Please help! should my son skip a grade?

Question

were moving overseas back to america and my son would be ahead a year with what theyre learning so they want to put him to skip a grade. As a mother i feel that it would be better for him to be with kids his own age, he is more shy and tends to do better in situations where he can be the leader. he had his first day and already 2 kids were picking on him!!!

Answer 1

It's tricky. There's probably no right answer. Socially, the lower grade would be better. Academically, the higher one would be better, but he'll probably end up bored, disruptive and in trouble. Kids in school pick on other kids in school, there's not a heck of a lot else to occupy them, sadly. Flip a coin, ask his opinion, or avoid the problem by homeschooling. With homeschooling he can socialise with extra-curricular activities and work at his own academic level.

If homeschooling sounds like a better option than either of the others (it's not for everyone,) have a search around on google and collect some info. Socialization is not a problem unless you stay home all day, ever day, and why would you do that? If you don't feel confident teaching, there are programs you can buy that come with teacher manuals or even teacher dvds. http://www.homeschoolreviews.com will give you some hints. Googling homeschooling methods is a good way to start off searching.

Answer 2

If you really care about the life of your child I would recommend removing him immediately from the horrible education system in america.

thank goodness, there are plenty of alternatives these days to the state sponsored h**l that kids have to go through known as the "traditional" public school.

I personally know of one such school, but i'm sure there are others as well.  

the one I know of is this: http://www.oakgroveschool.com/  

I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is an absolutely extraordinary school. I think that It would be a real gift for a child to grow in such an environment. I wish I had. At the very least browse through their website. you owe it to your child. It is really fascinating.

I would also suggest looking into montessori schools which are also available in different parts of the country: http://www.montessori.org/

These recommendations are of course relevant only if you care that your child really has the chance to be all that he can be. if you don't care about your child then keep him in the horror of the public schools to be harassed, numbed, brainwashed and turned into a pale impersonation of a human being like the millions of others.    

Best wishes to you and your child

Answer 3

If your son is advanced enough to work in a higher grade, then I believe he should be left there. Instead of letting him be in situations where he is the leader all the time, let him learn 'life skills,' and learn how to interact with his older peers. If you left him in the lower grade he would probably be understimulated, and that could leave him with worse grades overall. I was understimulated in grade 5, and almost had to repeat the year. Now that's worse than achieving good scores in a higher level.

Answer 4

I agree that he should be in his own grade. You only have one chance to be a kid. You might as well make it enjoyable. Besides, it's not like it's a detriment to put him in a lower grade. These kids grow up fast enough, no need to speed that process up.