When does school stop being fun?

[Anonymous]

I liked school because life at home wasn't great.

I smiled when my kids, now 20 and 15, complained about minor school happenings. They were/are academically advanced students with cushy home lives.

[Anonymous]

None of my kids have enjoyed school or found it fun past preschool. I remember enjoying school when I was in elementary in the 90s/2000 but I remember doing fun activities. Most of my kids classes now are just listening to the teacher and then filling in worksheets , workbooks, or testing on a Chromebook. My middle kid is in 5th and likes art and going to see her friends but that’s about it.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 1st and 4th next year. Both still enjoy it. Like the challenge. Have friends. We had a hard 1-2 for the oldest with incompetent teachers. But it turned around this year thank goodness.

[Anonymous]

It was middle school for my oldest.

[Anonymous]

Mine never enjoyed it. I feel bad for them.

[Anonymous]

For my son, 1st grade. For my daughter, 19ty grade. Both smart and well behaved kids who graduated HS with the same gpa.

[Anonymous]

My rising 8th grader loved school until this past year (first year of middle school for us in FCPS). My rising 10th grader has always loved school and still does. He goes through periods of being stressed with lots of work and saying I can’t wait until school is out but he generally really enjoys it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest is a rising 4th grader (DCPS) & seems like she should like school: is very social, reads constantly, likes to learn new things in her spare time, tests well, etc. But she reports that school is “blah” or sometimes “sucky.” Is she saying this just to say it? Or does school lose its luster at this age? Does DCPS become more of a downer once standardized tests start? This isn’t a crisis, but more of a bummer …

For my kids, 8th grade.

She may be saying this just to say it. Or she may have had a teacher who wasn't that engaging. Or she may be picking up this messaging from her friends. At any rate, I hope the summer is a nice reset for her.

[Anonymous]

My DD felt this way through 4th grade for the first time. She did not click with her teachers this year and struggled to be engaged and motivated by them. We had to chat about still trying her best or asking for help if she didn't understand things or had issues with others, but she didn't want to engage with the teachers this year. She loved her previous teachers, so it was a learning experience. We hope she gets on with her teacher next year.

[Anonymous]

Mine were all different. One struggled in school from the beginning but I don’t think he disliked it until MS. Then in HS when he got to go to VoTech he loved school - for at least part of the day. Another loved it until HS but he fell apart due to MH issues. Another really hated
5th grade. But MS on were amazing because of electives. That kid just loved electives and then in HS, after school sports.

Growing up I realized I hated it in HS and when my parents told us HS was the best time of life, I seriously wanted to die right the. My siblings all dropped out because it was so bad for them.

Guess it depends on the kids and the school.

[Anonymous]

For me it was attending mandatory lessons called citizenship education. It felt like I was being programmed to fit in, get a job and be like everyone else. From the very first lesson I began to lose interest in school

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure anything you HAVE to do is ever fun. School wasn’t ’fun’ for me as a kid it was my job I enjoyed some aspects and not others. Also since your child is likely not a scullery maid or farm worker in her off hours she has little frame of reference to appreciate the cushiness of her life. I try to teach my kids that most things that are worthwhile have to be earned through grit to truly appreciate them.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids still thinks school is fun in middle.

One of my kids still thinks school is fun in late elementary (rising 4th).

The other started hating it in 1st.

So kid dependent.

[Anonymous]

I hated school after kindergarten. Hated college and law school too. I just wanted to start getting out there and living my life instead of being in school getting ready to live it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my kids still thinks school is fun in middle.

One of my kids still thinks school is fun in late elementary (rising 4th).

The other started hating it in 1st.

So kid dependent.

Similar here. DDs going into 6th and 8th still enjoy school, even my 8th grader who struggles a lot socially.

6 yo DS has disliked school from about day 2. He has learning and speech disabilities and we joke he is like a kid going off to the mines every day to "go to work." He gets a lot of support, but school is just hard for him and he doesn't enjoy learning for learning's sake.

I loved school all the way through. DH - who was a good student - did not. I don't know if that's in part because education is better set up for girls; if his family had different values (his parents were professionals but never cared about reading or learning things- just getting the grades to become a professional); or if it was a function of me going to a tippy top school district where we had endless electives and interesting courses and great teachers and he went to a podunk county school in the rural south.