After hearing parents so often worrying on social media, saying every imaginable version of, “My child hates school!” I finally launched Study Skills Blast-Off! (seats are still available) Last week I met with my newest cohort for the first time and I have to tell you – we had such a fun and productive session together! However, as I’m reviewing my notes from that day before our next meeting tonight, I just had to jump on here and share some of my thoughts on what was discussed.
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Since it was our first lesson, I wanted the students to get to know each other, and for me to know them as well. One of the main reasons I’ve chosen time and time again to stay private rather than teach at a school is because it is so very important to me that I get a lot of personalized time with my students. And I’ve managed to do exactly that! My last 15 years have all been 1:1 tutoring and only now am I offering small-group programs capped at 5 or 10 students, depending on the class.
So at our lesson last week I kicked it off by having the students share about themselves, their hobbies, and their interests. Then, I asked them to share their favorite class in school, their least favorite class, and where they find themselves struggling in terms of study skills.
I don’t like any classes. I guess if I had to say something… I liked Spanish last year, but this year I don’t like it at all.
Study skills? I don’t know if I’m missing any. What are some of them, again?
And guess what?!
While this kind of answer (coming from several students) might be deflating to some, I found them incredibly encouraging.
This is because, with my typically “glass-half-full” mentality, these responses were absolutely brimming with potential!
Many parents worry at one time or another over whether or not their child hates school. The problem is that that’s usually as far as they’ll take it.
When I talk to a new parent before we begin working together, the conversation usually goes like this:
Me: Tell me what’s going on with your child as it relates to school and learning.
Mom: I don’t know, he just… my child hates school! He refuses to do his work, and goofs off during classes.
Me: What is it about school that he hates?
Mom: …
Me: …
Mom: …
Mom: just – all of it!
It’s not enough to know your child hates school, it’s important to go that next step and figure out their “why.”
The reason why your child hates school – and why it matters
The reason you should know their WHY is that it will usually make it pretty easy for you to begin addressing their stressors, worries, and concerns.
Alternatively, finding out what they love about school (even if it’s the chance to see their friends) will help you find new and creative ways to engage them in their learning process.
For example, most kids love the chance to see their friends at school, and it’s already known that children learn better when in a group of supportive peers, so if that’s their favorite part of school, enroll them in group tutoring or group study skills program.
If their favorite part of school is recess or PE, don’t assume it’s because they want to ditch the actual learning. Maybe they enjoy being outdoors and finding new plants? In that case consider setting a nature theme to their lessons if they’re younger, or incorporating gardening into their science curriculum if they’re a bit older.
Once you figure out their WHY, why they hate school, or why they only like certain parts of it, you can then begin changing their learning environment to be more conducive to learning.
TL;DR
So remember that if your child hates school, the easiest way to begin moving forward is to always check in with them, asking them the deeper questions to get to the root of their academic struggles.
As always, I hope you’ll grab your free access to How to Get Your Child Off the Tutoring Hamster Wheel and Get Them Achieving SUCCESS >>
And if you’d like to just move on forward and FINALLY get them achieving success, you can always apply for a free Academic Success Call >>
See you soon!