10/25/2025
. I lived many of my formative years in a never never land where I was if not king I was a prince as one of four brothers. We got lost in the wonder of the forest and grew strong. Then we went to school where we were told we had to compete with everyone for the crown. To be the smartest , intelligent and worthy of scholastic achievement we had to win. We had to beat everyone to gain the privilege of being recognized as a prince. I knew I had issues. I did not want to compete. I could not read well and tried to avoid situations where others could see how bad I was at reading. My math skills were average except when it came to algebra, calculus and geometry. Basic math. I excelled in art and drafting and all things physical. But I felt I was not as good. When I graduated, barely. I discovered I was not supposed to compete with anyone but my self. I was ADD. At the time no one seemed to know that was an issue. You were just not as smart as others. Once I recognized my only competition was me I did pretty good. My reading skills got better. I was able to accomplish some things that anybody would be proud of. My forty some years of work had their ups and downs but I always continued to learn in my own way. I am very proud of my family. My father had a fourth grade education and purchased our home in Little Rock from the President of The Rose Law Firm and paid cash. Mr. Rose had dad and the Little Rock police department es**rt him to the bank because he had never had that much cash in his hands before. Dad was ADD. He couldn’t read well but had a good handle on basic math. In the eleventh grade we were required to take the Air Force test. I made a 90 plus score. I needed to know I excelled in something to do with education so I asked my counselor. He without hesitation told me I was average. I did well in business. I became a trainer or business coach and traveled the states and Canada teaching business owners, salesmen, technicians and managers how to build a better business. All the while in the back of my mind I am thinking I am not as smart. When I finally did retire at the age of 53 while still being paid by my company who gave me six months to change my mind I used my company insurance to be checked for ADD. It was like five hours with a psychiatrist where you had to do an I.Q. Test. And yes I am ADD with an IQ of 126 which equals or exceeds about twenty of our Presidents and excelling to 142 in strategy. At one point the psychiatrist stops and says wow. I respond with what. She says nobody has ever done that before. Me what. Not only did you do it right you finished with time to spare. I write all this because it’s been over fifty years and I went to a meeting this week because my grand daughter is going to be held back in the very expensive religious school ( not CAC ) because she is not competing with and chooses not to be ridiculed by other students and staff because even today the system of teaching students with ADD is as the Principal stated. We have a section of our campus dedicated to teaching ADD students as well as other students with learning disabilities. ( short bus). This is an extremely intelligent kid. At 12 great artistic skills and can remember every step to twelve different performances with a group of young kids and win awards for their on stage performances. Math skills are good English not good. As I sat and listened to the principal tell us how he had graduated high school at the age of 14 and he understood the difficulties of being in class with people of a different age. And how a person could never be successful in life if they could not master English and math. And I am thinking “ wonder how many books this guy has written. Though I obviously did not master English and I don’t suffer from the short bus syndrome I have written three as well as a curriculum for training adults which has changed the way an Industry teaches. He told us how he understood the the psychology behind the ADD students and how they do not like to complete with other students. I hurt for my grand daughter and other kids that have to be taught by people who don’t have the slightest of understanding. Fifty some odd years have passed and unless you are lucky enough to have a teacher who understands the difference and there are many, you are thrown to the wolves. To many of our institutions of learning are ran by people that competed very well and were rewarded for their scholastic achievements. Because of that they see the only way to success is the way they did it. I work with adults who have been told all their lives they were not good enough. We have about two thousand students come through our training center every year. Until Covid they came from all over the world. A large percentage of them are ADD. What they need is encouragement. Someone to show them how to use their special skills. Many double even quadruple their income and change their life and the lives around them. ADD is not a curse. It is a blessing and those who can live through it and find a place of acceptance do very well. They become very accomplished in many skills. A few weeks ago one of my students responded to a post with this “ meeting you changed my life” I think he meant for the good. How can you beat that? I also hurt for those who’s life has changed for the worse because they met an educator who did not understand the power of the negative. This pandemic has added to the difficulties in education and I genuinely believe there are many educators even in this school that would sacrifice what ever it took to help a child. Then there are the others.A college prep school may not have been the best choice for my grandchild. It certainly doesn’t attract families to the school if they have a record of failing high school students. But if they are assigned to the short bus it’s OK. What I am saying is there is more than one way to teach and everyone does not fit the same mold. But if you are building your business on collage prep then you have a responsibility to let the parents know on the front end that you are not going to help them build their confidence and their future. Maybe this is exactly what happened. Love the idea of the triangle. Just wish it applied to people who learn differently. Sure lock arms and pray. I pray your eyes will be opened to the damage you do to children who are different. Many are not inferior. They are superior in there on way. Dad used to say if you can make money you don’t have to be a lawyer or a doctor, you can pay for their services. But then he was ADD.
