When Your Child 'Hates' School

Keep Talking

Ultimately, parents and teachers are in the best position to help a child who doesn’t like school. Talk with your child about why school has become unpleasant, and keep talking. Meet with the teacher and work together to try to change the child’s attitude, to make both learning and the classroom an exciting place to be.

As Maria Montessori, founder of the Montessori education philosophy, once said, “One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.”

Resources:

Understannding Social Cruelty Among Children 

Learning Disabilities

Books:

Could Do Better: Why Children Underachieve and What to Do About It, by Harvey P. Mandel and Sander I. Marcus, Jossey-Bass, 1996.

The New Public School Parent, by Bob Chase with Bob Katz, Penguin Books, 2002.

What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten? by Susan Ohanian, McGraw Hill, 2002.

Web Sites:

KidsHealth - Offers numerous resources for parents and kids on a variety of health issues, including test anxiety.

National Association for the Education of Young Children – Provides information for parents, with particular focus on the quality of educational services for all children from birth through age 8.

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing – Works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing.