"Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Writing Well"
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My husband, making us turkey/spinach wraps and chicken soup in our camper.
When the accounting gig wears thin, he could always be a chef. He can cook some seriously AWESOME stuff – he just eyeballs it and rarely uses a recipe.
I’m completely useless in that department.
Completely.
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I was going through some old blog fodder links/ideas yesterday (I literally have enough links stored up to keep this blog moving without me for six months – that’s how anal I am about NOT running out of blog ideas) and I ran across this very disturbing news article on BoingBoing from September 7, 2006 (how’s that for a timely coincidence?):
Parents want their kids to excel in school, and they’ve heard about the illegal use of stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall for “academic doping.” Hoping to obtain the drugs legally, they pressure pediatricians for them. Some even request the drugs after openly admitting they don’t believe their child has ADHD….
“I spoke with [some] colleagues the other day and they mentioned three cases recently where parents blatantly asked for the medication so that their children would perform better in school, yet there were no other indications that the child had ADHD,” says Dr. Nick Yates, a pediatrician and director of medical ethics for Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y.
Academic doping — using these stimulant prescriptions in an effort to enhance focus, concentration and mental stamina — first started on college campuses, especially Ivy League and exclusive, competitive schools. Now, the problem is filtering down to secondary schools, Yates says, and more parents are playing a role in obtaining prescription ADHD medication for their teenagers.
Wow.
Wow. That is off-the-charts crazy. Do you think this is still going on today? Or do you think doctors are more careful about testing for ADD/ADHD nowadays?
I’m disturbed to think that parents would be desperate (competitive?) enough to subject their children to drugs just so their ACT scores were more impressive.
Though to play the devil’s advocate, I can sort of UNDERSTAND the temptation to go down this road when so much rides on the kids performing well so they can get into a decent school. (Though I would never, ever, force my kids to take drugs – for any reason).
And I’m not quite sure I buy the ADHD “disease” either. Though I understand there are children out there that have a chemical imbalance, I think it’s more the exception than the rule.
I think ADHD is a hot spot for me because shortly after MK started fifth grade, his teachers (he had two teachers in fifth grade, one for math and science, one for English and history) called me in for a special conference. MK had been moody and volatile and didn’t want to do the assignments. When confronted, he didn’t exactly throw a tantrum, but he was “difficult.”
They tried to convince me that he was ADHD and needed to be medicated. And then one of the teachers went on to say she recognized MK’s “symptoms” because her son behaved the same way and he had ADHD.
I was livid. I knew my son was not ADHD. He’s highly intelligent and pretty emotional but I think that’s where the similarities ended. I looked them straight in the eye, thanked them for the concern and then told them, in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t ADHD and I had no intention of having him tested.
MK had one more “temper tantrum” in class which landed both of us in the principal’s office because of his disruptive behavior. The principal tried to let him off with a warning (because I did their website and he felt bad for me), but I insisted he follow the normal school rules – in-school suspension (ISS) for one day (this being his first offense).
MK went to ISS, and was extremely embarrassed of his behavior. We had a long, long, LONG, stern, honest talk about him and his tantrums and I flat out told him to straighten up and grow up. He was too old to act like a five-year old.
He did indeed grow up after that experience because he learned that there are consequences to his actions – he’s been a model student (and kid) ever since. He wasn’t ADHD, he was simply immature and allowed his emotions to take him over. The teachers never really treated me the same after that.
What do you think? Do you think parents fool doctors into thinking their children are ADD/ADHD so they can get drugs that will help their children perform better at school? Or do you think these are just isolated cases and most times an ADD/ADHD diagnoses is justified?
All you have to do is answer the questions below either in the comment section, or on your blog. And elaborate! Make these questions show your unique and special personalities. This meme entry will post at 12:01 every Monday morning and will be the first postentry listed on WFK all day Monday morning. (This is an all-day Monday meme, so please, play all day!)
September 8th Questions:
1. Fill in the blank: Today, I will mostly be ________________________. (Explain your answer, please)
2. What advice do you have for a new blogger? Be specific – this new blogger? Wants to know details!
3. Tell us about your childrens’ (all ages!) first day of school, walk us through it. How did you handle it? How did your children handle it? Do you have a picture? (And speaking of pictures, hang onto to those precious school pictures, the next photo contest is coming up fast!)
4. What is your greatest consumer mistake, something that you are shaking your head at now, saying, “Boy, I wish I wouldn’t have bought _____”? So, why did you buy it? What happened to it?
Monday Morning Meme Participants
| 1. Sue 2. Jodi |
3. Susan 4. annie |
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Well, he does. 😀
(And btw, these sandals are the real deal. You can buy them here).
How is your Sunday going? Things are pretty typical here. After we have Bible study, we’ll go about our normal business – meaning I’ll work on my chores (laundry, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming), the hubs will likely do something outside or maintenance around the house (yesterday he put a new door knob on the door that leads out to our garage) and the boys will do what they do best – play video games. *smile*
We don’t do a lot on the weekends. We usually use this time to just decompress and relax. We’re big homebodies and we loathe getting out in the public when we’re out in the public all week long. (Well, my guys are, I’m pretty much stuck at home all day every day).
I do have a project I need to work on. The client has examined all three templates (whenever I design a full-fledged website, I design three templates) and wants to mix and match elements. Which I prefer, quite frankly, because then I know they are happy with every aspect of their website.
In addition, if I have time today, I plan on fine-tuning my personal website(s) – I’m toying with the idea of splitting my professional websites into two sections: small business and school websites in one section, blog templates and blog components in another website. I can’t quite figure out how I want to organize this because I’d like to keep my Write From Karen persona separate from my “professional” persona, if that makes sense.
I finished reading “The Surgeon” by Tess Gerritsen last night. I REALLY enjoyed it. It was a thriller and it had me on the edge of my seat the entire story. I would love to write like Gerritsen, she’s very talented. I also watched “The Bucket List” on the treadmill yesterday.
It’s hard to cry when you’re speed walking. 🙂
In between sweating buckets (get it? hehe), I ran MK over to a friend’s house where they made a video and then went back to get both of them so they could come over here and put in movie magic to upload to YouTube.
We’re like geek station.
I’ll most likely watch another movie on the treadmill today (I’m feeling so … blah, walking always perks me up). My movie choices are: “Definitely, Maybe,” or “Tara Road.”
The kids are doing great, so far. Though MK has started the year off by turning in a social studies’ assignment late (Grr) and we’re still waiting on GD’s history test grade. Our agreement is, if the boys’ grades drop to an overall C or C-, their play time is limited to three hours a night (the rationale being, they have more time to study), if their overall grades drop below a C-, then they lose all play time entirely.
We’ve found this method has worked very well over the years. The boys are motivated to continue doing well (because they aren’t really motivated otherwise) and maintaining good GPA’s means less stress for the whole household. I REALLY hope GD’s history grade doesn’t drop because of this test – or it’s going to be impossible to live with him until he brings it back up. (And by the way, he didn’t study very much for this test – so if he does poorly and loses his time, I’m quite certain he’ll take it more seriously the next go-around. Again, this is what works for our boys, especially GD. He’s extremely lazy).
Life is pretty uneventful on the WFK home front – how is your weekend going?
Every Sunday I provide videos and valuable links to the Truth or Tradition teachings. We’ve been following the Truth or Tradition teachings for many years now and they have truly blessed our family. We have found peace and happiness through our beliefs and we walk confidently for God. My hope, by passing on this information to you, is that what you find here, or on the Truth or Tradition website, will guide you to a better, more blessed and abundant life.
If you would like to read my views on religion and how we got started with the ministry, you can read this.
Let’s get started:
Where should we begin to read the Bible?
There are many strategies that one can take to read and understand the Bible. One successful strategy is to read the New Testament first, starting with one or more of the Four Gospels, then reading sequentially through Acts and the books referred to as the “Church Epistles” (Romans through Thessalonians). After that, read the rest of the New Testament. Another strategy is to read a Gospel such as Matthew and read the parallel records in the other Gospels at the same time (the references directing us to parallel sections are in good study Bibles), then read the Gospel of John, then read Acts, then the Church Epistles. It is a good idea when reading the Bible to keep a piece of paper handy, and write questions down that can be answered at a later time.
When it comes to reading the Old Testament, new readers often get stuck in the more difficult sections, so they never get to the easier and fun parts and really enjoy it. Begin reading the Old Testament knowing that each time you read it you will gain greater understanding. It is also good for the beginner to read the parts that are actual historical accounts. Genealogies, laws, and lists slow the reader down and break the story line. They will be necessary later, but are not helpful to the beginner. A proven way to start understanding the Bible is by reading Genesis; Exodus 1-20, 24, 32-34 and 40; Numbers 11-25 and 32; Deuteronomy 32:44-52 and 34; Joshua 1-12, 13:1 and 22-24; Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 10 and following (but skip the lists of names) 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.
Read the Old Testament this way a few times and you will begin to get a basic historical understanding of it. It is also helpful to read records in Samuel and Kings along with their parallel records in Chronicles to get the best understanding of both books. Many Bibles have cross references that make it easy to know where to read in Chronicles if you are reading Samuel or Kings, or vice versa.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
(If this video will not play for you, you can find the original file on this page).
If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about God’s wonderful message, please visit the Truth or Tradition website. You can also keep track of the ministry through their Facebook page.
Next week, part three. Thank you for visiting and God bless.
I’ve spent an insane amount of time this morning watching the below clips. I will warn you now, if you’re a liberal, these will likely make you angry – do not watch them. I’m not here to debate, I’m simply a tool to pass on the message – the message I personally believe in. I’m tired of Americans thinking we OWE them something. It’s a privilege to live here, but if we want to continue enjoying the freedoms we have, then we have to work for them. We have to be responsible. We have to have some accountability. We have to stop biting the hands that feed us.
Anyway, Nugent is extreme. Granted, I cringed at the sheer ruthlessness of the man. But overall, he has some excellent points. If you can get past the forceful personality you’ll see that he’s a tried and true American who just wants to make America better, not dependent on government or foreigners.
We have to start standing up for ourselves. We have to start thinking for ourselves and stop looking to other people, or programs, for our answers. If we want change, then we need to take the responsibility of making those changes. And I’m not posting this to be a jerk, I’m posting this because I’m sick and tired of being politically correct. I agree with the Nuge – it’s time to start making the government accountable for its actions.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the video clips below:
Nugent: “All indications are, every word out of the Democrats’ mouths and way too many words out of the Republicans’ mouths is indeed the Death Knell of America as we know it. It’s about punishing excellence and rewarding bloodsucking.”
Nugent: “Welfare is slavery. … And I gotta tell ya, there is some 37.8 million Americans living under poverty. Really? They’re smokin’. They’re drinkin’. They got the bling-bling. They got the cell phones. The children have the iPods. They get their hair done. … They think that making ends meet includes movies, and pets and collectible dishes on the wall. I mean, it’s not universal, but it’s so corrupt, it’s so over-the-top, it’s what the Democrats, and too many of the Republicans represent is an orgy of unaccountability.”
Beck: (Referring to the Republican party) This is the old Democratic party. So what we have is Marxists, Socialists, absolute Communism without the guns, yet, and then you have the Democratic party. There is no real option for a conservative that believes that we need to STAND UP, TAKE CONTROL…”
Nugent breaks in: “Logic. Accountability. Cause and effect.”
Beck: “So why would you continue to play the same card, and play the lesser of two evils when it is still evil. It is still going in that direction, just slower.”
Nugent: “Here’s how I see it. The answer is to vote for John McCain and stay on his ass. And stay on your senators’ asses, and stay on your congressmen’s’ asses, and start scolding people and say, ‘What are you doing with my tax dollars.’ The answer is activism.”
Again, watch at your discretion.
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
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This week’s theme: String(s)
My husband is the guitarist for his band, Midnite Thunder. They get together every week and practice and every week he comes home with a huge grin and sparkling eyes. He loves it. He’s quite good strumming those strings. This is a closeup of him playing one of his guitars. |
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monday morning meme
Write From Karen 