The current system was designed
and conceived for a different age, where knowledge needs to be acquired from
the learned; that students are passive recipients. This justifies why there is
an epidemia of ADHD. Unfortunately, this traditional educational system worked
in a way that disrupts the natural process of learning, of inquiry to be
precise. Children learn to ask fewer questions as they move to a higher-grade
level. They become trained to listen and memorize the expected answers. This is why children who come up with a
series of questions and multiple answers are diagnosed with ADHD. We forget, as
the video pointed out, that children are now living in a highly stimulating
period. Stimulation of the senses should be seen as an education ally and not
an enemy. Children should be allowed to gather information through the
application of the human senses. They should be considered as active
participants to the learning process. Students should be equipped to be able to construct
knowledge, test their ideas and draw their own conclusions rather than just
reproducing facts.
I have an experience teaching students who were supposed to be diagnosed with ADHD. I strongly believe that these children are, more than anything, stressed at home with either the absence of their parents or the high expectations from their social class. I agree that medicating them only suppresses their potentials and does not allow them to participate in an inquiry-based learning. Having students who are medicated to contain "hyperactivity" or improve "lethargic" behavior makes it challenging to create a thoughtful classroom.
