Promoting self-esteem leaves kids behind

At the age of four and a half, Denise Basse arrived Montreal from Jamaica. When a teacher mentioned that Heron struggled in her classes, her mother decided to try a different school.

Basse never failed a grade in school and to this day she still struggles with reading and writing. While she understands her mother only wanted the best for her, Basse, now 26, still feels it was wrong to let her pass.

“I struggle to this day with reading and writing. It is a constant thing, at work I have to read over emails, to make sure there aren’t any mistakes,” Basse said.

In Ontario, to keep children back a grade no longer really happens. They can make it all the way to high school and still have gaps in their knowledge. The education system refers to it as social promotion. Social promotion advances children to the following grade so they can remain with their peers and continue to have a strong sense of self-esteem.

A study called An ‘F’ for Social Promotion, written by Michael Zwaagstra and Dr. Rodney A. Clifton attacks the issue of pushing children through the system.

Zwaagstra, a Manitoba high school teacher, sees first-hand the trouble with promoting a child.

“I found that there are consequences when you lower standards and you pass students who have not met the necessary standards. The consequences are that students are not prepared for the workplace or for post secondary education,” Zwaagstra said.

Zwaagstra believes there should be more precise criteria, such as standardized testing.

Elementary school teacher, Annalisa Kissoon Singh, thinks promoting a child does not help, but understands the tough decision a parent and child face when it comes to being held back.

“It’s like a catch-22. You see the child growing and developing just like his peers, but his mind isn’t growing and developing. If you hold him back, he will end up being bigger then all the other students,” Kissoon Singh said.

To promote that child, Kissoon Singh explained, will only make it worse.

“When that child gets to Grade 8 science and is still reading at a Grade 2 level, (as a teacher) you have to modify that textbook to be understandable to that child. That takes away from working with the other kids.”

The Toronto District School Board follows a system presented by the Ontario government to ensure success with all students. The Learning to 18: Student Success program allows every student to have the opportunity to learn. Central co-ordinating principal, Mary Jane McNamara said the program focuses on eight different strategies to engage every student.

One of the strategies that help Grade 9 and 10 students is credit recovery.

“If the student almost finished a credit, but did not meet the requirements to pass … they do not need to repeat the whole course over again. They can recover the credit and complete the overall course expectations the following year,” McNamara said.

Student trustee for the TDSB, Gorick Ng, feels the Student Success program is on the right track, but more support systems need to be added.

“I think that the credit recovery program is a valuable one… especially for students who have been pushed through the system,” Ng said.

Ng strongly believes that pushing a student through is not the answer. He wishes the school system emphasized on making sure students graduate not only with the required credits, but with the skills to succeed in life as well.

Ng knows that as a student himself, he offers perspective to his position on the board of trustees.

Ng believes the problem needs to be addressed in elementary school.

“If a student is having difficulties early on and those difficulties are not addressed when they are in elementary school, you end up with students who are being promoted on to high school who do not have the skills and knowledge and the experience to succeed in a high school environment,” Ng said.

Basse knows how it feels to be pushed through the system. Though her daily struggles with literacy persist, she finds the means in her professional life to improve her English skills.

“I picked an industry that would force me to constantly proof read my work,” She said.