Thirteen states have passed Third Grade retention laws. Children who fail to learn to read well enough to do fourth grade work will repeat the third grade.
Third Grade Retention Law What do you think?
That there are children who goes to a higher grade without being able to read (or write or whatever else is needed for that grade) is ridiculous and crazy! Putting children in a grade that they cannot follow will not help them. These laws should of been written and passed when schools first appeared and it should be for all grades not just the third. Making kids repeat a grade when they did not pass it is not cruel but putting them in a grade that they should not be in is.
Nancy,
I agree whole-heartedly. I think many of our educational problems would be solved if parents and students knew that failure to master the year's material would result in retention. And again, as many times as necessary.
Actually, it's not a new idea. That's what the grade of F is supposed to be for.
After I posted my comment here I went to check my emails and I had a forward with a video of the audio of an answering machine of a school in Australia and that is seriously one of the most awesome thing I have ever heard (its 3 years old and its a shame i havent heard about it before!!)! They did that because many of their students were failing because they missed too many days of class and their parents were mad because they were failing. Did you hear that? If not go to Youtube and write in "school answering machine australia", it should be the first video (its called School Answering Machine and it was posted by marshe5), you won't regret it! I was very good at school and loved it until the bullying started. Not too long after I had to do my fourth grade all over again and years later I did not pass the third year of secondary school (here we have 6 years of primary school then 5 of secondary so that would be ninth grade). I tried doing it again in another school and the bullying continued there so I gave up that school not too long after and by the time I tried night school for adults I was so down that I did not finished it eventhough it was going well and I was not bullied. I did not start to complain about wanting to pass that grade eventhough I didn't, yes I was bullied but I also did not pass the classes so I did not deserve it! Most people want to have something they did not earned and they teach that to their kids, it's ridiculous and should not be accepted!
Nancy,
That's just too cool. I posted it on my Facebook page.
Thanks