"We hate questions at the end of the chapter. Can't we do something different?"
" Do you know what it feels like to have 2 hours of homework after sitting in class all day, usually without any PE?"
" I'm nervous enough about the test without you making me more scared."
" Copying definitions-- what's your point?"
" We need PE EVERY DAY!"
" Not knowing what to write about when you give a writing assignment."
" We come to school some days in a bad mood, too."
" Please don't scream at us."
" We don't understand the social studies book very well."
" Lunch is the only time we get to talk to our friends and then you take it away with silent lunch. That's rotten."
" A car ran over my cat this morning and I'm trying hard not to cry."
(Actual quotes from NC 5th Graders, 2000)

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• "...that I am loved."
• God
• The love and the support of our family "Your family is always going to be there when no one else is."
• "I need attention."
• "Having my own personal space."
• "That I can understand what my teacher is talking about."
• Being respected
• Staying out of trouble
• My locker
• Moms, dads, "... and shockingly, sisters and brothers!"
• "Friends and family that come in and out of our lives"
• Pets "My cat Topaz. He is very dear to me. He always curls up and sleeps with me."
• A clean home "Everyone loves everyone in my home. It is relaxed and you can turn on music without being yelled at. It's not the book's cover; it's the pages inside."
• Belongings "They keep us from dying of boredom and doing anything stupid."
• "My favorite teddy bear, Cuddles."
• Making good grades
• A good clean school
• Time to talk, relax, and have fun
• Time to myself to pray and think
• Not getting grounded
• Junk food
• The recliner
• Passing notes
• Sitting at lunch with friends
• Erasers
• Books "...so you can read and learn."
• A clean room at home
• Video games
• Art, drawing
• "Fun is something every kid wants! It is something everybody needs, but most of all family fun."
• Music
• The lunch ladies
• "The way my hair looks"
• "The Internet because it links us to people, cultures and beliefs all over the world."
• Clothes, shoes
• When parents get on your nerves
• Sports
• Collections
• "Having teachers that care."
• Keeping up with your stuff at school
• EOG
• "I want to pass and go on to the next grade."
• Writing Test
• Trustworthiness
• "If I didn't have friends, I would hate school."
• "You can never have too many friends."
• Having your own phone line
• Popularity, reputation
• Safety
• "Boys, cause you can't live with them but you can't live without them."

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• "...a teacher that is easy to relate to"
• "...a teacher that is open minded and cool"
• Sitting beside best friends in class
• Acceptance
• "We don't have to read out loud."
• Fun and laughter
• "We know we can speak out what we think and ask questions."
• A good atmosphere "...a cozy room where you can work, but are still comfortable."
• "...allows us to talk in a tolerable voice."
• Exciting and fast; full of energy
• "I feel safe."
• "We get to draw and construct objects with boxes and cardboard."
• "...not too easy but not too complicated either."
• "The teacher explains things by using examples so it's easier to understand."
• "We can chew gum and pass notes, and she doesn't SEE!"
• Not too much homework
• "Having a room that is specially made for that subject, like a science lab."
• Having choices
• Class discussions that you can relate to
• They (classrooms) are quiet. There are no troublemakers.
• Teacher makes learning fun, "...and you learn while having fun."
• "When I talk to the teacher I'm not scared about looking her straight in the eye and talking. I feel comforted in her classroom."
• Clean classrooms (spacious, bright and sunny classrooms)
• Classrooms that are not too cool or too hot
• "We feel special."
• Art activities
• Class work that is fun
• "...a nice warm teacher who has a voice as sweet as honey."

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• "The teacher is sarcastic and the atmosphere feels hostile."
• "She goes way too fast on lessons where you can't understand them and it really seems like she wants to go home. She needs some decorations for her room."
• "The mood is tense. I have to sit straight up and answer her fast."
• "She (the teacher) yells a lot because we don't always do things right."
• "When one student makes a mistake the whole class has to suffer."
• "It is hard and you have to remember all these dates and people and stuff about history."
• "It's boring. We're always taking notes or doing hard, hard worksheets."
• "We have to go up to the board. That's awful!"
• "The teacher is always giving a lecture about why we should listen and be quiet."
• "The teacher is always trying to talk over somebody."
• "I know the teacher hates me."
• "The teacher I just do not think is fair and some of the students are constantly getting innocent people in trouble."
• "The teacher is always yelling, but never explaining the work. It is way too confusing."
• "Gosh! They (the teachers) can be so mean with voices that cackle like a witch."
• "I just don't like it when it's too hard or too boring. I don't know why I do not like math!"
• "Rude teacher and rude students. ..never working in groups."
• "There's fussing all the time."
• "They don't have anything on the walls."
• "After you get done with the work, you just sit there and stare at the walls."
• "All you do is copy pages and pages of notes."
• "You never get any time to communicate with others."
• "...out of control kids that talk back to teachers..."
• "The teacher gives us tons and tons of work, but won't help us out at all!"
• "I sit there and listen to the teacher explaining how to do it (math) but I don't understand all the numbers and the problems."
• "The teacher doesn't answer your questions."
• "The teacher is nice and all, but goes too fast for me to understand anything."
• "Sometimes the furniture is arranged in a way that makes us uncomfortable."
• "Not having some of my friends in class with me."
• "Some classrooms make you feel uncomfortable as soon as you walk in. Or even being yelled at for speaking my thoughts or for not getting something (understanding) what the teacher is teaching."
• "It is dull and slow, with lots of work. The teacher is good but the room is sterile. There are no friends, just a bunch of loud mouths in the room."
• "Having hard seats and no foot room is a real problem."
• "Math. It is just at the wrong time of day for me."
• "It is too harsh and we feel like the teacher hates us. There is too much homework, too much classwork and we never get to have an activity."
• "The teacher is very loud which makes it uncomfortable and hard to think. The people in this class are always trying to start a conversation about something completely off the subject."
• "The way the teacher represents the subject. Either they ramble on about nothing important or the teacher really doesn't understand what they are teaching or they don't know how to do it."
• "Gym is my not-so-favorite class because we hardly every do anything except play basketball."

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