Do most school age kids have any real interest what is being taught in school? (college, high school)

[total_genius]

My brothers son is a straight A Student in High School but when I asked him what his favorite classes were, he said none of them. He said even though most of his friends were like him, and getting A's and B's, the actual time in class and studying were painful and boring..

He is only getting good grades and studying the class material because he wants to keep his parents happy and get into a good college and be successful in life.

I followed up in my question by asking him again if any of the classes he is taking were of interest and he repeated his answer of NO!

What a sad state of affairs. It must be tough for the teachers to speak to kids all day who only pay attention because they want good grades but have no interest in what was being said.

Were you actually interested in the subjects taught at school? How about your kids?

[TouchOfWhimsy]

I was interested in a few classes at the high school level: Public Speaking, some English classes, and some Science classes. I was not interested in the least in Chemistry or Physics, but still got As in the classes. Some of the books I was forced to read in English class were painfully boring, and to be honest, I relied on Cliff's Notes. (Not having read Catch-22 has not impacted my life in a negligible way, contrary to the opinion and advice of my 11th grade English teacher.) I thought that History was awful and boring, but as an adult I now know that it's fascinating... it's just that the textbooks and methods of teaching were awful and boring.

My own kids homeschool, and we follow an interest-led method, so no, they don't have to suffer with much boredom, though I imagine my 7 year old won't find learning the rules of grammar scintillating and exciting. It's my opinion that learning to read, write, and do basic math are not optional, boring or not. (Though there are ways of teaching that are not as boring as others!) Learning science and history from a textbook, however, is a travesty for bright and eager children... it just dampens their desire to delve into subjects that they would LOVE to learn about!

[golfgal]

I think that is more teenager talk then anything. Most kids think school is 'boring' or they never 'do' anything but if you ask the right questions you will find they DO have an interest in what is being taught and they ARE doing things in school. No, they aren't going to like everything but that is life too. Most students will have a favorite subject. I think your nephew is more the exception then the rule when it comes to not liking anything in school.

[hnsq]

School? I think my job is pretty boring pretty often, but I still choose to show up every day. This doesn't exactly change as you get older...

[Tricky D]

I only went to school because I was afraid of being unemployed.
I've always gotten good grades because I was a perfectionist; only the grades mattered but I didn't really learn anything.
The truly valuable things I learned, I learned outside school.

[SmerkyGrl]

I was pretty interested in my art and English classes. Biology was always something looked forward to too. I think school was still a good experience for me, not for the enjoyment, but for the way it paved to me exploring the basic topics further. For instance, I was bored to tears at all history classes but over the last few years, I'd began to explore World History in much more depth due to an unexpected spark of interest. Now, as I go through the books, I have a basic understanding of what is going on and I think "ohhh yeaaah I remember learning about that".

I don't think it needs to be so much as an enjoyment (though that would be a plus) as it is a necessity.

[MinnesotaMarvin]

Well I'm a high school senior and I certainly don't. I receive steady A's and B's only because it's not that hard, and because like Tricky D, I don't want to be a hobo. I have plans to go to college after high school.

The classes are just boring and the teacher's often put too much stress on the material. It seems like they always think their subject is just profound (which makes sense since they chose to teach it for a living), and for the year they try to make every one of their students think that way. I don't really like that.

The most fun part about school is just talking to your friends.

[kimba01]

When you hear a student speaking about a good teacher, it is usually one that finds a way to take an otherwise boring (history, math...)subject and turn it into one that grabs their interest and keeps it. There is more than one way to teach a given subject. I have had boring teachers teaching history and interesting teachers teaching history and I can tell you I retained much more in the latter. If kids are falling asleep in your class you need to figure out a way to keep them awake. Some teachers just come in and put their time in and leave. (not that I am blaming the teachers, there are equally or more students that won't be interested in anything)

[cpg35223]

What the heck does a high school student know about what is important in life?

Heck if high schools only taught what high school students wanted to know about, then it would be a steady diet of classes about video gaming, music, and how to coax a member of the opposite sex into performing the humpalumpadingdong with you.

I hated math. Despised it, in fact. Funny thing is, I use algebra every day of my life.

[nitokenshi]

I liked my cooking class. That was about it.