Crystal Calhoun

Crystal Calhoun, M.S.
Founder, Educational Advocate, Certified School Psychologist & Behavior Analyst


Union City, GA 30291 (Location)
404-692-4334 (Office)


heartandsouladvocacy@gmail.com (Email)

http://www.heartandsouladvocacy.com/ (Website)

http://www.facebook.com/heartandsouladvocacy (Facebook)

https://twitter.com/HartSolAdvocate (Twitter)

http://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalcalhoun (Linkedin)

"We have your child's best interest at HEART & SOUL"



Wednesday, November 6, 2013

DOES RETAINING A STUDENT REALLY HELP? NO!!!


 
 
I believe it hurts rather than helps. Retention is a devastating blow to a child’s self-esteem. It makes a child feel like a failure without any hope. Students I’ve known who were retained tended to give up on school, lose motivation, fall into depression and perform worst academically than the year before. It is shameful to be left back when all of your peers are moving forward; because of this, many students endure constant ridicule. These kids are usually the oldest and tallest in their class and/or grade level, which may also cause them to stick out like a sore thumb and feel embarrassed. After being retained, some students become behavior problems at school and home. Boys in particular exhibit anger, agitation and hostility, which are signs of depression in children and adolescents. These students feel isolated and lonely although they may have friends, their friends can’t relate to what they’re going through. The emotional well-being of a child has a significant impact on their school performance. Just like adults, what we think and feel influence our behaviors.

When a school or educator recognizes a child’s struggles, interventions and support should be provided to the child immediately. This is usually offered by the teacher first by way of afterschool tutoring, differentiated instruction strategies, and suggested online resources that may be used at home. If there is little to no improvement at that point, the student should be referred by the teacher to the school’s student support team (SST), where other interventions are implemented and the student’s progress is monitored. After several different interventions have been tried and the child still has not made adequate progress, the student should then be referred to the school psychologist for a psycho-educational evaluation to determine if the student has a disability that requires special education services through the development of an IEP or a 504 Plan. More than likely, this is frequently the case.

Unfortunately, this is not what usually happens to struggling students. It’s sad to say that many inner city students in particular are often retained more than once as a first line of defense, although it may be clear as day to an educator that the student’s academic struggles are beyond their control. This has to stop! Students who have lived this reality sometimes become so discouraged and self-defeated that they drop out of school, become a teenage parent who now has to depend on the government for assistance, turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with their failures, and develop mental health disorders from prolonged feelings of stress, anxiety and/or depression that go untreated; as well as get involved with gangs in order to feel a sense of belonging and respect, have difficulty finding a decent paying job, become homeless, hustle for money in the streets, live a life a crime, and end up in jail or the grave. Who knew that retaining a student could lead to all of this?
 
If your child is facing retention, Crystal Calhoun, Educational Advocate and Founder of Heart & Soul Psycho-Educational Advocacy Services, Inc. may be able to help save your child from this self-defeating reality. Call 404-692-4334 or view our website at www.HeartAndSoulAdvocacy.com for more information.
 
We have your child's best interest at HEART & SOUL...

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