Psychology in the Classroom

Psychology in the Classroom

January 13, 2000

THE EXCHANGE CLUB OF ROSSVILLE, GEORGIA

PSYCHOLOGY, AND THE CLASSROOM

D. Michael North

SEGMENT ONE:

WHY DO SOCIETIES EDUCATE CHILDREN?

All societies and cultures, whether tribal, monarchical, dictatorial, democratic, or republican undertake the education of children as a primary function. Why do societies educate children? The answer is both complex and simple. At first glance, it appears that such education is to prepare a child for life as an adult. Hence, education in tribal cultures focuses on agriculture, hunting skills, food preparation, defense, and other such concepts necessary to survival. In more diverse economies, such as pre-industrial Europe, trade and craft apprenticeships, professions such as the sciences, medicine, and law were the fundamental survival skills taught, in keeping with a more specialized economy. As technology has advanced, so have the specialty fields of study, so that education in America today consists of a blend of basic concepts, upon which are built the advanced studies needed for highly specialized trades and professions. But whether we look at education of a Doctor, or a Tribal Shaman, history has always shown one similarity. The education of children has also included as a fundamental part, especially in the early ages, the values and precepts upon which that society is based. Education exists in order to preserve that preferred societal way of life, and ensure that the values of that culture are then passed to the next generation of children.

This is a fundamental fact of history. It is a fact that fully understood by those who would like not to preserve our way of life, but to undermine it. The power to change the future for better or worse does not lie with the lobbyist, or the legislator, but with the teacher. That is why the proponents of radical societal change have focused like a laser on the classroom.

In order to complete a successful mission, you must first define an objective. Next, you must designate a target. Finally, you must choose your weapon. Objective: Radical societal change. Target: American Classrooms. So what is the weapon? Psychology.

SEGMENT TWO:

A LONG, SLOW ROAD

The road to societal change has been slow, and actually began in the late 1800's and early 1900's. For some 50 odd years the calls for the inclusion of psychology in the classroom were limited to those within the field of psychology itself. But John Dewey began to make the concepts of education as a tool for change popular. As his students and followers began to exert their influence on the teaching profession, the war began.

The actual assault began in the 1960's. Three prominent social scientists developed a teaching method known as values clarification. Benjamin Bloom, who has been very influential in the field of education, combined the philosophy of values clarification with the concept of critical thinking. He wrote "critical thinking [is] subjective judgment…resulting in personal values/opinions with no real right or wrong answer." 2 In his new book "The Educated Child", former U.S. Secretary of Education Bill Bennett discusses the concept of critical thinking. He states " In order to be a critical, independent thinker, in order to firm up those higher order thinking skills so beloved of education experts, you need a considerable amount of knowledge."3 True analytical thinking must be based on facts, and the problem with the Benjamin Bloom model is that it proposes to replace the teaching of facts with the teaching of thinking skills. That is like trying to build a house without placing it on a foundation. But that's what school districts across the nation have begun to do. The "critical thinking" concept has become the preferred concept in teacher colleges. Chester Pierce, from Harvard University, was asked to address the "Childhood International Education Seminar" in Colorado. He told a room full of teachers, doctors, and administrators "Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It's up to you as teachers to make these sick children well - by creating the international child of the future." 4

In order to create and facilitate these goals, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) undertook to convince Washington that the rightful place for psychology was in the classroom. From 1950 to 1961 the NIMH worked with the White House Conference on Education, culminating in a report that stated "…curriculum should be designed to promote mental health as an instrument for social progress and a means of altering culture…." 5 So the stage was set. Washington would fund a massive shift from academics to behavior. As a result of this effort, we went from 455 psychiatrists employed by schools in 1969 to 16,146 in 1994. 6

Now that the psychiatric field has a hold on the education system, what has been the result?

SEGMENT THREE:

THE CLASSROOM OF TODAY?

This is what the World Book encyclopedia says about the approach to education in use today: "Today, educators discuss educational problems in the language of sociology and psychology and try to solve these problems by experimentation."

As parents, we have known this for years. tried and true methods replaced with new "programs", and methods which over time failed, and were replaced with newer programs and methods. 20 years of psycological testing and manipulation have created a generation of students who supposedly suffer from every type of disorder known to mankind.

The American Psychiatric Association publishes the "Diagnostic Statistical Manual", a guide that describes and categorizes what the APA describes as "mental illness". Included in the Fourth Edition are Statistical codes 313.8, 315.0, 315.1, and 315.2. What are these illnesses? They are, respectively: Oppositional Defiance Disorder (the child misbehaves), Reading Disorder, Mathematics Disorder, and Disorder of Written Expression. In other words, the inability to perform even the most fundamental tasks is now categorized as mental illness. This fact alone is discouraging, but add to it the fact that such diagnosis can make the child eligible for treatment, either with therapy, special education programs, drugs, or a combination thereof. In addition, that treatment can be paid for by insurance, federal or state funding, or a combination. So many common traits are now included in the DSM that Herb Kutchins and Stuart Kirk, professors of social work at Cal State claim that "…the criteria are fairly common occurrences, and so large a number of the population will exhibit some of them."7 Many of the illnesses are simply "voted in" to the DSM. So much for the scientific method. In fact, the absurdity of these "disorders" even prompted Scientific American to publish an article called "Sick, Sick, Sick: Neurotic? Probably so, says the DSM-IV" 8

Perhaps the most serious behavioral problem we are dealing with is the problem of Attention Deficit Disorder, known as ADD. ADD is commonly attributed to a "chemical imbalance" in the brain, and yet it diagnosed without the benefit of biopsies, blood tests, or labwork. Even the DSM-IV states that "…no laboratory tests…have been established as diagnostic…for Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder." 9 The diagnosis is made by the use of a questionnaire filled out by the parents and teacher. The results of this questionnaire are used to identify behavioral problems, and determine treatment. The treatment often is a prescription for the drug Ritalin. Ritalin is a powerful class II stimulant, similar to such illegal drugs as cocaine, and in many instances has been proven to be as addictive. Many children taken off of Ritalin have developed depression, suicidal tendencies, and addictions to illegal drugs. While Ritalin is a beneficial treatment for some children, it is being vastly overprescribed. Much evidence is coming forth that in many cases an alteration in diet and environment can reduce or eliminate the symptoms of ADD.

Children aren't learning, and it isn't because the classrooms aren't filled with dedicated teachers. It isn't because parents don't care about their children. It isn't because our children are less intelligent than we were, or because we were less intelligent than our parents. The reasons children are not learning are many, and complex, but one of them is that schools across the nation have shifted their focus from academics to behavior. In fact, the whole shift from "Junior High" schools to "Middle Schools" was that the Middle School concept was to focus on the "emotional growth" of the child. In fact, many states make it hard for local districts to say no to the Middle School concept. This year Walker County will get almost $700,000 from the state of Georgia through a categorical grant known as the "Middle School Incentive Program." 10 Now why would the state pay 180 districts $700,000 each simply to school 6th graders in the same building as 7th and 8th graders? If that's all their was to it, they wouldn't. But the Middle School concept is more than combining grade levels under one roof. It represents a shift in the way we approach education, and a shift that I hold accountable for the growing number of ill-prepared children graduating from our schools. According to the Georgia Board of Regents, 50.2 % of high school graduates entering two-year colleges needed remediation.

SEGMENT FOUR:

WHAT DO WE DO?

What do we do to reverse these trends? Well it took a century for the dreams of the societal reformers to come to pass, it may take that long to undo their work.

The first step is to recognize that the problem exists. Having done so, we must again take responsibility for our families and children, and teach them to take responsibility for themselves. After all, we have given the enemy the only excuse they need. When we say "that isn't the responsibility of the school system", they say, and rightfully so, "well, they aren't getting it at home". So lets see that our children get those things that they need from home, at home. After the Columbine shooting, the news media scrambled to interview experts, legislators, and victims, in order to identify the "culprit", and to encourage legislative reforms. I believe that the true culprit was identified by Columbine student Chris Vander Veen, who wrote:

"The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but

shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment. More experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We Talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice. We have higher incomes, but lower morals; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference…or just hit delete."

Let's fulfill our obligations, so the school systems can return to fulfilling their mission of teaching the children to read, to write, and to calculate, so that they will have the fundamental tools that they need to reach their full potential. And this talk of giving the children what they need at home, brings me full circle to where I began: the values that a society wishes to preserve through the education of the next generation. We must impart to our children the values that made our country great, not the values of those who wish to make it one more in long and growing line of lukewarm socialist democracies.

I would like to leave you with the words of Alexis de Tocqueville, a French historian who desired America's greatness for France:

"I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests, and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning, and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into her churches, and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great". 11

AUTHORS NOTE: All emphasis, whether italic or boldface, is mine.

REFERENCES:

1 Richard A. Baer, "Parents, Schools, and Values Clarification" The Wall StreetJournal, April 12, 1982, p. 14

2 Ron Sunseri, "Outcome Based Education, the Truth about Education Reform" (Questar Publishers, Inc.) 1994, p.14

3 Bill Bennett, Chester E. Finn, Jr., John T.E. Cribb, Jr., "The Educated Child", as quoted in the "Chattanooga Times-Free Press, January 9, 2000.

4 Clova Wood, "Behind the Scenes of Education" 1986, p. 3

5 Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health, Action for Mental Health (New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1961) p. 125

6 T.K. Fagan (1993) "NASP as a force for improving school psychology: What Have Been Its Accomplishments? " from the National Association of School Psychologists annual convention, Washington, D.C.

7 "Sick, Sick, Sick: Neurotic? Probably, says DSM-IV" Scientific American, Vol 271, no.3, September 1994.

8 ibid.

9 DSM-IV, op. cit.

10 FY2000 Budget, Walker County Board of Education

11 Christian Coalition Press, One Nation Under God, America' Christian Heritage, p. 26.

Note: This speech was revised April 16, 2000, to add some content not included in the original presentation.