Why do so many parents say their kids are bored at school?

[Anonymous]

Because their kids are bored at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh here we go again.

All sorts of children are bored in school, OP, from the ones with low attention span and little academic interest to truly gifted children who are not provided enrichment to their level.

AND there are children who have ADHD/LDs + giftedness, and who are very challenging to slot anywhere.

You're looking for an echo chamber of "stupid parents thinking their kid is gifted when he's not just because he can't focus". Have at it.

But the world is a more complicated place.

Op here. Actually I was just feeling insulted because my perfectly bright 5yo is learning to read in an age appropriate manner and having a wonderful time in kindergarten and feel it is rude for parents to say their kid is so bored because they know everything and not learning anything.

My kids are gifted and not bored. I strive to raise deeply curious kids who are capable of entertaining themselves without disturbing other kids. If kids are truly bored, maybe their parents should worry about cultivating their kids’ ability to sit quietly and doodle or read a book if they finish phonics early or add more details and adjectives to their sentences in writing.

[Anonymous]

My straight a teen/tween girls find school hideously boring 75% of the time. They are perfectly behave. I am a teacher too, and I don't have any trouble believing or accepting that some teachers are just phoning it in and are not very engaging. My daughter's science teacher literally "teaches" via slides she puts on Schoology that the students read to themselves and fill out worksheets. She doesn't verbally teach them any of the material. Then they complete online activities on their computers. There is no groupwork or classwork or anything other than just solitary computer time the entire 80 minute block. And not just occasionally. Every single day. I think we can all admit this is not okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because their kids are bored at school.

But what’s the point in telling other parents that unless it’s to ask if their kids are experiencing the same thing or to get advice on how other people handled it?
If you aren’t problem solving, you are complaining or bragging.

[Anonymous]

I dont think the boredom comes from lack of educational enrichment. I 100% believe its lack of physical activity and play. Being in school isnt like being in a job where you get up, walk around, talk to different people, etc. It is more akin to a conference where you need to sit at round tables and have break off groups getting there early in the morning and having to sit and listen to people talk and talk and talk with 5-10 mini breaks of independent thought and interaction.

I dont think the kids are smarter I think they have more physical demands and the lack of movement and independent play is difficult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because their kids are bored at school.

But what’s the point in telling other parents that unless it’s to ask if their kids are experiencing the same thing or to get advice on how other people handled it?
If you aren’t problem solving, you are complaining or bragging.

Traditional school can be incredibly boring for even modestly bright kids, no "giftedness" required. Even though schools will deny it to their dying breath with phrases like "differentiation" and "meet them where they are" - school is taught to the lowest common denominator. Which means that if a child understands a concept or topic after only the first or second explanation, they are going to be bored waiting for the last kid in the class to catch up. And because they will finish most or all of their work faster than other students, they will be instructed over and over throughout the day to "read or draw or wait quietly" while everyone else finishes.

People don't like to admit this, but its just the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I dont think the boredom comes from lack of educational enrichment. I 100% believe its lack of physical activity and play. Being in school isnt like being in a job where you get up, walk around, talk to different people, etc. It is more akin to a conference where you need to sit at round tables and have break off groups getting there early in the morning and having to sit and listen to people talk and talk and talk with 5-10 mini breaks of independent thought and interaction.

I dont think the kids are smarter I think they have more physical demands and the lack of movement and independent play is difficult.

To add- conferences that are largely speaking-oriented without frequent movement or engaging speakers (reading from their PPs) for me are like death. I struggle to stay awake but dont have this problem anywhere else. Engaging teachers can make a difference, even if your kid already knows the material because they are engaging them socially and emotionally.

[Anonymous]

I have two "gifted" kids (according to the county). Before they switched to the CES, one was perfectly happy entertaining themselves when they were done doing the easy work and one was acting out. And just because they kept doing it doesn't mean we weren't coming down hard at home. Once they got into advanced classes their behavior changed.

I do hope you understand that all brains are different and that your kid will struggle some way in life where mine will not. And I will not blame you and tell you that it's because you did something wrong. Perhaps you can have enough grace for the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

My son is in middle school. He finds some classes boring, and others not boring. I think it largely depends on how the teacher presents the material. However, some subject matter is just never going to be of interest to him, no matter how presented. For example, in language arts this year, they covered different forms of meter and types of rhyme in poems. It was rote memorization about a topic he wasn't interested in.

[Anonymous]

I have a kindergarten child who loves kindergarten and I find it insulting when parents say their kid is bored. They are implying that their kid is so much smarter and more advanced than the other kids in the class. I have 3 kids and they all do well in school. They are happy and don’t complain they are bored. They get good grades with minimal effort.

You need more to do if you have enough excess capacity that this is bothering you. My response would be "that's a shame," and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My straight a teen/tween girls find school hideously boring 75% of the time. They are perfectly behave. I am a teacher too, and I don't have any trouble believing or accepting that some teachers are just phoning it in and are not very engaging. My daughter's science teacher literally "teaches" via slides she puts on Schoology that the students read to themselves and fill out worksheets. She doesn't verbally teach them any of the material. Then they complete online activities on their computers. There is no groupwork or classwork or anything other than just solitary computer time the entire 80 minute block. And not just occasionally. Every single day. I think we can all admit this is not okay.

+1

Years ago, I had a high school science teacher who did something similar. She'd have us do our reading in class (no homework) and then answer discussion questions on paper and turn it in and that would be our daily lesson. It was ridiculous. I was less polite than your girls are about it and the teacher got angry and had me removed from her class. I got labeled as a troublemaker and while certainly my conflict management skills needed some work, I was right. That was a waste of everyone's time and should not have been acceptable.

I was -- you got it -- bored. I also, for the record, had serious issues going on at home that not one teacher or administrator asked about during the process of removing me from this teacher's class, that were contributing to my anger and my decision to handle that situation with sass and sarcasm. I just got labeled as a difficult student and this teacher who had totally given up on teaching or even interacting with her students was trusted and supported.

[Anonymous]

Some kids are destructive if their hands/minds are not busy tinkering. That "destructive" behavior can take many forms, including disruptiveness in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some kids are destructive if their hands/minds are not busy tinkering. That "destructive" behavior can take many forms, including disruptiveness in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because their kids are bored at school.

But what’s the point in telling other parents that unless it’s to ask if their kids are experiencing the same thing or to get advice on how other people handled it?
If you aren’t problem solving, you are complaining or bragging.

Well until they tell you their kids are bored, how are they supposed to know whether you are experiencing the same thing? What if there is a genuine problem with a teacher or material being taught, and lots of kids are bored and unengaged in class, but no one says anything to one another because they all just assume their kid is an outlier and don't want to accidentally offend someone by seeming like they are bragging about how bright their kid is?

Listen, I've encountered plenty of obnoxious and braggy parents, but generally if another parent is telling me about their child's experience in a class shared with mine, it's to compare notes. We don't always have the same experience and if a parent told me their kid was really bored in class and I knew my own kid was really happy and engaged, I'd just say that. It doesn't mean my kid is behind, it means they are happy and engaged in class. And then the other parent can take that data point for what it is and do whatever they want to do with it. If THEY conclude that their kid is bored because they are just so advanced, that's their issue to deal with.

[Anonymous]

My first grader just asked her teacher if she could bring in a chapter book to read after she finishes her work. I had no idea she'd made the request until she asked me if she was allowed to write her name in her book she was bringing in so it wouldn't get lost or misplaced. She's never said she is bored to me, but that's my take away from the situation. She had periods with nothing to do and was bored. She's a well behaved kid and found a way to solve the problem.