Chalkdust Torture

An interesting title! I was fortunate enough to hear the song "Chalk Dust Torture" by the jam band Phish over the weekend. As I reflected on the some of the lyrics, it made me wonder "How many students are currently sitting in their desks feeling tortured by some of the more traditional methods used in many classrooms today?"

Lyrics:
"Cause I soak on the wrath that you didn't quite mask.
I'm getting it clearly through alternate paths
Or mixed in with the signal you're sending
But who can unlearn all the facts that I've learned
As I sat in their chairs and my synapses burned
And the torture of chalk dust collects on my tongue
Thoughts follow my vision and dance in the sun
All my vasoconstrictors they come slowly undone
Can't this wait till I'm old? Can't I live while I'm young?
But no peace for Jezmund tonight
I plug the distress tube up tight
And watch what I say as it flutters away
And all this emotion is kept harmless at bay
Not to educate somebody's fright"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSso1lgtLH0

This song reminded me of a seventh grade student that I am currently working with who struggles with focusing as a result of having attention deficit disorder. This student, while reflecting on how he feels about school, said the following:

"I think school is the most pointless thing in the world because I don't learn like all the normal kids do. I can't focus, so I don't do my work and then they ride my a** till I get one freakin' problem done. Then, they send me to the principal's office and that just makes it worse! The problem is that it's not just me who has this problem. Other kids do too. The schools need to have a freakin' meeting and figure this out. I don't care how long it takes, but it would make school a whole lot happier for someone like me if they did!"

From the tone in this piece, you may think that this student is a behavior problem or maybe isn't that bright. On the contrary, this student is extremely bright and actually does very well when he is taught using methods that hold his attention and focus.

How many other students feel the way that this student does? How many other students are sitting angrily, yet silently in their seats?

How can we help these students? In Dr. Brian Post's book, Beyond Consequences, he discusses the need for educators to "connect before we correct". Teachers are taught to first connect to themselves before they can connect with their students. The art, the very craft of teaching, completely relies on a teacher's ability to connect with his/her students. If a teacher sees that his students want to succeed, he will then want to do everything in his power to help him do so.

In Jeffery Freed's book, Right Brained Children in a Left Brain World, specific instructions on how to help children who struggle with focus are given. These tips are not difficult and can benefit all children.

At Excel Achievement Center, we empower students by placing them in a more active role with their learning. We know that many children with ADHD are more "right brained" thinkers, and thus we utilize right brained strategies to teach these kids. An example of some right brained strategies are as follows:

1. Provide the student with an element of choice. This will help him/her to become more emotionally involved with the learning process.
2. Remember that repetition is the number one law of learning!
3. Teach students that "If they can't teach it, they don't know it!"
4. Teach the definition of listening: "Listening is being able to repeat back that which the messenger has said."
5. Allow creativity to flow! Abandon worksheets and come up with alternative methods. There are so many out there!
6. Have the students--not the teacher--do the majority of the talking.
7. Promote active learning by having all the students respond to a question. Instead of asking the whole class what photosynthesis is and getting four students to raise their hands, engage the entire class by saying, "Turn to your partner and tell him what you think the answer is." In this way, ALL of the students are actively engaged.
8. Provide many hands-on activities.
9. Break larger projects into smaller parts to avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed.
10. Believe in the student and let him/her know that you love them!