repeating a year | ExpatWoman.com
 

repeating a year

114
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 May 2015 - 18:00

I have found my son's level in literacy is falling behind and he is below the level. His teacher thinks, that repeating KG2 again would be a good idea to consider. Did anyone came cross such situation?? I am also thinking about his self stem and how he could handle seeing his peers in the class moving to a higher level??

114
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 24 May 2015 - 17:18
We have spoken to the principle and to KHDA!! in regards to his progress.Unforturtally have beed to 2 PYP schools 1 U.S and 1 British school all refused to take him for Grad 1 or Year 1. And many school already got fill up!!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 20:52
Thanks to all for your support!! and feedbacks i really appreciate it !
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 18:25
He turns 6 late june! I did met the head and special learning teacher who thought he was completely fine and needs more practice!! I have decided i won't keep him in the same class again. I am searching for a british school where he can join year one ! for his confidence ! While doing KG2 in US. I still feel something fishy with this teacher !!! Its her last year in the school, i believe she was asked to leave though
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EW GURU
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 18:20
Have spoken to his teacher after seeing his report how aggressive was highlighting his writing !! after long chat with her i knew that she wanted to give him a private lessons which consider one to one after school, it seems she offers these private tutoring to other students at the class and she said this is confidential !! If she write such a report no school will except him. I will speak to the head of primary and see!! ;) She is looking for extra income, the school should work with your child & notify you from the second term on his struggles. And they can't fail a KG2 student unless he is severely behind in all subjects. My son can't write properly, his hand writing is bad although he is considered advanced ! When I raised this issue to school they told me clearly that he is still so young & fine motor skills are not fully developed at the age of 5, it is not even a concern before the age of 7. My son is given extra writing as it is his weak area, his teacher didn't offer private lessons, it is HER job to assess each student individually and report accordingly to parents! We work together to overcome his weakness at school, From your post I understand that your child is not even 5 yet!
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 17:47
How old is your son ? Six or seven years old I assume. Do not listen to this teacher, go and see the headmaster and discuss your child with him. The teacher should not be offering her services for money, you are already paying her to do her job why would you pay twice? Plus its illegal
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 17:23
There is something fishy about the teacher offering her services like that and telling you not to tell anyone! Investigate further and see how it goes. <em>edited by gryffindornerd6 on 10/05/2015</em>
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 15:44
Have spoken to his teacher after seeing his report how aggressive was highlighting his writing !! after long chat with her i knew that she wanted to give him a private lessons which consider one to one after school !! If she write such a report no school will except him. I will speak to the head of primary and see!! its the first time i see such a report !! So are you saying this is the very first time your attention has been drawn to the issue? Seriously? Term 3? So are you saying that for two terms the teacher and school have not recognised a problem and involved you in any form of concern? *alarm bells going off* So the teacher is suggesting with a little extra help your child will be fine? Therefore, not identifying there is a learning issue? There is nothing the teacher can do that you cannot at home. I think you need a meeting with a more senior member of staff to identify what the issues actually are and why holding your child back will be of any benefit. Also whether you or they have picked up anything that could possibly be a learning issue. Don’t worry about entrance into other schools, most schools will do their own assessments based on potential.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 10:44
Have spoken to his teacher after seeing his report how aggressive was highlighting his writing !! after long chat with her i knew that she wanted to give him a private lessons which consider one to one after school, it seems she offers these private tutoring to other students at the class and she said this is confidential !! If she write such a report no school will except him. I will speak to the head of primary and see!! ;) Just checking if I have understood you correctly.....the teacher has suggested repeating the year for your son but then gone on to suggest that this could be avoided by after school tutoring from her? And you would pay her for this? And she has asked you not to tell anyone? If this is the case and you are sure of this I would report her. Immediately. If I've misunderstood I apologise.
114
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 10 May 2015 - 10:37
Have spoken to his teacher after seeing his report how aggressive was highlighting his writing !! after long chat with her i knew that she wanted to give him a private lessons which consider one to one after school, it seems she offers these private tutoring to other students at the class and she said this is confidential !! If she write such a report no school will except him. I will speak to the head of primary and see!! ;)
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 09 May 2015 - 20:16
Personally I do not think having a five year old’s IQ tested is needed at this point nor the answer from what little has been posted to date. The teacher must have been saying more over the year and based her point of view on some form of criteria. I can’t believe a teacher has just suddenly come out with this information. If that is the case it’s not very good. I really do think you need to arrange a meeting as soon as possible with the teacher and the Head of the department and listen to what they have to say and ask why they feel his reading is weak. Having a high IQ is irrelevant if there are other issues that are not being identified. I would have a meeting see what is being identified and take a look yourself and ask yourself some questions. Are you reading every day with your child? How often is he being read with at home, with who and who and how much at reading is happening at school? Can he decode letters? What have you done at home to support his literacy? Many teachers are not trained to identify if there is a specific learning issue. If you really feel there is a learning issue then you need a proper assessment done by an Ed Psych. The school may also have a learning support team you can ask to assess him. However, from your posts it is also perfectly reasonable to believe that the fact he is young for the year and not a native English speaker could well be something that has maybe not been allowed for. Without a correct diagnosis (if there is even one) and further meetings I don’t think you should agree straight away. Keeping him a year back could just delay recognition of a learning issue that could, with the right qualified support be addressed without keeping him back. <em>edited by Lolacat on 09/05/2015</em>
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 May 2015 - 09:56
Gigi Like others have said this is a very tough decision and one only you and your husband can really make, you know your son best. Our son was asked to repeat FS2 and yr 1 but we refused, he is a very bright boy just took a little longer to meet some of the British expectations, for us the social implications were too big and are very glad 8 years later that we stuck with our gut and didn't repeat him. I know there were some that thought we were making a mistake, one teacher even went as far as saying "he will always be 'one' of those kids who always needs support, if you don't have him repeat". He had some support with handwriting until year 3 but excelled every where else. There are studies that say that children that repeat in primary don't finish secondary/high school and I have seen this happen in my family. Ultimately at the end of the day you know your child and what is best for him. Best of luck it isn't an easy decision, just know you are doing what you know is best for him which ever way you go.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 09 May 2015 - 08:56
If you feel your child would be better off repeating a school year then perhaps it would be best to let him repeat it in another school. That way he wont feel demoralized as no one at the new school would know he is repeating and also he will be the smart one in the class which would be a major confidence booster for him.
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EW MASTER
Latest post on 09 May 2015 - 08:37
My DD repeated FS 2 several years ago. She was not traumatized by it at all. I definitely made the right decision. She is doing really well in school now...
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EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 09 May 2015 - 00:03
I agree that repeating the year could be traumatic and you should avoid. Maybe consider switching school or homeschooling, the different environment may help a lot.
114
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 23:57
Its an American School.,,,
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EW GURU
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 21:52
My son is in FS2, most of the younger children in his class started to read cvc words this term and some children are still in picture books without words. I don't know which school your son goes to, if it is a school similar to SABIS then their assessment is not the norm & they do have high expectations at a very young age. My son can read well but he is November born & one of the older children in class and is considered advanced. He goes to IB school, what they cover is considered basic compared to his cousin who is in KG2 at Choueifat.
114
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 21:25
I have to say that english is not his first language though!!!
114
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 21:23
Where shall i take him to do IQ assessment !!
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 20:49
Research generally does not support holding back. There is no evidence that it improves academic performance in the long term. Focussing on weaknesses through support is more appropriate. That said if the issue for your child is general immaturity then this 'may' support holding back. Especially if you child is one of the youngest in the class. I would recommend you get an independent assessment of your child from an educational psychologist. They will be able to assess IQ and abilities/shortcomings across different areas. They will also identify weaknesses in things like working memory etc.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 20:41
Easier to do this when he is so young. Teacher has already given the advice. He is young and boys do develop at a different pace to girls. If you wait until he is older the battle will be much more challenging. He will be better off in the long run if you do it now. His self esteem might suffer significantly if he falls behind more and more. Good luck what ever you decide. I have found my son's level in literacy is falling behind and he is below the level. His teacher thinks, that repeating KG2 again would be a good idea to consider. Did anyone came cross such situation?? I am also thinking about his self stem and how he could handle seeing his peers in the class moving to a higher level?? <em>edited by McB on 07/05/2015</em>
114
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 19:42
My son was born end of june! He is perfectly doing great in math! very social and active. litrecy is a bit challenge for him. He is in US Curriculum.
394
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 17:10
Just to add to my other post - I have ANOTHER child who was also persuaded to repeat a year at school - he is dyslexic but IQ assessed as high. He had poor short term memory and lacked concentration. But making him repeat a year was the worst thing for him - totally caused him to lose confidence. We were in awe of the teachers at the time and he also thought they must know best - but they didn't. I eventually sent him to a school that had a lot of sport. He got a B.Sc. Degree - not a very good one but has managed to carry on with education and has a Masters from London Business School and works a 12 -14 hour day and has a 6 figure salary! <em>edited by bingo12 on 07/05/2015</em>
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 07 May 2015 - 16:40
Every child is different, ditto generally every teacher and school. Have you thought of having his IQ independently tested? If his IQ is average or above and he does not have any learning difficulties there should be no justification for making him repeat a year. In any case it is better to have extra help with any learning problems rather than repeating a class unless he is young. I am very much against holding children back - I think it is bad for their self confidence. I have a child who was told three times to repeat a class ( she had health problems) - she had her IQ tested at various times and was always rated a little above average ( although the schools said these fee paid testers don't usually tell your child has a low IQ unless it's something drastically wrong!). The first time I agreed for her to repeat the class as she was young but the other times I refused and had to move her to other schools. She eventually got an Honours Degree in French and Business Studies and is having a reasonably successful life. Repeating may actually make a sensitive child less able. edited by bingo12 on 07/05/2015 <em>edited by bingo12 on 07/05/2015</em>
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 06 May 2015 - 20:04
Gigi, with the best intention in the world I don’t think anyone can answer that question easily for you as every child is so different. Some children may stay behind and be fine, others may not. Do you know why your child’s reading is behind? You have older children so you as a mum should be having a good gut instinct about whether it is, or whether your child is struggling in some other area of his learning? Mums normally know. Then there are so many questions that need to be answered before such a big decision is made. What sort of school he is in, is it IB or NC? Who reads with him? How much? Which phonics program is he on, how often does he do phonics? How much literacy does he do at home? Does he read every night with you? Is he a bilingual or trilingual child? Is English the language spoken in the home environment? Does he struggle in other areas of learning? Does he have full letter recognition? How is his decoding? Is he a late summer baby? Was he a preemie? Did he crawl? Is there any history of learning issues (Dyslexia) in the family? Has he reached all his developmental milestones? Has he had his eyes and ears tested? Has he suffered with ear infections or had long periods of sickness? Has his attendance at school been good? Really there are so many questions that need answering. I don’t think children of this age fall behind, they are just not learning (for whatever reason) at the perceived same speed as others in a certain area. That needs looking at as to why, sometimes the answer can be very simple, that some children just need a little more time to process and allow their brains to mature. Many children in the world do not even start learning to read until they are older than KG2. The point is, not having reached the level for reading is not a reason to hold a child back a year, there has to be more and just holding a child back does not always address the issue if there is one. JMHO, but I think you require more information in order to make such a descion and therefore need to speak to the teacher in greater depth about your son and his learning. <em>edited by Lolacat on 06/05/2015</em>
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EW GURU
Latest post on 06 May 2015 - 18:58
Can I ask what are they teaching him in KG2 to fall behind? How old is your child? Is he one of the younger children?
 
 

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