My son is 7 years old and he is not doing that great in school. He has 3 C's and 2 F's. His teachers wrote me a note to meet with them. In the meeting they basically told me to hold him back I thought it was volountary. She even tried to get me to sign a paper agreeing to it. I called her the following day and told her that we had 2 mor months of school left why are they just giving up on him she told me that they were doing me a courtesy to tell me that he was going to fail so that it wouldn't be a shock at the end of the year. The subject that they want to hold him back in is reading but he has a 80 in reading that is passing. I am working really hard with him to pull up the 2 F's and that I think should be acceptable. My only problem is I believe they just want to hold him back. I asked his teacher before about counciling and she kinda shrugged it off. Why couldn't they have told me sooner before now. Is there anything I can do to stop them. What about the No Child Left Behind act.
2007-03-27 04:36:15 · 6 answers · asked by michelle 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Primary & Secondary Education
No Child left Behind is reffering to the fact that children do not move on without what is "considered" the proper knowledge. It has nothing to do with whether a child is held back at school or not. You didn't mention what they two subjects that is failing are. I would try tutoring and I also suggest that you take it to the principle and the counseling. Why ask the teachers to do these things when it is your child. Take the initiative.
At the same time, what your son is telling you may not be the entire truth either. You shouldn't just blame the teachers but if, and I do say if, your son has shown no interest and believe me, I have seen students only get like a 2-3 percent in my classroom, then it doesn't matter how much the teacher tries or how much the teacher likes the student. The student will fail. You might want to learn what exactly the percentages are in the two failing classes.
I know many people, even my brother, were held back a year and everyone that I know has had no qualms about it. It's not such a bad thing.
2007-03-27 04:51:25 · answer #1 · answered by ambr95012 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Holding a child back does not hinder them- and it often improves their self-esteem, once they are around younger kids and they "know more" and have "already learned this". While you were correct to ask about counseling- they should have offerered that first and provided it to both you and your son separately- you also should not want to push your child ahead if he hasn't learned the same material as the other children in the classroom. If you do insist they place him in the next grade, and by the end of the year he still is not ready for it, it will only hurt him and damage any work that's been done so far.
2007-03-27 11:50:40 · answer #2 · answered by Shawn B 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
So your son is in first or second grade. Right? He might actually be happier if he could re-do this grade and really learn what he needs to.
When a child doesn't learn the basics, he hasn't the tools he needs to learn more. Each year becomes more difficult for him to face.
Perhaps he could become a confident student if he were able to do this grade again.
My daughter was very bright but also very young for her grade. The "very young" accounted for an immature approach to school. I just with I'd "held her back" one year so she could have had the confidence and maturity of being one of the oldest.
Try not to look at this situation as "them doing something bad to you and your son." Perhaps they are actually trying to give him a second chance.
2007-03-27 11:47:08 · answer #3 · answered by Sallal 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Holding a child back can be beneficial to him. It shows that they don't think that he's ready for the next grade and care enough to spend the extra year with him.
Which they pay for BTW.
2007-03-27 11:41:35 · answer #4 · answered by a_poor_misguided_soul 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The F's your child has been receiving certainly should have been a warning sign -- to both you and your teachers -- long before now. Thankfully, your child is very young and can be helped. But, you need to take serious measures NOW to make sure that he doesn't have to repeat this grade.
First, consider taking him to a specialized tutoring/educational center like Sylvan, Kumon or Club Z to have him:
(1) evaluated [i.e. does he have a learning disability?] and
(2) tutored up to grade level.
If you go out to Sylvan's web site, for example, you'll find plenty of information and resources for parents as well.
Second, you're going to have to make his education a priority to YOU. Too many parents depend on teachers to "teach" their kids. Sounds logical, right? Teachers teach, right? But, let's be honest. Many teachers are overworked, underpaid and often undereducated. They may have time to teach the majority of the class, but if your child is falling behind, they simply do not have the time spend one-on-one with your child to bring him up to grade level. This means that not only do you need to get your child a tutor, but you need to personally get involved to teach your child. That means helping your child with homework, drilling your child on spelling words, having your child do special assignments at home (like writing a story about a prince or basketball player), practicing math, etc. You should set aside 3 minutes to an hour for this EVERY night for this. No matter how busy you are, you should set aside time for this.
Third, I would sit down with your child's teachers and principal and tell them that you are very alarmed that your child is doing poorly. Tell them that you're taking your child to a tutoring center and that you're going to be involved EVERY DAY in his education. ASK your principal and teachers to give you specific examples of what you can do to help your son get back up to grade level before next school year. You may not like some of the advice that you're going to hear. You may not feel like you have time to do some of the things they suggest. But, if you're serious about keeping your son from repeating the grade, you need to get good advice and follow it. Repeating a grade CAN be very detrimental to a child, so make sure you're doing what you can in PARTNERSHIP with the teachers/principal. If you become adversarial with them, things will only get worse.
Fourth, talk to your son. What's going on? Is he bored? Is he really giving this his full effort? Before you conclude that the teachers are at fault, make sure that your son understands that learning is very important and that you expect him to complete his homework, study for tests and pay attention in class.
Fifth, do an "environment check." Is there anything going on at home that might distract him? You'd be surprised at how perceptive young children really are. If you're having troubles (anything from trouble at work to relationship problems, to alcohol, drugs, etc.), he may pick up on that and "check out" during his classes.
Sixth, does your son show signs of abuse or bullying? Is there a bully who has been targeting your son? Could he be a bully? Either extreme could distract him from his schoolwork. And, it never hurts to make sure that your child hasn't been abused by a family member, friend, stranger, etc. Young learners can sometimes lose interest in school when they have been emotionally, sexually, physically or verbally abused.
Remember, there's always a cause(s) for poor grades...and there's always a solution(s). I hope these suggestions at least help you down the path toward finding both a cause and a solution. The journey may not be easy, but you may find that once you find a solution, that your child's education may not be the only thing that's improved. You may also make a huge impact in his happiness and future success.
2007-03-27 12:07:23 · answer #5 · answered by theologyandotherideas 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd get some home tuition in the subjects he's failing at
2007-03-27 11:47:50 · answer #6 · answered by ~*tigger*~ ** 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋