Some may be wondering what exactly the title of my blog is referring to, so I will do my best to explain. Social promotion is allowing a student to continue on to his or her next grade regardless of his or her understanding of the material that was supposed to be learned. This is often what happens to those "troubled" students who just seem to be passed on year after year despite not being able to do the most basic skills, such as reading simple sentences or doing addition. The justification for this is that it is more damaging to the student's self-esteem to hold them back a grade to give them another chance to learn the material.
The argument for retention, or holding a student back a grade, is that it provides them another opportunity to learn the material covered in that grade. However, many would argue that it causes significant emotional and mental damage to students by separating them from their peers. There is material supporting both sides of this argument, but no clear conclusion. Both have their positive sides and negative sides. No matter what you believe is the best option, it is a subject that both sides should be looked into in depth and discussed. This is what I hope my blog will be able to do. The following posts will further go into this subject with one focusing on social promotion and the other on grade retention. I will go into the pros and cons of both sides and try to discover what I believe the best solution is, while also allowing you to decide for yourself by providing unbiased information.
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI'd like to start by saying that I really like the way in which you have formatted your blog. When discussing any subject that presents a dichotomy it is always wise to lay out unbiased facts. Social promotion vs. retention is a hairy subject. I have a niece that was in the first grade last year. She is one of those children that is just not interested in school, and her grades reflected her indifference. At the end of the year, her teacher suggested retention. My sister was understandably torn about the decision and contacted me for my opinion. Even as an aspiring teacher, I didn't know what to tell her. We discussed the pros and cons of each decision and ultimately decided that retention was the better option. My niece is in the first grade again this year, and so far is performing rather well. She is showing much more maturity and now takes school more seriously. Though retention has proven to be the most effective route for my niece, it may not be the right decision for all children. Individual children are different and as such, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Parents need to take their individual child's personality, maturity level, emotional state, etc. into consideration when they are faced with such a dilemma. So, the manner in which you have presented the material is a great way to give parents the facts and let them decide for themselves.