Keep this in mind next time you answer your door to a neighbor kid or your friend in the next cubicle over asks you to buy some candy to help support the school programs. When you start to send home F s, the school board becomes aware of problems in the school system, but so do upset parents who contact their district council members. The reputation of the school is at stake. Yet again, cause and effect of F s as related the school systems. Let s also consider the adolescent child who struggles with daily personal battles of trying to fit in.
Social pressures are beyond what adults can really understand.
Giving an F to the child and holding them back from their peers who advance to the next grade level will only destroy their personal value system. Take it even further and consider the anger and embarrassment the child will feel from his family. I am sure that a small percentage of parents will see the F as a warning flag and will be prompted into action, but not a large enough percentage to deem the widespread giving of F s as a solution. I do not mean to say that we should continue to pass students who do not meet the standards to save face, but that careful consideration should be enforced with a student who doesn t meet the standards. This calls for more awareness at the elementary levels.