Repeating 8Th Grade?

Don't do it, since she is doing fine academically. And even if she wasn't doing fine academically, I would enroll her in summer school, get her a tutor, and reevaluate at the end of the summer. I would do everything I could to prevent my child from repeating a grade (unless it was K and absolutely necessary).

V., I agree with Mindy T. This is not a decision for a para to make, nor was it appropriate for her to have this conversation with you. She should have deferred to her supervising instructor.

As a teacher, we always welcome input from our paras, but a conversation like this would have resulted in a disciplinary action.

Schools cannot retain a child just because a teacher "thinks" she would benefit- there should be solid data available to you that supports retention. Furthermore, just because it worked for another child doesn't mean it will work for YOUR child. Personally, I am against retention except in highly unusual situations.

If your daughter is doing fine academically, move her forward. I think that holding her back to allow her to mature (which is quite subjective anyway) will only frustrate and bore her. She is obviously mature enough to voice an opinion about her education, so I would listen to her! :)

Good luck and keep us posted!

if your daughter is doing fine academically and doesn't want to repeat, don't.
khairete
S.

So what if she had another child repeat for maturity purposes! She didn't actually spell out the benefits, whether the child agreed to the change, nothing. Just she did it and thinks you should. If she had answered these questions you wouldn't be here asking this first question to a bunch of strangers.

My son is 15, clearly a boy. Everyone says boys are less mature, right? Well I can tell you that boy aged five years between 8th grade and his freshman year. Eight grade we set his IEPs, first week of his freshmen year he was going to meet with his case worker pointing out what isn't working for him, suggesting things that would. All I had to do was a thumbs up or down.

Don't hurt your daughter's self esteem by holding her back. Listen to her, teach her that her words have value so that she can learn to advocate for herself. She is almost an adult.

There are over 2,000 students in my son's high school. I was scared, I never let him know that, he did fine.

It seems to me that if she is doing well academically, what would be the point of holding her back? Kids go to school to learn. That's really the only reason we send them! If her peers are somehow not "on her level" socially (?) could she go to after-school activities where she could mingle with other teens who have more in common with her? I guess I don't see how repeating 8th grade could benefit a child who is doing fine academically.

V., I work as a Teaching Assistant. TA's, paras or aides do NOT make educational recommendations to parents. Ever. Teachers make these suggestions. If the teacher did not bring this recommendation to you, then the teacher doesn't feel that it's in the best interest of your child. Decisions about this are not made based on what support staff "wants." I dont' know what your daughter's disabilities are, but typically retention does not help special education students. I can see no benefit to your daughter repeating the same work that she completed this year. Keeping kids in school longer typically does not help them, and often leads to them dropping out because they reach legal age and don't need your consent to do so.

No. Don't do it. She is not a young kid. She has an opinion. If you make her do this, she might not even accept help from the para next year and end up dropping out of school the moment she is old enough to.

V., I am wondering if there is more to this question than it seems. If you feel comfortable, could you explain a little more about your daughter's special needs? If she has a full time para, are we talking EXCLUSIVELY for her or a para that she shares with other students? If she is doing fine academically, then my first question would go back to what her special education diagnosis is. Does she have behavioral or emotional special needs which might be leading her para to make this suggestion? What about the special education teacher? What does that teacher say?

ETA: okay, so you now say that both her teacher and the special ed teacher say she should repeat 8th grade. I am not saying that you should or should not retain her, HOWEVER, I still say that there is a lot more going on than what is being provided in your question. Either you are withholding information or you need to ask more questions of these teachers to find out the basis for their recommendation.

Also, this is not a funding issue, as another poster suggested, unless her middle school is in a different district from her high school.

The first thought that comes to my mind is that the school will lose whatever extra funding they get if your daughter is no longer enrolled so they want to keep her there for the money. Cynical, perhaps, but unfortunately it happens. Schools are for teaching academics. You say she is doing fine academically, so there is no reason to hold her back. As a freshman in high school she will be with many kids of varying maturity levels. Heck, I know full grown adults who would still be in elementary school if maturity were the only deciding factor on advancement.

No, she's doing fine. Move her to grade 9. That's not their call: it's yours with your daughter's input.

Could she benefit from summer tutoring, volunteering or camp?

Is she in a large school? Maybe she needs to move to a smaller school?

9th grade here is in High school. She will be around kids up to 19 years old.. so keep that in mind. Decide if she is going to be able to handle this.

I recall in 9th grade I was in a couple of classes, health and Spanish with Juniors and Seniors.. and sure enough, our daughter was also in a Health class first semester of 9th grade with many Seniors and Juniors. She was able to handle it just fine. I recall the coach that taught that class said she was a great student hilarious.

I would go along with your daughter and move her forward. However, I would let her know that if she has difficulties that she might be placed in other classes that could/would help her go on.

Check with the school to see if there are alternative classes that she may use to help her. Talk with the school to see if there are other people who will be there to help. It sounds like the para professional is wanting her to stay behind her peers.

We all mature at different rates and she may do well over the summer. Let her go and be there to catch her and guide her for her future. All we can do as parents is to be there and cushion the blows as they come and to learn from them so that we don't repeat them.

the other S.

PS Eighth grade is a hard year and to be left behind and watch your peer go forward is a hard thing to do. You have the self-esteem angle and other things that play into that and what they friends will say or if they will move on without her now that would be a really hard challenge to get over. Just let her know that you will give it a good shot and she has to do her part to stay in the next grade. I have faith in her that she will rise to the occasion.

I don't even know that the District WILL hold a child back simply because a para thinks she needs time to mature.

This seems to only be suggested, so I would work on her maturity (that is what I am picking up is the issue). What does the school counselor say?

Sports can sometimes help a child's maturity. If she is special needs, there are sports out there specifically for special needs. Find what she likes. There are all sorts of activities that will help her grow.

If she loves animals, find a small farm that will allow her to help out. If she loves the ice, we have a special needs session here, call your local rink and see if they have one. Let her do something that is important to her.

I was held back in school. I dont blame my parents at all they are amazing parents. I had some learning disabilites and some of the teachers over the years I had growing up were very mean to me. I was held back for acadamic reasons. It took me years to stop thinking I was stupip. I dont think any good will come out of holding her back. I was back in 7th grade.