My kid is pretty smart but an lousy student. He complained of being bored about a week into kindergarten. I told him to buck up, education is all about being prepared for your future career. Never knew eyes could roll that far.
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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:?

I think it's ridiculous because usually they are implying that their child is gifted or advanced. But, as more than one teacher has said to me, truly gifted children are never bored in school because they're always finding something to investigate.

Now there's a circular argument. If they're truly gifted, they're never bored. So if they're ever bored, they must not be truly gifted!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:?

I think it's ridiculous because usually they are implying that their child is gifted or advanced. But, as more than one teacher has said to me, truly gifted children are never bored in school because they're always finding something to investigate. So, the "my kid is smart b/c s/he is bored" bromide doesn't actually signal gifted aptitude at all.

I used to tell my HS students that only boring people were bored...but that is only true as far as it goes...if the teacher/school restricts what can be done to such a degree that there is no way for a student to do new work (like you can read a book from this rack, one you have read 10 times already and is below your reading level)...yeah, that is boring.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you think it is ridiculous when someone says his/her child is bored in school?

Do you also think it is ridiculous when someone (for example, me) says that they vividly remember being bored in school?

I do at a young age. I don't think truly bright kids get bored. I remember being bored in physics in high school. I do not remember being bored every in elementary school...and I was in AAP (then GT) starting in 3rd grade...but before then a regular curriculum. I think the 'bored' kids are getting a lot of electronics at home AND/OR have behavioral issues in and out of school (antsy, restless, etc.).

I replied earlier about my K son being bored. He gets very little "screen time" at home, has no game systems of any kind, watches tv once in a blue moon, and all that mess. In fact, he has learned about all the silly "educational" websites in his computer class at school and now I have to deal with his asking to play them at home, which is very annoying for luddites like my husband and myself. And I am not sure how being antsy or restless equals a behavioral issue? What little kid doesn't get antsy and restless at times? Especially boys? I call that normal. And the school should deal with the needs of little kids to be active, not force them into sitting 7 hours a day. But that is beside the point for my kid-he can and does happily read for hours-it isn't an inability to focus or sit still for an activity, it is mental stimulation and spending too much time waiting on the next thing in the classroom b/c he finished the current work 5 minutes into the 15 minute period assigned for it.

I think context is important. As a pre-school teacher, when a pre-K kid who can choose from a room full of toys and art materials mopes around and says s/he's bored that usually signals to me that he/she is having a hard time initiating play or joining in social groups.

The saying that people who are bored are boring people sometimes seems true when people are not taking advantage of resources available to them.

In grade school, when your choices and materials are usually quite restricted, then the saying doesn't necessarily apply.

And, yes, often these kids first hear the label "bored" from their parents who are seeking an explanation.

Anonymous wrote:?

I think it's ridiculous because usually they are implying that their child is gifted or advanced. But, as more than one teacher has said to me, truly gifted children are never bored in school because they're always finding something to investigate. So, the "my kid is smart b/c s/he is bored" bromide doesn't actually signal gifted aptitude at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the OP. What cannot a child be bored at school? If the school don't teach new things and repeat over and over stuff they already know, why cannot they be bored? Haven't we all been bored by lectures and meetings and stuff? Why cannot a kid be bored?

Didn't you read OP's response?

Its because OP was a bright child and does not recall being bored in elementary school.
Therefore, a kid cannot be bored that young... at least not until high school physics.

I don't think a kid comes up with the term 'bored' referring to him/herself at a young age unless a parent asks him/her if he/she is bored OR if there is a behavior issue and the kid pins it on being 'bored.' Sorry - my thoughts. Oh and I wasn't bored.

I was bored in school as a kid--I was ahead of the other kids in terms of reading, and the teacher wouldn't let me work ahead in the workbook. I would have been happy to sit quietly and read or work ahead, but she forbid it, so yes, I was bored. When I had teachers who didn't care what I did as long as I was quiet, I just read ahead in the books and was fine.

My son, now 14, has said he is bored since he was 4 years old. In school, out of school, on vacation, at camp, during lounge time..... he is bored. I tell him, when he complains, that it is not my problem and it is his problem. However, if he likes, I can put him to work. Cleaning the bathroom usually shuts him up for a while.

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the OP. What cannot a child be bored at school? If the school don't teach new things and repeat over and over stuff they already know, why cannot they be bored? Haven't we all been bored by lectures and meetings and stuff? Why cannot a kid be bored?

Didn't you read OP's response?

Its because OP was a bright child and does not recall being bored in elementary school.
Therefore, a kid cannot be bored that young... at least not until high school physics.

I don't understand the OP. What cannot a child be bored at school? If the school don't teach new things and repeat over and over stuff they already know, why cannot they be bored? Haven't we all been bored by lectures and meetings and stuff? Why cannot a kid be bored?

I was that bored kid in school. School skipped me one grade. Socially it impacted me so they weren't going to promote me any further, but academically I was still bored.

The teachers let me work at my own pace and then just read a book. I wasn't a trouble maker but was dying from the pointlessness of sitting in class reading my own books and helping other kids learn material that I already knew instead of getting to actually learn myself. Some teachers might give me extra work, but they didn't have the time to devote 1-on-1 to helping me learn that material.

This was in the 70s and 80s before the days of AAP and gifted classes. Based on the strong recommendation of my teachers and school administration, my parents put me in private school. Bored no longer!

My kid is bored in school. She does not act out. She reads while the teachers work with the other kids who are not learning the material--likely because they are too busy acting out to learn it the first time. We have asked for additional or more challenging work but the school is unwilling to provide it...in my opinion they are lucky she doesn't act out--I probably would.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would you think it is ridiculous when someone says his/her child is bored in school?

Do you also think it is ridiculous when someone (for example, me) says that they vividly remember being bored in school?

I do at a young age. I don't think truly bright kids get bored. I remember being bored in physics in high school. I do not remember being bored every in elementary school...and I was in AAP (then GT) starting in 3rd grade...but before then a regular curriculum. I think the 'bored' kids are getting a lot of electronics at home AND/OR have behavioral issues in and out of school (antsy, restless, etc.).

I am the PP who remembers being bored in school -- including in elementary school, when I was not allowed to do other things and had to just sit there supposedly listening to stuff I already knew. I'm adequately bright, I didn't have any electronics at home (there was no such thing!), and I was very well-behaved. And actually my two elementary-school children are the same (bright, no electronics, and well-behaved), and they also report being bored when they have to just sit there listening. Which luckily doesn't seem to happen often.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't think really bright kids get bored. (I do think kids/parents use the term as an excuse when there are behavioral issues.)

Agreed. I have one friend who says her son is bored, so he acts out. There are lots of smart kids in class that DON'T act out.

I think it depends on the child's other strengths and interests. I was a smart kid who did not get bored partly because the social excitement of being in school was plenty to keep me interested. Also, I had good executive function skills and being motivated, staying seated, keeping organized, transitioning from one thing to another... all of these were painless and didn't tire me out. My brother was a very, very smart kid who was definitely bored, but then again a lot of that stuff that was so easy for me was challenging for him. Trying to behave in school was probably exhausting for him. I am sure he would have been diagnosed with ADHD these days. He was a pretty mediocre student until college, when he really excelled and it became more obvious how intelligent he really is.