| Sue |
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Reply with quote | #1 |
I have taught Kindergarten for 11 years, which does not make me an expert by any means but it does mean I have had a lot of experience with 5 & 6 year olds. Over these 11 years, I have retained only 3 children (I wanted to retain 3 more) and have been the recipient of three children who were being retained. The research that I conducted in my classroom showed that children whose parents had positive views on retention and supported their child during this second year, made the greatest strides academically and emotionally. I am a firm believer that if a child has confidence in themselves they will strive to accomplish anything, even things that may be beyond their ability level. These children who were retained entered first grade with a higher self-esteem and a better grasp of those essential baseline skills that are taught in Kindergarten. They may not be at the top of their class but they are on level. The three children whom I requested to be retained and were not went on to first grade and never really successfully mastered letter sounds, word decoding, and basic sight word recognition, those essential pre-reading skills. They have no confidence in themselves as learners and are constantly getting into trouble because they don't understand what the teacher is asking but at the same time they don't want to look "dumb" in front of the other children in the class.
Children should have the chance to finish a grade level before we push them onto the next. Each year builds on the previous year and if they did not successfully learn the skills the year before they are going to continuously be behind. Retention, if done right can benefit the children who really need it. Children who may have a learning disability or other outside factor that inhibits learning will mostly likely not benefit from a second year in a grade level but rather a smaller class size and more one-on-one attention.
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| Martha |
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Reply with quote | #2 |
After reading this message from the kindergarten teacher about retention being helpful I felt very sorry for her students and her frustration. As I viewed the things that she thinks kindergartens's should know as they leave her class, I became very distraught. Many kindergarten programs and PreK programs are causing school failures. PreK and kindrgarten should be more play oriented with many centers and activities that stretch the child's imagination. If we include much more creative play into their day, children will be well served. They will feel safe and secure and we will see much less burn out and school drop out with a more play oriented situation. We should not be pushing the curriculum down, but builidng the students self esteem and safety at these young ages, which will help assure for more success for all of students, and make for a kinder safer society. |
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| Ruth |
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Reply with quote | #3 |
I just read Sue's and Martha's messages. I'm a third year kdg teacher and do not subscribe to the "let them play and learn on their own" theory. It just doesn't work. They need structure and projects and assignments and play. They need to be lead and they enjoy it. My question regarding retention is pertains to maturity level and where does one retain based solely on that. My little 5 year old male student (July birthday) is academically on target. He's just a little slow with maintaining focus and SOMETIMES getting the work done. Even running and jumping he's a little behind from the others. We do still have second semester to work on these things. I haven't spoken to the parents yet. Want to raise issue with other teacher and principal. Should he be retained just because he doesn't always maintain eye contact, works and eats slower than others, and seems to be in his own little world at times? |
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