To stay in school or not
By nehrlas
@nehrlas (202)
United States
September 25, 2007 5:34pm CST
I have a 5 year old. He missed the cutoff for kindergarten of Sept 1st (his bday is sept 6). I was lucky in finding the school that he is going to, its a private Christian school, he had been going to preschool They allowed him to enter kindergarten.
Here is my problem. My son isn't doing well in school. He is becoming THE kid that disrupts class. I dont want him to be that kid.
Do I continue to put him in that school, taking the chance that he will have to repeat kindergarten next year in public school anyway? Or do I take him out and work with him until he starts in public school next year.
1 person likes this
14 responses
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
26 Sep 07
I would keep him in there if he could repeat if he needs to... It would only benefit him staying and repeating at least he would still be in the same inviroment learning the right skills... Here in Australia things are a little different and I had a similiar problem with my son earlier this year... We start the year at the end of Jan and the cut of is the end of may for that year but they are trying to cut it back to the end of jan. My son still qualified for going but I did end up deciding to keep him back... It is very heart breaking and time consuming trying to make the right decision it took me a long time to make the right decision... Also it is only the end of sept so your son has only been there a month and he would still be trying to get the hang of things, so leave him and see how he goes for a little bit longer at least.......
@quiltedblessings (1066)
• United States
26 Sep 07
As a mom to five kids, I can say I've seen alot of this. It isn't his fault, he is still very young, and the teacher may have a very strict set of guidelines that she expects the kids to follow. If he is not ready, he won't be able to follow those guidelines. To him, school is all about fun right now, and that's okay! My oldest (he is 12 now) was not ready for kindergarten until he turned 6, and you know what, I would not change that decision for anything, he is super smart and loves school now. Good luck! :O)
@Chiang_Mai_boy (3882)
• Thailand
26 Sep 07
I have rather strong feelings on this as a result of my personal experience. My birthday is mid September and my parents manage to get into school the year I was to turn six. The end result was that throughout my life in school I was always the youngest child in class. It proved to be a great disadvantage to me and really affected my performance in school. Hold him back a year and give him all the advantage you can. In the end It will make his life better.
@love2love552 (73)
• Philippines
26 Sep 07
i have 5 years old son too and going school kindergarten now but not in private,its advantage to u that ur son going private school ,,kids there is more manage..mine is doing not good in school too thats why i decide to back him again next year in kindergarten...he is 5 last june and he really need to repeat it..
@nehrlas (202)
• United States
2 Oct 07
I was afraid we would get to the point of repeating K. I decided I didn't want that and would rather take him out now. He will go to public school next year instead. I am ok with my decision, I feel good about it.
Thanks for giving me your point of view!
@DevilsQb12 (10)
• United States
26 Sep 07
i would take him out and work with his people skills.. Teach him that he can't be disruptive and i just 2 cents for this post... hopefully i was of some help..
@paul8675 (750)
• Australia
26 Sep 07
I teach high school in a Christian school. The best thing to do is to leave him there. It is the best possible education he can get. His behaviour will improve, especially if you and the school work as a partnership in his education. Unlike public education, this school will develop the whole person. He will be taught values and not just facts. He will also be exposed to a better quality of friends. This is important, because peers are the number one influence in this era on a child's value system.
@gorgeousdreamer (1034)
• Philippines
26 Sep 07
I think your kid should still stay in that school. YOu should be open with your child so that your child can be able to open up with you. If your son has that kind of attitude in class, it doesn't mean that he will be forever like that. There is still a chance that your child will chance. Try to be open with him. Treat him as your friend and who knows, something might be bothering him that's why he's like that in school.
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 07
It sounds like he is too young, he needs another year to mature before he is ready for Kindergarten.
It is better to take him out then to start his school career by having to hold him back.
There is a reason they set those cut off dates and most kids (especially boys) who are on the younger side end up having problems.
Don't push him.
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
25 Sep 07
I think I would leave him in there. He probably would learn better what he should do by having to do it every day in school. Unless the school absolutely can't handle him. The more he has to follow the rules he'll learn to if he sees the other kids doing it. Also, continue it at home and work with him in the evenings and on the weekends. partner up with his teacher to get him straightened out.
@mamasan34 (6518)
• United States
28 Sep 07
I think that your son might not be completely ready to begin kindergarten. If he was doing well in preschool and is not doing so well in kingergarten that might be a sign that he is not ready. But it is imperative that you make sure he knows that he has to behave in class in the future, he may just be rebelling to the difference in the structure because he is not used to it. I don't really know, but that is my impression.
@jennwhite07 (130)
• United States
26 Sep 07
If it were my child, I would leave him where he is. He may be disruptive right now, but he will eventually settle into the structure and routine and calm down. Pulling him out of school now will only make him think that he doesn't have to conform to school rules,making him stay is the better option.
Give him chance where he is. Maybe he will calm down.
@kathisharpe (140)
• United States
26 Sep 07
WHY is he disrupting class?
Does he have a problem w/the teacher or other kids?
Has he had a hard time making friends because he's an outsider (many Christian schools are connected to a church, non-members are automatically "the new kid")
Does he have undiagnosed health issues (hearing, vision, tummy trouble)?
Is he smarter than the other kids (doesn't necessarily mean "more academically advanced" but it can) -- my son could read and write and add before he got to kindergarten. He violently objected to sitting and learning what the letter A looks like!
Just some thoughts...