Having served my time in the Ed Biz, I’m not shocked by this, but I am deeply angered.
I’m not 100% sold on the idea of retention — but the threat of retention can be a hell of a motivator. And, frankly, so would the threat of any number of other things which might make the Boy’s school experience a lot less pleasant, and so incent him to get off the dime, but which some namby-pamby policy-maker or lawsuit-cowed administrator is unwilling to do.
Yes, I’m talking about punishment here. Carrots and sticks are a great blend, and you rarely get the same effect if you use only one of them and not both. Public schools, out of fear of harming the little tots’ psyches, or of getting sued by litigious parents (of which there are a plenitude, to be sure), have lost that.
Kid doesn’t have his homework? Multiple times? We’ve determined it’s not a problem with the home or a learning disability? Fine. Go sit in the corner. That one. Back there. Or go report to yard patrol activity, picking up paper around the school, or cleaning out the trash cans at the cafeteria. Or go do [fill in mildly unpleasant and/or somewhat demeaning activity] and report back when you have your assignment in hand. Or you’re suspended — have your folks pick you up, and explain to them that they need to find some way to take off work to watch you for the next two days; better bring your missing work back with you.
Yes, making school an unpleasant experience if you don’t make the effort might cause some kids to drop out. But we’re talking kids who are already in trouble, academically, and who are already a lot more likely to drop out. And it may actually make some kids sit up and take notice and get their frelling acts together.
Yes, punishment can be abused (though so can neglect). And it does, often, take extra time and effort to administer (which means that the lazy will shy from imposing it).
But this is, as Doyce implies, not an acceptable state of affairs.
A bit of funny/sad:
DougCo has a policy of holding students back if they refuse to take the CSAP test.
Remember, it’s all about the money…
Pardon me while I gnash my teeth a bit …
In my state, each adult residing in a home receives and is required to pay an annual school tax bill. Technically there are 5 adults living in our home as 3 of our 5 children are 18 and 19 year old students. That, for us, works out to be just over $2000 per head. So, the district receives in excess of 10k per year from us.
This very same thing happened with my son. The school passed him to 10th grade against a major fight from me and my ex-husband. I ended up sending him to live with his father in another country. They are not afraid to make kids responsible for their actions. They make kids earn their grades. And as an added benefit the child is getting a stellar education. Also, this country’s bar for a failing grade is equivalent to our 75% so now the boy actually has to work to make it to just passing. No more coasting. It is a sad state of affairs when a child has to leave his country for an education. $10,000 per year in school taxes would certainly cover a good private school if we could afford it! Irony much?