Anonymous wrote:School is boring for the majority of kids I know. I mean, really, really, boring. I remember being bored out of my mind during kindergarten and pretty much all the way through high school. Got interesting and fun once I hit university.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Or, you could take notes and make suggestions about how it could be better presented. Now, that would be a novel idea.

I wonder how that would go over, in a kindergarten classroom where the kindergarten teacher's idea of teaching is: the teacher talks, the kindergarteners sit there and listen.

In kindergarten, my son actually DID provide his teacher with suggestions about how she could teach differently. (Highly/profoundly gifted, painfully bored for much of the day in K. Yes, he'd entertain himself, but there's only so much entertaining oneself for a 5 yr old that doesn't eventually lead to quality time in the principal's office.)

And how did the teacher take that? I can't imagine it was genuinely well-received.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Or, you could take notes and make suggestions about how it could be better presented. Now, that would be a novel idea.

I wonder how that would go over, in a kindergarten classroom where the kindergarten teacher's idea of teaching is: the teacher talks, the kindergarteners sit there and listen.

In kindergarten, my son actually DID provide his teacher with suggestions about how she could teach differently. (Highly/profoundly gifted, painfully bored for much of the day in K. Yes, he'd entertain himself, but there's only so much entertaining oneself for a 5 yr old that doesn't eventually lead to quality time in the principal's office.)

Anonymous wrote:If I hear another parent tell me their child is "so bored" in K, I will scream. You would think that our little snowflakes are all geniuses with absolutely nothing they could gain from K at all. Just because little Timmy "already knows how to read" doesn't mean he can't learn some good social skills in K. Some of the most socially immature, whiny kids are the same ones whose parents are filling their heads with "don't worry Johnny, I know you are SO bored in K and won't learn anything new."

Anonymous wrote:I think most of the kids who are bored in K just prefer the play based style of the preschool classroom. There is a lot more sitting and focused work. Most K classrooms offer something for kids at various levels. They know their letters but are working on writing them into words and making them better on the page.

No, of course not. I am equating teacher-talks-kindergarteners-sit-and-listen to a three-hour training session.

Anonymous wrote:That's okay - mine is still bored 6 years later - not as much - it actually peaked in first grade

Anonymous wrote:

While there are clearly things I'd rather be doing, I can certainly find things to do meanwhile. For example, have you never made up stories in your head about people you meet? Admittedly, this might not be appropriate if you know all the people, but in restaurants it can be great fun.

You can count the number of times the presenter repeats himself. The dumb questions people ask, etc. You can even listen and keep a tally of the things you learn. And, you might even listen to see if there is something new to learn.

Or, you could take notes and make suggestions about how it could be better presented. Now, that would be a novel idea.

Anonymous wrote:

I wonder how that would go over, in a kindergarten classroom where the kindergarten teacher's idea of teaching is: the teacher talks, the kindergarteners sit there and listen.

Are you really equating play in K with a three hour training session?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, when I hear that a Ker is bored, I think to myself, "there must be something wrong with the teacher." Our K experience includes a kid who was reading at the second-grade level at the start of school as well as a kid who wasn't reading at all. Neither were bored. The teachers met them where they were and provided plenty of challenge for both. Both came home with tales of growing vegetables, exploring outside, new songs, new friends, computer time and fun at art.

Any good K teacher knows their class represents a wide range of skills and strengths and works with it!

Yup!
Sure, there are times of boredom in school (and that's going to be true no matter how advanced or behind you are!) but generally they work seemed pretty open ended. A lot of "write or draw" assignments so that kids who were already reading and writing could practice that and kids who were still learning could still do the material-part of the assignment. A lot of work that was easily adaptable depending on ability. My son's favorite "center" was the letter blocks - you build words out of letter blocks. So some kids could build "cat" and some kids could write sentences. If your oh-so-brilliant child chooses to do the simplest and most basic of work when given open-ended activities, that's a character trait you should probably work on.

Exactly. This goes along with the whole "only boring people are bored thing".


If your child allows himself to be bored in K it just proves that he isn't all that bright or inquisitive.
A truly bright child will take a simple assignment and turn it on it's head and make it something else.
I'm a teacher and this is what bright kids too.
If your child needs worksheets and assignments dictated to him to be intellectually stimulated then he's ultimately he's not that bright.

Actually, a truly bright child will often get into trouble at that age because whatever creative thing they come up with on their own is often far more interesting and engaging than the classwork but not at all aligned with sitting compliantly and doing worksheets of things they already know how to do.

Anonymous wrote:

Tell me, truly, when you're sitting in a three hour mandatory training session on the company handbook, not once might you become...bored?

While there are clearly things I'd rather be doing, I can certainly find things to do meanwhile. For example, have you never made up stories in your head about people you meet? Admittedly, this might not be appropriate if you know all the people, but in restaurants it can be great fun.

You can count the number of times the presenter repeats himself. The dumb questions people ask, etc. You can even listen and keep a tally of the things you learn. And, you might even listen to see if there is something new to learn.

Or, you could take notes and make suggestions about how it could be better presented. Now, that would be a novel idea.

However, it is highly unlikely that your child is sitting through a three hour "training session." More like, five minutes here and there when he might be a little bored-or have to wait. That is not a bad thing to learn. Patience is a virtue. It is highly unlikely that the teacher is making him do boring things for three hours.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Or, you could take notes and make suggestions about how it could be better presented. Now, that would be a novel idea.

I wonder how that would go over, in a kindergarten classroom where the kindergarten teacher's idea of teaching is: the teacher talks, the kindergarteners sit there and listen.

I wonder how that would go over, in a kindergarten classroom where the kindergarten teacher's idea of teaching is: the teacher talks, the kindergarteners sit there and listen.

Anonymous wrote:

Or, you could take notes and make suggestions about how it could be better presented. Now, that would be a novel idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Tell me, truly, when you're sitting in a three hour mandatory training session on the company handbook, not once might you become...bored?

While there are clearly things I'd rather be doing, I can certainly find things to do meanwhile. For example, have you never made up stories in your head about people you meet? Admittedly, this might not be appropriate if you know all the people, but in restaurants it can be great fun.

You can count the number of times the presenter repeats himself. The dumb questions people ask, etc. You can even listen and keep a tally of the things you learn. And, you might even listen to see if there is something new to learn.

Or, you could take notes and make suggestions about how it could be better presented. Now, that would be a novel idea.

However, it is highly unlikely that your child is sitting through a three hour "training session." More like, five minutes here and there when he might be a little bored-or have to wait. That is not a bad thing to learn. Patience is a virtue. It is highly unlikely that the teacher is making him do boring things for three hours.