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

Here in the uk children start reception in the september when they are four. My ds is five at the beginning of september and will be the eldest child in his class.

Some of the children in his class have only just turned four. It seems that children here start school a year earlier. I have never heard of red shirting. Do you have the same opportunity to get a child in early?

I tried to get my son in early for last year, but to no avail. It is virtually unheard of.

Good question! No, generally speaking you don't have the same opportunity to get them in early. Usually that's a terrible slog.

No, here in the US we are only allowed to hold our children back, not allow them to advance forward!

Redshirting is very popular at our school. At age 5, in Kindergarten, my son with a May birthday was the second youngest in the class with boys who were much bigger and older. Some of the older boys were bullies. My son's most vivid memory of Kindergarten is when two of these older, bigger boys challenged him to a fight on the playground. He said that luckily he was wearing a watch and knew that the bell was about to ring so instead of looking for the teacher, he put his fists up like he was ready to fight, but didn't have to defend himself because the bell did ring in time for him to avoid a fight. The attitude here is that boys will be boys and teachers seem to ignore some of the problems. I didn't think it was fair that so many boys were held back a year and that my son, in addition to an inappropriate education had to worry about dealing with these older boys on the playground.

It isn't an academic edge that most of the people here hold their kids back for--it is sports. The older, bigger boys are better at football against the schools who do not redshirt.

This is where the "logic" of the edumacators breaks down:

Q: Little Johnny, age 5, can read at a 3rd grade level and do multiplication problems with re-numbering. Could we maybe let him skip K and go to 1st grade? Here is the evidence showing he can do this stuff.

A: IMPOSSIBLE! His social development will be negatively impacted by the lack of age-peer interactions!!

AND

Q: Little Jimmy, age 5, will attend K when he's 6 so he can still play HS football when he's 19. Is that okay?

A: Of course!

Okay, so this post is rather, emm, biting, but seriously...what is the official reason for not worrying about age-peer interactions when a 6-year-old is thrown in with a bunch of younger kids??


Val

That's the primary reason. I've seen it done.

The flip side of it is that most of these redshirted "football stars" end up mentally stunted when they graduate. Most don't have any unusual athletic talent anyway.

Today I came across an interesting article against redshirting posted on another board, http://naecs.crc.uiuc.edu/position/trends2000.html , "A position statement developed by National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education". There a few nuggets here and there that some of you may be interested in.

Just a little food for thought from yet another perspective. :-)

We live in Florida where the cutoff is September 1st. Our DS7 has a late November birthday, so he started K when he was 5 going on 6, as per the Florida state requirements. He is now in second grade and not only highly gifted, but also in the 99th percentile on the growth charts and already a skilled golfer. He's a very happy and easy going child. It's absolutely amazing how many people judge us that we have somehow done something wrong by placing him in the grade REQUIRED by our state. Our midwest friends and family (we're from Michigan where the cutoff is December 1), especially, assume that we've "held him back" for sports which is offensive and ridiculous. He's simply in the grade he's supposed to be in...and we have found a school staffed with teachers who appreciate and foster his gifts. Not to mention that we provide him with plenty of outside stimulation to feed his never ending curiosity and need to know. And, yes, he's tall and, yes, he plays sports. So what? Can't a child be both??? Can't a parent take BOTH things into consideration? It's truly amazing how many people assume he must not be bright because he is SO BIG and he's had early success at sports! Especially people with other gifted children. Ugh.

And (gasp!) so what if sports are some families priority...not everyone is academically gifted...perhaps, for some children, sports are their ticket to personal growth and fulfillment and college...who knows? We're all dealing with exceptionally bright children. Some parents are dealing with exceptionally coordinated and athletic children. It is possible to be a gifted athlete.

And, finally (I promise), I have an October birthday, so I started K at age 4 and went to college at age 17 and law school at 21. It worked well for me, but as a parent, I would not want my child away at college that early in today's campus climate. Our DD (21), who has a June birthday, is currently a senior in college and is among the youngest in her class. Back when she was in second grade the school wanted to grade skip her to fourth. We declined and are glad that we did. She certainly could have handled the material academically, but the social issues (may have been) overwhelming. I would not have wanted her living on campus at 16...and I wouldn't want her to have to live at home and miss out on the "right of passage" that is dorm life. ;-) Just MY concerns and MY choices...Who knows...just would have traded one set of concerns (academic) for the other (social.)

The true bottom line is...who cares what other families choose to do? We all need to make the BEST choice for OUR children and try not to judge those that make different choices. I truly believe that MOST people are trying to do the BEST for THEIR family...and who is to say that my choice is better? I can only hope it is the best one for my child. So, go ahead and "red shirt" for sports or "accelerate" for academics! If it is a good fit for your child, go for it! Be glad that we're not all the same and that we actually have so many choices to meet our varied needs!

Well said LisaH!

I'm sorry you are running into folks who think that a child who is good at sports can't be gifted. I appologize on their behalf.

But the sad fact is that at many schools the older kids pick on the younger kids, and larger kids pick on the smaller kids. Until that is handled in a way that helps everyone grow, there will be resentment and amazement on all sides.

I think you are correct that if we adults set a better example of supporting each other's parenting, then maybe we will be one step closer to making school a more supportive place for our kids.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

I empathize with you. My kid is 9 and 5 feet 5 inches tall, and weighs in at around 130 lbs. He's a tall drink of water. Not only is he profoundly gifted, but because his birthday fell after the cut off we too had to delay school for a year. In our case, my kid is approached quarterly to play football. He has zero interest. He's a soccer kid all the way. We have been asked if we held him back because he's a big and tall kid to play sports. I can't tell you how many times I have had to roll my eyes, sigh and say, "really?"

It's mind blowing to me that people even ask such a question. Then again, he's mistaken for 15 years old most of the time, and when he behaves like a 9 year old I get those looks as well. But then again, he behaves much better than most 15 year olds, so go figure:):)