Letter to Teachers of ADHD ChildrenFebruary 3, 2003 Dear Teacher, You work so tirelessly, feel pressured from every corner, and are seldom and quite inadequately rewarded for your labor. So, please, pardon me for placing yet another burden at your feet. Forgive me for issuing one more demand for you to meet. If I did not feel so passionately, and if I did not have tremendous faith in you, perhaps I would not even try to muster the courage to speak up. But, my passion for my cause is as deep as the mighty Grand Canyon. And, my faith in you is as real as my faith that the sun will rise at the start of each new day. So, I will speak and pray that my words will make my passion real to you real enough to kindle the same fiery passion within your very own soul. Your classroom is a busy place of laughing and learning. There are moments of noisy exploration and moments of quiet reflection. There are days so easy you wonder how someone could pay you to do what you do. And there are days so difficult that no one could pay you enough to do what you do. And through it all, year after passing year, there are those students who endear themselves to you. Most often, they are those quiet, polite students who are eager to be successful, thirsty for knowledge, and determined to please. They are a joy to teach and a pleasure to converse with. And, as if they aren't already good enough, they appear immeasurably, divinely good when compared with the "others". The "others", who usually pale in comparison, are those boisterous students who blurt out all of the answers, scribble illegibly as they speed through their assignments with unmatched frenzy, and leave their seats to stroll around the room during your lesson. The others talk incessantly with their neighbors, drum their fingers loudly on their desks, hum constantly, and can't seem to sit for a single moment without squirming nervously. They are the ones that you lose 10 minutes into your lesson; they are the ones who require you to repeat simple directions for the tenth time. And, they are the ones you are pleased to have absent occasionally just so you don't have to listen to them or put up with them for one day. But if, for one moment, you could see with your heart instead of your eyes, you'd be able to see the others for who they really are on the inside and for who they really wish to be on the outside. You'd see past the squirming and the tapping to discover a bottomless energy reserve just waiting to explode in creative productivity. You'd stop viewing the humming as a nuisance and begin hearing the rough drafts of a musical masterpiece. And, every time an answer was blurted out uncontrollably, you'd say, "Wow, this child is brimming with knowledge and is graciously thrilled to share it!" You'd see the short attention span as a challenge to not surrender to mediocre or monotonous teaching, and you'd find yourself revitalizing creativity and energy you'd forgotten you even possessed. You'd probably even find yourself becoming a better teacher, actually just by seeking to understand the real beauty of the others. Now, I am not a parent condoning my child's annoying habits or misbehavior. Or, writing off his problems to a bad teacher who can't control his behavior nor interest him in learning. Nor am I searching for excuses because my child isn't all that I had hoped and dreamed he'd be. And, I am not a student slyly taking advantage of a popular label. Or, acting-out simply to gain your attention. Nor, searching for ANY excuse to be slack, to act silly, to show disrespect in your classroom. Actually, I am neither a parent nor a student. Instead, I am one of you, a teacher. One who teaches many of the others one who also becomes frustrated by their inattention, distracted by their squirming, angered by their incessant chatter, and annoyed by their many quirks. I, too, am one who catches herself short on patience, high on frustration, and hopeful they'll be absent for a day so I can regroup and restore my energy reserves. And, yet, I am one who truly seeks to know the worth of these others: to challenge their intellect, to inspire their creativity, to provide them a productive outlet for their energy. I am one who seeks to help them discover the numerous blessings and benefits of being different from the crowd; to help them unveil the talents which lay within them, but are often overshadowed by their behavior; to help them develop the courage to be proud of their uniqueness. And, rest assured that, as a teacher myself, I know how very difficult it can be for you. And, I don't expect or ask you to be perfect. For, my own efforts often fall quite short of perfection. But, I do expect you to at least try for the sake of the others. I am humbly asking this as one of you and as one of the others. Most Sincerely,
Ashley E. Bowles, ©Copyright 2006 by ADHD of the Christian Kind. |