Judging Developmental Readiness

I am totally at a loss about what to do. My 10-year-old son who is in sixth grade absolutely hates school and wants to quit as soon as he can. When I ask why, all he says is that school is stupid. I suggested that he talk to a counselor, but he says he won't talk to anyone. Homework is a nightmare with him screaming and crying. On the positive side, he has a lot of friends, and my husband and I spend a lot of time doing activities with him, from movies to sports. -- Changes Needed
Answer: Your son appears to be young for his grade level. He might not be developmentally ready for the challenges that he faces in sixth grade. The first thing that you need to do is find out what his skill set is in order to see if the instruction is at the right level for him. This will tell you if he is bright and bored or lacking in the skills he needs. If it should happen that your son needs work on skills, you and your husband should work with the school to find out how to help him become more competitive at this level.
Your son definitely needs to see a counselor. Don't worry about his saying that he will not talk. What he is really saying is that the counselor will find out what is bothering him. Children in significant stress want to get better but don't know how. The counselor will know how to talk to your son and how to help him.