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Why is redshirting so common around here?
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Anonymous
??? One, it's ridiculous to think all early childhood educators feel the same way, and two, who do you think sets the age cut-offs? Take it up with the school system, not with parents of happy kids who are doing just fine even having gone on time. I have a really bright fun kid who loved kindergarten and barely had any idea he was the youngest. It was developmentally appropriate for him and almost everyone in his class. |
Anonymous
| 14:43, THANK you!!!! I cringe at the thought of 3-4 year olds stuck doing worksheets and calling it academic. |
Anonymous
You really think those with early childhood education degrees are the know it all for a particular child. Humm.... no. Funny, because my child has some delays, we did take him out of state to the leading expert in child development, his delays, etc. and he said my child should have gone to K. based off his testing and he would have been much better being the youngest than the oldest. There is a lot to gain in some situations from the modeling from being with older kids. (and, I have had many child development classes too given it was related to my degrees and none suggested holding kids back based of "maturity") |
Anonymous
The very mention of "academic" and prek / k makes me shudder. I didn't want my kid being academic in those grades. I wanted him in to play in a constructive, creative way that would send him off to school with positive feelings about learning. A play-based environment is what's developmentally appropriate for pre-k and k children. Sitting down quietly to do worksheets is not. |
Anonymous
Technically my child is in a 4 class with all 5 year olds so it is very appropriate for them to be doing worksheets. While you are bashing these worksheets, have you ever looked at them? They are very basic and most of the kids can do them within a minute or few minutes. If anything, they should be doing much harder ones like we do at home. |
Anonymous
| 14:45, it actually is not ridiculous. There standards that must be met in order for a program to truly be considered developmentally appropriate. I am happy that it worked out for your child. But, the pp is correct that the majority of k programs in public school are far, far from developmentally appropriate. |
Anonymous
This is a legit concern, but I'd imagine that there are other factors that create more of a divide than kids starting at 4-5 vs 5-6. (Also I'm certainly not trying to give my kid a legs up on scholarships, etc.) |
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:
One of the (I think very rational) reasons I am against redshirting without a developmental disability is the social justice and fairness of the school system. Public schools are one of the mechanisms we have, as a society, to provide opportunities to all. The fact is that parents without means ALWAYS send their kids on time to kindergarten. Many even get them in at age 4 (ask teachers in poor schools about this). So your already advantaged 19 year old will in fact be competing against an already disadvantaged 17 year old for college spots, scholarship money, etc. It's funny to me that I have so many VERY liberal friends who think it is totally acceptable to hold back their July birthday boys and spend and extra $20k on preschool. It is, in fact, gaming the system, and I don't think it's right. Most redshirters are doing it to provide their kid with an advantage, and yes, being the oldest is an advantage. So you do think there is an advantage to doing it? Because most people who are against it continually repeat how there is no advantage and no one should do it. The only smart kids are the ones who go on time, etc. Of course there is an advantage to doing it, otherwise rich people in MoCo and private schools wouldn't be holding their kids back. Their special snowflake deserves special treatment. |
Anonymous
How so and at what cost? Why are all my kids' friends and my friends' kids doing fine? |
Anonymous
That is what you want for kids, but you are not looking at what is best for that particular child. My child did not do well in a play based program. Because of his delays, the teacher ignored him as he was quiet and kept to himself. It was a horrible situation. There were also several accidents on the playground (which is when we pulled him) due to their lack of attention of allowing the kids to just play vs. realize my child needs supervision as he is coordinated and will try things others may not at that same age. Play based when I observed the older classrooms was a joke. It looked to me like a holding cell for parents to work or SAHM's to have a break. They played with the same boring toy day after day with a 10 minute circle time. Most of the 4 year olds when I watched them being tested did not know their basics. If a child is just going for socialization, you can do that with activities and play dates. Children need to learn the rules, structure and how to thrive in a classroom. Teaching kids to sit and do organized for for 15-20 minute sessions is developmentally appropriate and sets them up for future success. (except they are rarely quiet when I come at random times to our school). That may be best for your child, but it was an epic failure for mine. If my child could choose his school over a play based or montessori, he'd choose his (well, actually he did as we looked at about 10 schools for this year and this is the one he picked). |
Anonymous
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http://www.naeyc.org/dap/kindergarteners
Any mention here of standardized computer based tests or worksheets? |
Anonymous
The problem is we have lowered our standards as to what should be developmentally appropriate. The majority of kids will rise to doing the work and behave in the environment (including many special needs kids). If we have low standards for our kids, why should they achieve. Maybe this is why other countries are surpassing ours. I see no issue with the common core standards, as my prek/5 year old has already mastered most of them for K. If he can do it with developmental delays, I would hope the majority of other kids (baring different special needs) would be able to do them too. Perhaps parents should be spending more time preparing kids for school rather than just complaining its no appropriate so we don't have to do it. I don't like how common core is being translated into the current teaching strategies and that may not work for my child, but the teaching strategies is different from the standards. |
Anonymous
Do you have any evidence that not redshirting (or enforcing strict age rules in public school) increases social justice and mitigates social issues concerning equal opportunities? I am open to this idea (and I think you expressed it mostly rationally so thank you for not being hyperbolic like a lot of PPs here, perhaps aside from your use of the term "gaming the system" which seems designed to be inflammatory). I personally think you are overvaluing the impact of the statistical age distribution of a class, but I am open to learning more about what forms the rational basis for your opinion. |
Anonymous
I like how the K age range stated is 5-6 -- not 4-5. |
Anonymous
Ever taught school? Ever taught needy kids? Ever taught K? |