I don’t think that there is anybody in society right now that doesn’t take medication for something – high blood pressure, diabetes, prostate issues, thyroid dysfunction, ulcers, or depression just to name a couple of. For sure, medication is some thing that is required by numerous just to stay alive.
Children have often required medication for childhood illnesses and some childhood diseases. It is only within the last 20 years that we have seen school aged kids being medicated with psychotropic drugs, occasionally even as early as preschool. About 15 years ago, when I was a vice-principal of a school for conduct disordered children, I was on the phone with a doctor who was treating 1 of my students. I mentioned to the doctor that the student was hyperactive. He informed me that I was utilizing the wrong terminology, that she wasn’t hyperactive, but that she had ADHD. Throughout our discussion, the doctor further explained that this student’s ADHD was the reason why she had such poor impulse control, and that she required medication to help control her. In my opinion, poor parenting and the lack of great old fashion discipline have played a massive part in the very common present trend in society and specifically in education where everyone which includes school psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, administrators, and teachers take the easy way out and looks for a fast fix to deal with students who in days gone by would have been considered disrespectful and irresponsible, not mentally ill.
Society today has raised its tolerance for deviance. This same attitude has found its way into education and has resulted in lower expectations for student achievement and behavior. Years ago if 1 person burned the American flag it was an illegal act and the guilty person or group was held accountable with the appropriate societal consequences imposed. But, what occurs if five thousand folks burn the flag and the jails aren’t large sufficient to hold them? You either construct bigger prisons, or make it legal to burn the flag.
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