<p>Hello
Just wanted to see if anyone else saw the piece on 'academic redshirting' </p>
<p>Feel free to share your opinion on redshirting even if you didn't</p>
<p>DD has a late birthday and I go back and forth with it</p>
<p>That was a repeat, but I watched it again. The funny thing about that whole story, to me, was that they talked as if it is done for one reason: to give kids an advantage by being bigger.</p>
<p>We are a military family with two kids born in September. For child one, we lived in a state where the cutoff was September 1, so she did not go to school. Then we moved where the cutoff was December 31. We wanted our children to be three years apart in school as they were in age. We also thought the December rule was way out of step with the rest of the country. BUT my number one reason for our maturity waiver was so that our kids were not the youngest when they were exposed to drugs and sex for the first time. </p>
<p>I thought they had some real gaps in that story.</p>
<p>Maybe they will interview me next time.</p>
<p>I saw it. “Sending” your child-I have two with late summer b-days-isn’t a problem till high school, when they are the last to drive, perhaps less mature, and if they are a boy will have “redshirted” classmates for the purpose of athletic achievement. My son had a school classmate, state champ in a sport, who was a full TWO YEARS older than him!</p>
<p>Two full years??? Wow…talk about an unfair advantage…</p>
<p>Admittedly, I didn’t see this. I wish I had, and will probably look it up sometime and see it. However I decided to weigh in because I am one of the youngest in my grade, and have experience. My parents opted not to wait a year. I am still one of the top of my class. I am still completely capable of achieving the same as those who are older than me by almost a year or two, in some cases. Moreover, many of my high-achieving friends (academically and otherwise) were born in later months. I never feel that I’m behind. Actually, I feel that getting an earlier start gave me an advantage over those children who spent an extra year in preschool. Leadershipwise, I’ve also never felt at a disadvantage. Socially, too, I never really felt that something was wrong. Starting out, I was socially immature, but it eventually faded away. I have no experience with athletics, as I am not a generally athletic person. Some small things like driving, I just understood that I was younger, I wasn’t wanting to drive, and I did have some friends to shuttle me around. And when it came to maturing, I did not at all feel behind my peers.</p>
<p>Moreover, I do know of plenty of kids whose parents waited. Some of them are excelling in their studies, whereas others are not. I do feel that it is awkward that they are older. They have to explain that their parents had to hold them back, and oftentimes they feel that their parents who didn’t believe in them.</p>
<p>Honestly, when it comes down to it, it depends on the kid. I’m an outlier, who defeats the statistics that say the older kids achieve more. But, I was ready for kindergarten. I was articulate, and beginning to learn basic concepts that were taught in kindergarten. If you, or any parent, is wondering if they need to wait, don’t look at the facts, and the data. Look or your child, and decide if they are ready to begin their education.</p>
<p>The story said that in the long run these red-shirted students do not do better academically and may have higher drop out rates. They do seem to get more attention for sports.</p>
<p>I’ve posted on a thread about this topic but will weigh in here again without all the detail. Rachelm57, your writing is clear and mature – and validating. You’re right that so much depends on the kid. Our child has always been the youngest. We were concerned that it would be an issue in high school, but it still isn’t and he’s a sophomore. Like you, he was ready and able. There were a couple of years when his basketball peers had had their growth spurts and had an advantage on court, but he has now caught up and his “down low” on the court is better for having been the shorter one for a couple of years. It took us years, but I think we’re finally at peace with our decision to keep him moving forward. Experience has borne us out.</p>
<p>Doing what’s right developmentally is much more important than doing what seems competitive, IMHO.</p>
<p>I saw the 60 min show. I’ve always been open to hear the pros and cons to this subject. Our first child has always been the youngest in her grade and I often worried about her keeping up socially with classmates who were 12 to 18 months older. I saw a big difference in grade school. However, now she’s in HS and she has many classmates 2 yrs + her age. She seems fine with the age difference. Red shirting in BS is more common. I may also add that she is in Europe so this is not just a US trend.</p>
<p>For me, the red shirting consideration is not about sports or about being older or younger than a peer group, but just about being ready for kindergarten. Today’s kindergarten curriculum is similar to what I did in first and second grade in the 1970s.</p>
<p>My kindergarten daughter had a full day, which included only a 30 min recess time each day and one “free” block of 20 minutes each week! They had math, science, and a very heavy academic program, all in a public school. Homework included writing a short essay once a week. I volunteered in the classroom a lot, and in a way, it was impressive to see these little kids doing so much. On the other hand, for a lot of the kids, especially boys, it was hard to keep them from crawling under the tables and hiding. And at 5 years old, maybe this is what they should be doing?</p>
<p>Despite the Jan 1st cutoff, meaning that kids who are still 4 in Sept could join this kindergarten, very few people did it. My daughter had a July birthday and was the youngest. I don’t think the parents of kids born in July-December were holding their kids back just to be older than other kids, but they probably realize that the long academic day, similar to a 1st or 2nd grade curriculum, wasn’t right for their 5 year old. I don’t think this was touched on at the 60 Minutes story, and it should have been. Cognitive development studies show that 4 and 5 year olds learn best through play. Maybe 6 years old is the best time to start a full academic day with homework, so maybe the redshirting people have it right!</p>
<p>60 Minutes offers “web extras.” Malcolm Gladwell had a sensible suggestion to stop the madness: Determine elementary classes by birth month. January-April, May-July, August-December. That would eliminate the comparison problem, whereby a summer birthday boy is judged deficient, when compared to a fall birthday girl. [Malcolm</a> Gladwell’s solution to redshirting - 60 Minutes - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7400902n]Malcolm”>http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7400902n)</p>
<p>I’ve been on both sides of this issue, so I wanted to chime in. I was always on the younger end of my class (June birthday), but due to study abroad after high school, am now one of the oldest in my university class. Although it has never been a big deal in either high school or college, I definitely prefer being older rather than younger. I find that while slightly older students are not necessarily more mature, very, very generally, slightly older students are more self confident and independent in university, especially when compared to students coming from states where the cut off date is December (I think in some cases 17 is a bit too young to start university). That said, I wouldn’t have wanted my parents to hold me back: my June birthday never negatively impacted my primary or secondary education, and it gave me the room to decide to take a gap year after high school. While its not right for everyone, I would encourage other students in my position to consider taking gap years: being a bit older and having more work/international experience has definitely made my university experience more fulfilling.</p>