2nd grade son is bored in school

amother

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 11:12 pm

My son happens to be very smart. Not a crazy genius but he taught himself how to read and write English and he's reading above grade level (his school doesn't teach English). He can do addition, subtraction and multiplication. He's an auditory learner so any audio tape or story he has memorized. I've never once done kriah or chumash homework with him.... he literally doesn't do homework.. He reads fluently and knows the chumash inside out.

He goes to a good school, has a good class and so far has been happy. This year the grade is in the basement. No windows, no sunlight, the classroom isn't decorated with posters. It's heartbreaking to see personally but most other parents don't seem to mind. There's not even a clock on the wall (I bought him a watch). Okay thats already beyond my control, this is where the school puts 2nd grade.

The rebbi is an old school, older teacher. Competent, a good role model, etc. He talks slowly and teaches old school style. My son after the first day said that he was bored. The rebbi says the pasuk once, he gets it immediately, but then the rebbi repeats it multiple times. BTW this is officially the smart class (or at least one of the smart ones).

He wishes he could go to the parallel class where the rebbi is young and exciting. I told him he could but then his classmates will change. (I also think it's a less academic class.) He didn't want that. My husband thinks he should stay in his good class of nice boys and not ping pong back and forth.

He's a good boy but he's already starting drama about not wanting to go to school. He doesn't want to go on Sundays- he's the only one in the family who goes. In the past years I've been very lax about Sunday attendance but now I'm trying to start him off on the right foot. He constantly says he's bored.

I feel so bad to send him off to a basement where he sits all day and waits for the day to be over. I'm not projecting my feelings on him at all. Overall he loves his friends, learning new things, etc. But I see that he's not stimulated. it's maybe 2 weeks into the school year and I can't bear to see the year wasted.

I don't know where to begin here. The rebbi is nice but I can't really see him learning new tricks. Sure, I can go into the classroom and physically hang up posters, but how much can that help already. The rebbi doesn't even have a projector or know how to use a computer - the previous 2 years rebbi always had slideshows. It's just frontal style teaching all day unless they join another class for an activity. He can give my son busy work maybe to do on the side? Like English meforshim he can read? They haven't learned rashi yet inside, it's only 2nd grade.

Older imas, what do you think?

kiwi strawberry

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 1:15 am

I think you should think about switching classes more seriously. The right rebbi can make all the difference. I am in a similar situation with my son, he had a very old rebbi last year (who everyone raved about!) in the best class etc, but he was very bored, was really not bringing home anything and I don't mean physically but in terms of sharing what he learned. And this is a kid who loves learning, loves to learn new things and talk about it. This year is the first year he has a young rebbi which I thought all along is what he needed, young and energetic, has a thousand creative things going on in the classroom, and bH my son is loving it so much!! On the first day he had more to say about what he learned in that one day than he did the entire last year put together. So yes he will have new classmates obviously but maybe it's worth it. Maybe you can try it out as a trial basis and see how it goes after a week or whatever.

Speak to the menahel and tell him a lot of what you said here, how he is bH very smart and coming home bored to tears to the extent he is saying he doesn't want to go to yeshiva etc. And you dont want this to fester and become a "thing". Meaning this is serious and needs to be addressed right away. You want him to love going and be happy to go but he is so understimulated. See if they will take it seriously and have a conversation with you about it.

Hatzlacha!!! You should be able to help him find the right place and he should be happy and give you tons of nachas!!

amother

Sand

Mon, Sep 23 2024, 1:38 am

B"H for smart children! I have a few of those and others who struggle. I would talk to the rebbe, or have your husband do so, and explain that your son chaps the lesson right away and is bored the rest of the time. If we don't want to turn him off learning or to become a behavioral problem then he needs to be given additional activities to do in class. Whether that's extra worksheets or going deeper into the chumash by learning Rashi or another perush or allowing him to read quietly, something needs to be done. He can't be the first bright boy that the rebbe has taught in all his years. If the rebbe won't work with you, then it's time to go to the menahel and ask for help either with the current rebbe or to switch classes.