NOOOOOOO, I need to repeat my grade - Information for kids

It does sometimes happen to children that they fail a grade and need to repeat the same grade in the next school year.  There can be many reasons why this happens.  You were sick for most of the year or maybe you do not yet understand all the work that you had to master or maybe it was just because you did not work hard enough.

               

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Nobody wants to fail their grade, but sometimes it is a good thing, because you get a second chance to do better and fix what you have done wrong the previous year.  

You may have some children that teases you but you need to be strong and realize that you are doing it for yourself and if you failed because you did not work hard enough, you need to learn from it and not make the same mistake again.

Most of the time when kids have to repeat a grade it is because they do not understand all the work.  It will not be a good idea to move on to the next grade, because you will just get further behind.

It is like building a castle with blocks.  You have to take it step by step.  If you leave out blocks, the castle will not be strong and will keep on falling down, it is the same with you, if you are maybe behind on Math, you cannot go on to the next grade, because you have missed a few steps.

Your parents and teachers will have a discussion and if they think it will help you to repeat a grade, you will have to do it.

It is very important that you do not see yourself as a failure.  

If you keep telling yourself every day "I cannot do it, I am going to fail again. I am useless" and be mean to yourself, you will be stressed out and you will not believe that you can do it and eventually you will give up.

Believe that you can do it, believe in yourself and do your best and you will succeed.

                    

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It can also happen that you had problems in school because you did not understand the teacher or you had some emotional problems, maybe things were happening around you and you could not concentrate on your work or you were too stressed.  

Take the new year and try and figure out what bothers you and talk to an adult that can help you to get help or make you feel better.

If you have to repeat a grade you will maybe feel sad because all your friends are moving on to the next grade.  It is a good idea to talk to somebody about your feelings, but at the end you will have to accept it and do the best you can.

If anybody are mean to you or teases you that you had to repeat a grade, you can stand up for yourself and tell them that you need to do it to get better at certain things.  If they keep on teasing you, speak to a teacher or your parents. 

Remember - NOBODY has the right to bully you, no matter what the reason is...

What if I have a friend that needs to repeat a grade?

You would have wanted your friend to support you and be there for you, so do the same for your friend.  Let them know that it does not matter to you if they need to repeat a grade and you will not stop being their friend.  

Nobody wants to be treated badly, so do not turn into a bully.

Sometimes we can avoid it to repeat a grade.

If you have missed a lot of school because you were ill a lot or if you have missed some assignments, you can speak to your teacher and hear if you can catch up.  Some schools have extra classes during the holidays and if your school does not have them, you can catch up the work by yourself over weekends and holidays if your teacher agrees.

Try and get someone to help you, not to do your work for you, but to explain the work you do not understand.

You can also make sure that if there is some work you do not understand, that you ask your teacher to explain it again - do not wait until you are too far behind.

It is not always easy to go to school and study and do sport and cope with all the pressure, but it is your responsibility to do the best you can.  If you get home in the afternoons, just go through the work you did in class that day. This way you will know if you do not understand something and can ask for help and you won't be overwhelmed when the test or exam comes.

If you failed because you did not work at all and rather played than completing school work or did not listen in class, then you will just have to face that you did the wrong thing and the only way to correct it is re-do it and do it better.

Even if it may feel like it, repeating a grade is not the end of the world.  You will learn from it and get better at it, so just hang in there.  Before you know it the year has passed and you move on to the next grade...

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