Learning to Embrace School

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Learning to Embrace School

People often wonder why so many children hate school. Well, perhaps they are learning it from their parents who frequently complain about work! Of course, having a more positive attitude about your own life is only one of the ways to cope when you realize that your child hates school.

Find the Reason

Chances are, there is some sort of reason why your child hates attending school. Maybe the child is being bullied by someone else or perhaps the class is not accepting of him or her. Another option is that your child is bored and would do better in a more challenging class. One of the best ways to find out about these problems is to have an open and honest dialogue with the child, but also with the teacher, since your little one might be afraid to open up to you about some of the more intense issues.

Be Positive

As mentioned earlier, if you have a negative attitude about your own life and job, how can you expect your child to constantly be positive about school? Try to have a more positive outlook in your life, and encourage your child to find positive aspects of school. For example, he or she may really love gym class, so you can encourage your child to offer to be team captain. If your child loves English, encourage him or her to mention a trip to a local book signing in class. Do not make your child feel as though he or she is a failure. Of course, there are going to be trying times. However, if you permanently give up, then you can be sure that you are always going to have a child who complains in the morning and whines throughout the entire month of August about the impending return to class.

Provide Other Outlets

You might never be able to make your child absolutely love his or her school. If that is the case, make sure that your child has plenty of other interests and hobbies in his or her life that are enjoyable. Most communities have plenty of clubs and sports teams that individuals from the kindergarten through the high school age can enjoy. Schools frequently have an array of clubs from debate teams to volunteer groups in which your child can participate. Finding fun activities within the school is a way for your child to start loving the educational environment. However, make sure that children understand that if their grades start to dramatically suffer, all of these fun activities will have to be cut from the agenda. This is another method for getting them to be more focused and involved in their studies.

Transfer Schools

In extreme cases, it might be necessary for students to transfer schools. You do not want to make a habit out of school hopping, so be sure that you save this for intense cases, such as if there is a lot of violence or bullying going on in a particular school. Some students are just better suited for different environments too. For example, a child from a very religious family may do better in a religious school where he or she can feel comfortable praying, and a very artistic child may do better in a Montessori school where he or she can really explore.

Do not become overly frustrated if your child hates school. Many children claim to hate school, but there is really only one or two components that they strongly dislike. By focusing in on these issues, parents can work with teachers to help craft a better learning environment for youngsters.

Brittany Campant enjoys sharing educational tips and parenting advice. The most important advice she recommends is doing an education employment  background checks before hiring teaching staff.

Updated: July 11, 2013 — 9:22 am