Newspaper Page Text
6A
♦ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
Holding a child back a
grade can be helpful
QUESTION: Is reten
tion in the same grade
ever advisable for a child
who is not a late bloom
er? How about the slow
learner?
DR. DOBSON: There are
some students who can prof-
it from a
second
year at
the same
grade
level and
many who
will not.
The best
guideline
is this:
Retain
only the
child for
Dr. James
Dobson
Focus on the Family
www.family.org
whom something will be dif
ferent next year. A young
ster who is sick for seven
months in an academic year
might profit from another
run-through when he or
she is healthy. And as I’ve
indicated, a late-developing
child should be held back
in kindergarten (or the first
grade at the latest) to place
him or her with youngsters
of comparable development.
For the slow learner, how
ever - the child who has
below-average ability - a
second journey through the
same grade will not help.
If he was failing the fourth
grade in June, he will con
tinue to fail the fourth grade
in September. The findings
from research on this issue
are crystal clear.
It is not often realized
that the curricular content
of each grade level is very
similar to the year before
and the year after.
There is considerable
redundancy in the concepts
taught; the students in each
grade are taken a little far
ther in their studies, but
much of the time is spent
in review. The arithmeti
cal methods of addition and
subtraction, for example,
are taught in the primary
years, but considerable work
is done on these tasks in the
sixth grade, too.
Thus, the most unjusti
fiable reason for retention
is to give the slow learner
another year of exposure to
CNAs and
LPNs needed
Pine Hill Nursing Cen
ter, located in Byrom
ville, Georgia, cur
rently has excellent
opportunities for LPNs
and CNAs to join our
dedicated team, 7p
7a. We provide a sup
portive environment
in which to work and
grow. To learn more,
please apply in per
son to: 712 Patterson
Street, Byromville, GA
31007. EOE.
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easier concepts. He will not
do better the second time
around! Nor is there much
magic in summer school.
Some parents hope that a
six-week program in July
and August will accom
plish what was impossible
in the 10 months between
September and June. They
are often disappointed.
QUESTION: I have
observed that elemen
tary and junior high
school students - even
high schoolers - tend to
admire the more strict
teachers. Common sense
would tell us that they
would like those who
were easier on them.
Why do you think they
are drawn to the discipli
narians?
DOBSON: You are right;
teachers who maintain order
and demand the most from
their students are often the
most respected members of
the faculty, provided they
aren’t mean and grouchy.
One who can control a class
without being unpleasant is
almost always esteemed by
her students.
That is true because there
is safety in order. When a
class is out of control, par
ticularly at the elementary
school level, the children are
afraid of each other. If the
teacher can’t make the class
behave, how can she prevent
a bully from doing his thing?
How can she keep the stu
dents from laughing at one
of its less able members?
Children can be vicious to
each other, so they feel good
about having a teacher who
is strong but kind.
Second, children love jus
tice. When someone has
violated a rule, they want
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immediate retribution. They
admire the teacher who can
enforce an equitable legal
system, and they find great
comfort in reasonable social
expectations. By contrast,
the teacher who does not
control her class inevitably
allows crime to pay, violating
something basic in the value
system of children.
Third, children admire
strict teachers because
chaos is nerve-wracking.
Screaming and hitting and
wiggling are fun for about
10 minutes; then the confu
sion begins to get tiresome
and irritating.
I have smiled in amuse
ment many times as sec
ond- and third-grade chil
dren astutely evaluated the
relative disciplinary skills of
their teachers. They know
how a class should be con
ducted. I only wish all of
their teachers were equal
ly aware of this important
attribute.
Dobson is founder and
chairman of the board of
the nonprofit organization
Focus on the Family, P.O. Box
444, Colorado Springs, CO.
80903; or www.family.org.
Questions and answers are
excerpted from The Complete
Marriage and Family
Home Reference Guide and
Bringing Up Boys, both pub
lished by Tyndale House.
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OPINION
Cushhm tags: Bptag on the SWHT team
My wife’s timing is impec
cable, unless, of course,
we’re gqing somewhere I
want to go. Then, it’s some
times peccable.
Recently, I was in the
midst of watching a Georgia
football game when she had
the audacity to phone me.
Somebody better be dead,
I muttered.
“Len, there’s this patio
furniture that’s on sale, and
At that point, I zoned out.
Minutes later, the phone still
held to my ear, I noticed she
had never stopped talking,
“... you know, I don’t know
if we’ll get the opportunity
for this type of deal again,
and - ”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, go
ahead and buy it,” I said as
the Dawgs dropped another
pass. She hung up quickly
and happily.
Normally, I would inquire
about such things as, oh, I
don’t know, the price. But
she knows if she catches me
in the middle of a Dawgs’
game, or a nap, I will agree
to most anything - which is
how I ended up singing the
national anthem at her fam
ily reunion.
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53685
S o ,
we get
this set
of patio
furniture
and it’s
very nice.
The only
problem
we’ve
encoun
ter e d
is that when it rains, the
seat cushions get soggy.
When presented with the
soggy cushion conundrum, I
deduced that perhaps turn
ing over the cushion would
alleviate the problem. To my
astonishment, I found two
things when I turned over
the cushion: 1. the other side
was soggy too; and B. a tag
was connected to the cush
ion. The tag stated, in bold,
very serious letters: “DO
NOT REMOVE UNDER
PENALTY OF LAW.”
Now, we’ve all heard about
mattress tags, which, like
the aforementioned cushion
tag, promise dire legal rami
fications if removed.
In recent years, the warn
ing on the mattress tag has
changed to: “This tag may
not be removed except by
M ... a.
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
the consumer.” This altera
tion was apparently made
so as not to further pet
rify consumers that a SWAT
team was going to raid their
residence at any moment.
It only took 100 years to
fix that little bureaucratic
glitch. And while the mat
tress tag has been altered
after a century of befuddle
ment, we buy a brand-new
set of patio furniture seat
cushions and this same
chilling notice appears.
Is this still a problem in
2007? How does putting a
warning on a tag that it’s
unlawful to remove it really
protect the consumer?
In an effort to answer my
questions, and end this col
umn, I called the manufac
turer. After going through
a bevy of choices on their
automated system - none of
which addressed my particu
lar query, and being discon
nected twice -1 finally spoke
to a gentleman in New Delhi.
He was equally clueless. So,
if we’ve learned anything
here (and we haven’t), it’s
this: It’s okay to tear the
tags off your mattress. Patio
furniture seat cushions? Do
so at your own peril. I am.
Len Robbins
Columnist
alrpub@plaiittel.net
NOBO °l!^f ots
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53855