Seriously, thank you. Thank you for always singling me out for such little things. Thank you for embarrassing me in front of my peers. Thank you for reprimanding me when I couldn’t sit still, when I couldn’t control my body. Thank you for telling my parents I wouldn’t end up anywhere in life. Thank you for yelling at me when I forgot my homework, but not yelling at the other students. Thank you for making me scared to get yelled at no matter what I did in your class. Please allow me to explain why I am so grateful.
For a student with ADHD, I always did the best I could. I couldn’t sit still. I was forgetful. I was impulsive, and I was eager to learn yet bored in your class.
Thank you for never letting me exert my energy
I will never forget when I went to sharpen my pencil: either you or the aid would come up to me, check my pencil and send me back to my seat and sharpen my pencil for me. Thank you for not allowing me to exert my energy in a simple way. When I went back to my seat my mind would be focused on why I wasn’t allowed to sharpen my pencil but the other students could. Was I not capable, not allowed, or did you not want me out of my seat?
Thank you for reprimanding me when I couldn’t control my body
Thank you for reprimanding me when I would punch the holes out of my folder during a spelling test. It wasn’t harming anyone else so why couldn’t I do it? Thank you for reprimanding me when I would subconsciously tap my foot so I could focus. Heaven forbid one student would look over at me for two seconds and then proceed to his seat work. I was focused and content so why make an issue out of something that was no longer an issue?
Thank you for yelling at me when I forgot my homework
Thank you for yelling at me in front of the whole class when I forgot my homework. The whole class just NEEDED to know that I forgot my homework again right? Of course! Thank you for making me call my father to tell him I forgot my homework. Since getting yelled at by your teacher first thing in the morning isn’t enough, we had to end the day at home on a bad note too right? So I went home to a lecture on how I can't forget my homework again.
Thank you for embarrassing me in front of the whole class
Thank you for telling the whole class how and why I wasn’t allowed to be the first one done. Thank you for then proceeding to tell the class how you had a long talk with my mother and you both agreed that I wasn’t allowed to be the first one done. So I sat in my seat and stared at my multiplication worksheet until math time was over then handed it in. Thank you for the glare you gave me when I handed it in when you asked if I checked it over. Then at recess when my classmates would come up to me and ask me why I wasn’t allowed to be the first one done I would be further embarrassed. Thank you for making me scared to be the first one done ever again.
Thank you for scaring me
When I would tap my pencil when I would think, play with my name tag when I completed a test, or organize my desk you always found a way to make me stop but not give me something else to do. Thank you for taking away my Chap Stick when I applied it during a health lesson because it was a “distraction”. My chapped lips were more painful and distracting than the Chap Stick but I wouldn’t expect you to know that.
Thank you for making me want to become a teacher
Thank you for making me want to be a teacher so that future children would not have teachers like you. When I got to college and started learning about students with ADHD, I learned that I couldn’t control myself and I never did anything wrong. I learned that students with ADHD must exert their energy in one way or another. So when they go to sharpen their pencil after they purposely break it, don’t reprimand them. When they said they did their homework but they forgot it, don’t yell at them and start their day off on the wrong foot. Please do not try to fix the student or the disability. They will have ADHD for the rest of their life so teach them how to work with it throughout the day, but don’t yell at them over something they cannot fix.
Thank you for everything.
Sincerely,
A successful student with a learning disability
