What to do when you hate school

Have you got fed up at any time and shouted, "I hate school, and I'm not going back!" Well if you have, don’t worry, it happens to a lot of children. Many of us go through these phases and usually this feeling doesn't last long.

Have you got fed up at any time and shouted, "I hate school, and I'm not going back!" Well if you have, don’t worry, it happens to a lot of children. Many of us go through these phases and usually this feeling doesn't last long.

Going to school is a very important part of our life. It is in school that we learn most of the things that we depend on later in life. Though we may not realize it, almost every subject is teaching us something about the world we live in, life itself or our own selves. We also get the opportunity to build friendships that sometimes last our whole lives. The school is our first experience with the world outside our family and if we don’t like going to school, we need to do something about it. 

For many children, going to school feels so stressful that they worry a lot and this affects their bodies too. They have headaches or stomach aches. They may feel like there are ‘butterflies’ in their stomach or feel like vomiting too. Some children have difficulty sleeping too. Not having enough sleep makes them feel irritable and tired during the day.

Feeling tired makes the day at school even worse.

Getting ready in the morning becomes a difficult routine when we feel stressed out. We find it difficult to get out of bed, rush through every thing and finally miss the school bus too! Staying home may seem like a good thing to do, but then going to school the next day becomes a lot more difficult. There are lessons and notes to catch up on and doubts about lessons that we will feel shy to ask and so on.

If you really do have a problem going to school it is time you stopped and asked yourself the real reason for this. Maybe it is because some bully is bothering you at school or in the school bus? Perhaps it is because of some children you don’t like to hang out with or maybe you have a tough time getting along with your teacher. Feeling that you are different from others and feel like a freak or not having friends in school could be other reasons for this stress.

Sometimes it's a problem with learning in class and the regular classwork. Maybe you feel the subjects are too easy and feel bored. Or maybe it is too hard, or you feel you are not as smart as the other kids. It could be that reading is difficult for you and you're expected to do a lot of it. You may be afraid of getting farther and farther behind, and fear that you'll never catch up.

Don’t worry, whatever the reason is for you to not like school, you can work on it and handle your problem. To start with you need to understand that you are not the only one who feels such things and faces such problems. So you can talk to someone about your problems with going to school and ask for advice. Your mom, dad, relative, teacher, or counselor at school will be able to give you good advice. It's especially important to tell an elder if you are being bullied or hurt by someone physically.

Another way of dealing with this situation is to write a daily journal or diary. You can write in a diary or any notebook. This will help you see your own problem in a better way. It will help you let out the emotions that are unexpressed. And if you don’t want to you don’t have to show it to others.

If the problem you have is with a particular subject, you can ask the teacher for help. Many times the teachers don’t know that a child has not understood something till they ask them. Ask for help and the teacher can help you. If you have trouble in more subjects you can ask the class teacher or school counselor to help. Don’t let the problem trouble you for too long before you ask for help. The sooner you get help the better. You know that it is much easier to catch up with one chapter than have to study the whole book in a short time!

A few steps in time will help you overcome your problems to liking school and you can enjoy your experience at school. So remember the next time you feel that you don’t like school, you can try to write down everything you don't like about school. Then stop for while and think up a list of all the good things you enjoy about school. Yes it could even be recess, lunch and playtime with your friends!

What do we do with the-don’t-like list? We take steps to get around each point on that list. Like for instance, we would make sure we do our homework in time so we feel more confident in class. Perhaps we can start improving some skill or talent we have so we can show others what we are capable of. We could try making friends with someone, even if it’s someone new. That will help us feel better and less alone. We could help someone else who has a problem and help them feel better, it would make us feel good too. We could join some new activity group or club and meet new friends there.

Some things in the list may take some time to work out like handling matters concerning a bully or learning to read well. Don’t worry, you can encourage yourself thinking that you are doing something about it and in time everything will work out just fine. Remember that you can change everything that stresses you into something that makes you feel good.  You just have to try and give yourself some time!