Perhaps I am dating myself as I often do, but when I was a kid, “do-overs” were a big deal. We begged for them on the playground when a baseball skidded off the bat and veered off into left field, when playing jacks and the tiny ball double bounced, or jumping Double Dutch and missing a jump. We begged for do-overs and were overjoyed when they were granted, and likewise willingly granted do-overs to our friends. On the playground, everyone loved do-overs.
But what about inside the educational space? Within the traditional setting, the phrases “held back” and “grade retention” drip with shame and condemnation, and the social stigma attached to both phrases results in “lower self-esteem and increased anxiety,” according to education professors Laura Link and Diana D’Amico Pawlewicz. The alternative, social promotion, allows students to be promoted alongside their peers regardless of academic performance, which can also have significant drawbacks within a traditional school setting.
As a homeschooler, I have embraced the “do-over” and have experienced its benefits firsthand, both with my own kids and from working with students at eXtend Homeschool Tutorial, the educational collaborative I founded and direct, and where I serve as a math instructor. As homeschoolers, we have the flexibility of targeted do-overs, where repeating a specific class does not mean repeating an entire grade. Instead, do-overs provide an opportunity to strengthen foundational skills. In our program, they have been vital to future success.
I often compare learning to constructing a building: the stronger your foundation, the better it will support the floors above it. Likewise, the stronger a student’s foundational skills are, the better that student will fare when higher-order concepts are layered on. My math classes at eXtend are a great example of this. I teach Saxon Algebra ½, an incremental Pre-Algebra course with concepts systematically building on top of one another.
Students new to our program are tested and, if needed, will complete a summer prep class to ensure their foundational skills can support the content and pace of my class. I often tell parents that if the foundation is wobbly, anything that goes on top of it is bound to wobble even more and runs the risk of crashing down. Over the years, my experience has taught me that this dynamic of attempting to build skills on top of poor foundations is one of the main reasons a student will report hating a subject. This is why I usually assess a student who is both new to my math class and new to eXtend. If the student is already with eXtend, I always confer with their existing eXtend math instructor to determine if they are ready for my class.
I have on a handful of occasions asked for a student to take my class again—a do-over. My oldest son, Josh, needed do-overs for both Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1, and during that time, he was undergoing testing for autism. In the follow-up appointments with specialists, our work as homeschoolers was affirmed. They effectively told us to continue doing exactly what we were doing with the small classes and extended time and instruction. As a result of the do-overs, Josh gained such confidence in math that he went on to become the top student in his Geometry and Algebra 2 classes, and aced all of his college math classes.
My youngest son, Samuel, also benefited from a do-over of Pre-Algebra. His confidence in math soared. He was a top student in Algebra 1 and took both Geometry and Algebra 2 the following year, acing both classes. This year, in addition to taking Advanced Math (Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry), he is also dual-enrolled in a college math class, and has an A in both classes thus far.
At the beginning of this academic year, the parent of a former student of mine reached out to share that her student tested out of college math. She pointed back to the academic foundation her student received in my math classes and specifically noted that her son taking a do-over in Pre-Algebra proved to be one of the best decisions for him. Another homeschooling parent took her student back two grade levels in math and focused on solidifying his foundations. He recently graduated college with honors with an Engineering degree.
Why does the do-over work at eXtend? I believe part of the answer is found in how it is presented to students. Using words such as “we need to spend some more time on…” and “not yet”—very different from “no”—and even the term “do-over” changes how students perceive repeating a class. Presenting the do-overs as opportunities to make sure students are incredibly strong in certain skills and giving them the option to serve as leaders in the class can go a long way towards helping students embrace the do-over.
Additionally, a do-over at eXtend doesn’t necessarily mean a student is repeating an entire grade. Rather, it is more targeted to a specific subject or skill set that needs additional work before moving forward. This level of flexibility is one of the many benefits of a nontraditional educational setting such as homeschooling.
Ultimately, the heart of the do-over is not to punish or condemn a student. Rather, the heart of the do-over is to empower the student by providing needed educational space and time to grow and gain confidence and master foundational skills. In every instance when a student has needed a do-over, that student has emerged with a strong foundation and the confidence to proceed to the next level of instruction. Without the do-over, students may struggle; but with the do-over, students may soar!
