Why did people hate primary school?

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Probably because of the coercive learning.

I hated this.
Being forced to read set reading books in sequence.
I learned much more from doing multimedia CD ROMs at home at my own pace.
I enjoyed myself much more too: people were amazed at how enthusiastic I was and how much I learned. They couldn't believe that I'd learned things by myself without a teacher. They didn't understand where and how I could be getting all of the information from.

I wanted to do my own projects or customise the main theme to suit my abilities and tastes.
I really wanted to help other people by going off and doing my own detailed project, then reporting back. I wasn't allowed to do this though: I had to do exactly what my classmates had been told to do or else. There wasn't much room for creative interpretation or expression, apart from in art. This is why I liked art at Primary school: I could draw and interpret what I liked and no one would get mad. It was a relief not to be yelled at.

School taught a verbal writing culture.
It was a culture of worksheets, tests and tick-boxes.
I wanted to learn in a symbolic, rhythmic, musical and visual culture.
I wanted to learn in the style of the semiotic visual language and story telling that I'd seen on TV, films and cartoons.

There was a culture clash between the way that I learned in the real world and the way that they wanted me to learn at school. I learned in an associative divergent way, the school wanted me to learn in a linear sequential way. People wanted me to learn by paying attention to what the teacher said. I wanted to learn by daydreaming and visual brainstorming. I wanted to improvise music on my own: I didn't want to get into groups with other people or be forced to sight read a set song.

I wanted to learn hands on and experiment without unnecessary paperwork.
I wanted to use my senses to explore the environment: I didn't want to copy notes from the blackboard. I wanted to do sculptures and play around with materials.

I didn't want to do Maths worksheets.
I wanted to buy sweets from the shop using my pocket money.
I wanted to measure out ingredients for recipes.
I wanted to know if I'd have enough milk to pour on my cereal.
I wanted to know how big my room was and where the best place was to store my toybox.
I wanted to know how long it would take my parents to drive somewhere on holiday.
I wanted to know how to play Tetris and solve novelty puzzles.
I wanted to know how big the petrol tank in the car was and how the car worked.

I wanted flexibility. I didn't want "right" or "wrong" answers.
Those who were "right" got praised.
Those who were "wrong" got bullied by the teachers and their classmates.

Unfortunately, I was often "wrong" at school.
I was "wrong" because I refused to sit still and do what everyone else did.

Damn, now that you mention it, I was the same way. Until fifth grade, when my peers were horrible. Actually, it still holds. Primary school was great, except for my peers, not all of whom were bad. In fact some were quite nice. It was such a confusing time socially, though. Then middle school happened. I shall stop rambling.