This age discrepancy due to "redshirting" is ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. It's weird that my 4 year old is in a kindergarten class with a boy who just turned 7.

And when she enters her senior year of high school, that 7 yo will turn 20.

These redshirting threads are great people-watching due to the consistently undereducated and math-challenged posters. Bear with me here as I walk you through this. If someone turns 7 in kindergarten, that child had to be 6 at the start of the year to be consistent with VA laws. Add 1 to 6 and you get 7 sometime during the kindergarten year. Given that parents rarely hold back a fall child, that 7th birthday is likely sometime in the spring. In first grade, that child will turn 8. So, here is where it gets tricky. One plus eleven equals 12 for twelfth grade (that's the grade for high school seniors). Add a corresponding 11 to the 8-year-old first grader and you get 19 . . . sometime in the spring. My god, you're right, the horror!! 19 in highschool! I didn't turn 19 until November of my freshman year in college. That is wildly different. (Tune in for my next post, where I explain the literary concept of sarcasm.)

Haha, I like you.

Also, the child who is 4 on the first day of kindergarten will be having a birthday that month, so will turn 5 by 30 September, so will not be 4 at the same time the other child is 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you wanted a class with less redshirted kids you should have gone public. It's common knowledge that redshirting is common in privates.

In privates, it is a battle not to redshirt a child. A child moving from public to private is usually asked to repeat a year for exactly this reason. Most of the angry anti-redshirting posts are clearly from public school parents who are strangely angered by their children consorting with children not identically aged with their own. Meh.

It's not common in our son's private school.

Is your son's private a Catholic school?

Yes

Ha ha. On DCUM, Catholic schools are not considered private schools. See various threads explaining this to us. Get with the program. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

TO me the rule should be NO CHILD starts kindergarten until they are age 5. 4-year-olds don't belong in today's kindergarten. It IS the new first grade.

Problem solved.

I totally agree. The cut-off date should be changed from 30 September to 1 September, or, even better, 1 August, so that every child in the class will be at least 5 before the first day of school. I think fewer people would wait to send their children if the choice were not between sending a 4 year old or waiting a year till they are already 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If you wanted a class with less redshirted kids you should have gone public. It's common knowledge that redshirting is common in privates.

In privates, it is a battle not to redshirt a child. A child moving from public to private is usually asked to repeat a year for exactly this reason. Most of the angry anti-redshirting posts are clearly from public school parents who are strangely angered by their children consorting with children not identically aged with their own. Meh.

It's not common in our son's private school.

Is your son's private a Catholic school?

Yes

Ha ha. On DCUM, Catholic schools are not considered private schools. See various threads explaining this to us. Get with the program. Thanks.

I've read them, they are almost as uneducated as this thread where people can't add.

[Anonymous]

To be fair, I went to Catholic school and my children went to Catholic school in a different area and we never considered Catholic school the same as private school. That is why people refer to "public, private, or parochial" schools, they are three different categories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

TO me the rule should be NO CHILD starts kindergarten until they are age 5. 4-year-olds don't belong in today's kindergarten. It IS the new first grade.

Problem solved.

I totally agree. The cut-off date should be changed from 30 September to 1 September, or, even better, 1 August, so that every child in the class will be at least 5 before the first day of school. I think fewer people would wait to send their children if the choice were not between sending a 4 year old or waiting a year till they are already 5.

I like the idea of an August deadline date. Four is too young for kindergarten. (Yes, even for your wicked smart snowflake.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, I went to Catholic school and my children went to Catholic school in a different area and we never considered Catholic school the same as private school. That is why people refer to "public, private, or parochial" schools, they are three different categories.

Well, we have the choice of "Public" or "Private/Independent Schools" in DCUMville.

[Anonymous]

I think the issue is the trend.....people are holding their children back (most commonly boys) because they don't want THEIR child to be the youngest in the grade....so, year by year, the age of kindergarten is getting older, especially in more affluent areas. If the norm is now to hold back the July birthdays, then, HEAVENS, my June child may be one of the youngest in the grade.

Guess what? Someone has to be the youngest. That is why I believe we should send our children on time with whatever the state guideline is, unless there is a reason substantiated by a doctor, social worker, psychologist, etc..... (I would totally be in favor of gradually moving the cutoff date to August 1) . Maybe moving the deadline to August would reduce the stigma of sending a four year old to school....who knows?

[Anonymous]

It's always the very reasoned mom with the kid who will likely be the youngest and/or doesn't want to hold their kid back who chimes in with the "you'll need a doctor's note if you want to hold back your summer boy." Not a criticism, just an observation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, I went to Catholic school and my children went to Catholic school in a different area and we never considered Catholic school the same as private school. That is why people refer to "public, private, or parochial" schools, they are three different categories.

But if you understood catholic HS's here few are "parochial" most are "independent".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, I went to Catholic school and my children went to Catholic school in a different area and we never considered Catholic school the same as private school. That is why people refer to "public, private, or parochial" schools, they are three different categories.

But if you understood catholic HS's here few are "parochial" most are "independent".

Ireton, O'Connell, and Paul VI are all diocese schools, not independent. Most of the Catholic elementary schools are diocese schools.

[Anonymous]

This is a silly argument. Each child is different. I agree that some kids should be redshirted-and some should not. The K curriculum is the "old" first grade, and why would you encourage a parent to send their immature kid to fail?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a silly argument. Each child is different. I agree that some kids should be redshirted-and some should not. The K curriculum is the "old" first grade, and why would you encourage a parent to send their immature kid to fail?

That is not true for all school districts. Arlington is very clear that its kindergarten is for five-year-olds. Not to say that no one holds back their kids, or even that it might not be advisable in some cases (late SN/LD diagnosis and not enough time with the OT to catch up to a typical 5YO), but I sent my boys on time and I was not alone, nor was it a problem for them and their friends. Yes, some of the held-back kids were kind of mean and smug, but my kids learned to cope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like the idea of an August deadline date. Four is too young for kindergarten. (Yes, even for your wicked smart snowflake.)

I have a colleague who is sending her September 29 son on time. She is doing it because she doesn't want to pay for another year of preschool and wants more free time. To be fair, he is the exception among 4-year-old boys and is really ready to sit quietly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the idea of an August deadline date. Four is too young for kindergarten. (Yes, even for your wicked smart snowflake.)

I have a colleague who is sending her September 29 son on time. She is doing it because she doesn't want to pay for another year of preschool and wants more free time. To be fair, he is the exception among 4-year-old boys and is really ready to sit quietly.

Interesting.