Is repeating the grade required?

Sometimes you can make up a class or two by going to summer school. You have to ask the counselor at school because different states have different rules for passing the year.

In grade school, the answer is probably yes.
I was held back in the second grade because of an “F” I got in the third semester, in reading. Now, I am a darn good reader and could always read better that anyone in my class. So what happened? And I got held back because of an “F” in the third semester?? I always wonder if the teacher got me mixed up with someone else. And why didn’t my parents challenge that grade with a test, with the teacher and myself, in reading??

@kritiper, even at this distance, that just makes me mad. A little kid doesn’t know how to take on the school structure, but somebody should have spoken up for you. You should have at least been encouraged to ask the teacher why you got that grade.

Were your marks good before and after that? And did you have the same teacher again? Your repeat second grade teacher also should have seen that you were a good reader and questioned the grade right away so you might have moved ahead to third grade at the start of the next year.

Too late for justice now, I suppose, but still. Did anything else like that happen any other time? And have you ever asked your parents about it?

I am aware of situations when parents were the ones who asked for their child to be held back. It has been done for children who are struggling, and parents want their child to have a bit more practice before moving forward. It has been done because the child in question is very near the age cut off, and parents sometimes believe schoolwork in general will be more well absorbed by holding their child back.
I knew of one case that the child was small, and being bullied.

I am not suggesting the parents initiated the grade repeat here, only that it could be sometimes not the teacher who made that decision alone.

@kritiper I flunked 2nd grade also because I deserved to. I didn’t lean to read. I didn’t learn to read my second year in 2nd grade but they pushed me along to 3rd grade where I still didn’t lean to read. Somehow I made it to 4th grade where my teacher (Mrs Buttler) made me report to school ½ hour early each day to learn to read. It all came together very quickly and I became a good student. Guess I just need some one on one time. Thank God for Mrs Buttler.

Wow.
Mrs. Butler sounds wonderful. That is true dedication.