Re: Can you have ADHD but still excel scholastically?

[Anonymous]

We sure can be ADD and excel at school. On the other hand, some of us do the exact opposite of that out of boredom. Of course, I always say there is no excuse for boredom because there is always something else just waiting for us to learn!

I’m a teacher and probably got into the field just because I had no other idea of what to do with my life despite being on the honour roll. All my friends put up with my quirkiness probably because of the way my school put us into our classes back then. Waaaay back when. In middle school, we were organized into our classes based on our grades. An ‘A’ student was placed in a homeroom class of other ‘A’ students. You’re a ‘B’ student? Well, you go there. ‘C’? There’s your room.

WHAT? ‘D’??? Oh dear, go over there and stand in that corner for the year.

Lucky me to be an ‘A’. The kids in my class were all ‘exceptional’ in one way or another but all of them had brains that were elastic enough to be open to the differences in each other. I think back now and know that a bunch of us were ADD and there were even some that I’d bet my last dollar on that were Asperberger’s. Learning disabilites? Yes, those too. In fact, one of my best friends was tested in 9th grade and declared to be a full-fledged big E in that department along with just being a real smart cookie.

The truth of the matter is the years we were segregated into those classes were some of the most interesting years I spent at school. I had the same teachers as my twin sister, who by the way was in the ‘C’ class because she had attitude, skipped school, and never completed one single assignment (other than the ones I did for her- heehee). I don’t want anyone saying that the reason my class did so well in school is because our class was given better teachers. I do know they enjoyed our class more but that is probably because we were engaged in learning.

My classes over those years certainly had their fair share of class clowns and we did engage in a lot of goofiness with them but we always managed to get our work done. There were a couple of kids that always were given enormous extensions to the due date for projects because of their quirks. In fact, we used to laugh about it as a class when a new assignment/due date was given and then we’d announce the 2nd due date for those couple of students. The best thing? It was okay with all of us because, well, it was just okay. For whatever reason, they just seemed to need more time to get things done. No big deal that they’d get an extra 2 weeks.

So why did I go into teaching? ‘Cause I didn’t have anything else that came to mind when it was time to go to university. One friend went into law, two went into medicine, one an architect (when girls just DIDN’T), and another a social worker. They kept asking me what I was going into and truthfully, I told them I had NO idea. Odd, we never even talked about what we would go into until our last year of high school. Way too many things interested us and I guess if your marks are good you have lots of choices, right?

So when we finally were starting to look into filling out those university applications I was like a deer in headlights. When I had no idea what I should apply for while we were talking that day, one of my friends said she thought I should work with people and that I’d be especially great working with kids, why not go into education? So now I am a teacher.

Class clowns? As soon as I meet a class clown in each year’s new group of kids I look to see why. Class clowns are often ADDers or trying to hide something and that’s usually that they’re having a hard time with the work. Not always true, but it’s often there and can be dealt with.

Of course, sometimes they just like to make us laugh! :o)

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