How would you address kid hating ES?

[Anonymous]

My kid is in 2nd grade. He’s a pretty smart kid, but in a normal, non-Dougie Howser way. And every day he talks about how much he hates school. Think some sort of tantrum every morning. He has friends and it doesn’t sound like there is any bullying going on, but he says school is so boring. Now, some of this may be his own emotional regulation, which we are working to address separately. But is there anything to be done for a kid who is just bored to tears in class. He’s shown me the work they do, and he’s right, much (though not all of it) seems very easy for him. During the parent conference, I asked about whether there was any tailoring, or if he could do more challenging work once he finished the assigned work in class, and the answer was basically no, kids need to get through this. Which of course is true, he needs to accept that not all of school will be fun. But it’s disheartening to think that he views school as a total waste of time and that the school doesn’t seem to be providing him with much of a challenge.

Is this just normal kids not liking school stuff? Should I be trying to find a way to get him more challenging school work? Is the 2nd grade curriculum just painfully boring to other kids out there?? Hoping for some advice and perspective.

[Anonymous]

Parent of past bored kid here, my kid took challenge in finishing quickly and then would read after finished. Loved to read so never complained and loved going to school to be with friends.

Be careful you are not feeding the narrative of things being too easy or boring for him. Surely there are things he needs to work on still?

[Anonymous]

Contact his teacher and see how he seems in class. He might be fine...just complaining at home.

[Anonymous]

Agree it might just be complaining at home. But I also don't think the first solution is adding challenge/work at school. If he is happy socially, he would probably not be acting out this way. May not be bullying per se, but perhaps he doesn't feel included, hasn't found his people, etc.

[Anonymous]

supplement at home? What else is going on?

[Anonymous]

Same. And the stuff she complains about is sad. She doesn’t have enough time to eat, very little recess, indoor PE, computer time instead of teacher time.

I wish they made school an hour longer day so they could add more fun stuff back in. Make lunch 45 min, recess an hour.

[Anonymous]

Same for my second grader last year. This year, he’s back to loving school. Most of it is a very different (better) teacher but maybe there’s a curriculum reason too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same. And the stuff she complains about is sad. She doesn’t have enough time to eat, very little recess, indoor PE, computer time instead of teacher time.

I wish they made school an hour longer day so they could add more fun stuff back in. Make lunch 45 min, recess an hour.

LOL. Wishful thinking

[Anonymous]

My kid would read books when he got done with his work. Maybe he can bring books he enjoys to read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same. And the stuff she complains about is sad. She doesn’t have enough time to eat, very little recess, indoor PE, computer time instead of teacher time.

I wish they made school an hour longer day so they could add more fun stuff back in. Make lunch 45 min, recess an hour.

I don’t know, couldn’t they cut back on instructional time to make up for longer lunch, recess? Sometimes less is more. Other districts have shorter days/weeks (fewer total hours, that is).

[Anonymous]

Get books from the class library or school library or bring one from home. I sent maze and map books with my kid one year. Kid and friends loved it. Try logic puzzles or a drawing pad. Anything that allows the kid an outlet without being disruptive to other kids who need more time.

Also have a more in depth conversation with the teacher about how your kid is performing in all aspects of the grade(social, behavioral, academic).

[Anonymous]

I would pay for the wppsi just to have more information. If you get a good psych to do it you’ll know more about his strengths and weaknesses and have more ammunition if you push for differentiation

[Anonymous]

The only thing you can really do at this point is send them to private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing you can really do at this point is send them to private school.

Private school is not a panacea, particularly if you don’t understand the problem(or if one even exist).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would pay for the wppsi just to have more information. If you get a good psych to do it you’ll know more about his strengths and weaknesses and have more ammunition if you push for differentiation

I think this will be wasted time and money unless perhaps they’ll be going to a different school. There is no meaningful mcps enrichment for accelerated students until 4th grade.

On a different note, his tantrums before school are not normal IME and you should try to find out if there’s something more going on.