Are Distractable People More Creative? -- Wired.com

It's a matter of teaching parents and teachers to embrace the kid's creativity rather than attempt to stuff them into little boxes of conformism. Find out what a kid is interested in instead of trying to force them to focus on something they may have already learned and are just bored being asked to learn again.

I too was one of those kids who's mind wandered during class. My brother was 4 years older and he was a terrible speller. I was a spelling bee winner, so my parents thought it would be a great idea for my brother to 'help his little sister learn' by allowing me to proofread his homework for spelling errors.

Four years later when I was in the class he had been in, I remembered the lessons I proofread for his homework, and as a result was bored out of my mind because I'd read all of those lessons before. I often cut class. I was fortunate - my counsellor sat me down and asked me why I was cutting class and I told her I already knew all that crap and wanted to learn something new, but they never had anything new so I figured I'd have better luck in the library.

I was given aptitude tests - and ended up skipping three grades. I was placed in an accelerated class and never cut again. The secret is to take the time to talk with the child and listen to what they say. Most kids that are diagnosed with ADD are extremely intelligent. Many of them also have other issues, such as dyslexia, which make it difficult or nearly impossible for them to comprehend the written word and need extra assistance (audio textbooks are available for students who are blind or dyslexic).

Kids act out in disruptive ways because they have no other way to express their frustration in school. The problem is that schools are so over-extended and so under funded they have no way of giving children the individual attention they need. It's cheaper and easier to ask the parents to put the kids on mind-numbing Ritalin instead. Our government keeps cutting educational budgets - it's no wonder more and more kids are being diagnosed with ADD instead of receiving the teaching attention they really need.

Thank you both for your comments .
I've been working on a theory about behavior for thirty years . It's so simple . Mankind behaves so many different ways . But 95 %of that behavior is done for one goal . Everything comes back to one word . The word is Attention . From first breath to last breath people demand attention . When they become secure within themselves , they don't demand attention , but can give it .
Like a new mother gives her newborn so much attention . Only with luck , is there someone there to give just the right amount of attention and not to much .
Whether it be the bad little boy down the street , the sweet little girl always helping or the shy kid who doesn't play with others . They do what they do for attention . I could go on and on about what I've thought over the years . Why people do good things and people do bad things
But most of the time I can think it back to the goal of attention .
I would have loved to have been educated in this area . Just to know how close I've come to
understanding human behavior , with my simple theory .
RON