Do your kids enjoy school more than you did?

[zinemama]

I had a horrible school experience. I went to a Waldorf school where I had a mean teacher for seven years. I hated anything academic and didn't think I was good at anything except reading and writing. I struggled with math for years without help. I was bullied. It took me awhile - and a couple of years of Quaker school - to get over it.

When I had kids I was determined that they would have a better time of it than I did. If they had math problems, I'd find them a tutor. If they had bad teachers, I would be all mama bear. I would even homeschool if I had to, though it was the last thing I wanted.

Fortunately, we live just blocks from a wonderful public school. The teachers are warm and nurturing. The kids work in gardens and do all kinds of art. They sing Woodie Guthrie songs and learn to knit in first grade. It's a real community and my kids are thriving. They have no idea what it's like to hate school.

How about the rest of you?

[EFmom]

I attended a dreadful Catholic school back in the days when there were still nuns. They were sadistic in the extreme. I shudder just thinking about it. I can't think of much positive at all.

My kids love public school. It's full of art and music, and they've had many excellent teachers. There are some things about it I don't like, but it's orders of magnitude better than my Catholic school experience. They can't wait to go to school every morning, whereas I woke up with a stomach ache dreading it on a daily basis.

[babeak]

That is so sad for you two! You know that your parents ponied up to send you where they thought that they could get the best education for you and wow! That is really sad. Did you either of you tell your parents and did they ignore your complaints? If so, I bet that that just adds another layer of sadness to the pain of school.

[karne]

I definitely think that my dd is having a great school experience right now. She went to waldorf for a while and it was an academic and social nightmare, but like OP, we live in a great school district for PS, so things are very good now. I see her happy, many friends, totally into the curriculum, and having seriously good relationships with her teachers. I never experienced that degree of connectedness, myself, sadly.

My ds also loves school, but he is extremely bright and needs lots of challenge to keep him engaged. I am hoping that we can all meet that challenge!

Both dh and I went to private school. My parents relented in hs, and allowed me to go to public, where I was much happier. But no, I definitely did not have the zest for school that I see in my kids.

[lindberg99]

I didn't go to Catholic school but I remember my friends complaining about the nuns!

I think a lot of school enjoyment has to do with age. My kindergartener loves it, 4th grader likes it too. But my DD is now 6th grade. Up to this year, she really did enjoy school but now the jaded pre-teen years seem to have set in. School is boring, there's nothing to do at recess except walk around the walking path because all the playground stuff is boring and for babies (she's still at elem. school), she can never get what she wants for lunch because the 6th graders eat last and just get all the food no one else wants, etc.

So I think DD is pretty much like I was, I didn't hate school but I don't remember being overjoyed to go, I just tolerated it, got out and went to college, which I REALLY enjoyed...I hope my kids don't enjoy college quite as much as I did.

[sunnmama]

My dd enjoys school. I did, too. We are both "schooly" types Public school for both of us!

[inkslinger]

It's about equal so far...I loved school when I was a kid, and so does she.

[annethcz]

Overall, I had a postive school experience. So far, my kids are enjoying school as well.

[EFmom]

Originally Posted by babeak

That is so sad for you two! You know that your parents ponied up to send you where they thought that they could get the best education for you and wow! That is really sad. Did you either of you tell your parents and did they ignore your complaints? If so, I bet that that just adds another layer of sadness to the pain of school.

The school mirrored their religious beliefs, and that's what they cared about. They knew full well how we felt about school, but they certainly didn't want to hear about it or care much. Complaining was a waste of energy.

[Ellien C]

hmmm - hard to say at this point.

I thoroughly enjoyed HS. I came into my own, had good friends, great activities, got through with great confidence. College was hard and alot of work. I missed home and the opportunity to have relationships with adults. Jr. High was dreadful and I really remember being picked on a lot in elementary school.

My DD is just in first grade, now. There are aspects she enjoys. She clearly doesn't like all of school but there are parts she likes. I'm not sure about DH. I don't think he really enjoyed elem. school either. DH and DD tend to resist anything new. It takes them awhile to warm-up to something and enjoy it. Whereas I thrived on new experiences. I think it's about the same for DD as for her parents. Neither of us feel like school "ruined" us. We feel like it contributed positively to who we became.

[mar123]

From K-9, I was in 6 different schools. I didn't hate school, but I didn't have any connection, not many friends, because of how many different schools I attended. It was not until high school that I was in one school. I enjoyed it well enough.

My girls go to a Catholic elementary school and love it. They are very involved and have good friends. There is very little teacher turnover, so they know all of the teachers for all the grades very well. They have been there since preK-3.

My son now attends a Catholic high school for 8th grade. It is all boy and he LOVES it. No drama, LOL. He attended the same school my girls go to. One reason we picked this school is that the boys have 2 "unstructured" periods a day. One is their lunch, of course, but they don't take 50 minutes to eat. They have the freedom to decide how to use their time. They can participate in intermural sports, go to the lab for help with school work, go to the library, or just hang out with friends. I love the idea of teaching them how to manage their time in small increments. Since my son plays sports and has practice after school, he uses his time to get homework done. He loves it and so do I. well worth the money.

I am a teacher and have always presented a positive view of school to my kids. I do think this helps.

[Kirsten]

I'm not sure it is possible to enjoy school more than I did. In K I remember thinking "wow, this is so fun!" then 1st grade was even better. I thought this every year through college graduation. I feel very lucky. I attribute it to four things - I'm very outgoing, academics came relatively easy for me, my parents were involved and supportive, and I had some really caring and dedicated teachers.

My three kids have enjoyed school too. I do try very hard to be involved, set them up for success, research our local options, and be positive. I think my dd1 would cry if I kept her home from 8th grade for even a day; she just LOVES it.

Originally Posted by mar123

I have always presented a positive view of school to my kids. I do think this helps.

I agree.

[WC_hapamama]

I loved school. Of my 3 school aged kids, I have one who is ambivalent about it, one who really doesn't like it (he's got a language processing disorder), and one who thinks school is the best thing ever!

[bobandjess99]

Sadly no. Dd cried and begged every day all last year and this year to not have to go, and so we finally honored her wishes and took her out a couple weeks ago. Now we are homeschooling for a while at least.
I too moved a lot (13 schools total) and was always the new kid, and then later, the new, fat kid with glasses and acne. Ya, my life sucked. Sucked hard. I remember the awful, terrifying feeling of walknig into a crowded cafeteris and looking at the tables full of kids and having no where to sit down because no one wanted to eat with me. I remember just going ot the bathroom and crying during lunch instead of facing that day after day.
I found a gret group of friends in high school though, and it was AWESOME. Truly loved it, was in band and drama and all sortos of groups and stuff, had a great group of friends, lots of fun.

[hottmama]

I liked the academic part of school but was badly bullied in elementary/middle school. My kids LOVE school and I think there is a lot more awareness about bullying and conflict resolution. So schools are a lot nicer these days, IMO.