Submitted to New York Times but not published (10/11/2012)

Re: Attention Disorder or Not, Pills to Help in School

Medicating children to fit unfriendly environments is one more step in the grand plan of standardization: We're becoming a society that doesn't tolerate squeaky wheels, blaming the children instead of looking at the environment.

The U. S. Department of Education requires states to embrace the Common Core Curriculum in order to receive federal funds. As schools reduce recess, art, and music to increase rigor, no wonder children have to be drugged in order to make them sit still for six hours. Among other things, the Common Core slashes fiction and tells children, in the words of Common Core architect, David Coleman (who never taught), "No one gives a sh*t what you think." Demands for drugging will increase. The medicos call this "impulse control." I call it Brave New World.

Speaking as a longtime teacher I suggest that instead of doping children with drugs about which no one knows the longterm effects, we should change abusive school environments. To speak to children's needs, I recommend increased recess instead of increased rigor and regulation.

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