Many of today’s children do not endorse that they like school or that they want to go to school. At my office I have not had many children tell me they like school past age 7. Children and teens are in school for most of their waking hours (35 hours plus per week) from ages 4-18. How they feel about where they are most of their days effects how they feel in general.
Here are some ways to start fixing this:
1. Collect Data from students 2x per year, including:
a. How much do you like school? 1-9
b. How much do you want to go to school? 1-9
c. What could make going to school better for you?
2. Encourage Flexibility in Schools with Policies and Regulations
a. Allow students to choose their classes and allow them to choose to be in classes and lunch with their friends.
b. Allow for changing classes or sections if they are near a bully or have a teacher that they do not jive with.
c. Allow for other small but meaningful ways to be flexible (one small example: allowing a child that is having trouble in the hallway to leave class 4 minutes before the bell rings so they can transition to their next class without trouble).
3. Provide a Wellness Zone
a. Provide a calming place to take a break with supervision as needed.
b. Children could access this whenever needed, taking a break, and returning to class when they feel ready to learn.
4. Make school look like home (warm, inviting colors, plants)
5. Make students understand that we value them no matter what (no matter the academic grades or their behaviors
Here are some ways to start fixing this:
1. Collect Data from students 2x per year, including:
a. How much do you like school? 1-9
b. How much do you want to go to school? 1-9
c. What could make going to school better for you?
2. Encourage Flexibility in Schools with Policies and Regulations
a. Allow students to choose their classes and allow them to choose to be in classes and lunch with their friends.
b. Allow for changing classes or sections if they are near a bully or have a teacher that they do not jive with.
c. Allow for other small but meaningful ways to be flexible (one small example: allowing a child that is having trouble in the hallway to leave class 4 minutes before the bell rings so they can transition to their next class without trouble).
3. Provide a Wellness Zone
a. Provide a calming place to take a break with supervision as needed.
b. Children could access this whenever needed, taking a break, and returning to class when they feel ready to learn.
4. Make school look like home (warm, inviting colors, plants)
5. Make students understand that we value them no matter what (no matter the academic grades or their behaviors