Can my child be forced to repeat the first grade? she is currently in public schooling?

Question

Can my child be forced to repeat the first grade? she is currently in public schooling?

Answer 1

Yes, she can, but the school i taught in, it was usually not done without the parents consent.  It can cause a lot of problems between the school and the parents, but there is a reason for it, and really consider that before making any hasty decisions.  If it is due to immaturity, have her repeat, it will do a world of good.

Do you have the time to visit the school and sit in her classroom for several days, to really see what is going on?  If you do, I would highly recommend it.  Good luck!

Answer 2

It depends on your school district and state. I would schedule a meeting with the teacher, guidance counselor, and principal and take this http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/show... with you. See if you'd be aloud to do summer enrichment (don't call it homeschooling) to catch her. That's if you want her to stay in public school. If you home school her you can pass her and work with her on her level. Even catching her up in the summer is very possible. On average kids only take about 135 hours a year to learn what is taught for a year in public school.

Answer 3

Yes, she can.  Heck, my son passed it with flying colors, and due to different laws in the state we moved to, they tried to make him retake it.  (Needless to say, I pulled him and we've been homeschooling ever since.)

Schools, by their very nature, are not set up to tailor an education to a child's ability and developmental levels.  They are just held at a certain grade until they pass the skills, or they are moved along and never learn the skills.  For kids that learn at the exact pace of the lesson plans that's not a problem...but for kids that don't fit that niche, it can be harmful to their skill development.

If she's not learning well in the school system, you may want to consider homeschooling, at least for a little while.  Not all kids learn at the same pace, and that's ok.  Actually mastering the skills is not as important as the timing of the skills (i.e., how old she is when she learns them), but in a classroom, they've got to do what they can to move everyone along at the same pace.  Otherwise, nothing short of chaos would ensue.

MrZ - you're right, teachers do have a large amount of experience with handling 25-32 kids at once - but please don't insinuate that they know my child better than I do.  I highly respect teachers - I'm a teacher's kid, for crying out loud - but I take offense at your statement that they can, in every situation, do a "better" job than I can.  As much as I respect the teaching profession, that is outright false.

Schools are made for the middle-of-the-road kid, not for *every* kid.  Children aren't factory models, which as a longtime teacher, you should know.  Not every child learns at the same rate, and if a child isn't suited (at some time during their school years) for the pace and teaching style of the class, then yes - a parent can definitely do a better job.

If you, as a teacher, were willing and able to completely tailor a curriculum for every child in your class, then I would take your statement seriously.  As a homeschool parent, that is what I am able to do - tailor my son's curriculum to his needs, abilities, and learning style 100%.  As much as I respect teachers, I am also realistic in knowing that this just plain isn't feasible in a classroom.

Answer 4

Not in out public school, but if a teacher is saying they need to then why wouldn't you, especially in first grade.  So many people are starting their children in school at 4 years old or early in their 5th year, and they are not ready.  Think how much it would benefit your child to not be struggling through out her whole educational years.  It is only to their benefit to let them repeat a grade.

Answer 5

if she failed she will have to repete or go to summer school and catch up then shell be in the 2nd grade next semester

Answer 6

Yes, if she failed first, she will have to redo it without summer schooling.

Answer 7

Of course she can, if she fails. Why? Are you considering homeschooling her?

Answer 8

This entirely depends on the public school districts policy.  I'd recommend you follow their advice, but that's just me. [Please, realize that your public schools are quite highly trained professional people, and they, collectively, have 1) an incredible amount of experience in dealing with children, and 2) they have legitimate reasons for making the decisions that they do.  

Also please realize that when a teacher in a public school is dealing with 25+ students per day, all day long, day after day, that even a first year teacher has more experience with first graders than you do - unless of course, you have 25 children, all in the first grade.  And for each year of experience a teacher has, multiply 25+ times the number of years.  And that's how many children they have been responsible for.  That's one of the main advantages of teachers in schools, they have a LOT of experience in dealing with a wide variety of children at a specific age, and know what is "normal" and what is not normal.  (at about 7th grade and up to 12, realize that most teachers have about 130 students per DAY, multiple that times their semesters taught (2 per year), and you'll quickly see how "experienced" teachers can get a a very short time.  

Please realize that even a teacher with just 5 years of experience as a teacher at the 7-12 grade level, has most likely had experience with about 1,250 students.  

Are you sure you can do a better job than your children's teachers???

Answer 9

If she doesn't know the material, it really is better for her to repeat. I say that as a homeschooler. However, as a homeschooler I recognize that this has nothing to do with the knowledge or ability that your daughter has, rather it has so much to do with the weakness of the system. It also has so much to do with why I think homeschooling is better.

Teachers are so greatly limited by the process within which they work. The teacher for second grade has soo many kids that she cannot allow for your child to develop at her natural rate, and she cannot afford to teach your child anything outside of the curriculum for second grade. It will be that way all the way through public school, in fact, until your child attends college (if the love of learning hasn't been dragged out of her soul and trampled to death) and she can then choose what she wants to learn and when. They honestly cannot afford to allow your child to go at her own pace to learn.

As for all the 'specialized knowledge', Mr Z, glad to see you back. Teachers learn how to recognize patterns in large groups of children, not the innate wisdom or knowledge that each child attains.

Answer 10

Not in our school district.   The teacher  can recommend it, but the final decision is the parent's decision.  

If she does repeat for maturity reasons, it would be better now than in later grades.   Having said that, the statistics show that repeating does not help in the learning process.

Doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results is a symptom of insanity.