I took my daughter to her school to meet her teacher this morning. The little girl who directed me to the signs posting students’ names and teachers so I could find out her teacher’s name assured me that her teacher is one of the two nicest kindergarten teachers at the school.
She is so excited about starting school. Which begs the question… what happens to that excitement? I would argue that a lot of kids are happy when school starts again, but don’t want to admit it lest they be considered “geeks.” I was like that, anyway. I liked school. On the other hand, there are some kids that harbor genuine hatred for school. It makes me sad to think at one time they were my daughter’s age, excited and ready to learn. Sort of like a light that went out.
I think many students dislike school because it becomes a place where they are not successful, and feel that they have no hope of being. For myself, I loved school, but I despised PE for just that reason–I was gawky, academic, unathletic (is that a word?), and suffered the humiliation of always being picked last for the team, group, etc. (a selection that was almost always followed by a groan by the team leader). Many of our students share a similar, if less public, fate in the classroom. Often the groans they hear are their own negative self-talk when what the teacher claims is easy just isn't. It's no wonder they don't relish being there.
That is sad to think about. I agree with Traci, but I also think we've got this school culture that makes even kids who enjoy learning not want to show it. If they enjoy the reading or the discussion, they still don't want their classmates to know it. Success is so hard to see at the high school level, because excitement about learning is so well hidden. I just posted about this on my blog.