
Seeking straight A's, parents push for pills

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14590058/

Pediatricians report increasing requests for 'academic doping'
By Victoria Clayton
MSNBC contributor

Updated: 10:16 a.m. CT Sept 7, 2006

A 15-year-old girl and her parents recently came in for a chat with Dr.
James Perrin, a Boston pediatrician, because they were concerned about
the girl's grades. Previously an A student, she was slipping to B's,
and the family was convinced attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
was at fault - and that a prescription for Ritalin would boost her
brainpower.

After examining the girl, Perrin determined she didn't have ADHD. The
parents, who had come in demanding a prescription, left empty-handed.

Perrin, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and
spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other
physicians say this is an increasingly common scenario in doctors'
offices around the country, though there are no hard statistics on it.

Parents want their kids to excel in school, and they've heard about the
illegal use of stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall for "academic
doping." Hoping to obtain the drugs legally, they pressure
pediatricians for them. Some even request the drugs after openly
admitting they don't believe their child has ADHD.

I suggest that grades be abolished, except for advisory
purposes. Also, it should be understood that getting a
high grade and learning the important material may well
be at odds with each other.

Furthermore, I see nothing wrong with signing up for a
course and then deciding it is not worth completing. I
see nothing wrong with collecting a lot of D's and F's;
the straight-A student tends to be weak and shallow in
the important things.
--
This address is for information only. I do not claim that these views
are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University.
Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University
Phone: (765)494-6054 FAX: (765)494-0558