Um My teacher says that she wants me to skip a grade(I’m in 4th grade) and got to 6th grade.I’m a little scared though because I won’t know anyone and I’d be leaving my other friends behind!!!But I really want to go to middle school!!I really want the challenge of harder work but I don’t know what choice to make!! HELP!!

-Soccer Punk!!‘

Soccer Punk,
Ciao Babe! Hmph…this one is definitely tough. So let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each and see if we can figure out what’s best for you. Obviously you are intellectually more mature than your grade level (high-five, we need more girlie’s like you), but who’s to say that you are socially and emotionally the same as well.

If you skip a grade and go straight to sixth, you have the opportunity to get a jump-start toward your future. You will be one step ahead of the game, well I guess in your case, two steps. You smarty pants, you. But if you choose this route, you’re thrown in with classmates that are older and most likely going through a different phase in their life. For the rest of your educational life, your friends will always be able to do things that you won’t for another two years, i.e. puberty, getting your license, dating, etc.

If you decide to stay in the fourth grade and go with the flow, then you’ll get to experience everything with your friends. You won’t ever feel like the odd-man out and you get to linger in your childhood a little bit longer. And I can tell ya, childhood is one of the best times of your life (trust me), and it’s a great experience you don’t want to miss out on or rush. But on the other hand, you’ll be intellectually bored and be putting a lot of your brainpower to waste.

I know I sound fairly crazy at this point. I personally don’t know what I would do myself. This is definitely a situation where you’re going to have to put in a lot of thought and come up with a decision yourself. Either way you go, if you have an optimistic attitude and stay positive, you can’t go wrong. Just don’t look back and have regrets. Once you put your mind to something, go for it full speed.

GoodLuck,
Jiae