I was watching a program on tv the other night and it featured a world class (forgot the country... for the sake of a stereotype we'll say she's) Chinese figure skater. She told the story of how she began her long and successful career as a proffessional athlete: (loosely... from what I remember)

"I was in elementary school when we had visitors from the government. They measured our arms and legs to see who would be best suited for which sports."

She was reluctant at first however soon fell in love with the sport she was forced into.

Why dont they do this with ADD children?

Should there be seperate schools once a child reaches secondary?


Should children be delicately nugged in a certain direction with their careers? (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12752)

As a child, my father was forced to be right-handed. He is now right-handed, but he has a difficult time with left/right directions. He blames his difficulty on having been forced to be right-handed (don't know if it's true or not). IMO, it is wrong to force a child to behave a certain way simply because it is viewed as the "correct way" (even though it is unnatural to the child). I think it is highly likely that the child will have difficulties related to the forced change ...or at least will develop some sort of "quirky behavior" to compensate for the behavior that has been quashed.

If, however, you are recommending that children's aptitudes be assessed and that their education focus on their strengths ...I guess I agree with that to an extent. I think it's still important for kids to learn the basics (reading, writing & arithmitic), but if a child is skilled musically, athletically, with his hands, etc, I think it makes sense to foster these skills ...even if it doesn't fit the standard school curriculum.

I'm actually somebody that thinks the school system should be dramatically reformed and modernized. I think the system we have right now is adequate at best and if there was a dramatic reform, there would probably be room to seperate those who learn one way from those who learn another. Who knows... the new system might actually prepare children for the modern world of high fashion, credit cards and the general label of "consumer" rather than sending a blind herd into the slaughter-house.