Bay Ridge Brooklyn, April 25, 2003
Today I made my usual trip to the post office to mail copies of my new book Sarah and Alexander I stood behind a college age boy, about 20 years old. He was calling a friend on his cell phone and telling him how long the line was and that he would be delayed. As he put away his phone, for some odd reason, I asked him if he needed a pen. I was surprised that I had made that suggestion, as he thanked me and said NO.
About 5 minutes later, he turned and showed me some sheets of paper that he was sending to his professor in St. John's University on Staten Island. As a teacher I could not help but notice, his work looked like a poorly written report he had whipped together with pen and paper, rather than something more professional done on a computer. He had no envelope and asked me how to mail the pages overnight as he had a deadline to file them and had waited to the last minute.
Psychically and as a professional, I knew he had ADHD and was doing the best he could. There was something very nice about him, no attitude, which is common in this age group. Still, I had to wonder, how he could make it through college without tutoring. I told him to get an Overnight Envelope from the desk across the room and place the pages into it. He came back and did as I instructed. He fumbled around in his pockets searching for a pen. Alas he turned to me and asked for the pen. I was shocked to see that he did not know how to properly address an envelope, which I helped him do.
His turn came and he walked to the window and paid overnight rate, which didn't seem to be a problem.
The woman behind me, told me she was a retired elementary school teacher. She told me that she was very disappointed that penmanship and basic writing skills are not taught in elementary school anymore, or so she said, and that her grandchildren only know how to email and use a computer.
After I left the post office, the boy was standing outside with two males friends who thought he was crazy to pay so much money for postage. But he was happy and thanked me again as I walked by. He friends were obviously not academic, their conversation more about their social life and street talk as I waited to cross the street to the parking lot and overheard what they were saying. I had to give him credit for a least trying and hoped he would get an education.
CNN article today, Report: Uh, it's like student writing is bad Writing is neglected as school form. "Ask high school juniors to write a paragraph about a haunted house, and nearly half are unable to do so satisfactorily."
I taught High School Special Ed for 10 years. I know about challenged students, mentally and emotionally and that life is about DNA patterns which dictate how we will play out our time in this reality. Today we come to understand inherited patterns, learning challenges, and environmental influences and how they effect who we are for the rest of our lives.
Ability to educate goes to attention span and memory, all DNA inherited. If one has a photographic memory, they can sail through school. If they challenges, they will drop out, especially at ages 19-20, which is when mental illnesses, already on the horizon, peak into something more serious, such as bipolar disorder, rage disorder, OCD, etc. Professional help is always need.
Students who are challenged will fall under the category of those who must be shown the way or given a job. They will not be able to create anything on their own. If emotional problems remain untreated, they will get into trouble or just drop out and think, "Why bother, as the economy and the world are falling apart, anyway."
They look at the lives of the adults around them and often do not want to grow up to be like them, with all the issues. How many people want to be like their parents, and yet they have inherited their genetic code complete with learning challenges and emotional and physical problems. How many of the young people are programmed to spend their lives trying to prove something to their parents, or to gain parental love and respect?
They look at today's recession, and wonder about jobs even for those with college degrees, and beyond. Is there an answer? Not really, as this program is fractured and will remain out of balance until it ends.
Many young people with problems and issues turn to metaphysics for answers as they seek greater meaning and a way to find happiness.
Is it any wonder that those who are challenged, just drop out with disabilities, emotional or physical, and the suicide rate for teenagers who feel helpless increases. Emotional problems surface in puberty and if left untreated, will become full bloom by age 20, often destroying families.
If you are the parent of a trouble teen, look at the genetic code of both parents and grandparents on both sides. Proceed from there in a realistic way. If the teen is adopted, there be greater challenges in determining biogenetic code for that soul.
For me, I wish I had grown up in a computer age, with all the modern technologies. They are helping us understand who we are, and how we can become more aware, heal our issues and become more conscious.