This is amazing. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. I and both of my kids have ADHD. I did well in school because I have an aptitude for languages that enables me to repeat in complex ways things I understand nothing about. Ha ha. But seriously, I could probably write a convincing research paper, just like ChatGPT. Back when my vision was better, I could ace multiple choice tests and recall words because I took a mental snapshot of them. I could print the image on my mind and get the right answer without knowing anything. I've never held a job outside of office support. I'm a visual artist. I paint, and I write. I know within an inch what 9 feet looks like and know a chair will fit in my car when others insist it won't. I've never fit anywhere - certainly not in corporate America.
One of my kids dropped out of high school, despite being one of the smartest people I know. He didn't learn to read until there was a third grade project on maps. By 9th grade he was reading at college level. He never did homework. He hated school. He was "assessed" and found to have a verbal IQ of 152 (whatever that means). Dude is an excellent, deeply insightful writer.
The other kid succeeded in high school where he had a big support system and structure, but dropped out of college because he didn't like the competitive model. Up until then, school felt more like it was about helping people. He excelled at math. Started teaching himself to play guitar at age 11, and by high school had developed impressive technical skills all on his own. Now he's teaching himself coding.
Sorry to go on and on, but I had to say something because I'm SO excited you're writing about this. I agree the assembly-line method of education isn't working for people like us. I am also excited to learn you fully grasp the problem I encounter in school and on the job. I need to see the forest first - then we can talk about trees, the shape of their leaves, the color and texture of their bark, etc. Starting with the details first, I struggle, often for months, like, what even is this about? What are we trying to do? Other people get it. Fortunately, there often comes a time six months into it when I've accumulated enough details that everything comes together all at once, and when that happens, I'm better at the subject than other students. Go figure.
Going through public education is like when someone dumps a box of 1000 puzzle pieces on the floor, but they won't let you see the picture on the box. I need to know what I'm trying to build, and I agree with you, that's the place to start. As an artist, the vision comes first.
This comment gave me chills. The puzzle analogy is PERFECT - I've been trying to articulate this for years and you just nailed it.
"1000 puzzle pieces but they won't let you see the picture on the box" - that's exactly it. And then six months later everything clicks and suddenly you're better at it than everyone else? That's the pattern-recognition brain finally getting enough pieces to see the whole.
Your son learning to read through maps makes so much sense. Maps ARE frameworks. They show you the whole picture first, then you can zoom into details.
Would you mind if I quoted your puzzle analogy in a future essay in this series? It's the clearest articulation I've seen of what framework-first learning actually feels like, and even better than my Lego brick analogy.
Thank you for sharing your and your kids' stories. This is exactly why I'm writing this series - there are too many brilliant minds being told they're broken when really the system just can't accommodate how they think.
Sure, feel free to use the puzzle analogy if you'd like.
This is amazing. I look forward to hearing what you come up with. I and both of my kids have ADHD. I did well in school because I have an aptitude for languages that enables me to repeat in complex ways things I understand nothing about. Ha ha. But seriously, I could probably write a convincing research paper, just like ChatGPT. Back when my vision was better, I could ace multiple choice tests and recall words because I took a mental snapshot of them. I could print the image on my mind and get the right answer without knowing anything. I've never held a job outside of office support. I'm a visual artist. I paint, and I write. I know within an inch what 9 feet looks like and know a chair will fit in my car when others insist it won't. I've never fit anywhere - certainly not in corporate America.
One of my kids dropped out of high school, despite being one of the smartest people I know. He didn't learn to read until there was a third grade project on maps. By 9th grade he was reading at college level. He never did homework. He hated school. He was "assessed" and found to have a verbal IQ of 152 (whatever that means). Dude is an excellent, deeply insightful writer.
The other kid succeeded in high school where he had a big support system and structure, but dropped out of college because he didn't like the competitive model. Up until then, school felt more like it was about helping people. He excelled at math. Started teaching himself to play guitar at age 11, and by high school had developed impressive technical skills all on his own. Now he's teaching himself coding.
Sorry to go on and on, but I had to say something because I'm SO excited you're writing about this. I agree the assembly-line method of education isn't working for people like us. I am also excited to learn you fully grasp the problem I encounter in school and on the job. I need to see the forest first - then we can talk about trees, the shape of their leaves, the color and texture of their bark, etc. Starting with the details first, I struggle, often for months, like, what even is this about? What are we trying to do? Other people get it. Fortunately, there often comes a time six months into it when I've accumulated enough details that everything comes together all at once, and when that happens, I'm better at the subject than other students. Go figure.
Going through public education is like when someone dumps a box of 1000 puzzle pieces on the floor, but they won't let you see the picture on the box. I need to know what I'm trying to build, and I agree with you, that's the place to start. As an artist, the vision comes first.
This comment gave me chills. The puzzle analogy is PERFECT - I've been trying to articulate this for years and you just nailed it.
"1000 puzzle pieces but they won't let you see the picture on the box" - that's exactly it. And then six months later everything clicks and suddenly you're better at it than everyone else? That's the pattern-recognition brain finally getting enough pieces to see the whole.
Your son learning to read through maps makes so much sense. Maps ARE frameworks. They show you the whole picture first, then you can zoom into details.
Would you mind if I quoted your puzzle analogy in a future essay in this series? It's the clearest articulation I've seen of what framework-first learning actually feels like, and even better than my Lego brick analogy.
Thank you for sharing your and your kids' stories. This is exactly why I'm writing this series - there are too many brilliant minds being told they're broken when really the system just can't accommodate how they think.