Oh Brother...

At the beginning of next week I will put together some reactions to the New York Times piece on children labeled as "bi-polar". Until then, perhaps we should chew on this interview with Dr. Nancy Andreasan in today's paper:

Q. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS HAPPENING (brain shrinkage in schizophrenics at a rate of about 1% a year)

A. Well, what exactly do these drugs do? They block basal ganglia activity. The prefrontal cortex doesn’t get the input it needs and is being shut down by drugs. That reduces the psychotic symptoms. It also causes the prefrontal cortex to slowly atrophy.

What is this? In a robust, soon to be published study, brains exposed to the new anti-psychotics are shown to shrink. Recently some pharmaceutical companies have been claiming that their drugs protect the brain, somehow.

The most distressing thing to me is this:

More and more children are being diagnosed as bi-polar.

The diagnosis is vague and highly overapplied.

These same anti-psychotics are being used on these children.

There are NO studies on their safety for children.

These drugs are not even approved by the FDA for use in Bi-polar diagnosis.

Yes, there are some children who are suffering inexplicably and they are tearing their families apart. And yes, emotional problems- whatever that means- are every bit as destructive and painful as physical illness and requires enormous resources to deal with.

And yes, medication might be one part of the solution. But it has to be approached empirically.

Abstract: Psychobiology of Mindfulness

This is dense, certainly. But worth taking a look at the biology behind the effectiveness of meditation.

Workshops and Open House Tuesday Sept 23nd

We have a day off this Monday for the Equinox (3:44pm) and workshops for students all day on Tuesday. Tuesday night is our Open House.

Here is Tuesday's schedule:

09:30 am to 10:25 Learning Styles and Strategies with Chris Briggs


10:35 am to 11:25 Our Assistant Principal Stephanie Kenney and student Madeline Rublee will be training students in fundamental study skills. Madeline attended a very tough and enlightening summer academic program at Phillips Academy this past summer and is currently taking two classes at Bucks County Community College.

11:35 am to 12:25 Robby Garza and Sherry Beers will be showing the students how to clean the dishes, the kitchen, and the bathrooms properly. They will also teach the students proper hygiene.

1:30 pm to 02:30 Seniors will have their first meeting with Will Palmieri and Stephanie regarding their graduation projects.

Photos for ID's will be taken during this time. The rest of the students will be tending the garden and sprucing up the landscape for fall.

2:45 pm to 03:45 Chrissy Chase will host a feedback forum for the students regarding this and later workshop days.


The Open House begins at 5:00. You are welcome to bring food and drinks, and there will be plenty.

At 5:30, Pete Ryan (Principal) and Stephanie will be speaking about the school year, the growing role of mindfulness practice during the school day, and our academics. The talk will last about forty-five minutes.

Afterwards there will be plenty of time to talk to the teachers and see what is going on around school.

Open House ends at 7:00.