Friday, November 7, 2008

School is so Hard

I'm sad for my two boys.  They both HATE school.  And they are only in Kindergarten and Second Grade =(  I can't imagine hating school at that age.  But I can understand it.  

My poor Ben, the Second Grader, is so stressed at school.  When he is stressed or pressured or uncomfortable, he sucks on his lips.  He licks them incessantly causing a big red ring to form around his mouth.  This ring gets all chapped and cracks and bleeds.  It's so heart breaking to watch this!  I bought him some Burt's Bees ointment to put on when that happens and he wears it religiously.  He feels stressed when they have tests, which they do up to 3 times EVERY week. He feels stressed when he has to do speed work in math... this they do EVERY day.  It's so hard for me to sit and watch this happening.  He loves the social aspect of school, but I feel that homeschooling is going to be our next move, next year.

Logan hates Kindergarten because it "takes too long."  He is in all day Kindergarten, something they went to last year in our school district.  I decided to hold him back and send him this year as a 6 year old.  It was the best decision that I've made in a long time.  But still it's too long of a day for him.  He is exhausted when he gets home.  And then, since the time change they are so sad because they get home from school, in about an hour and a half it's dark out and then in another hour it's time to get ready for bed.  They are feeling gypped in the playing department.  They both look forward to Friday like a person who works in a cubicle all day, stuck in the daily grind, not seeing the big blue sky and the bright sun shine.  

I'm just so sad for my little boys.  School shouldn't be this hard.  Not yet.

How do your kids like or dislike school?  Is this a common thing that is going on around the country?  Do you feel it has a lot to do with "No Child Left Behind"?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this as well!



9 comments:

jewelstreet said...

Oh, my favorite subject.... My daughter has hated school for awhile now. She's in 4th grade. She hates the fact they teach to the test, speedwork in math, just brushing over facts so that when she gets the homework she hardly knows what she's doing. This is a child who was learning french and spanish in kindegarten who wanted workbooks for Christmas. They've got her so hung up that now she thinks she's stupid. Her newest pet peeve about the system is the new vocational school they built and the $30,000 light/sign they put out front. She has a fit everytime we drive by. Wait until she hears about how they are going to cut music next year to pay for it.

Sorry about the rant.

Mindy said...

Oh I don't think it's ranting! I completely agree with your daughter! They cut our music as well, to help pay for SPORTS... I HATE that! They send home things for the kids to sell, to help pay for sports. Oh not us! I won't participate in that. If they were earning money to upgrade the curriculum that is so outdated that their history books don't even have President Clinton in them!!! or if they were earning money for books for the library, or if they were earning money to re-hire the music teacher they let go because they couldn't afford her, then I would participate. Heck even I would go door to door to sell the crap!

Now that was ranting LOL

Nursing Class of December 2011 said...

Holy Cow! I so commented earlier and somehow it didn't post and oh well. I definitely know where you both are coming from. Last year when Kylee was in 1st grade, not only was she not excelling socially, I was so mad that she would spend all day in school and then come home with homework that I had to teach her to do. What the heck!? I don't remember having homework until like 4th grade and then I was able to do it because we had LEARNED it in school that day! Also, this whole cutting the arts to promote sports under the pretense of sports teaching teamwork. Whatever...I spent years in band and choir and that is where you learn teamwork. When one person is off in band or choir, it effects the way the whole group sounds! I was on both the giving and receiving ends where help was concerned. Help to see that your band/choir member could learn their part and better understand. That is teamwork! Not just focusing on one stupid player who "ruled" the game! It just ticks me off to no end! (Now who's ranting...sorry!) I have to say that I am lucky enough that Kylee goes to a school where every Monday they have ART class and every Wednesday they have MUSIC class. And she loves it! I don't know if it has to do with the "no child left behind" stuff or not. I know that at the schools in FL now there is a standardized test called the FCAT and it has really made it hard for the schools to keep high ratings. But, at Ortega, as they are struggling to regain their "A" status, I don't see that reflecting poorly on the children. Unfortunately, I think that what you are experiencing is so the norm and I don't see it getting any better. I am all for home schooling. At least you know what your children are being exposed to daily. Good luck ladies!

Nursing Class of December 2011 said...

Oh yeah...Congrats on reaching 10,000 words Mindy! WooHoo!!

Anonymous said...

I feel so bad for your sons! My daughter is in Kindergarten right now and thankfully she likes it. But, I can not believe the stress that school puts on children at such a young age. I started to notice it in Preschool! Parents would find full day and "add-on" programs for their 3 and 4 year olds. I feel like all day, every day is way to much for a 3 or 4 year old. I feel so lucky our Kindergarten in only a half day. I believe that 5/6 year olds should go to school half a day and then come home and PLAY! Kids grow up way to fast now.

Joy said...

I'm sorry your little guys don't like school. I guess just try and focus on the positive parts of school for them. We've had good years and bad. I don't think its "No Child Left Behind". In our case we've had one teacher that our daughter just did not connect with in 2nd Grade. She's in 7th and still talks about that being the worst year of her life. Hang in there with them. Pray for them.
If your school district is cutting music and has old text books, check on the school board. Whose running that? We have art, music and 2 computer lab teachers. We are very blessed at our schools here.
Hope they work thru it.

Lady Dorothy said...

OH! Young children should not live in such stress!

I had a very stressful kindergarten and I still have such sad memories of that time. All these eons later! Fortunately, circumstances changed and so my whole schooling wasn't that way.

I think that I would really give homeschooling a very serious consideration in your situation.

We did homeschool our children for most of their school years. We absolutely loved the opportunity to train our children according to their uniqueness. I would be willing to answer any questions or refer you to my children who are currently homeschooling their children. Feel free to contact me.

Aubrey said...

Oh my...I just did a post about my daughter and trouble with school. She has never been a big "fan" of school. It really stinks.
I remember my oldest telling me about how he would go to the office every day and cry for me when he was in the 2nd grade. No one ever called me. He never said a word. Breaks my heart to this day.
Hang in there. It will get better! It has to!

Loriann said...

We will be praying for your boys, and mommy and daddy too. (O:
We actualy love school here, but we also homeschool. This is Hannah's second year, she is in 3rd grade, and this is Sarah's first year, she is in 5th grade. I really wish wehad homeschooled from the start.... Hannah has a lot of health issues, in kindergarden she missed 35 days, but had all A's,so they let her move up, so then in first grade she made all A's again, but missed 45 days, so then said she would have to be held back. We were ok with it, and she started first grade again,we start school in early Aug. here,(Alabama) by the end of Sept. she had already missed 26 days. Here if you miss 20 days or more you are held back, reguardless of why,chronic illness didn't count.... So we pulled Hannah and began homeschooling... If you want to know some of the facts check with HSLDA, which is homeschool legal defense aide... They can help you with state laws and everything... They even offer scholarships for families who need extra help financially.
My girls now are doing so good, Thank you Jesus, Hannah and Sarah both have pen pals, which helps with theirwriting, and it helps them with history, learning about different states and countries, Sarah has a pen pal from Poland, andHannah has one from Canada... If you have any questions, I'd love to help you... We also get our books from everywhere, homeschoolbookswap.com is an awesome resourch, as well as Thrift stores, and walmart, ordollar tree.... Hope that they start to feel better soon about school... We will keep you all in our prayer's, Loriann