School is filled with academic rigors, from homework to class assignments. If your child is at all overwhelmed by the subject matter or bored with it, school can quickly become a major source of resentment for them. If this is a problem, engage with your child. You can make the coursework less intimidating and more interesting by lending your own smarts and experience to help make the subjects come alive. From helping your child with an essay, to taking them to the local museum, to nurturing their views on art and politics, there is so much you can do to bring their workload into perspective. And if your child is studying at a level beyond your ability, consider a tutor.
Some classrooms are ill-suited to learning. The teacher may have trouble enforcing order or may simply not be very good at teaching. A single mismanaged class can ruin an entire day--especially if the subject matter is already difficult. If you suspect your child is harboring negative attitudes toward a specific class rather than school itself, invite them to bring their troubles to you in a heart-to-heart discussion. If the complaints are legitimate, then you can have a talk with the teacher, press the school to transfer your child to a different class, or conceivably you could move your child to another school altogether. Prior to taking any such steps, however, you have an opportunity to teach your child that, if they are projecting their own problems onto the classroom or the teacher, then their problems will travel with them no matter which class or school they attend.
It wouldn't be hard to imagine that other kids are the source of the majority of your child's problems at school. Children form elaborate social structures among themselves, complete with all of the cruelty that we adults are capable of, but none of the mercy or diplomacy. If your child is socially awkward at school, feeling left out or bullied, or, conversely, pressured by the demands of being popular, the most important thing you can do is give your child a place to vent and talk out their frustrations. These rants may sometimes result in solutions, and they also provide a teachable moment for you to educate your child about social interaction. If nothing else, give your child a safe and tranquil environment at home so that they can relax and decompress.
Children follow the lead of their parents. Even the unhappy kids have at least one or two classes they like. Invite your child to share his or her positive experiences at school with you by making yourself approachable. Take an interest in what interests them. If you're excited about your child's school life, it will help him or her to be excited about it, as well.