Repeating a year is not Failure

" We think your son should repeat a grade " said the board of teachers to the parents of a second grade student. The parents were shocked on their son failing in just second grade. 

" Please don't do that , the whole year will be wasted . Please take him in the third grade." requested the parents . 

"But ma'am your child will not be able to cope up with the syllabus of third grade . He doesn't even understand the alphabets yet , he cannot form words how will he read and make sentences . And this is not only for English but also Hindi. We cannot put him in that stage." the teachers declared.

"We will make sure he studies more, we will make sure he gets every possible tuition, we will make sure he works harder , please don't let this year go wasted ", the parents insisted . 

And after a long conversation of effective convincing the child was allowed in the third grade.

Does this feel right? Should this have been done? Does one year matter so much that you would pressurize your child to study 24 hours? and what if he still doesn't pass? What if this whole scenario leads to a long term psychological damage ? What if your child develops inferiority complex? What if he develops anxiety or depression ? Does one year matter so much? 

Why is it a compulsion to graduate by 21 or Complete your master's by 23? Why can't you take an extra year to make your base stronger? Why do we consider dropping a year as FAILURE. ????? It is not failure , its just taking some extra time to make yourself stronger . 

In the above case what will happen when he still doesn't understand anything in third grade and then fourth and then fifth ? One day he would have to repeat a grade to take some time out and clear the backlog . That day you will blame the child and say " How many times will we request the teacher to put him on a higher grade , he doesn't study at all . He has failed and he has to repeat ." You are going to make him feel inferior when he starts to understand the meaning of failing( as per society).

At the first instance you were the one who led him to this situation. So think again . Instead of thinking of it as a year wasted think of it as giving your child some extra time to build their base. It does not mean that your child is not smart enough but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it would live its whole life considering itself a fool.

Age is no barrier , its a limitation that you put on your mind. There is no harm in graduating at 25 or getting married at 35 or starting a business at 60 . There is no such thing as a perfect age . Its all in the mind. Let's not spoil another child's life for what has been stuck in our minds.

We are so stuck always with being on time that we forget to live our life while its still time. 

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Divya