Jack Judkins will discuss "Attention Span: What is it and why are we so concerned with it?" at 10 a.m. April 4 at Bemidji State University's Center for Research and Innovation (CRI).
Free and open to the public, the 90-minute session is one in a series of spring lectures sponsored by the Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) and coordinated by the CRI.
Over the past 30 years, increasing numbers of children and adults take powerful stimulants to focus attention. Even children under age 5 have been prescribed Ritalin, one of the best-known drugs used to treat attention-deficit disorder.
Judkins, assistant professor of education at BSU, will discuss whether our ability to pay attention has changed, and if so, why. If it has not changed, then he will discuss the reasons increasing numbers of children are being diagnosed with an attention disorder.
"As a school psychologist I worked with many children labeled attention-deficit disordered," Judkins said. "The over-medication of our children is an issue of concern for me. I plan to suggest to the audience that variable activity levels and attention spans are a normal characteristic of the human condition."
Parents and teachers can find other ways to accommodate fidgety students, especially since the long-term consequences of powerful stimulants are unknown, Judkins said.
ALL offers humanities-based programs that are made possible in part with funding from the Minnesota Humanities Commission in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The academy is a member of the Minnesota Humanities Commission's Learning in Retirement Network (LIRN), which promotes older adult humanities education. Through humanities programs, LIRN members study enduring ideas, reflect on experiences, analyze important issues and contribute to the educational well being of their communities.
Videotapes of all the Academy of Lifelong Learning presentations are available at the Bemidji State University libraries.
More information about the Academy of Lifelong Learning is available by contacting the Center for Research and Innovation, Bemidji State University, 1500 Birchmont Drive NE, Bemidji, MN 56601-2699 (218-755-4900).