A discussion of education in East Tennessee
How The Student Performance Problem Starts - Even Before Conception (updated 11/18/09)
Approximately 12% of our children are learning disabled, and the figure is increasing year after year. My focus is only on what creates learning disabilities during the first five years of life, focusing on major contributors for ease of understanding by everyone. Spread the word about what you are about to learn.
The brain is the organ that develops first and most completely by the time a child is born. Almost all brain cells, more than a billion, are formed by then. More brain cells will develop during the first year of the child's life. During and after the first year, the brain cell-to-cell communication paths start developing. That is what will create a person's mental abilities, hopefully a very intelligent and successful human being. If the child's brain has not been damaged as discussed below, how well a child will develop these communication paths among the billion-plus brain cells will determine how well he/she will perform in school/university and later in jobs. If the child's brain is damaged IN ANY WAY, he/she will grow up with problems and perhaps without the ability to do anything. Although some disabilities may be carried genetically, a lot depends on the mother's behavior as far back as one year before child birth. That is long before a woman knows that she is pregnant. The child's future depends on the mother's behavior, starting about 4-5 months BEFORE she gets pregnant. If she smokes, drinks alcohol or takes drugs (even a number of prescription drugs) for three months before the pregnancy and thereafter, she can destroy or disable the baby for life. We are describing here the huge problem creators - the huge disability creators - that is under the parents' control. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE AS THE MOTHER FOR YOUR CHILD, INCLUDING ANY PROBLEMS THAT YOU AS A MOTHER CREATE FOR YOUR CHILD WITH YOUR BEHAVIOR OR ANYBODY'S BEHAVIOR AROUND YOU AND YOUR CHILD.
THE MAJOR PROBLEM CREATORS: poor nutrition, low birth weight for the child, cigarette smoking, secondary smoke or nicotine in any form, alcohol use, drug use, lead and mercury poisoning and after the child is born ANY form of abuse or neglect will damage the child's brain. Please remember as a mother, that if you allow the following exposures to happen, then YOU are actually creating these problems/disabilities for your baby, your child, for the rest of his/her life.
POOR NUTRITION impacts 3-10% of babies. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding fat in food as much as possible because many harmful substances are fat soluble, so they will reside in the fat tissue of animals and fish. Some nutritional defects may be reversible, except for the ones below. HOWEVER, poor nutrition during pregnancy impacts brain growth and is not reversible.
LOW BIRTH WEIGHT (e.g., less than 5.5 lbs, and especially under 3.5 lbs) causes visual and hearing problems along with learning disabilities with impaired language skills. In addition, the child can grow up inattentive, hyperactive, depressed, aggressive or socially withdrawn. Borderline IQ and intellectual disability will require special education. Proper nutrition, not just eating anything, can prevent this from happening.
SMOKING OR NICOTINE INTAKE IN ANY FORM, INCLUDING FROM SECONDARY SMOKE causes low birth weight, asthma, long-term growth reduction, increased cancer risk, lower educational achievement, hyperactivity and inability to pay attention. The more the mother and others smoke around the pregnant mother or child, the more intense these problems become. Remember that YOU are creating these problems for YOUR child if you or anyone around you smokes.
ALCOHOL USE creates major retardation, attention deficit disorder, speech and language disorders and hyperactivity.
DRUG USE EFFECTS 11% OF NEWBORNS. It is a major learning disability creator. It creates lower birth weight, premature birth and smaller head circumference. Generally, such mothers also smoke, gain less weight during pregnancy, creating more problems for the newborn.
LEAD OR MERCURY POISONING: Lead is the biggest environmental hazard for children in the USA. Mercury is a close second. Both of them poison adults as well. Fourteen million children are affected by lead poisoning. Lead oxidizes and decomposes into dust in which children play outside. Mercury is mostly in our polluted waters (almost all water sources in the US) and in fish (muscle tissue instead of fat), especially in tuna. Both damage the brain and nervous system of a child, especially up to age 6. The damage is for life. They are also a major learning disability creator. They create lower intelligence, speech and hearing problems, attention deficit, behavior problems and disorders, inability to follow directions, increased daydreaming and distractability, lack of persistence, lack of organization, and finally serious mental illness if exposed after 6 years of age or subjected to too much exposure before.
CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT cause language impairment, as well as behavior, general health, mental problems and inability to learn. IQ's are generally 20 points lower, for this cause alone, than in children who are not being mistreated, with all other factors being the same.
The more frequently we inform our children both at home and in the schools, the better they will remember these important facts, especially the young ladies who are going to be tomorrow's mothers - hopefully not too early.
Almost all of this damage is done to a child long before he/she goes to school. The cost to society in trying to correct these problems above age 6 is enormous, with a low success rate. We must at least take one 30-minute session in all our classes above a certain grade each year to inform them of these facts. It makes no sense not to do this in our school systems to reduce this huge increasing problem. It will translate into better student performance in the future at a lower cost, happier parents, and more successful adults.
This battle cannot be won by the services a school or society provides.
REFERENCES:
http://www.come-over.to/FAS/FASbrain.htm, http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1169.asp, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_0..., http://www.essortment.com/family/doeschildsbrai_ttht.htm
The brain is the organ that develops first and most completely by the time a child is born. Almost all brain cells, more than a billion, are formed by then. More brain cells will develop during the first year of the child's life. During and after the first year, the brain cell-to-cell communication paths start developing. That is what will create a person's mental abilities, hopefully a very intelligent and successful human being. If the child's brain has not been damaged as discussed below, how well a child will develop these communication paths among the billion-plus brain cells will determine how well he/she will perform in school/university and later in jobs. If the child's brain is damaged IN ANY WAY, he/she will grow up with problems and perhaps without the ability to do anything. Although some disabilities may be carried genetically, a lot depends on the mother's behavior as far back as one year before child birth. That is long before a woman knows that she is pregnant. The child's future depends on the mother's behavior, starting about 4-5 months BEFORE she gets pregnant. If she smokes, drinks alcohol or takes drugs (even a number of prescription drugs) for three months before the pregnancy and thereafter, she can destroy or disable the baby for life. We are describing here the huge problem creators - the huge disability creators - that is under the parents' control. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE AS THE MOTHER FOR YOUR CHILD, INCLUDING ANY PROBLEMS THAT YOU AS A MOTHER CREATE FOR YOUR CHILD WITH YOUR BEHAVIOR OR ANYBODY'S BEHAVIOR AROUND YOU AND YOUR CHILD.
THE MAJOR PROBLEM CREATORS: poor nutrition, low birth weight for the child, cigarette smoking, secondary smoke or nicotine in any form, alcohol use, drug use, lead and mercury poisoning and after the child is born ANY form of abuse or neglect will damage the child's brain. Please remember as a mother, that if you allow the following exposures to happen, then YOU are actually creating these problems/disabilities for your baby, your child, for the rest of his/her life.
POOR NUTRITION impacts 3-10% of babies. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding fat in food as much as possible because many harmful substances are fat soluble, so they will reside in the fat tissue of animals and fish. Some nutritional defects may be reversible, except for the ones below. HOWEVER, poor nutrition during pregnancy impacts brain growth and is not reversible.
LOW BIRTH WEIGHT (e.g., less than 5.5 lbs, and especially under 3.5 lbs) causes visual and hearing problems along with learning disabilities with impaired language skills. In addition, the child can grow up inattentive, hyperactive, depressed, aggressive or socially withdrawn. Borderline IQ and intellectual disability will require special education. Proper nutrition, not just eating anything, can prevent this from happening.
SMOKING OR NICOTINE INTAKE IN ANY FORM, INCLUDING FROM SECONDARY SMOKE causes low birth weight, asthma, long-term growth reduction, increased cancer risk, lower educational achievement, hyperactivity and inability to pay attention. The more the mother and others smoke around the pregnant mother or child, the more intense these problems become. Remember that YOU are creating these problems for YOUR child if you or anyone around you smokes.
ALCOHOL USE creates major retardation, attention deficit disorder, speech and language disorders and hyperactivity.
DRUG USE EFFECTS 11% OF NEWBORNS. It is a major learning disability creator. It creates lower birth weight, premature birth and smaller head circumference. Generally, such mothers also smoke, gain less weight during pregnancy, creating more problems for the newborn.
LEAD OR MERCURY POISONING: Lead is the biggest environmental hazard for children in the USA. Mercury is a close second. Both of them poison adults as well. Fourteen million children are affected by lead poisoning. Lead oxidizes and decomposes into dust in which children play outside. Mercury is mostly in our polluted waters (almost all water sources in the US) and in fish (muscle tissue instead of fat), especially in tuna. Both damage the brain and nervous system of a child, especially up to age 6. The damage is for life. They are also a major learning disability creator. They create lower intelligence, speech and hearing problems, attention deficit, behavior problems and disorders, inability to follow directions, increased daydreaming and distractability, lack of persistence, lack of organization, and finally serious mental illness if exposed after 6 years of age or subjected to too much exposure before.
CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT cause language impairment, as well as behavior, general health, mental problems and inability to learn. IQ's are generally 20 points lower, for this cause alone, than in children who are not being mistreated, with all other factors being the same.
REMEDIES TO THE ABOVE
- Inform the public about the above to eliminate the causes that create these problems.
- Educational day-care, active instead of passive learning.
- Health education in schools about reproduction and the above hazards is very important.
- Proper low-fat diet with more vegetables and fruit.
The more frequently we inform our children both at home and in the schools, the better they will remember these important facts, especially the young ladies who are going to be tomorrow's mothers - hopefully not too early.
Almost all of this damage is done to a child long before he/she goes to school. The cost to society in trying to correct these problems above age 6 is enormous, with a low success rate. We must at least take one 30-minute session in all our classes above a certain grade each year to inform them of these facts. It makes no sense not to do this in our school systems to reduce this huge increasing problem. It will translate into better student performance in the future at a lower cost, happier parents, and more successful adults.
This battle cannot be won by the services a school or society provides.
REFERENCES:
http://www.come-over.to/FAS/FASbrain.htm, http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1169.asp, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_0..., http://www.essortment.com/family/doeschildsbrai_ttht.htm
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Debi on -
I don't see why they could not. The issue is with sex ed people freak & think their kids are being taught how to have sex, instead of the physiology of what happens when you make that choice. From my perspective the school board would have that core who oppose anything teaching kids what happens with their bodies from being done.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Spencer on -
Debi, I asked Indya K if the school system could take on the incorporation of this topic in the school system. They could simply use what I published here and on my Web site. Her answer was "no" because they cannot take on additional tasks and have to deliver on academic topics. She felt that parents should be delivering this message or faith based organizations. I see her point, at first I agreed with it as well. I did change my mind and wrote her that in my opinion, in the low student performance area, I found that parents are mostly single parents, unskilled, have to work very hard to make ends meet. Education level is low. So for students where this information is needed the most, parents cannot take it on in my opinion. However the student is captive audience at the school for 6-7 hours. In my opinion only the school is in a position to have brief, 30 minute discussion format sessions to cover such a subject. Putting a lot of funds into teaching kid's who were damaged by parental behavior, costs a lot of money and it is not a winning strategy in my opinion. I hope that she will reconsider.
The same is true with a few other topics. I found this when talking to kids at various schools. Teachers and students need a common understanding in the following areas, and I found that they do not.
What is education? What happens to the brain during the process of education?
Why is a high school diploma important? Why is it vitally important to finish high school with very good grades?
There are tons of very interesting high technology jobs out there, that are incredible fun to do, but they require university education. You can get there only if you do a great job with your grades. It seems to me that this is worth a lot of discussions in school.
Does it make sense to assume that you cannot do something before you try it? Or do you keep trying until you CAN do it? That is what winners do every time.
Not incorporating such things in our schools, that do not carry much cost by the way, is not right and not smart in my opinion. Obviously too many parents at the low performance end did not do it and will not do it. But the schools could do it for the average performance and low performance kids. I hope that the BOE and KCS will implement such sessions to round out our students in these badly needed areas.
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Permalink Reply by Debi on
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Biology class is a great place to discuss prenatal nutrition and could be discussed a few hours each year. Health class is another. Family economics is very relevant. Could be done in math classes, finance, economics. May already be being done, I dunno.
Here lies the problem. How do you teach a racists not to be a racist? Or someone who has cooked high calorie, low nutrition meals for 30 years to cook healthy? Or teach a teen who has grown up in a home with a different male sleeping with his mother every 2-3 months for as long as he can remember that partner commitment is financially ideal or even possible? People do what they know. It is very, very hard to change people. Kids grow up in these environments and without CONSTANT information offering different ways, few change.
I agree that it's not the school system's job to do it all. What we need to figure out is how to have these constant messages in a way to positively change kids' futures. I don't think any of us know how to do it, though. We won't make the commitment as a community to find those ways & implement. You find this, and that test scores problem you keep wanting to change, it will follow suit.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Spencer on
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I posted on this subject not to attract attorneys to promote their services, but to inform the public.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Spencer on
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Well said Debi. The only thing we can do is talk to more people about it in order to spread the important points. I think that the schools will eventually get on board with short and important messages. There is a segment of students that could be reached only through the street or the school, because that is where most of their time goes. We are making headway. A lot slower than we would like, but we are making headway. I see that from all the calls and email I get.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Spencer on
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I updated this topic today, 11/18/09.
Vic
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Permalink Reply by Vic Spencer on
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I have a special favor to ask. Indya K and Dr. McIntyre, I just updated this material. Could you please consider adding this material to the appropriate course in the appropriate grade? It may be worth repeating a few times. I may be wrong, but I am under the impression that we are not covering these points yet. In any case, we have a major problem in this area nationally, I wanted to do something about it, so I researched it, and tried to condense it for you to a small enough but complete enough document such that the material could be delivered in 30-60 minutes to our kids. If I am right, the benefit should significantly outweigh any expense that KCS would need to spend to add this material, with the benefit being having some impact on at least 10% of the pregnancies and upbringing within the current 12% mix of kids who are impacted and require special services and education. What do you think?
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