ADHD

In the passage "ADHD The Cloud Lifted," by Julie Gilbert it is questioned if she began her passage appropriately or not. Personally I believe that the introduction of this passage did its job at capturing the readers attention. After reading the first sentence, I was hooked because I wanted to know why she was in the Floating Hospital in Boston at the age of ten. Gilbert was introducing her newly diagnosed disorder: ADHD, which in my opinion is an often a disorder that is misunderstood. Although I do not know what its like to have ADHD first hand, I have experience with it through my younger sister. Gilbert closing sentence was what had officially hooked me to finish reading the passage. Through my sisters journey I have noticed that her teachers look at her as a lost cause and a bad influence, but I know that she's is just misunderstood. The experience that I have had the pleasure to become apart was a large factor in why I wanted to read the article to begin with. After reading the article I am able to understand the hardships of those who have ADHD.
On another note, Gilbert was put on Ritalin almost immediately to help with the ADHD. When my sister was first diagnosed with ADHD, the doctor tried to use Tea and Coffee as alternatives before putting her on medication. Maybe these children with ADHD don't really need medication at such a young age but rather a teacher that is able to understand that ways ADHD students learn. I do believe that Gilbert passage was able to serve as a great eye opener to those who are oblivious to what ADHD really is. I also believe that any child or adult that has ADHD could read this passage and use it as a motivational tool to overcome the hurdles of different stereotypes.

Suina's life changes

Joseph Suina wrote the passage "And Then I Went to School," where he discusses his transformation from being a Native American boy to the Stranger he becomes to himself. He was encouraged to go to school to better his life in the future, but during his journey he notes that he has changed. For instance, "I longed to be free"(Suina 6) is the most powerful quote that shows the reader how much he had changed due to his education. He wore pressed shirts and pants and shined shoes. HE no longer spoke his Native language or participated in his cultural dances. Though his life will get better for having an education, it hurt him for the majority of the essay because he lost a major part of his life: home. "There was no choice left but to compete with the white man on his terms for survival. For that I knew I had to give up a part of my life."(Suina, 7) This is able to support why Suina's education was improved but lost a majority of his life.
Personally, my education will provide me with a better future because I will ultimately be following my dreams of helping people. I believe that by attending college I will be able to live comfortable and be able to have a place of my own to call home, which is something I've never had. I grew up low- income and my mom was and still is on welfare and because she rarely could hold a job we were evicted numerous times and lived on the street or with friends and family. For these reasons, my college degree will allow me to finally settle in one place to call home and I will be able to keep the independence I've strived so long to achieve. At this moment I do not feel as though I will be leaving anything behind that is worth keeping. My plans are to move out west after graduation, but my family will always be there with me supporting my decisions and for what that's worth I will not be giving up anything that I don't want to give up.

Making connections between Rose and Tobias

     Mike Rose wrote a passage called "I just want to be average" and there is a moment where his experience becomes consistent with the information in Shelia Tobias's passage; "Symptoms of math Anxiety." Reading paragraphs 21-23 of Rose's passage I was able to aknowledge that there were some similarities between the two pieces. " A good teacher, to allay this myth, brings in the scratch paper he used in working out the problem, to share with the class the many false starts he had to make before solving it,"(Tobias, 151) is the one quote that struck me to make a comparison to the experiences Rose was having in English with Jack MacFarland. Rose makes it clear that all of the students had given MacFarland respect for the amount of hours that was put into his work. Jack MacFarland was the "good teacher" that Tobias talks about in her piece. Tobias also makes a discussion that states that most students are likely to quit when they don't understand. In Rose's piece he was given many assignments throughout the school year, which "startled" him and his classmates, but Rose never quit because of the way Jack MacFarland taught. The teaching process of MacFarlane was no doubt that of a good teacher, which explains why most of his students didn't quit. Those who did quit, however, were the troublemakers that "would look foolish rather than daring."(Rose, 140) Throughout Roses pieces we see him transform from a student that is really anxious to start a new education path, but who soon become devoured by the "good teacher" and the material of the class.