Misfortune increases vulnerability to further misfortune

Sad to say, but when one bad thing happens to a family, their vulnerability to more bad events increases. For example, when a parent is ill and cannot work, a teen child takes up some of the slack, getting a part-time job which interferes with sleep and school. Then the child's grades drop. With a reduced income and increased medical bills, the family can no longer pay their mortgage and must seek other housing. The teen gives up on school and drops out to work more hours. This is but one example of how one stressful event can be compounded.

I, like so many people, led a charmed life until I was about 40 years old. While sympathetic, I did not fully understand the plight of homeless families or of people with severe and chronic illnesses or

Confessions of a bad teacher

" it’s easy to believe that our schools are facing a bed-bug-caliber infestation of bad teachers." -- John Owens

I ran across this Salon article by John Owens today. It's a great read.

It reminded me of things I have faced in my own career. It has not been easy. The student behaviors described in Owen's article are alive and well in semirural North Carolina BUT we have much better support here.  

Unfortunately, this man left teaching. 
 
Confessions of a bad teacher

If you think ADHD is just about disorganization and restlessness, think again

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ADHD is trivialized everywhere. Every month I see articles characterizing it as normal rambunctiousness. Pundits question parents' decisions to medicate, sometimes portraying them as stifling “normal” childhood exuberance and vitality. Sometimes even I get angry that kids have to rely on a medication simply to succeed in school. If we changed the schools, I think, maybe they wouldn't need the medication – or at least the dose could be lowered.

Don't get me wrong. I think classrooms need to change to be more supportive of students with ADHD, and favor all change in that direction. However, there is no denying that ADHD is a serious, even