Parenting, Adderall & Going Rogue

When I went to school as a student I didn’t much like it.  When I had my kids in school I hated it.  And almost from Day One.  Two things I won’t do here if only to spare you are not talk about my schooling (yet) and something else which just escaped me.  I’ll remember later on.  I think.

When my son was in kindergarten he had a teacher who was about 60, talked about how much she loved the kids and, oh, was married to the future Chief of Police of my town.  Ah, now I remember!  I will not speak about tenure and how I feel it is the Number One reason for the failing of the American educational system.  And the 3rd thing I will not speak of (sorry, thought it was 2 things.  Shoot me) is nepotism within a small town in Bergen County where unless you are related or a long time townie you get NO respect.  Or job.  That is at least three separate blogs….after I move.  Where was I?  Yes, the kindergarten teacher was an awful human who was very upset with my boy’s mad math skilz. He was getting jumpy and we suggested maybe he was bored.  Memo: Do NOT ever tell a teacher your child is bored in the class.  Hells bells!! So they gave him some 1st or 2nd grade math and without any teaching he got about 60% of it correct.  To which we were told “see, he doesn’t know math that well”.  I still see this woman.  I cross the street.

My wife and I were constantly told by teachers, principles, aides and Child Study Teams ( that will be the 4th thing I won’t droll on about) that my son would need to be medicated.  And, like, NOW.  Yesterday.  Which spurred my wife and I to read as much as possible on case studies, trials and anything to do with ADD or ADHD medication.  I highly recommend doing as much due diligence as possible before allowing a person whose job is guaranteed for life unless of a murder or sex crime to tell you how  much brain candy you child should be ingesting before he/she prances off to school each morning.

We had to sit there and listen to Mr. Monaco tell me that my son needs to concentrate on packing his back pack better.  We had to sit and listen to a brand-spankin’ new teacher,  Ms. Hronsich explain with all her one year of experience how my son was not coloring. Coloring.  He hated coloring and wanted to do math.  This was in front of the principle.  A few days prior when there was no one in the room to impress, she told my wife and I he was doing just dandy! I sat one day  to watch a Ms. O’Shea, who I actually liked, try to get out of me catching her in a bold face lie.  That lie was about when my son was in his Resource Room, she would allow the other kids who forgot pens, pencils, etc. to take them from my son.  I found this out from kids who told me and when I laid down some word for word explanation of what she had said, her eyes squinted like I threw her under a bus.  She obviously mistook my usual good nature for falling in line with the establishment.  I’m sorry, this was my son. I really could go on and on about this scholastic abomination but I want to save it for a gathering of dates, time lines, names and as an exact story as I would be able to recall. My firm belief to this day is I will take some teachers medical advice when that same teacher agrees to major surgery and another teacher is selected to do the slicing and dicing.

We wound up changing schools at the towns’ expense.  My boy was on adderall for about a year and a half when we took him off and did not tell the new school.  Months later during an IEP session we were asked if, because of his growth spurt, we increased his dosage we said no, we took him off months ago.  We only put him on because the therapists and doctors (notice, no teachers) said we should at least give it a try.  A try.  As opposed to a life of pill popping.  I explained that if we mentioned the dropping of the meds they might find cause to look for ticks or something.  In this manner they would be able to observe and teach without looking.  We surmised that since they didn’t sound alarms within 5 minutes of his last dose of adderall then all must be well in Hooterville.  I don’t think they were al all too thrilled because I simply outsmarted all the PhD’s in the room.  Dontcha just hate when a community college grad does that?

What I derived from the many year episode was you have to stick to your guns.  You have to study.  You have to measure who you speak with and ask what do they have to gain by telling you some bit of information.  You have to at some point to forcefully get your point across.  You have to go over heads; piss people off.  I had no problem going to the Board of Ed and reporting what I thought was suspect behavior by a music teacher/disciplinarian who I thought looked at young girls way too much. You have to be able to call the county, the state and anyone else to let the teachers know you won’t be trifled with.  And you have to do this all with class and dignity because screaming does not work.  That’s what they want.  For you to lose your composure.  Friends, to many teachers, you are the enemy.  Their cry for involved parents are to do fundraisers, chaperon on field trips and buy them Christmas gifts.  They do not want your input on your kid because in public schools in American because they just dumb down, teach to the middle and push them along like a conveyor belt at a candy factory. You are a “parent”. Eeewwwwww.

Below is what I wrote because I firmly believe that a good portion of teachers, fed by the union, would want every kid drugged and that is what holds kids back.  They need to be creative and they need to question authority.  They need to go rogue.

Hammer Down The Nails

Hammer down the nails in a perfect line.
Don’t let the floor boards squeak
don’t let them age with time.
Step up to the plate, thinking brush back pitch.
You may not want to dig in
Hope the manager makes a double switch.

Holding back on personality if they don’t fit in.
If they get to comfortable squeeze ‘em in so they
fit in the bin.
We can shout them down, push them back into the room.
Where ideas are pilfered and it cannot
happen to soon.

Hammer down the nails, don’t wanna catch my toes.
The only thing there is to fear is going
where nobody goes.
Always play it safe, like a voyeur in the shade.
Venturing out on your own will be met
with so much disdain.

Brick by brick we’re brought up to be brought down.
Confusing acrimony’s by the Powers and their cronies.
who insure you are destabled and render you unable
to think for yourself.

Hammer down the nails, ass they all pop out.
Sounds like metal hitting mettle
drowning out voices that shout.
Hammer down the nails, cover them with rugs.
It will give off the appearance of individualism
being mugged.

Hammer down the nails, keep you uninformed.
It’s the same old same old that keeps us with
the mess we’re in.
Hammer down the nails, push you to the pack.
While they try to slap you around
you’ll have to learn to
slap them back.

Hammer down the nails, leave you in the dust.
When they find you’ve got the drop on them
they’ll take and drug you if they must
Hammer down the nails!!