By Dr. YVONNE FOURNIER, Scripps Howard News Service

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: You recently advised parents to seek treatment for their ADD/ADHD children "only if absolutely needed." ADD/ADHD is not just "a cluster of behaviors" or an "educational difficulty." It is a neurological disorder. Is it possible that you may be marginalizing ADD/ADHD by way of wrong medical advice?

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: I was asked why I gave homework and answered that is was to satisfy students and parents who equate the quantity of homework with the quality of the education being offered.
As a student, I could sniff out busy work in an instant, and so can most students. I despised it, and I will not subject my students to that form of "edumacation."

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: I am on a school board with a brilliant 37-year-old school superintendent. He gets good results but wants total command and attention, yet he's oblivious to his 6-year-old-son's hyperactivity. At times, the child is uncontrollable in school. Should we speak to him and suggest he get his son tested for ADD/ADHD?

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: We're back from spring break and teachers are loading down my children with homework. This has been a problem all year, but the teachers are really dumping it on now. Is there any literature on this? What would you advise?

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: I have a 13-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter in the public school system. They are making good grades, A's and B's. I thought they were doing fine until, at a recent parent-teacher conference, we watched the movie, "2 Million Minutes." Now I'm worried that their A's and B's mean nothing. Have you seen this movie?

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: President Obama's education section of the 2010 budget, to me, just says more money for more testing. Why can he not see that testing and standards cannot take the place of learning and knowledge?
ASSESSMENT: The following excerpt is taken from Obama's recent budget proposal under the category of education:

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: I frequently read with interest your articles that appear in the Corpus Christi Caller Times. I, too, am involved in education, having attended and taught school and served on a school board for many years. I now am on a college board. I continuously look for solutions to our present problems in education, especially in public schools.

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: Our three children are in a school known as one of the best in the community because of its excellent credentials. When did "best" become math equations in second grade; concepts of force, motion, lever, pulleys and leverage in third grade; and the Krebs cycle in fourth grade?

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: I am the stepfather of two boys, 11 and 17 years old. I raised three boys of my own (28, 30 and 31) and I think I did a pretty good job, defined by the fact they are living on their own. I don't pay their bills and I didn't have to hassle them about their homework when they were kids. The 17-year-old is the problem.

DEAR DR. FOURNIER: Our college-freshman daughter came home for the holidays, and while she attends where she's always wanted to go to, where her father and I attended, she is miserable. Before she returned for this semester, she said to us, "Don't worry. I'll stick it out." She convinced her best friend to go there, too.