skipping 5th

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Home : 2003 : September : 5

skipping 5th
By Young'un

Well, the posters so far have been against skipping, but I tend to disagree. However...

Is the sixth grade in your district at the elementary school or a middle school? It would be easier to skip 5th if she goes to a
different school entirely, interacting with a new group of students. If the sixth grade is at the elementary school and there is a 7-8 or 7-9 junior high, perhaps she could go to the sixth grade for certain subjects and then skip next year.
If she does stay in 5th grade, I strongly recommend getting her out of the 4/5 split class. I am not against split classes in general, but under

the circumstances it seems like a bad match for your daughter. (A 5/6 split, on the other hand, would be ideal.)

Now, back to my support of skipping:

I skipped 4th grade after going ahead for certain subjects for three years. Although I did experience some social difficulties, I also made some true friends. At the end of the year, my family moved to a new city, and after that it didn't matter much anymore that I was younger. But it would have been easier to skip at the beginning of an "era" (see my first comment above).

In high school I took several AP courses and participated in various extracurricular activities. I didn't get my drivers license until my senior year, but I walked to school anyway and didn't need to drive much. I think that despite the few difficulties that I encountered, I was much happier having skipped than I would have been had I not done so.

By the way, skipping was not common where I went to school, either, but my parents (okay, my mom!) is very persistent and tends to get what she wants. Do what you think is best for your daughter; you know her best.