Question for any parents of second graders

My daughter is in 2nd grade this year, and tonight, she informed me that she hates school and doesn't want to go tomorrow. I sat down with her and asked her why she feels this way. She told me that it's because of all the work they do.

Every week, she brings home a folder of all of the work they have done that week. I've looked at these papers and am astonished by the type of work they are doing! They are doing all subjects(Math, English, Social Studies, Reading, and Science). Okay, I can see the need for Math, English, and Reading at this stage, but Science and Social Studies? This just seems to be just too much to pile on second graders. I don't remember doing all of that when I was in that grade! A couple of the things they have to do in English are prefixes and addressing envelopes! Someone please explain to me why a second grader needs to learn how to address an envelope? Okay, kids may want to mail things too, but let the parents show them how if the need arises.

I just want to know if it's like this for second graders in other states. I know that teachers get certain curriculum from the states to teach the students in a year. Is it the same everywhere? I want my child to learn, but I don't want her to get sick of school before she even makes it to Junior High!

kids to know. My oldest is in 3rd grade, they are covering things like geography, algebra (although they don't call it that, it is) and the science... fugetaboutit... things that I did not cover until 7th grade... Newton's Laws, ecology... and on and on.

I suppose it eases the shock when they have real homework to do, but damn.

Now I ghave to duck.

Really, though, what is happening in my opinion in public schools is programming. Instead of teaching children to love to learn the children are learning to hate learning.


It is also about the Bush testing plan (just like Nazi Germany).

Every child will get classified and pegged and their records will be on file for life. Sat LSAT's mandatory testing, etc. will get your child tracked and branded and "fit" for service to the new world order.


Explore the Home school possibility. Your taxes still go to the schools and they have fewer students to teach if you do it yourself and most states allow it.

It is not for everybody.

But if you wnt your child to embrace the love of books and learning you should think about it.

LOOK at the details of what they are learning. Is ANY of it relevent to what they need to know today? Is it what YOU would have wanted to teach them or have learned yourself?

Learn about this opportunity.

She might be better off in school. Or she may not be. But you are tha
Resist it.

Because then we can duck together.

My children are schooled at home and they love to learn, they love to discover, to create, to draw, to express themselves, to read, to ask questions-- they don't love school, they love life.

My kids aren't the smartest or the brightest. They weren't the first to learn certain things, but they are learning. And let me say that they are not memorizing facts, they are actually learning.

I know that it's not possible for everyone to home school, but there are some things you can do to make sure they don't snatch the love of learning out of your dear child.

You may want to check out this book: Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School by Grace Llewellyn and Amy Silver. Also, please google "John Taylor Gatto" and read what he says about the public school system and where it is headed.

I don't have any current experience in this situation, and I'm not sure about the workload of second graders, but I've heard a lot of stories about kids around that age refusing to go to school for various different reasons. Often they don't come clean about them even to their own parents, and if their parents give in and let the kids stay home, it can make for a very difficult situation.

It's a good sign that your daughter's shared her problem, but it might be a good idea (if you haven't already done so) to ask her more questions about school. Does she need help, does her teacher help her, does she understand all the work, does she have enough time to do the work - if she's having these kinds of problems, it might be something you can take up with the school. If she's having trouble with work she brings home, helping her with that might help her in dealing with her schoolwork as well.

Hope all goes well and you resolve the problem soon.

Kids are brutal, especially at that age. There might be a pretender to the O'reilly throne on the playground who has targeted your daughter.

I have no real experience with kids, but this is just something that I thought of instantly when you said she hated school. Either that, or she's having trouble with one of her subjects.

and they have arithmetic, reading, writing, grammar, geography (very basic) and computer time each day. Once a week science, art, gym, library and something else that I can't remember. In first grade the subjects were much the same as in second grade but the work is more challenging this year. They get a small amount of "homework" every week which takes about 30-45 minutes each week to complete. Both boys have had writing assignments in first and second grade. The school requires them to write "books" each year that get "published.” The books are brought home as mementos for the school year. This may sound odd but the "book writing" is one of the best programs the school offers. The kids get really excited with these projects.

The public school system we are in really emphases reading and writing. If a child is having problems within the first several weeks of first grade they are in an intervention program immediately. Reading is evaluated all school year every year.

We have been fortunate that both boys really like school. We know the teachers and go to the parent/teacher conferences every term. We also volunteer in the classes. Both my wife and I work but it is worth the sacrifice.

If your child is having difficulty in school she may be frustrated and this is how she is expressing herself to you (i.e. I don’t want to go to school, etc.). My suggestion to you is to schedule a meeting with your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Her teacher might have some insight on your child and if she doesn’t maybe the two of you can devise a plan to help your daughter. Remember, your daughter’s teacher and you are a team. If the teacher doesn’t think that way I would suggest getting her in another classroom.

Good Luck!

IMO, the emphasis at this point(grade 2) should be on reading, writing, and math. I think all of the extra work is putting too much pressure on her and she's too young for that.

I don't think that any kids are bothering her. Eve's got quite a few friends. It's just the work and the teacher she doesn't like.

My second grader brings home about that much too. It is a lot and I'm starting to get the same push back......

but I remember thinking he had way too much homework in grade school - maybe not as much in the second grade, but they really piled it on starting in third or fourth. He had an assignment almost every evening. And yes, his school work has always been more advanced than mine was. I didn't have a problem with that. The thing that annoyed me was they taught my son these weird, complicated methods - or maybe they just gave them different names - that made it so I had trouble helping him. I'd get all hung up on what the hell they were thinking and why they wanted him to do it that way instead of the way I learned it. Either that or I didn't get the point of the exercise.

One day - in the second grade, as I recall - he brought home this paper with a story about some animals trying to order a pizza only they couldn't remember the phone number of the pizza place. There was a partial number, and the exercise was to guess the rest of it based on the pattern. I wonder how many of those kids still think you can guess phone numbers that way.

Different nation...but you know.

Your child may have some learning disabilites. I am no expert...this is just going on personal experience. Get her checked out...or take other DUer advice that is more qualified.