Boredom is a symptom, not a sin

www.wiman.us	Education Issues Topic Index A-Z Index	Boredom is a symptom, not a sin
	Education Issues Topic Index A-Z Index	Boredom is a symptom, not a sin

In District 87, when teachers refer a child for ADD or LD evaluation, some board members have accused them of being too lazy to discipline their classrooms.

The board members are also concerned about giving Ritalin to children, and the "stigma" of an ADD or LD diagnosis.

The teachers respond that they are working plenty hard enough, thank you, and their main concern is the child's education. Besides, diagnosis is done by specialists. The teacher makes a referral based on experience.

Parents are concerned when their bright kids go to school and come back with problems instead of new learning. The only voice not heard so far, is the kids.

While volunteering as a detention supervisor at a local grade school, I asked kids how they wound up in detention. These kids were smart, outspoken, and impulsive, and one theme stood out in their answers: In their child-language, they described spending hours each day in crushing, debilitating boredom. This was directly connected to their behavior.

I knew exactly how they felt. As a child, I was amazed by kids who seemed able to stay focused on the class for hours at a time. I'd try - really hard - but every time I found myself somewhere else, being called back by the teacher's exasperated voice. Most of my energy in school went to "not going crazy." I wound up in the principal's office many times.

When I complained, I was told that boredom is a sign of a character defect. You didn't dare admit to boredom because you would be blamed for it. Paradoxically, school was supposed to be boring. Just force yourself to pay attention, seven hours a day, day after day, for years at a time because there will be a payoff someday. (Like what, I wondered, a boring job?)

No one ever questioned whether attention could be forced for long periods of time. Everyone assumed the ability to pay attention was related only to effort. If you couldn't pay attention, you were obviously just lazy.

Later research has shown that the boredom threshold, like the pain threshold, is a neurological set point, affected by the individual's makeup and present conditions. People vary in their ability to plod. For certain people, boredom feels like oxygen deprivation - and you will do anything for a breath of air.

Meanwhile, back in District 87, there is a lost question: "Is a child ADD or not?" The answer doesn't depend on anyone's beliefs about attention disabilities - it depends on the child.

ADD is an organically-based variability of attention and impulse control. It describes the behaviors that result from the way certain people's brains function. If a child has this problem, we don't need to argue about it, we need to know about it - and so does the child.

A legitimate ADD diagnosis is not a stigma - it is an opportunity to start using a more constructive model of the child's behavior. The ADD model replaces the "lazy" or "defiant" model so there can be less blaming and more effective treatment.

As a coordinator for an adult ADD support group, I often hear people say, "I wish I had known this when I was a kid. Things could have been different!" What a relief for the ADD child struggling to fit into the non-ADD "mold."

People with ADD simply have a different set of strengths and weaknesses than most people. In the right environment ADD is not a "disability" at all.

In the wrong environment, it's a different story. I'm afraid there's no nice way to say this, but our classrooms are often pathologically boring. In this situation an ADD kid faces a terrible struggle to focus his attention. Very little attention or interest is left over for the lesson.

Is this the teacher's fault? Usually not. Most teachers could be much more interesting if they weren't juggling district and state mandates while trying to teach 30+ kids at once.

Ritalin has received a lot of attention, but it is only the most well-known tool in the ADD treatment toolbox. Class assignments can be subtly altered. Small changes can be made in the classroom that might actually benefit all the children - not just the ones with ADD.

Children who know about their ADD can learn techniques for adapting study habits to fit their strengths instead of their weaknesses. Parents can help by educating themselves and providing the right structure and encouragement. (Note that child with ADD probably has at least one parent with ADD.)

A child who is first noticed as a discipline problem can flourish when we stop looking for who to blame and start learning how we can help. In the long run, this way, everybody wins.