I know parents who left their child back on purpose , redshirting I guess it is called. Does this really insure that child wil be smarter and above the others?
It annoys me because now that my son skipped a grade some kids could be 2 years older than him.
I think what parents fail to realize, those who redshirt, is they are not allowing their children to grow, both academically and emotionally. IMO, it also teaches them to take that easy road, as by the time they are almost 7, and in kindergarten still, they are bound to at least understand the alphabet for a year, right? Obviously there are exceptions to the "rule", but still.
I'm still trying to figure out what the benefit is for having the cutoff? Why is physical age so important?
What's the difference between someone turning 5 by September 1st? If "Johnny" turns 5 on August 31st, and "Susan" turns 6 on September 2nd, of the same school year, Susan is an entire year older than Johnny.
If they did away with the birthday rule, they will still have kids that are 12 months older than the youngest... but I'm not sure, where the gain or, in this case, loss is for the calendar year vs. the "school" year.
And for the record, we start school in very early August, so what's the point of having a September 1 cutoff instead of an August 1 cutoff???
