College has become easy, too easy...

I have been able to sit back and just watch recently. Blame it on down-time, or just blame it on good observational talents. I am in a rare position where I work at a college and myself am still attending a college. One may use the word"university" to replace the word college, it does not matter in this case. To the complaints of many around me, I have been at it (higher education) for a while now, fifteen years. My personal case does not matter. The length of time matters in that I have been able to see a development that to this writer is a bit worrisome. In a phrase it could be called, "lack of personal accountability". One would only need to look at a local college website and see the multiple programs, represented by acronyms, to aid in the education of our young high-school graduates. I do not know about you, but if a student has trouble learning and does not have a strategy to get past it by the time they finish high school, how did that student get into college in the first place? Not to say that there is not room for those with actual deficiencies, i.e. dyslexia, etc. But, what I am describing is beyond that. All one needs, in the case of your average learning institution, is documentation from a doctor. And what would that doctor's note state? It could cover everything from hearing deficiencies to anxiety to all manner of emotional troubles. Bottom-line: if your child wants unlimited time to take a test, or unlimited time to submit a paper, take him to his doctor for a note. That's right, unlimited time. One can also see that I have not mentioned the biggie: ADHD. Kids used to be hyperactive, and they used to be distracted. It probably is the rare case for a child to not be either at one time or another. Now the powers that be in the psycho-medical field have wrapped it all up in one neat little diagnosis. My child cannot sit still, and his grades are suffering. "No problem mam, here's a pill. Take it once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and here's a note for the school". What will happen to that child when they grow up and move on to the real world, where one cannot call for a timeout, or ask for more time to complete an assignment. Not to be too cynical, but I am waiting for the day when an individual sues his employer for not allowing that individual more time to complete their task. Can you imagine, "My boss says I need to complete the customer analysis by Monday, but I can't because I'm distracted. I need more time. Doesn't he know I'm ADHD. He's being mean." Never let it be said that the ACLU will ever run out of reasons to sue.