Thom, Thank you for your work on ADD

--- you are completely correct, of course.
Will you please (in your spare time!;)) start a chain of schools of the type I would have loved to go to?

Lots of hunting through libraries, lots of real world research, lots of adventure learning, lots of initiative, lots of curiosity rewarded, lots of debate welcome -- lots of non-regimented physical activity and arts integrated...............

School was hell, absolute hell -- we are driving our kids insane. I could feel it as physical pain in my body to have to sit in that concrete box and I was in a "good school". In another school I was threatened with a beating because I would not color my turkey brown at Thanksgiving time. (Purple and Blue.)

All the millions of parents with kids like me would flock to your AD schools and flee the puritanical, patriarchal, judgmental, spirit crushing, drug dealing schools........... Please?

You can do anything Thom.
And the time is right.
You would breed a New Renaissance and be the answer to the propaganda instilling, corp-cog training schools on the horizon............
Pretty Please?
Louise? Help me out here....
We would all help...........
Recruit an army of retired boomer volunteer teachers and those willing to take apprentices, integrate the schools into the world community through the internet, and delve into the wealth of video learning that already exists, etc.. There are ways beyond the box to do this..............

Thank you.

What does Steve think makes us different from Nazi Germany?
What are we fighting for?

Does he know what the word "Barbarian" means?

I am ashamed of him as a fellow American.
He is extremely unpatriotic and a disgrace.

On the torture question Thom should have asked his guest what if it was his daughter who was accused and tortured.

If Mr. Malzberg wants to hold to the concept that we are in a war with Islam, or terrorists, or... well I'm not clear on the form his enemy takes, then he still has to understand there are laws even to war.

Also in his argument about what if Thom's kid was in a school directly threatened by a terrorist, wouldn't Thom want a captured terrorist tortured to save his child. OK lets say Thom approves of that, then because of that torture, another terrorist takes out a different school out of anger of the torture that took place... and oh Steve's kid was at this other school... how about that Steve? Does that make your justifications for two wrongs make it right seem appropriate... I don't think so, but then again I'm not the altruistic genius you seem to be... and thanks for the implied sacrafice... glad you can live with it.

Oh and I hate to be a buzzkill for you Steve, but what if all the captured terrorist know nothing about the next upcoming attack? What if individual muslims that feel you're at war with them, just go out on their own because they feel that its better to kill the enemy in a suicide bombing then end up being tortured for being a member of a particular religion.

I think Steve's arguments reveal that indeed the research is correct, conservatives are reactionary, reptile brained actors. They are prone to fear and their actions reflect it. Its a scary world to them, and they feel justified in cruel actions.

N

It's called the "Hunter School" in New Hampshire

My son went there in 1998; I think he was the first boarding student there from outside the state. His stay was short as we lived in St. Louis, MO and it was so far away from home for an eleven year old to be. The experience was extremely positive for him. Between finding Thom’s books and then the Hunter School our approach to ADD was transformed from a negative view to a positive view. Eventually, we homeschooled and he finished Culinary School, with an AA and “highest honors”. He is a talented and passionate chef and works with a local celebrity chef who had her own TV cooking show.

A short overview: The lady at the park said of my very active 4 year old – “you know, I just want to help, my daughter’s child was like yours and he has been prescribed Ritalin and he is so much easier now. You might want to look into it.” I smiled and said I would think about it. But I was angry. There was nothing wrong with him, he was just active and liked to do lots of different things for short periods of time and didn’t put things away. But his activity wasn’t a problem for me; it was exhausting for others to watch. I didn’t mind because he was just like me and I was what everyone at the time said was “hyper” (and doing lots of different things like commercial fishing, the Navy, and changing majors several times in college). As his mom, I had enough energy to keep up with him – though it did make me think enough to wait 5 years to have my next child.

After many episodes of being late while my son, I was angrily accusing him of again holding us up. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just get dressed or find his shoes at age 8. He said to me, now crying, “I just get so distracted”. It stopped me cold and I thought about it. A few weeks later I was in a children’s store and a book’s title jumped out at me – “Driven to Distraction” by Edward Hallowell. I started reading it and to my surprise the stories were about adults. I kept saying this is me! Then my husband read it and he said the same thing (about himself). From there I found Thom Hartman’s books and totally understood his Farmer vs. Hunter theory. I didn’t have to accept it, I knew it, I lived it.

My son had been already in and out of schools as I tried new schools and would homeschool when they didn’t work. I even moved to a more homeschool-friendly state. To give me more legal strength to attempt alternative education, including homeschooling, I decided to allow my son to be tested for ADD. Something I strongly opposed up until then because I did not want him to be labeled or drugged. I insisted that his father and I also be tested. We received the expected diagnosis for my son, but we were also told that his father was ‘Extreme ADD’ (years later we learned the ‘extreme’ part was actually PTSD) and I was a rare older (40’s) female with ADHD (Hyperactive). I was still against drugs, but after my son flipped his bed over instead of cleaning his room I tried them – all of us. The results: My house got clean, the bookkeeping got done, I lost weight, my husband finished his college classes, and my son’s room was clean.

Sound good? Not really, the price was my son went from answering questions using advanced vocabulary and deep, thoughtful answers to simplistic quick and easy responses. My bookkeeping was getting caught up, but I just couldn’t remember where that rule in the tax code was (I am a CPA who thrives on research and innovation, but hates to sort, file or input) and my husband found that he had to be on Ritalin to take a test if he was on the drug when he learned the material. So we stopped the drugs and it was during this time that we read Thom Hartman’s books and found his Hunter School along with Camp Kodiak in Canada for the summer.

Fast forward, we quit the corporate life, moved to a farm – where we never planted anything – we raise organic grassfed animals-10 different species-have a commercial kitchen, traveling restaurant, create fiber arts, teach cooking and foods, do a zillion other different things and homeschool. (I am considering offering a summer farm/ranch adventure for ADD kids that utilize ‘hunter’ attributes over farmer.) My children and I have become very active in the food and dairy industry’s control over our food and milk supply, pricing, and restricted access to real food bought directly from real small family farms.

I am very thankful that I found Thom’s books and the Hunter School and never realized the new radio show I had been listening to was the same person. My children, as independent as ever, were protesting and sleeping in the Capital at Madison and I was searching the internet to stay up on what was happening. I found the Ed Schultz show because he was in Madison and Thom Hartman follows him on Madison’s ‘The MIC 92.1’. I can’t call in, as Thom’s show airs after his live show is over. So I can only comment here. I have been telling everyone how informed and well-researched The Thom Hartman show is before I ever knew he was the same author!

The Hunter School can be found at: http://www.hunterschool.org/