Globe Education (The Globe and Mail) – Ash Kelly
When eight-year-old Sophie Skogster fell behind her Canadian classmates, her parents, try as they might, could not convince school administrators to “fail” their daughter.
In 2009, the Skogster family moved to Finland, home to one of the highest-ranked education systems in the world. There, Sophie studied at a Grade 1 level, a grade behind where she would have been in Canada – an accommodation that was made because she was studying in Finnish, not English.
When they returned to Canada, Sophie returned to Grade 3, but anxiety attacks caused her to miss a lot of school. Shortly after that, she broke her leg while riding her bike. Sophie’s class was on the second floor and the school’s elevator was unreliable, so she spent a lot of time in the library with a teacher’s assistant. “She had a one-two-three punch,” says her father, Aapo Skogster.
There were a lot of tears and frustration. “I would be up very late at night trying to do homework, falling asleep at the dining room table. I’d get upset in school because I didn’t understand anything,” says Sophie.
Eventually, her parents yanked her out of her school in New Westminster, B.C., and moved her to a new district in a lower grade; that was three years ago. Now 13, Sophie is the oldest child in her Grade 7 class. She says she’s less stressed and succeeding in school. “She was exactly the kind of kid who needed to be held back,” says Mr. Skogster.
The Skogster family says they don’t regret their decision and any social impacts on their daughter have been minimized by playing soccer with girls her age.
While it might have been the right move for Sophie, holding students back is no longer common practice.
Until recently, grade retention was an accepted remedial education tool. Research now indicates that students who are held back are more likely to have anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural problems than students of similar abilities who are not held back. One recent U.S. study suggests that students who were retained in elementary school were 60 per cent less likely to graduate high school.
There are options available for students who need support to stay in their age-group’s grade.
For instance, at St. Joseph Catholic School in Gananoque, Ont., eight-year-old Isabella Paul works with a scribe, a sort of teaching assistant or volunteer who helps her with reading and writing.
by MindMake via MindMake Blog
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