To be fed up hearing "oh s(he) is just bored at school" re badly behaved children?

[Caz10]

Met friends of DH today, they have a little girl in Yr2, I don't see them often and just asked how she was doing at school for a c bit of crap chat...anyway apparently she's been in constant trouble, letters and phone calls home all term etc etc - but of course it is "just because she's bored at school"

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Disclaimer - I am a primary teacher!

What s wrong with a whole week of pirates. Under the new pilot schemes of reverting to project work it is not uncommont o spend a term on one topic. For example the Y1 class I work in are doing the Rainforest this half term. We have read several books, fiction and non fiction, have learnt about different animals, wrote illeteration poems, learnt about speach marks, doine counting in various steps using frogs on lilypads, done ranforest pictures and writing in ICT, done African drumming in music, visited Tropical World for enhancement, and alsorts of links throughout the curriculum. What is to get bored about?

Grrr, indeed. Bored has many different meanings to a child: e.g. this work is going over my head and I can't be bothered to listen; I wish I was out swapping football cards; I know this already (then they miss the bit they don't know); what's that old bat going on about?; my pencil needs sharpening and I want to do it NOW! etc, etc.

I wish parents would stop defining the child's 'bored' in the same way as their own. It is even more annoying when the parents come in to tell the teacher (do they realise how many hours we spend planning and thinking about how to make the lessons interesting for the least and most able?) that their child is 'bored'. These parents invariably think it's because their child is 'too bright', and as a previous poster has said, a 6 or 7 year old has a lot to learn, whatever way you look at it.

Agree that lots of people think their children as 'very bright' and they must be bored. But sometime they are just a bit lazy. And other times they genuinely are under challenged. Parents should ask for more challenging work and if things improve, they were bored/understretched, if not - then more likely to be unfocused/lazy.

I think it is a shame, but a reality, that a teacher can only do so much tailoring of the curriculum with 20-30 children. It's what you need to accept when you send your children into the school system.

There is so much that a parent can do to make things more interesting -e.g. make game s etc on teh topic area, research and act out the topic etc etc.

YANBU

The badly behaved because they are "bright" tend to be arrogant kids who think they know it all.

I have had two parents tell me their children misbehave because they are bored. Funnily enough they have had the same teachers as both my dc's who have turned out just as bright, but are described by all their teachers as having a love of learning. DD is one of those children who is far too quick for her own good. Her teacher understands that she has understood everything long before the majority of the class and doesn't need it explaining more than once. The worst of her behavior is chatting a little too much.

They boys misbehave when they don't have an excuse to be bored ie cub/scout camp. Overheard one of them telling another boy "lets go and see what we can go do to annoy the adults

He has since moved school to where I know a TA and she says he is not that bright, just obnoxious, unfortunately his mum doesn't see it like that and its always someone else's fault that he gets in trouble.

The other boy was in ds's class and he was constantly in trouble, but again his mum was always making excuses. He told her they hadn't done any history in year 6 (this boys particular interest, but my ds has bought home a work he had done on Mott and Bailey castles. The teacher had written on DS's work thanks for taking so much interest, wwhich I think said it all.

YANBU Parents who excuse bad behaviour by saying their child is bored are undermining the teacher and teaching their child that being discruptive is acceptable. Teachers can't be perfect and address each child's exact needs in every subject at every point, neither can they always reliably assess who's to blame in fall outs, just as parents with our own children don't always know who's at fault. Funnily enough the kids don't always give an unbiased view of what's gone on at school, but so often parents go wading in slagging teachers off for this or that.

The other thing that bored pupils sometimes struggle with is that no matter how amazing and exciting the lesson, there is still only one teacher and possibly a TA for 30 children.
So you don't get the immediate feedback, approval and general interaction that mummy and daddy and granny and UncleTomCobbley can give you at home.
I've known Y4-6 pupils that still talk over other children, push what they've done in front of your face even if you are talking with another child and struggle hugely with the concept of having a portion of the teacher's time. Or monologue (not SEN) because what they are expounding on is something they feel everyone should be interested in.
Or rush work when working independently, Finished!
Where are the connectives? adverbs? Extended sentences? Wit?
Finished, bored now.

"while I accept that I am a minority, I do think that the educational system is set up to bore a lot kids out of their minds and to squash their natural curiosity."

Depends on the child, my dc's natural curiosity certainly hasn't been dented. From their reports and parents evening the teachers seem to love their enthusiasm. DS's RE teacher said he would love to teach him for history and his history teacher said his enthusiasm fo
for the subject is infectious.
All DD's primary teachers use her to bounce off from to liven up the class.

"while I accept that I am a minority, I do think that the educational system is set up to bore a lot kids out of their minds and to squash their natural curiosity."

Don't think you're up with current educational methods. All current thinking encourages child-led learning; outdoor learning; group and partner discussion,etc. We CERTAINLY aren't trying to squash natural curiosity.

Another perspective. We found out at the very end of Y2 that DS3 had been sat outside the Head's room all term for being disruptive (read "talking too much"). No communication about this from school at all, despite both parents doing drop off and pick up, and older DS in school.

Cue mad panic to find new school. Every one we called- without exception- said "he's bored". Teacher's words, not parents. Moved him to new school for Y3 and no more trouble for remainder of primary.

There are crap schools as well as crap parents.

I am sure there are crap schools, but I still wouldn't accept crap behaviour from my daughter. She was also sat on her own- not because she had misbehaved but because they were too lazy to reorganise her class to a classroom with disabled. No doubt both crap and illegal. I still expect better from her.

Is it bad behaviour if an otherwise sensible girl turns the loose taps in the girls toilets around to face the wall? My friend's DD (aged7) did this - my response ... 'she must be bored' .

Totally agree with Cory.
It's such an easy catch all excuse... does it come from the parents?
I've just checked with dh and we don't think either of our boys have ever said they are bored.

We don't 'do' bored in our house. DD is therefore fine with the work at school. She's bright as a button, is now 8 and enjoys helping the other kids who are struggling a bit.

I think boredom is good for kids...teaches them what they need for the real world.

I think as an excuse for poor behaviour, it's crap. Not a logical excuse even. If everyone who was bored behaved badly every office in the land would be full of reprobates and folks who were constantly in trouble.

Mind you...thinks back to when I was in the Civil Service...mmm...maybe that argument has better legs than I thought it did

Not an expression we'd ever used though (or even considered, come to that), having already had 3 children go through primary.

surely though even if child is bored they should still be able to behave - ie not get into trouble constantly.. have a child in my childs class like this who disrupts the class hugely to the detriment of other kids education... this child is very bright but as far as I can see is incapable of behaving well so while very bright academically, in terms of general behaviour is quite behind... but attitude is "oh its because it's so boring, xx is so intelligent.." etc etc Have to say I also see plenty bright equally intelligent children who can behave...

YANBU-most children find school boring at some stage. Maybe it's the discipline she has a problem with.

YANBU. I have found that children who claim boredom are often finding the activities challenging, either socially (expectation of co-operative or buddy work for example) or academically and aren't able to take their work to the next level, looking for deeper meanings, making a more considered response, synthesising their responses and so on. A bright child in a child centred learning environment can find interest in anything.

agree with delphine

""while I accept that I am a minority, I do think that the educational system is set up to bore a lot kids out of their minds and to squash their natural curiosity."

Don't think you're up with current educational methods. All current thinking encourages child-led learning; outdoor learning; group and partner discussion,etc. We CERTAINLY aren't trying to squash natural curiosity."

yes, of course, if anyone has a different opinion of the school system, they obviously are not up to date with current methods.

WHAT-EVER!

I had to repeat 18 months of my education because we moved country and I was made to go back with my age group. Oh how bored was I .

Was I misbehaved? Not at all. I was an irritating smart-arsed goody-goody.

IMO it is more about the personality of the child and the attitudes that they have learned at home

Glad it's not just me then! Knowing the couple in question I think muddleduck may have it spot on I'm afraid...

It really gets my back up when kchildrens behaviour is put down to being:

Bored
Tired
Too many sweets

Blah, blah, blah...

Yes, perhaps as a toddler and possibly Foundation Stage but my DS is nearly 8 and when he acts up it is nothing more than bad behaviour I am not going to fluff it up as something else.

YANBU.
Maybe true in a few cases (and even then parents who don't allow their children to go on about being bored, and CRUCIALLY don't go on about it themselves, can usually get good behaviour out of them).
Simple bad behaviour in the majority of cases I think.

Oh no, Oliverbolliver. You go on about classes being 'boring' and say 'WHAT-EVER!'
You're a lost cause I'm afraid.

I was bored in school, however I was never in trouble. I just sat quietly and day dreamed.

My mum always said "only stupid people get bored". What a load of nonsense.

Why aren't they allowed to be bored? Just because the subject interests the teacher does not mean it has to interest the pupil. We are all different. We all have different interests. Are these pupils forced to stay in school because that is what the parents want? Some people/children/pupils are more academically minded and find it easy. Some people are not, however they are good at other things. Just because I don't find politics as interesting as my husband does not mean that I am better than him or that he is better than me. It makes us different. He is the academic one, and I am the drop out. However I am the main breadwinner and have been for a good few years now.
Bah humbug.

It is late (for me) and I am not even sure I have read everyone's posts correctly, so feel free to ignore, I am not trying to offend anyone.