The Principal's Corner:
Last week I was talking with a family about what it was like growing up with ADD and how it impacted school for me. I told the family that everything they brought up during our conversation felt like looking into a mirror of my life as a child, and I figured this week I would share some of those experiences with the larger community.
Throughout my entire life, I feel the most annoying thing for my parents has to have been when they asked me how school went and I always gave the answer of: “Fine.” The follow-up question was always, “Well, what did you do in school today?” The answer would always be: “Stuff.” Now, these are super typical answers for all kids who don’t want to relive the day they just had however, for me, it was a routine, a script that would allow me to get to whatever I wanted to do the fastest.
That conversation would lead to the inevitable conversation of, “Hey Tim, what happened on this math (or spelling) test in your backpack?” At this point in the conversation, the three most famous words of my entire childhood surfaced: “I don’t know.” My dad would always keep his cool and ask me those probing questions such as: “What do you mean you don’t know? What do you remember? Did you ask the teacher for help? Did you remember to take your time?” I would get kind of quiet and I would rack my brain for the answer I thought he wanted to hear when the reality of the situation was that I did not remember. I hadn’t developed my metacognition skills (thinking about how we think) far enough yet to answer his question.
The real answer was that I was just not interested in math when I was eight. I can verbally tell you everything I was supposed to do - take good notes, listen to the teacher, ask for help, sit by someone who could help me and remember to bring my homework home, but when push came to shove I never consistently did. I had wonderful math teachers. In fact, my sixth-grade math teacher was my all-time favorite who connected and engaged me more than anyone else, but when it came time for my pencil to hit the paper on a math test, I would think about literally everything and anything else. Why didn’t Mark pass me the ball during the soccer game? Will we play soccer at recess today? Speaking of recess I wonder what is for lunch is? Will they have the chicken nuggets or chicken rings? I wonder if I should sit with Jon or Justin for lunch? Where is Justin right now I think he is in English.
My brain would go on like this in short five to six-minute bursts, and then I would try to back to the math problem or tune back into the lesson. I would THINK if I got the problem right or understood the gist of the lesson but when I would go home I would not remember it all and when asked what happened, I would say, “I don’t know”. I did not have the language to say, “Well my brain was going so fast on so many different topics that I did not hyper-focus in the lesson today, which is why I do not know how to do it.”
When I asked my parents about this they said it was difficult not being able to help me in math or spelling and watch me continually struggle from fourth to 11th grade. I was actually a very good math student in K-2 because it was fast math because it didn’t require sustained attention sp I could fly through it. I also became a decent math student in 12th - college because I had strategies to use to focus in on the lesson, but I was also learning how to teach math which inherently interested me. However, those fourth through 11th-grade years were difficult. Luckily around sixth grade, we changed the narrative as a family away from a focus on the math grades and instead to focus on the work ethic toward math. While I struggled with math concepts I was an incredibly hard worker towards almost everything else. I started to get questions such as: “What was my effort towards my work?” “Who did I ask for help?” “What was the most difficult thing about math today?” “What was the most enjoyable part of math today?” It made me focus a bit more on the math block of time instead of beating the same drum about the math work, and it did help.
But the real payoff didn’t happen until college, when I started noticing that my work ethic was far superior to my peers on almost all subjects. I was able to channel (or focus) my mind on multiple tasks and different topics at once, which made me massively successful in college and in the real world. Infact, I gave the commencement speech at Michigan State, and yes, my family thought I was joking when I told them the news.
My ability to jump topics and focus on moving parts quickly is a major reason why I found success both as an educator and soccer director. It’s a major factor in why I am able to sit here today and not have to worry about my doctoral program because I’ve been done with this semester for about three weeks now and there are still four weeks left to finish up.
All of this was possible because I went through the struggles of math in fourth to 11th grade, not despite them. It was because as a family, we changed the conversation to focus on the skills I needed to have long term such as work ethic, collaboration, and asking for help. It started because my parents didn’t make an excuse for me, no matter how much I tried to deflect and defer and forced me to own my learning and my mistakes. (I was really good at it by the way! I brought in three copies of the same book, Calvin and Hobbs, in fourth grade so when my teacher took one away I would have another to read. We are truly lucky my parents didn’t just end me that night.)
As I said at the start, I am writing about this topic this week for no other reason than to say, I get it. I understand how hard it can be when kids have struggles. So, if your family is experiencing a tough time, I hope this provides some perspective and maybe some relief that in the long term, the hard work that we put in now, will pay off.
All the best,
Mr. Moore
PS: I really wish Mr. Duff (my elementary principal) would have sent something like this out when my mom discovered that I put raw uncooked peas in the cookie dough for the church bake sale as a spry young seven year old. Grounded for a week. Unbelievable.
MacGregor's Message:
District-wide Canned Food Drive
The district-wide canned food and personal hygiene drive to support Gleaners Community Food Bank continue through Tuesday, November 26. All donations will support families right here in Livingston County. Donations can be dropped off at all Howell Public Schools buildings. To view a flyer on the drive, please visit http://bit.ly/2pJkd3H.
Sing-along to Frozen
Join the Howell High School Drama Club on Saturday November 16 for a sing-along to the hit movie Frozen on Saturday November 16 at 7 p.m. All proceeds from the event will support the Drama Club. The fundraiser will take place at the Historic Howell Theatre. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door.
COUNSELOR’S CORNER
November is here and that means that the holidays are right around the corner! In Livingston County, we are fortunate not only to have several services available for families, but we also have opportunities available for families who wish to give or volunteer. Check out the information below!
If you would like to receive:
- For information about a free Thanksgiving meal, call Cornerstone Church at 810-494-4059.
- Contact the organization you are a part of in the community for more information about their holiday gift-giving programs (some CMH programs, DHS foster care, Family Impact Center, Mentor Livingston, The Arc, etc). You can also contact the Salvation Army to check if items are still available on an emergency basis at 517-546-4750.
- For Christmas Food Programs, contact the American Legion Post 141 at 517-546-2534.
If you would like to give or volunteer:
- Contact Volunteer Livingston for local volunteer opportunities: www.volunteerlivingston.org or 810-464-3000. Many volunteers are needed to staff community seasonal efforts, such as gift collection, pick-up and delivery of goods, gift wrapping, donation site management, toy and fund drive organization, and many other activities.
- Contact the Livingston County United Way at 810-494-3000. Individuals can donate at any events such as Toys for Tots, Stuff the Bus, or the many other local efforts! Contact the United Way for areas of greatest need.
For more information or any support, please reach out to me!
Your Partner in Education,
Sarah Boyd
School Counselor