Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments The other side of the coin

Yes, I think sports is the primary reason for redshirting in our area, too. Well, maybe that and so that the boys are more mature and better able to sit still.

I'd prefer the schools just let the kids move around more, but whatever...

I think there is a lot of academic red-shirting around here. Not so much to make sure the child is the top of the list, but for fear the child will end up on the bottom of the list.

Yes, in my perfect school, all kids would be skill tested in k the first day and placed in the appropriate grade for the appropriate subject.

Ideally all kids would be tested at the beginning of the year and after winter break and re-placed if necessary.

I was told when I was pregnant with Pud, due in August, that if it were a boy, I just HAD to hold him back on NOT on any condition put him in K at 5. I remember thinking, gosh, let's let the child be born before we start categorizing him/her.

However, I will say that with some boys with summer birthdays, I can see why parents red-shirt them. Some of these boys don't have the maturity or emotional readiness to sit through full-day K at barely 5. I'm sure that also applies to girls, but I've known more boys that way than girls. A good option for us was a part-time, church K. (Granted, Pud was doing 2nd grade work at the time but he loved it and the teachers loved him, so it was a good fit, socially). Not quite half the kids went on to first and the rest repeated K in public school for many reasons.

I think it all depends on the child.

Oh and for the record, we have plenty of red shirting around here. Not always for good reasons. I don't know anyone personally who does it for sports, but I'm sure they're out there. Everyone I know whose done it, has done it for boy squirrelly issues.

I just had a conversation with a parent last week at my son's piano camp. She had a boy the same age as DS7 and seemed very excited and anxious about ivy league schools already. And DS blew her away with his ability. Her son is bright, but not as scary as DS7. Ugh - I don't need that kind of stress or pressure in my life! I'll cross those bridges as we approach them.

I personally think that the insane dad must have pushed and pushed the teacher to see if his kid was number one in the class. If the #3 actually came from the school, he must have had to drag it out of them. I don't think the school would have ranked them. Or maybe the dad was just estimating the #3 by pumping the other parents for report card info.

But red-shirting makes my life so much harder when my DS has accelerated a year. He was seven all of last year in third grade... most of the other boys in the class were turning 10.

One of the other moms looked at me and said, "You think that the (red-shirting) parents would stop and think for a moment. Who wants their kid driving during freshman year?" I agree. Most boys in 9th grade do not have the emotional/maturity development to be driving a car!

I can understand the squirmy, summer-birthday, boy-thing. That sentence describes my DS to a tee. We were fortunate to only have half-day K, or we would have been in trouble. There was no way he could sit still for full-day K. (He had enough trouble with half-day K!!)

But isn't that just an indication that the school structure is a problem? What are you supposed to do with squirmy little 5 year old boys who are ready for 2nd grade material?? Holding them back can't be the best solution?

Well, maybe they do if they're 18 in 9th grade! Ugh.

Oh, and squirt, I was referring to my squirmy little 5 year old... not your! I don't want to imply anything about your DS!!

My dd8 is an April birthday. Our cutoff is December, so she ended up being one of the older students in her class. Her experience in 1st grade could not have been better (she did not attend K). She was mature, confident and happy. Some of the kids on the younger side struggled a bit. I think your experience at school in your earlier years shapes the rest of your school years.

She was grade skipped for next year, so she will now be one of the younger kids in her class. I guess I will just have to wait and see how this works out.