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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wowee -- just found the official "Discussion Guide" for this film.

http://americanpromise.org/sites/default/files/POV_DG_AmericanPromise.pdf

[quote]According to Dalton, Idris has “great difficulty with impulse control, both physically and verbally. He talks out of turn continually, has trouble respecting other students’ phys- ical boundaries.” Years later, Idris receives an official diagnosis of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Why might his parents have been resistant to an ADHD di- agnosis when Idris was young? How do clinical diagnoses prevent examination of other systems at play, including racism?[/quote]

[b]Dalton’s assistant curriculum director, Martha Edelson, at- tributes some of Idris’s and Seun’s difficulties to lack of organization and time management skills, saying, “We do expect a lot of independence.” How might that expectation be based on the experiences of Dalton’s traditionally wealthy families (many of which hire teams of adults—private tutors, nannies, drivers, personal assistants and others—to help children stay on track)? Why might the school think that students of color possess weaker organizational skills than their white peers? What types of experiences outside of school help children develop independence and time management skills?[/b]

I don't know why anyone would think the school thought students of color had weaker organizational skills than their white peers.   No one at the school said "Your child is black and therefore has weak organizational skills".   I think they said "Your child has weak organizational skills."[/quote]

And I recall that the asst director also said that if a child doesn't have their organizational skills together by sixth grade that they would have problems academically at Dalton.  I have two kids at Cathedral skills and it's the same there regarding getting the organizational skills together.  For example, chronically forgetting homework will negatively impact your grades.  My middle class AA kids learned this lesson early.  The families (of various races and socioeconomic backgrounds) with sons who were finally diagnosed with ADHD struggled with organizational issues.  Ultimately, the diagnosis helped the family either decide to change schools or hire tutors.   Lack of organizational and time management skills tend to go hand in hand.[/quote]

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