Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity
As I listened to Sir Robinson’s inspirational take on creativity, or lack therefore, in the schools and in general, there was a quote in regards to Gillian Lynne’s psychiatrist’s take on her struggle to maintain concentration during school that caught my attention. After all of the success, prosperity, and fame Gillian established for herself, Robinson declared, “Somebody else may have put her on medication to calm her down.” In the year 2008 ADHD is one of the leading diagnoses of behavioral and learning disabilities, in my opinion. It seems today teacher, parents, and physicians are all too eager to classify a child with this particular behavioral trait. I believe the first solution should be to first see what outlets can be utilized to help a student express the ideas and actions that seem to overtake their attention. As was revealed in the video, once music was played, Gillian Lynne had a means to contribute her form of intellect and originality in the manner of dance; an art form that is continuously overlooked as insignificant in the academic spectrum. Being able to decipher complex arithmetic formulas or transcribe a philosophical paper should not be the only standards to which others measure intelligence. Being able to dance, draw, act, and produce music all require some sort of astuteness. Therefore, placing some children under medication may stifle their offerings of ingenuity and novelty. My best friend is diagnosed with ADHD and has often stated that the medication leaves an effect of numbness in which leaves her feeling unlike herself. No one should be stripped of who they are because they do not meet the standards of what an adult measure attentive in a certain setting. No one knows of they will ever be able to access that spark again.
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I agree that it seems like ADD is overly diagnosed these days. If you think about there are many factors that can lead to attention problems or hyperactivity problems such as lack of exercise, improper diet, and stress in general. Children need to eat proper diets that are low on sugar, take place in some sort of sport or activity that promotes exercise, and they need to be able to talk about their problems. A lot of parents and teachers think that it is easier to put a child on medication. However medicines such as Adderrall or Ritalin have sometimes horrible side effects like loos of appetite, weight loss, and depresseion. Teachers need to do their part by catering to different learning styles and parents need to do their part by exercising their children.
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