WobLog: Don's Posts Archives

Michael Phelps: ADHD Success Story

As Michael Phelps smashes swimming record after record, he's had to overcome challenges beyond the constant, grueling training and the need to eat 12,000 calories a day: Phelps also had to beat attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity (ADHD).

Diagnoses of ADD or ADHD generate a lot of controversy, no doubt in part because today being a "normal kid" can be considered problem behavior. But along the spectrum of learning styles and abilities, there are certainly kids who don't respond well to conventional teaching methods. In Michael's case, he had the good fortune to have a mom, Debbie Phelps, who recognized this. Here's an interview with Debbie from the May/June 2007 issue of ADDitude:

Michael might not have loved swimming at all, were it not for the ingenuity of his mother, Debbie Phelps. “At age seven, he hated getting his face wet,” says Debbie. “We flipped him over and taught him the backstroke.”

Michael showed swimming prowess on his back, then on his front, side, and every way in between. But in the classroom, he floundered. An inability to concentrate was his biggest problem.

“I was told by one of his teachers that he couldn’t focus on anything,” says Debbie. She consulted a doctor, and nine-year-old Michael was diagnosed with ADHD.

“That just hit my heart,” says Debbie. “It made me want to prove everyone wrong. I knew that, if I collaborated with Michael, he could achieve anything he set his mind to.”

Debbie, who had taught middle school for more than two decades, began working closely with Michael’s school to get him the extra attention he needed. “Whenever a teacher would say, ‘Michael can’t do this,’ I’d counter with, ‘Well, what are you doing to help him?’” she recalls.

The article goes on to describe some of the novel techniques they used to help Michael learn to focus and to attack difficult subjects (like math). Interestingly, as their efforts bore fruit, Michael himself decided he wanted off his Ritalin. While the article doesn't make the claim, I got the impression from reading it that the swimming and teaching style changes were the keys to Michael's success, not the stimulant medication. This is a helpful, hopeful sign for parents of kids with learning challenges who are trying to avoid putting their kids on ADD medication.

Go Michael!

Posted by Don Roberts at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Homeschool Victory in California

A state appellate court, which had previously ruled that Californians have no right to homeschool, reversed itself today. Here's the story from the San Francisco Chronicle

(08-08) 10:49 PDT LOS ANGELES - -- A state appeals court reversed itself today and ruled that parents in California have the right to home school their children even if they lack a teaching credential.

The Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles had ruled Feb. 28 that the state's compulsory education law requires parents to send their children to a full-time public or private school or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home. The ruling caused an uproar among home-schooling advocates and could have made truants out of an estimated 166,000 children in California who are taught at home by their parents.

After hearing from an array of objectors that included state education officials and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the court agreed to reconsider the case and issued a new ruling today that reached the opposite conclusion: State law allows home schooling, although children can be required to attend school if they're being abused or neglected at home.

Although the compulsory-education law hasn't changed since 1929, some alter laws "demonstrate an apparent acceptance by the Legislature that home-schooling is taking place in California, with home schools allowed as private schools," Justice H. Walter Croskey, author of the earlier ruling, wrote in today's 3-0 decision.

"Recent statutes indicate that the Legislature is aware that some parents in California home school their children by declaring their homes to be private schools," Croskey said. He said one of those laws, a 1998 measure exempting parents from fingerprinting requirements imposed on private school employees, indicated "a legislative approval of home-schooling."

Because the 1929 law itself did not explicitly allow or prohibit home schooling, Croskey said, the court should interpret it consistently with the Legislature's current understanding, along with the views of state government and education officials.

He said such an interpretation also allows the court to avoid deciding "difficult constitutional questions" about parents' rights to exempt their children from compulsory-schooling laws. The previous ruling found that no such right exists.

The court ordered a Los Angeles County juvenile judge to reconsider the case of a Lynwood family that has educated their eight children at home, with the mother, who has an 11th-grade education and no teaching credential, acting as the teacher.

The judge initially concluded that the parents had an absolute right to home school their children. The court said today that the right to home school is not absolute, and told the judge to decide whether to send two of the younger children to school in light of the father's history of child abuse.

The case is Jonathan L. vs. Superior Court, B192878.

The ruling is available at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B192878.PDF.

Posted by Don Roberts at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tony Snow, RIP

Tony Snow lost his battle with cancer today at age 53. Here's the statement from the President:

Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend, Tony Snow. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Jill, and their children, Kendall, Robbie, and Kristi. The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character.

Tony was one of our Nation’s finest writers and commentators. He earned a loyal following with incisive radio and television broadcasts. He was a gifted speechwriter who served in my father’s Administration. And I was thrilled when he agreed to return to the White House to serve as my Press Secretary. It was a joy to watch Tony at the podium each day. He brought wit, grace, and a great love of country to his work. His colleagues will cherish memories of his energetic personality and relentless good humor.

All of us here at the White House will miss Tony, as will the millions of Americans he inspired with his brave struggle against cancer. One of the things that sustained Tony Snow was his faith – and Laura and I join people across our country in praying that this good man has now found comfort in the arms of his Creator.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen. (Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. Rest in peace. Amen.)

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

June 6, 1944: D-Day

Writing today's date in my gym log this morning, I said to my buddy, "June 6. I think that's D-Day, isn't it?" I had a moment of doubt, because I'd heard nothing about it this year.

Later in the morning, Rush did spend part of his show talking about the invasion.

Posted by Don Roberts at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fr. Z on liturgy

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has one of the best blogs of any priest presently writing about the Church. Today, he posted his "bullet points" about the Church, the liturgy, and the world:

Over time I have developed some ideas which guide most of what I post here regarding liturgy, liturgical translation, use of the older form of Mass, etc.

Let’s review some of the aphorisms and basic starting points I use here which are like helpful pegs upon which we can organize our thoughts when talking to people.

Think of a tool shop, where you see pegs on the wall with the shape of the tool that belongs their painted around the beg.

Liturgy is the tip of the spear

There is a reciprocal relationship between how we pray and what we believe. Change our prayer, we change our understanding of doctrine. At the same time, if you believe a certain thing, that will affect how you pray. Our identity begins to shift. The Latin phrase lex orandi lex credendi expresses this… the "law of praying is the law of believing".

The older Mass exerts a "gravitational pull"

Use the image of gravity or "cross-pollination", "harmonic resonance", whatever.

The use of the older form of Mass will exert an influence on the way the newer form of Mass is being celebrated. First, younger priests (and older too) will discover new dimensions to Holy Mass by learning or refreshing the older form. This will change their self perception and how they say Mass. In turn, this will influence how people in the pews see them and understand Holy Mass. Since the Eucharist (Its celebration and the Sacrament Itself) is the "source and summit" of our Christian life, identity, mores, etc., everything about our Church will begin to shift because of these changes of self-perception.

Continue reading "Fr. Z on liturgy" »

Posted by Don Roberts at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Back among the living

The last month or two has been a pretty challenging time at work. Not just for me, but for the whole organization. While we're not quite through the tough times yet, things should start settling down.

When all one's mental attention is devoted to family and work, there's not much left over for random musings. Thus, no posting. Maybe now things will settle down, I'll sleep a little better, and I'll even have time to post now and then.

Posted by Don Roberts at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Return of the Solemn Latin Mass to Knoxville, TN

The fruits of Summorum Pontificum just keep on coming!

Knoxville Catholics’ First Solemn Latin Mass in Decades

At 2 pm on Sunday, April 20 at Knoxville’s historic Holy Ghost Catholic Church—currently celebrating its centennial—area Catholics will enjoy the city’s first solemn Latin Mass celebrated in the four decades since the newer vernacular Mass was introduced in the years following the Second Vatican Council.

As a special feature for this festive occasion, a combined multi-parish choir and orchestra directed by Mary Frazier Garner will sing the principal choral parts of the Mass in the famous "Coronation Mass" setting composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This unique event will afford the opportunity of hearing some of the Church’s greatest sacred music presented not solely in concert but as an active part of the liturgy in a "live" church worship service.

Continue reading "Return of the Solemn Latin Mass to Knoxville, TN" »

Posted by Don Roberts at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Great WaPo article on traditional Catholics

In advance of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the U.S., the Washington Post profiles several D.C.-area Catholic families who buck the dominant culture, even within the Church, adhering to more traditional Catholic practices. Some excerpts:

During an era when two-thirds of young Catholics say they can be good Catholics without going to Mass and many believe in a woman's right to choose abortion and view premarital sex as morally acceptable, Karen and David Hickey might be considered renegades -- because they are so devout.

The lives of the Fairfax County couple and their five young children revolve around the Catholic Church, and they stand out as devoted because so many others do not follow the teachings of their church to the letter.

Such young Catholics' strict obedience to the tenets of their faith makes them an anomaly in their generation. Only 14 percent of Catholics ages 20 to 40 attend Mass at least weekly, according to research by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, and just one in five goes to confession once a year or more.

For conservative Catholics, that's unthinkable.

"You have to live your faith and practice, not just learn the doctrine," said Anne Francoise Guelcher, 40, the mother of six children -- ages 15 months to 14 years -- who lives with husband James in Montclair, Va.

Guelcher home-schools her children. "That way, I can really teach them about the faith," she says.

The family goes to Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days and celebrates the myriad Catholic feast days. Like other devout Catholics, they keep holy water, which has been blessed by a priest, in a small font by their front door. They say the rosary and pray to the saints daily.

"We live it every day," Guelcher said.

This isn't a phenomenon confined to just D.C, of course. The San Francisco Chronicle featured our own parish, St. Margaret Mary, in an article that appeared on Good Friday. Rod Dreher noted similar developments not only among young Catholics, but also among the Orthodox and Protestant evangelicals in his book Crunchy Cons.

Posted by Don Roberts at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Charlton Heston, RIP

He passed away on Saturday at age 84.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen. (Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. Rest in peace. Amen.)

Posted by Don Roberts at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

St. Patrick's Day: no green beer this year

This year, the Feast of St. Patrick on March 17 falls during Holy Week. Faithful Catholics will have to forgo the whooping it up with corned beef and green beer to maintain their focus on the central element of Holy Week: the Lord's Passion. The Dallas News has an article on the tension between this increasingly secular holiday and the Church's most important week:

Few days in the Christian calendar have such a split personality as March 17.

The luck of the Irish was with Clyde Watts on Thursday as he worked on a float at Lone Star Parade Floats for Saturday's festivities on Greenville Avenue. The day dedicated to the bishop who overthrew paganism in Ireland has long since become, for most Americans, an excuse to wear (or drink) something green. Even Christmas, commercialized though it is, isn't commonly commemorated with wet T-shirt contests.

"There is a tension there, the idea of celebrating it as a religious feast compared to a secular holiday," said John Norris, chairman of theology at the University of Dallas.

The conflict has been brought into sharper relief this year, when for the first time since 1940, St. Patrick's Day falls during Holy Week.

I gave up beer for Lent this year, so even if St. Paddy's Day had fallen outside of Holy Week, I'd have been out of luck. The only thing left to decide is whether I'm going to wear green on Monday or not. I'm thinking not, because the inevitable questions that come up will give me the opportunity to explain that this year the feast has been superseded by Holy Week.

Posted by Don Roberts at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)