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"I Hate School!" Our Kids' Cry for Change

Why do kids hate school? Is the answer as simple as we think?

By Journey ScribePublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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How many times have you had to drag your kids to school, convince them today will be better, or yell at them to get their homework done before they play? Were you like that as a kid? Why do you think school is such a horror story for kids?

1) "Booooring!"

Kids have a remarkable amount of energy naturally; they're young and excited about life, as they should be! The problem is that so many schools demand that they stifle all of this energy.

"Sit still!"

"Stop messing with that!"

"Look at me and pay attention!"

"What did I just say?"

"Are you listening to me?"

We adults often make mistakes in assuming kids are mini adults. In reality, they can't sit still for very long, even if they want to. The more a child is in touch with sensory surroundings and/or the creative world within his/her mind, the more difficult it is to get the kid to just face forward, sit still, and listen to a boring lecture. In fact, just to get them to pay attention, teachers and parents have turned to medication. But is that really necessary? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Every child is different.

You tell me why statistics show that the rise in ADHD diagnoses is directly parallel to the decline in Physical Education classes within schools! Kids need to move around, blow off some steam, let out all that energy we adults have forgotten we once had!

The solution is simple in concept, but, understandably, more difficult to put into practice. What we need to do is cater to a child's needs: not the school's or the adults'. Too often, adults make school about them. It's not.

Hear me, all fellow adults—parents, teachers, staff, and any other concerned citizens—it isn't about us. It is about our kids.

Why should school have to be boring? Why shouldn't kids have fun learning? We are born with creativity, imagination, and an active mind that is constantly curious and looking for answers! Why shouldn't we use it? And, more importantly, why shouldn't our kids get to use it? No wonder video games and outdoor adventures are far more interesting to them! The world of education ought to get on board with being entertaining!

2) "No one understands or cares!"

How many times have you heard a teenager say, "No one understands me!" or, "You never listen to me!"?

We roll our eyes at cliches, but they're cliches for a reason. Whether in secondary school or elementary, every kid wants to feel heard and understood. Fellow adults, I get it. Kids can be difficult to listen to, whether they go on and on, whether they just blow up with a series of emotions out of the blue, or whether they silently ignore you, their ears plugged with earbuds as they escape into their own world of angst.

Trouble is, we've turned the other way so often that kids have come to expect the message: "Adults don't care about what we think or feel. Adults only listen to other adults."

There is a fine line between granting a kid the leniency of being a kid, without the assumptions and expectations attached to adulthood, while also maintaining a respectful regard for their thoughts and feelings.

Thinking back on my upbringing in elementary and secondary school, my favorite teachers were the ones who treated me as though I was more of a friend, mature enough to talk to without the classic baby-talk voice or fake encouragement for a mediocre fridge drawing. (Granted, there is a certain age where baby-talk is very effective... and it's in the name.)

Kids are smarter and more mature than we give them credit for being, and they'll be encouraged to develop into even more effective individuals if we treat them as such.

3) "I can't do it..."

In the spirit of this article, I'm endeavoring to make this short-ish and will, therefore, end on this third point.

Adults, what about life paralyzes us the most? Why don't we take leaps of faith more often or dive into difficult projects without hesitation? Because of a universal fear among mankind: The fear of failure.

If we can be discouraged and hindered by our fears, how much more can our kids? The grading system and standardized testing that is supposed to leave no child behind actually does the opposite!

The students who are excelling finish their work in five minutes and twiddle their thumbs for the rest of the hour: a wasted opportunity for learning. And the kids who didn't understand the lesson get frustrated and feel like idiots for not keeping up with their peers. (If you're familiar with the MBTI Personality Type Theory, I believe there is a direct correlation between personality types and learning styles and may write on that topic at a later date!)

And what is with our letter grade system? 'A' is for Average and 'F' is for Failure! How does this encourage our students to grow, to excel, to try again when they're branded as average for achieving the highest possible score and labeled a failure if they get the lowest?

The goal shouldn't be to trade all of those consonant grades for that ever-desired-yet-overrated-vowel. The goal should be...wait for it...

Education.

We're here to learn, not get some dumb letter on our record! If a student tries and doesn't succeed in school, it isn't his or her failing; it is the failing of the grown-ups in that student's life. If the student isn't trying, then perhaps there's a bigger problem that needs to be addressed. I'm not saying it has to be family drama (everyone has family drama), but it could be that the teacher's approach just isn't clicking with the student's mind. Or perhaps the student isn't trying because he or she is simply afraid of doing it wrong!

Speaking of being wrong, I want everyone to spread the word and let it be known that...

Yoda is wrong!

GIF from Star Wars

That's right. I said it! Yoda from Star Wars is classically quoted, saying: "Do or do not. There is no try."Sadly, our schools have taken those words to heart.

What our kids actually need to hear is that all they need to do is try. And try again. Whether they fail and get embarrassed or pass with flying colors, they need to get up the next day and try again!

Students are afraid of failing, of being embarrassed, of being called 'stupid' or 'loser' because something doesn't make sense to them. Failing should never freeze someone in his or her tracks; it should motivate us to give it another shot! That is a lesson so many of our kids aren't getting from the current curriculum.

Alright, I'll hop off my soapbox now!

  1. Booooring!
  2. Just Another Place With Adults Who Don't Understand Them or Care About Them
  3. And A Place Where You Will Fail, But Failure is Not an Option

The BIG question is... Are they right?

Thanks so much for reading!

student
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About the Creator

Journey Scribe

Hey, everyone! My name's Jessica, and I am a Christian and aspiring novelist just trying my hand at writing articles! Thanks so much for viewing my page/works on here!

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