One topic that I have had a little experience in through my Ed 115 class was whether or not kids should be held back in grades because they are not meeting the requirements of their present grade. Many teachers, parents, and school boards believe that if a child is held back in school, it affects their self esteem. I think that self esteem is important, but I also think that the education a child is receiving is important as well.
School is a place that is to give children an education and help prepare them for the future. In the movement of better education for students, I think the focus needs to be on helping our children. When a child is in 3rd grade and has a reading level of a 1st grader and a math level of a kindergarten, it is time that this child receives the help they need, even if it means repeating a grade to gain better understanding. I also think that if the problem is caught soon enough and hold them back in a lower grade, they will not have as many problems with self esteem issues as they would have in high school if they could not read. I feel that in younger grades, self esteem does not seem to be a huge issue-most kids love going to school to learn and are friends with everyone. If a child was to repeat a grade, it should be done when they are young when they would have an easy time making friends and receive the help they finally need in order to succeed in the future-a much easier time than they would have in upper elementary, middle or high school, not only with learning, but also with harassment from other students.
I realize that not all problems are caught young enough and some people have to deal with these issues the rest of their life. I would hope that if a student realizes they have a problem or a teacher recognizes that a student has a problem, that they would seek the help they need and not worry about their reputation. They need help and the sooner they receive it, the better, even if it is not in 1st or 2nd grade. No matter when, they should realize that the help they are getting will help them become successful in the long run.
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3 comments:
I agree with you... sometimes we focus too much on instant gratification (worrying that a child will feel bad about having to be held back or receiving Special Ed services) and not enough on how children will fare in the long run.
I agree with you as well. It should not be all about self-esteem, it should be about what the child is learning that is important. If they cannot grasp the concepts necessary for 3rd grade this will inevitably affect higher grades as well.
Lindsey,
The question is whether retention or holding children back helps. Common sense seems to suggest that it would but the research generally has other results. Plus, if a child isn't successful the first time through a program or a class will going through it a second assure success? I completely agree with you that the earlier we assist students with learning difficulties the better but we need to be sure that we don't create another problem with the "solution" we impose on them. This would be a good topic for a research paper to go more into the research on retention and alternative approaches to remediation of weak skills.
I enjoy reading your comments and will look forward to reading what you write in the future.
Dr. Langholz
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