Let's talk about grammatical errors I have found here, and very poor writing by many english professors. Conceit and arrogance is not pretty and that is what slams doors in faces.Posted by a very courageous Anonymous. People, please stop pooping on my positive posts! I'm trying to spread some nice in the world, and this is what you do with it? But I digress.
As far as teachers/ students: Educate yourself on ADD, And the entire autism spectrum, teachers. What many interpret as refusal to follow directions or 'laziness', could be a symptom of a developmental or other disorder.. I have worked with people afflicted with this, and it is becoming epidemic on the college level, so expect to see more of this until awareness becomes more apparent.
The best I can gather from the drivel written above is that this is in response to a comment I left on this post, about #queryfail. (In that comment I said something about doors slamming in your face.)
First of all, Anonymous, YES, let's talk about the grammatical errors you "have found here." WHERE ARE THEY? Care to point them out? I'd love to see them. Oh, wait -- you forgot to MENTION them.
And, buddy? I will be the first to denounce English teachers with poor grammar. I launch into tirades on the subject at least daily. (PS: "English" is capitalized, at least in English. Not always in other languages, but in this one, it is. Just FYI.) I agree, conceit and arrogance ARE not pretty (because a compound subject will take a plural verb, generally speaking). But, sometimes, neither is the truth, or the cold, hard facts.
I have taught at the elementary and secondary levels, in rich and poor schools. I've seen all kinds of kids, and quite a range of ADD/ADHD cases. I have also seen all kinds of lazy.
There is a difference between ADD and apathy. I am well aware of that difference, thank you. There is also a big difference between "trying and not getting it" and "too lazy to bother trying to get it." Any teacher worth her salt knows the difference -- now, I know better than most that "any teacher worth her salt" is not always a foregone conclusion, but trust me. I may not be worth bucketfuls of salt, but I'm worth enough salt.
And, seriously -- autism? Yeah, like I'd ever have a student in my class and not know he was autistic. Do you even know what autism is?
Where do you live, that you think ADD/ADHD and autism (by the way, the former is not part of the "spectrum" of the other, as your wording implies) suffer from lack of awareness? From your writing, I'd be willing to wager English is not your first language, so maybe you do live somewhere where awareness of these and other learning disabilities is not as widespread as it is here in the US -- where I live and teach, and where the author of the blog where you read my comment lives and teaches, and where the agents who participated in #queryfail live and work (which is what started all this in the first place).
Before you go on your next anonymous stone-throwing trip, you might want to reinforce the walls of your glass house.
*Why on Earth would you choose that post to leave this comment? That was four posts old at the time this comment was made. Wouldn't you leave the comment on the newest post?
Criss - as a ELA teacher, I have reviewed your post that this courageous (NOT!) anon seems to be critiquing. There was a missing hyphen (*gasp*). I'm sure that the good ol' Anon has his/her panties in a bunch over that hyphen-I mean, that has to be it, right? :-) On the other hand, you have "random" and "things" spelled wrong on this page...Oh wait, that's ON PURPOSE? I hope my sarcasm is coming through.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon - your less-than-stellar English grammar abilities put you in the position of "throwing stones at glass houses."
I'm afraid to comment now, in case my grammar is not up to par. :)
ReplyDeleteSo, let me get this straight, Anon... we can "expect to see more of this until awareness becomes more apparent." So, if awareness is NOT apparent, we will continue to see "people afflicted with THIS" as an epidemic "on the college level." So, you're saying that an awareness of autism (or ADD/ADHD, which you seem to believe is part of the autism spectrum) will cause a decrease in autism/ADD/ADHD? Or are you saying that if we aren't aware of it, it will exist . . . and if we ARE aware of it, it will not? Or are you saying that only if our awareness is apparent, it will not exist? What if I'm aware, but I don't make it apparent? What then? Apparently, I'm confused. For some reason.
ReplyDelete@Lindsey: You only incur the wrath of Criss the Grammar Nazi if you attack my grammar first. If you cast that first stone, be ready for the counterattack!
ReplyDeleteI am an English teacher, too. I have about 85 fifth graders, and about 20 have been "diagnosed" with ADHD. Many are on medication. Do you think that ADD/ADHD is over-diagnosed, or do you think these are accurate figures?
ReplyDelete@Miss Russ: While I know ADD/ADHD is a reality, and have seen kids who truly suffered from it, there is a huge problem with over-diagnosing and over-medicating these kids.
ReplyDeleteOne student I had a few years ago was severely ADD, but his older brother, who was dyslexic, had been misdiagnosed as ADD and the medication he was given turned him into "a zombie," according to his parents. (They took him off the meds, and later on realized he was dyslexic, which is why he was having trouble in school.) Because of what they had seen happen to the older son, they refused to consider meds for the younger kid, who NEEDED them. Broke my heart.
If we fix health care in this country, will doctors think before they make these rash diagnoses?