Week 5 Part 2- June 12 2014

I got up this morning at 4:30 AM, in order to drive and reach the famous "Chief" in Squamish for 6:45, so we could hike up before the mountain got to hot.  It was over 30 degrees Celsius today, which for the West Coast is very hot.  My boyfriend and I were loving the quiet hike, ( as everyone else were still snuggled in their beds).  I got to thinking about how alive he became when he is outdoors, exploring a new place, and experiencing a sense of adventure and exploration.  This got me thinking again about my reading last week on ADHD.  I am still amazed that 80% if students diagnosed with ADHD are boys.  This really doesn't sit well with me.  I've worked with a number of students diagnosed with ADHD, but only a few have been on medication for it.  It seems like more parents are deciding to go the natural route and look at diet and herbs, etc.  Recently though, I just heard about a mom with four kids.  Three of her four are diagnosed with ADHD and two are on medication. This really breaks my heart. I am left wondering if ADHD isn't more just a product of a very boring school system where all traces of adventure and exploration have been erased. If we had more kinaesthetic learning, and if students were able to create their own adventure by exploring what's interesting to them, what would happen? This leaves me to ponder about what I can do in my classroom to change this, (without a system overhaul or a nervous breakdown).