Dear all, our reader is quite frustrated because her children have absolutely no interest in primary school (or never did). Are they just lazy when it comes to studying? Or is the system simply flawed? And how do other parents cope with this when they work and don’t know when or how they can – or must – practise with their children on top of everything else? She writes:
“I’ve got a question for you. I have three boys, all of whom are extremely reluctant to learn. They’re not stupid, not at all, but they just have zero motivation. The youngest is now 9, the middle one 15, and the eldest is already 22 and in vocational training, which is going well, but with all three of them it was just incredibly difficult to get them motivated to learn at all, especially in primary school.
The question that often occurs to me is: is today’s school system, including after-school care, even compatible with parents’ working lives? If the children then go to sports or other hobbies in the afternoon, when and how are they supposed to find time for studying?
Children who are reluctant to study: how can I help?
With my full-time job and the children in full-day care at OGS, we simply can’t manage to go the extra mile in the afternoons and constantly read or do maths. As a mum, I feel like a failure in this process because I feel like I always see everyone else practising and learning with their children, etc. But is that the reality? Doesn’t that sort of thing get lost in the day-to-day too?
How do other families deal with this? How do they organise themselves? With kids who don’t want to read, who aren’t interested in school… who still can’t read or write well even in Year 3. Without any reading or spelling difficulties. It’s just so incredibly frustrating and draining. Does anyone have any tips?“
