The moment children start to dislike school

Exact moment children ‘stop enjoying school’ revealed in new study

This is from today's British newspaper, The Independent.
I am including a partial translation (via Google Translate).

The moment when the joy of going to school diminishes in the educational process of children (in the UK) has been revealed by researchers.

According to a study by the Commission on Engagement and Leading Indicators, students' enjoyment of school life drops sharply in the first year of secondary education. This is also evident from the significant decline in enjoyment levels generally reported between Year 6 and Year 7, when most students transition to secondary school.

The survey results revealed a worrying trend. Year 7 students reported a consistent decline in enjoyment of learning, confidence, agency, and even safety between the autumn and spring terms. This decline makes the transition experience for many young people a cause for concern.

On average, students in England answered about 4.6 out of 10 to the question, 'Do you enjoy going to school in the morning?'

According to the survey, the average score for enjoyment of school life is about 6 in Year 6, but drops to 3.8 in Year 7 and 3.2 in Year 8.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education (DfE) stated: 'We are determined to give young people growing up in this country the best start through our transformation plans.'

An independent, expert-led review of the curriculum and assessment will ensure that all children can enjoy a cutting-edge school life and be prepared for work and life.

The government will work to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure that all students can succeed and thrive at school, including through the expansion of mental health support.'

Somehow, it ends with pleasant-sounding words.

Well, this is something that families with children of this age have likely sensed, even without a study.

Of course, there are children who dislike school even in elementary school, but
since the number of children who refuse to go to school increases significantly at this age,
I think this gap is actually quite substantial.

One of the reasons why going to school becomes painful is
meaningless restrictions.

Meaningless school rules, which were often a topic of conversation
when I was young.

I remember there were schools that even had rules written down about everything
from hair length to the length of toilet paper used in the restrooms.

At the British secondary school my daughter attended (which has an age structure similar to a combination of Japanese junior high and high school),
there was, of course, a mandatory school uniform, as well as rules for sock color,
shoe color and design, skirt length (is that universal?),
mandatory blazer wearing (the school would send out a notice only on particularly hot days saying it was not required),
specified colors for writing utensils, and if you forgot even one item like an eraser, ruler, scissors, or compass, you would be subject to detention,
and for using the restroom during class, even in an emergency, you couldn't go unless you had applied for a 'toilet pass' in advance (in short, you need a reason to go to the bathroom. I think there is only one reason to want to go to the bathroom).
And so on.

Lateness and absences were strictly checked, and if you were even one minute late, you got 30 minutes of detention.
At that school, there was a large-scale detention held once a week,
(especially for students with serious penalties, 1 hour of detention),
and according to the data I received, it seems there were 111 students in detention on one particular day.

Regarding the securing of space and personnel to carry out such detentions,
the school, far from thinking it is a waste, believes it is necessary education,
and repeats bad habits that have absolutely no effect.

This school is operated by an organization independent of the government called an Academy, and is under the management of the local authority.

Because it operates in a somewhat unique way and is, in a sense, a business, there is a tendency to prioritize numbers over the children, and my experience was the worst.
My experience was the worst.

The academization of public schools is happening in both elementary and secondary schools, and I feel that schools that are particularly troubled tend to be the targets of academization.
(In fact, that was the case for the school my daughter attended.)

Based on my own memories of moving from elementary to junior high school 40 years ago,
I think I can say that the first year of junior high was the most boring year ever.

The junior high school I attended required everyone to join a sports club,
and there was no system for exemption unless you had some kind of illness or similar reason.

I wonder, is it still like that today?

A sound mind resides in a sound body, was it?

It was an era when it was firmly believed that such slogans would raise children in a healthy way.

I chose the volleyball club, which my mother had been making me do since elementary school.

I didn't have anything else I wanted to do,
and in the first place, I hated sports.

As soon as club activities started, a life immersed in club activities began, with morning practice, after-school practice, and weekend matches.

There was no time to play freely.

I didn't care that the teachers were being dragged into club activities without pay.

More than that, I wanted time to live like a child.

Furthermore, there was corporal punishment.

I was prone to being a target because I took a particularly rebellious attitude.

To my surprise, my mother,
"Please be stricter with her!"
said something like that to the advisor with a straight face.

At that point, I thought I couldn't trust anyone anymore.

For me, freedom is more important than anything else,
and if I trace the origin of that, it leads back to the fact that I am neurodivergent.

Looking back on this now, my mother often said to me,
"You always go at your own pace, don't you."

I didn't think deeply about this when I was a child, but,
in short, doing things at my own timing
is the most important thing for me,
and when this is restricted, I immediately feel distressed.

That is why, as an adult, whenever I have a deadline,
I would find it absolutely unbearable.

I was the type who finished summer homework fairly diligently,
and conversely, it was impossible for me to do it all at the last minute.

This is because I knew that if the deadline were too close, I would suffer.

Besides, for me, the option of not doing homework simply did not exist.

So, when my daughter was in elementary school and said she didn't want to do her homework, yet went to school as usual, I was quite surprised at the time.

When I asked her what the teacher said when she returned,
her reply was something like, 'It's fine,' and it didn't turn into the big deal I had imagined.

I see, so it's okay.

I was nervous inside,
but nothing happened because she didn't do her homework.

Rather, I felt something like a sense of divinity in my daughter,
who had made the choice not to do homework she didn't want to do.

Where did this decisiveness come from? (lol

Even she, after moving up to secondary school,
was gradually broken down.

Since there are no club activities like in Japan, after school is free, but
it is incredibly strict.

My daughter, who was constantly masking while at school,
finally could no longer maintain that mask and became unable to go to school.

At the end of this article, they talk about government mental health support, but
it is completely useless.

There is a mental health service for children and adolescents in the UK called CAMHS,
but this is another terrible service where you never know when you will be able to access it,
and for my daughter's autism diagnosis, I believe I applied last summer,
but I still have no idea when that interview will be.

There seem to be regional differences, but a two- or three-year wait seems to be the norm.

For example, even in cases where you want a child with an eating disorder to be seen immediately,
I have heard that the only way to access CAMHS is to first go to A&E (emergency care) and get a referral from there.

By the way, A&E in the UK also takes an incredibly long time, so you have to be prepared to spend the whole day there.
(Even though you're supposed to be there for an emergency...)

So, in order to avoid having to go to the hospital,
you have to be able to protect yourself,
otherwise living in the UK becomes quite difficult.

Thanks to that, my knowledge of homeopathy has increased,
I have studied a lot about nutritional therapy,
and for now, our family manages to get by with almost no help from doctors.

I digressed.

Although it doesn't appear in this article, a major topic currently being discussed among families with children is the
Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

While what the government says in this article sounds as if they are standing by the children,
this bill is actually not about that at all;
its theme is how the government can keep children under its control.

If it passes as is, the content is terrifying.

That is why so many people are standing up now.

I hope these research results are understood correctly and used to help build schools where children can feel safe.