Enjoying school

[Magnolia Mama]

Ever since my 9yr old was in the second grade, I have had the hardest time trying to teach him that school can be fun. He had a horrible second grade teacher that we went through hell with. Every morning for the longest time, he would cry and beg us not to send him to school. Finally one day he let the bomb drop and we found out what this horrible lady was putting him and others in his class through. For example: My son got a math problem wrong and she pointed at him and laughed at him infront of the whole class. I was outraged and of course took this to the school board and did what I could to defend my son.

Anyway, ever since then, he just doesnt like school at all. Any ideas on how I can help him realize school can be fun? I know school isnt all peaches and cream daily, but there are fun things there and I dont want him to always hate it.

[teachergurl73]

Ever since my 9yr old was in the second grade, I have had the hardest time trying to teach him that school can be fun. He had a horrible second grade teacher that we went through hell with. Every morning for the longest time, he would cry and beg us not to send him to school. Finally one day he let the bomb drop and we found out what this horrible lady was putting him and others in his class through. For example: My son got a math problem wrong and she pointed at him and laughed at him infront of the whole class. I was outraged and of course took this to the school board and did what I could to defend my son.

Anyway, ever since then, he just doesnt like school at all. Any ideas on how I can help him realize school can be fun? I know school isnt all peaches and cream daily, but there are fun things there and I dont want him to always hate it.

I am curious as to the answer to this as well. As a high school teacher, many of the kids I worked with everyday HATED school, often for similar reasons such as your son's. I worked hard with them for them to realize not all teachers were that way and that I did care about them and their futures. It worked for some, but for others, they just could not let it go.

On the other hand, my DS has had wonderful teachers, but he really dislikes school as well and we are fighting this issue with him now in the 4th grade. So I would love suggestions on how to work on this.

[Busty Vixen]

I pulled my DD out of a wonderful private school because I witnessed some emotionally abusive behavior in the Third Grade Teacher's classroom while my DD was still in the Second Grade.

I took my concerns to the Third Grade Teacher, the Principal and the School Board. No one addressed the issue. Their stance was that she communicated the curriculum well and the children entering the Fourth Grade were very well-educated.

I took the stance that I was not willing to pay thousands of dollars a year to have my child emotionally abused when I can emotionally abuse her at home for free. :nea:

[KIDPOWER]

I really commend parents, teachers, and administrators who are working so hard to make school an enjoyable safe place for children to learn. Most schools face many challenges in meeting a multitude of conflicting needs - and some children are more sensitive than others and are more bothered by the potential risks of being picked on and laughed at or of failing in a school environment. Even if children don't seem as if their feelings have changed, don't underestimate the importance of them seeing their adults care.

What happens is that school can become a trigger for feeling unsafe for many children - or a symbol for being some place they don't want to be.

Instead of arguing with their feelings, it works better to listen, reflect their feelings and say, 'I want you to feel safe and have fun at school. Let's figure out together how to make this happen."

The problem is that some children feel helpless because they don't know how to protect themselves emotionally in a school environment. It's not the whole answer, but KIDPOWER tools can make a huge difference in children feeling as if they know how to protect their emotional and physical safety. Some schools adopt our whole program, which includes cartoon-illustrated books that they read to their classrooms and skills that they practice.

For some families, homeschooling provides a wonderful alternative where parents can be in charge of guiding their child's education and creating the kind of emotional climate that they want for their children. For families that choose this option, many school districts have supportive structures where the children are registered at school and follow a program, but are still learning through activities arranged by their parents.