A superb film about one of the most noteworthy evils taking place in the US and other countries that have been subverted by the pharmaceutical industry...The daily drugging of millions of children with powerful psychoactive drugs in order to make them "easier to control."

If you have a child in your life who has been diagnosed as "ADD" or "ADHD" and told he or she must take a drug to control it, make sure you watch this important film. Their life may depend on it. Pass it on for the future of our chidren.
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/147.html

An hour and forty three minutes that are well worth your time and consideration !!!

While I don't have time to watch a video that long, I whole-heartedly agree that our children are way over medicated.

I know my children and know that how they act is normal. They would be drugged if they went to public school.

That is just one of 1,000,000,000,000 reasons we choose to homeschool.

I will (hopefully) have time to watch the video tonight after the children are in bed, the baby is asleep, the goats are milked, the chickens and turkeys are put up for the night and the shotgun is set up for the coyotes tonight. (They will NOT eat any more of our dinner. )

I teach in the public school and we do NOT promote drugging kids. I get sooooooo tired of hearing it. If parents CHOOSE to drug kids because they cannot control them, it is their choice, not the schools.

I have been asked my opinion about certain students before (from parents). Most of the time I am against it because ADD and ADHD CAN be controlled through diet. I am the parent of a son who was out of control and diagnosed with ADHD. He could not have red or yellow food coloring or processed sugar. I had to make foods from scratch, but it got him under control. He didn't want to be hyper and he did want to learn.

It the parents do not want to watch what their kids are eating and try to control it (plus use some parenting skills) - how are we supposed to teach with "out of control, bouncing off the walls" kids in the classroom? What about the kids who are doing what they are supposed to while the "out of control" kids steal their education?

Dr. Phil summed it up one day. He said, "Some days for teachers... it is like stomping ants. They are all over the place and you can't get them all."

I have had days like that. Heck, I have had whole school years where every day was like that. Some are better than others. I still love the kids. They didn't pick their parents.

Mrs. Hoppes wrote:


I, too, get so TIRED of reading /hearing those words! It's NOT the public school's responsibility to PRESCRIBE medication for any child. Who the heck told you that? Somebody is about as ignorant as the day is long!

Sadie and I are public school teachers of long experience. We KNOW what's what when it comes to public schools!



http://tvnewslies.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=6035


(The referenced thread was begun by a conservative flamer who is no longer allowed to post at TVNL, although he tries to come back from time to time under a variety of usernames. I know immediately when he's on the site, regardless of disguise.)

Allow me to rephrase then.

The public school system here which encourages "social promotion," is on academic watch, is seeped in drugs, violence, sex, poor blue collar workers, farmers, and meth makers push adhd drugs on any student who fidgits.

There are also lots of people who do evaluations on students to label them on the autism spectrum to get more funding regardless of whether or not the diagnosis is accurate. Buildings are old. Some don't meet code anymore. And the extra money? $980,000?

Astro-turf.
http://mywabashvalley.com/content/fulltext/?cid=4105
http://mywabashvalley.com/content/fulltext/?cid=3614


http://www.tribstar.com/archivesearch/l ... 22409.html
http://www.tribstar.com/archivesearch/l ... 35411.html


So while there are some wonderful schools out there where teachers are dedicated, they do not exist in Vigo County, Indiana.

Schools on Academic Probation

You can test and test all you want. NCLB has put schools in "ranks" and the only thing these ranks tell you is the socioeconomic status of a school, and nothing more.

Children who come to school hungry or under-nourished , who have little or no medical attention, teeth with cavities, and poor living conditions will ALWAYS score lower than more affluent schools. That is a fact.

You just can't get people to understand that.

sadie wrote:


Sometimes, I think there should be a license requirement before people are allowed to have children...with renewal at least every other year, having to take required parenting classes...rather like we have to renew our drivers' license or maintain a professional license.

Much of the problem in my district is people out of work. They want better for their kids but have no job, or are making minimum wage with no medical. The whole family has problems and to pretend these kids care about a "test score" is ridiculous.

They try. They just miss so much school, or feel so bad, or have too many worries to put school and "test scores" first. We have kids who miss school to stay home and babysit so mom can work an extra shift, or so mom can take grandma to the emergency room.

It just makes me sick. Our government worrying about passing a bill against "bad ads" (Move-On's latest) but won't pass a bill giving these kids medical care.

Then our school is always in "continuous improvement" (which is considered low) based on these test scores. Since we don't "live up to" the expectations of NCLB we get federal funds taken away.

Another example of Reverse Robin Hood. Take from the poor and give to the rich. I don't see how any of these politicians look themselves in the mirror. There can be no conscience (there would have to be a heart and a brain).

I read these articles and didn't see much at all to suggest that the statements you make are accurate at all. Where do these articles show that "public school system here which encourages "social promotion," is on academic watch, is seeped in drugs, violence, sex, poor blue collar workers, farmers, and meth makers push adhd drugs on any student who fidgits" is anywhere near accurate.

I think that homeschooling children, if you are capable and have enough personal knowledge and education to do so correctly and to the extent the children deserve, is a great thing. I've considered homeschooling my son several times, but haven't committed to the idea myself. BUT if I were to do so, I wouldn't justify it by completely blasting the schools here. They aren't perfect, I work in them everyday, but they aren't hell holes and I promise you, we DO NOT push parents to medicate their children. In fact, every time I find out one of my kids is on meds, it makes me sad and I've even cried over it when the kids aren't around because it hurts me to see the changes the drugs cause.

I guess my point is if you don't want your children to go to public schools, fine. BUT don't make it out to say that public schools are so horrible that you have no choice. The schools aren't that bad, believe me. I looked at the demographic data for some of the schools listed in that last article and the 2 great schools are in predominately white, upper middle class towns with TINY populations...which would equate to (I'm making an educated guess here) small classes, plenty of tax money to pay for top of the line everything, and involved parents. Whereas the "poor" schools are in poorer areas, aren't predominately white upper middle class areas and aren't rich areas. It makes a big difference. Another thing you really should consider is that GEORGE BUSH created the rules on what is considered passing and what is considered failing and he certainly isn't anywhere near a role model for what is an acceptable education. NCLB is a stupid law. It puts kids into cookie cutter ideals that they will never fit into. Kids are different from person to person. Some kids learn quickly, some learn slowly. Some will take a LOT longer to learn, and some won't. Doesn't mean the kids are stupid, doesn't mean the teachers have failed, just means that the kids are NORMAL and can't be classified like rocks. So the failures that you are pointing out are failures according to a stupid law that doesn't take any environmental factors into account. Arg.

Public schools aren't perfect, but they're doing a darn good job in spite of conservative agendas lined up with the most ignorant president to ever live in the White House. Consider:



LINK

http://tvnewslies.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=8698

Standardized testing has been around WAY before Bush. I'm in my 30s and I remember taking standardized tests when I was a child.

Do I agree with the NCLB hogwash? Nope. But is was not the invention of standardized testing, social promotion, or anything else.

I don't know where you got the info for the demographics, but I live in a small town. Population 47. This town is a poor farming community. The chickens in my backyard almost match the population of this town. The cows down the road outnumber the people here.

And I never said ALL public schools were bad. I said the ones here were bad. If you read any of the comments - crud. Never mind. They've been deleted. Anyway, the comments from parents who do send their children to these schools are no different than what I was saying. If we still lived where my husband grew up, we would send the children to public school there.

I find it really sad that the schools here put more money, time, and energy into sports (and reading any of our local news will support that statement) than they do actual academics.

I know standardized testing was around, because I took them. NCLB has given the government a reason to give money and take money away USING standardized test.

Tests can be a good thing to measure where a child is and what the child needs. But they are NOT good to measure a school or a district.

Some districts have more LD and MH students than others. They have to pass the test, too. Is that a fair assessment for any district?

Standardized tests are very different now than they were when I first began to teach. They also carry a hell of a lot more significance for the schools financially. Schools are supposed to be FREE in America. I say that's not so anymore. Consider what it takes now for a child to start school, regardless of his grade rank. Consider what monies are spent during the school year for all kinds of things....most of it non-academic! Consider the pressures students and their teachers are under when it comes to EOGs and EOCs.

I don't think I will ever forget those big-eyed third graders on the first day of school, looking up at me and asking me if I thought they'd "pass" the End of Grade test! How horrible to be worried about something at age 8 that is almost 9 months away!

I know what Mrs. Hobbes is talking about as far as the sports influence is concerned. I used to attend basketball games when my daughter was playing. I'd look around the gym and think about how wonderful it would be if the parents would be that supportive and involved when it came to their sons' and daughters' academics!

Very true about the sports. Our district cut the most coaches and all assistants this year. Students have to pay to play. Football $900.....

Well....a group of parents got together and raised the money for football!

Where are they when we need new books? Computers? Paper? A copier? New desks?

It is FAR more important for Johnny to play football than to get a good education.

We all know where parents priorities lie. (Not all parents - there are good ones who know what is important)