School
I hated school when I was growing up. It was seven hours a day spent trying to control my restlessness and wandering attention span, and I was just bored. Plus, as I got older, the junior high and high schools I went to were truly places of wonder, but not in a good way. I don’t miss ‘em a bit. So when it was time for my kids to go to school, I felt very fortunate that we could afford to send them to private schools, and make school a more positive experience for them. In finding kindler, gentler schools we definitely succeeded.
But my older kid still hated school, and my younger one does as well. In fact, I hear a LOT of kids say it: “I hate school”. I find I am a good deal more curious and desirous of learning now that I’m lengthening in the teeth than when I was young and in school. It’s a shame, because I’m well aware of less brainpower to learn with.
But it’s no surprise to me why school is a hated institution.
Kids get up at the crack ‘o dawn, or even before if they ride the bus, to attend a place where they are going to spend SEVEN HOURS a day EVERY DAY, except for those lovely, lovely weekends. Many of those lovely weekends are now eaten up with activities for these modern kids, but that’s another blog.
The kids go to school very early, often still tired. There are some parents who manage to get their kids to bed at 8 p.m. Heck, some of the parents I know get them to bed while the sun’s still up. I – am NOT one of those. And when kids hit the preteen/teen years? They really cannot wind down early at night. Which means they are gonna be tired pupils the next day. The first class of the day I had one year in high school was a math class – not my strength. The room was warm and often dark because the teacher would use the overhead. My eyes would NOT stay open in that class, and I recall pretty much none of what was taught in there. THAT was time well spent.
Then there’s the homework. Schools have the kids all day five days a week, and send homework on top of that. Depending on the school, it can be a LOT of homework, which is looked at by some parents as a positive thing. Maybe for some of those parents, their kids could handle it. I have known plenty whose intelligent kiddos could not. Which is what I find worrisome. These are SMART young people who I hear say how much they hate school.
And I don’t blame them. I blame the way I think the school system is designed.
The subject of homeschooling has come up in my family before, but my son told me no. He was too much of a social beast for settling for just me during the day. There’s also the fact that as a teacher I would probably be less than adept. So I am now tasked with once again evaluating the school he’s at and seeing what else is out there; what will make learning interesting, while he’s young and it’s easier?
