I do agree that there is plenty of destructive stigma associated with repeating a class or grade, but there is no alternative, assuming your grades reflect your actual learning level (which tends to be the case for the low grades, in my experience, even if it doesn't for higher grades). You can't move on to a higher grade if you just didn't learn the basics, you'll be even worse off. What possible point would there be in trying to teach comparative literature to someone who didn't learn to read or write properly?
So, we need to get rid of the stigma, not the practice.
I agree with the sentiment. But I feel the sentiment is comparable to saying we need to rid society of violence. Maybe at a university level we can apply this, but we 1000% need to bring down the cost of tuition before considering spending more money at college.
for grade school, I'm at an impasse. I don't like complaining without offering something actionable, but the scale and existing inequalities of schools is so dire that I don't know where to start. The realistic answer over the decades has been to simply lower the bar overtime, but that doesn't exactly help either.
You are telling me that giving them more education is punishment? No matter how you do it they get left behind, if they continue to get put in classes they aren't ready for that is bad as well.
There are many reasons why students don't learn everything they can from a class and inability to grasp the material is only one one of them, yet it is the only reason that ensures they won't learn more the second time around.
it is massive punishment due to social consequences with peers.
Get better peers? What you're saying is that it's better for students to keep failing so as not to upset their milieu. Oftentimes, the best thing you can do for a struggling child is to take them out of the environment that's holding them down.
No, that one is actually systematic result. That was original reason why they stopped doing it. It did not helped anything. Special help, additional tutors who are actually trained in behavioral and learning issues, those sometimes help. Keeping them back a grade, not much.
> Get better peers?
This real world we live in does not provide better peers. Peers are other kids, those are how they are.
> What you're saying is that it's better for students to keep failing so as not to upset their milieu.
What I am saying is that when they are hold a grade, the system is keeping them failing. They dont get better. It does not magically turns then into better performing students. They will just suck in a way similar to original suck, except that it also leads to them trying even less then before.
More time absolutely helps, people do much better the second time they take a class. Teachers are a good example, they typically didn't get good grades, but after having seen the class over and over so many times they get good enough to teach it. It works, repetition leads to mastery.
It is just that practically it did not happened with elementary school students. Special help class with more repetition and teacher trained in learning issues do help.
Also, the issues of failing students are not easily fixable with repetition. They have often attention issues, learning disabilities, behavioral issues, mental health issues etc. that are not helped by repetition at all.
Where I am, those kids with deeper issues preventing them to learn as quick as others often have to repeat a class, fail again and then get send to special schools.
In theory they should get more appropriate help there, but normally there is not more funding in these special schools and it's even harder because all of the pupils have bigger learning deficiencies. So often these kids are left behind.
The only solution that gives every kid an equal opportunity would mean a massive increase of funding of schools and teachers.
But even if that would happen, we currently do not have enough well educated teachers and the job is also not very popular due to high stress and low pay and new teachers take many years to be available...
with the way our education structure is setup, yes. you fall behind your peers, you are assumed to be dumb or even unteachable, if you're a rising senior, a bad grade (be it sue to external or internal factors) can rescind future prospect.s And after a certain point you have to be kicked out of a school for legal reasons so now you need to work around some other way to earn a GED.
If we're talking college, you now need to either spend more time and especially money to repeat a course, or drop out and give up entirely. it can also disqualify you from scholarships and grants, so it is a direct financial consequence in two ways. Unlike the workforce, you are not given adequate opportunity in academia to fall behind, let alone fail.
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I agree in theory that there should be no shame in needing to redo classes and reinforce your learnings, but current societal expectations in traditinal education does no support such a mindset. Another reason I wish there was more awareness and accessibilities in paths outside of grade school -> university to figure out what you enjoy and how to learn it.
