Typecast

Back in the olden days when the world was black and white I was taught by the most amazing man - "Sir" was someone whose teaching was inspirational, ahead of his time and who wasn't afraid to try new teaching methods.  I have mentioned him before . When I wrote yesterday's post I was reminded about my high school English teacher.  A man who stayed sat behind his desk for the majority of the time, slumped.  A man who appeared to be ambivalent about teaching in general and about the majority of the students who passed through his classroom door.  A man who completely and utterly disliked me - or so I felt at the time.  I don't remember a single compliment passing his lips or a mark that merited mentioning.  I failed English Language and English Literature spectacularly because he marked my work so low that it was unsuitable to be sent to the examination board.

When I took Jake out of school back in July for our family holiday , he missed his last week ever of primary school - and his presentation day.  A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from his old headmaster inviting him into a Friday assembly to receive his awards.  He had already cleared it with the Year 7 (high school) Head of Year and thought it would be a great opportunity for Jake.  I agreed.

Originally published on 30th September 2010. Updated on 11th March 2014. Naughty child?  Must be ADHD or bad parenting. Child won't sleep at night?  Must be ADHD or bad parenting. Issues with food? Must be ADHD or bad parenting. Except that I have never used ADHD as an excuse for my son's behaviour. Here is an article about a group of scientists from Cardiff who have now discovered that there is a genetic link to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and that the disorder is a brain problem.  Oh * yawn *. Tell me something I don't know. We were given that snippet of 'useful' information about seven years ago. I have never considered my son's ADHD to be part of 'bad parenting' and I get really annoyed when so-called experts decide that the chemical imbalance in my son's brain is down to me not being bothered to raise him correctly. I have written before about how my son explained his ADHD .  Here is an excerpt from th...

"And the award for the least-observant mother goes to..." *drum roll* ME  Yesterday, Son #2 was attending a confidence boosting course ( yes, I realise the irony in that - he's the least needy of this, isn't he? ) to aid the transition from primary school to high school.  A packed lunch was needed - all with disposable packaging - so we headed to the corner shop for a carton of drink for him on the way to school. I sent him in with a shiny £1 coin and he returned with two drinks in grey plastic bottles, sporting those flip-out spouts.   "Two for a pound, mum.  Can I take the other one for rounders practise after school?" I was re-tuning the radio, glanced over, saw the very innocent looking bottles, "Yeah, sure, love. Quick, seatbelt on.  Let's get going!" During the day, Kev got a phone call at home from Jake's teacher explaining that she has had to take Jake's drinks off him as she knows we are very careful regarding what fo...

Child #3 has ADHD .  Everyone knows that.  The school know, they are supportive in our control methods and they are lenient to a degree (firm but fair) with regards his behaviour.  I'm happy with that and I have a fairly good rapport with his teacher. He is 10 years old and in Year 6 and every single week we have the same battle over homework.  He arrives home on a Monday evening with approximately 12 pages of worksheets to be completed by Friday morning.  There is both literacy and maths worksheets.  Jake has a bit of an delay with reading - he's never really grasped it but is improving - so everything has to be read to him, with him and explained in detail.  He does about an hour's homework a night (which I think is MORE than enough, to be honest - he's 10, for god's sake, not studying for A-Levels) but still doesn't complete all the worksheets.  He's been getting a little bit stressed recently saying that his teacher gets angry with the peop...

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Order) has been a big part of our family life for almost 11 years and I was prompted to comment on a blog post from Vicki at I Love My Mad Life when she mentioned she was going to watch a television programme that considered Ritalin as a possible control measure for ADHD.  Following on from this, we have exchanged a couple of emails about young children being diagnosed with ADHD and I've written a similar post about my experiences here today.   I don't know of what "help" this can be to my readers because we tend to muddle along in our own little way, whether that's right or "acceptable"  or what.  It's our life and we'll do what suits us.  I hate the fact that I sometimes feel as though I've got to "excuse" Jake's behaviour but, mainly, people are understanding. Jake's sleep pattern was a little strange from being born, so we knew that something wasn't quite right.  If he'd...

Child #3 has always been a little bit more "advanced" than the other two, purely because of his inquisitive nature, but also because of what he half-hears through not concentrating very much and his ADHD. He also has a special bond with his father because Kev has been the at-home parent for the majority of Jake's life and I think that Kev now appreciates how bloody hard it is to raise children and all the hard work I put in with the older two. Anyway, they are as bad as each other for taking things at face value, as I attempt to prove here: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From Jake's Literacy book, read on Parent's Evening: Henry VIII has six wives but only wanted a son so he had six problems. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After hearing a news item about AIDS he asked the obvious question and his dad did a fairly good job of explaining, in age appropriate language. that AIDS is a blood-related illness and that it's us...

Jake has never been an average child - he never slept for a start.  I spent the first two years of his life, in the small hours normally put aside for owls and late-night clubbers, alternating between my own bed and the settee with my eyes on matchsticks and Disney films on a loop.  I was once very proud of the fact that I could quote Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs verbatim however that particular talent doesn't appear on my C.V. these days.  He was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) at the age of four.   Having older siblings - a sister (8 years older) and a brother (6 years older) - meant that he was always trying to be like them - he followed them as far as he could but I always tried to define the boundaries so that the older children got some time on their own with their peers.  Even to this day, he always tries to "hang" with his brother's friends because they are so much older (15 and 16) and cooler.  I've tried to exp...