teacher girl, I think the reason the kids "cease to see the fun" is because they are now being presssured to do more rigorous school work earlier because of NCLB mandates. I am a high school Bio I teacher, and many of my students are not exposed to the full area of Biology. I no longer teach the plants and animals like we were all taught in school. I now spend 75 % of the year teaching the material that the legislature and department of education say the students must know to get into college. Many of my rural students are not going to college. Instead they are going to vo-tech, or will be farmers, welders, etc...
I believe our system now makes the schools fail. If we are allowed to teach a more well rounded curridulum, then we will see success for future students and they will see the fun again.
The parents, and community must also rise up and help the schools get the needed materials for expanded learning. Many want to complain that education costs too much, but they don't realize that the material costs keep escalating along with everything else. A new Biology I textbook now costs around $60 per student, then calculate the cost of lab materials and you begin to see the cost of education.

I will now get off my box and let all you figure this out.