..........modifications!

Recently, I went into the school conference room to sign forms that indicate the modifications I am to provide for students with a 504 Plan. If you're not familiar with the "504", it's a way to take ADD kids and allow them to learn the advantage of taking advantage of the learning system. You see, if you are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), you don't really have to do the same work as everyone else. Instead of reading the test yourself, you can have someone read it for you. Instead of taking a timed test, you can have as long as you wish to finish. Instead of knowing your behavioral boundaries, you can site your 504 and receive a whole different set of standards. Instead of being responsible for your actions, you can get away with nothing short of murder because of your 504. Instead of learning how life in the real world really is, you can continue to milk the system until death do you part from this earth. They didn't have 504 Plans at North Elkin School in 1970. Instead, they had Larry Wagoner. Mr. Wagoner had polio when he was a child; and as a result of the disease, his right hand and arm were not able to function. He always carried his arm high on his body, as if it were in a sling. One thing I remember about him was his ability to hit a softball with only his left arm. Mr. Wagoner was a great guy until you crossed his path with bad behavior. He was the guy who "issued" all the corporal punishment (beatings) with things went bad. He did this for all the teachers there; and, in fact, I can even remember the principal, Mr. Edwards, calling Mr. Wagoner to be his physical enforcer on occasion. If I ever had ADD, and if any of my friends ever had ADD, we didn't know it. Guys like Larry Wagoner made sure we kept it under control. Larry Wagoner was a good friend of my dad as well. This was during a golden era where a call from the teacher to your dad could ruin an entire day. My dad also did a great job of controlling any outbreak of ADD in me. I admire guys like Larry Wagoner. He worked through a real disability, and never seemed to want anything he didn't work for. He worked the summer months at Wagoner Men's Store in downtown Elkin. I wonder if guys like him ever know what an impact he made on others? Larry Wagoner was a teacher and a therapist, all at the same time. At any rate, we now let documentation and special plans rule the day. I think I need a 504 Plan!