Just another redshirting vent

[Anonymous]

My late summer boy was not redshirted. He is now in 3rd grade and super good friends with a kid in his class two years older than him.
Maybe this is NBD, people.

[Anonymous]

My kid has a summer birthday and a serious medical condition that is not obvious to most and we do not disclose to others. It is expected to get worse in the next few years and so we red shirted him in case he will miss a lot of school in a couple years. People, you never know what others are dealing with. Be kind and give these kids the benefit of the doubt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My late summer boy was not redshirted. He is now in 3rd grade and super good friends with a kid in his class two years older than him.
Maybe this is NBD, people.

It’s no big deal. Was that kid redshirted and held back a year?

[Anonymous]

We didn't redshirt our September birthday kids and yes, I'm smug about it. They're the youngest and still at the top of the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grow up. I was in a moms group with late summer/fall babies. 2 of the moms have extremely advanced September girls who are starting K this year, whereas my socially & physically immature August boy started K last year because of the cut-off dates. Those girls are always going to be ahead of my boy. But I know I chose not to redshirt him, so it is what it is.

Also private schools REQUIRE parents to redshirt.

So this really has f-all to do with you.

My July birthday boy is in a private school on the DC area and was not redshirted, so you are incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grow up. I was in a moms group with late summer/fall babies. 2 of the moms have extremely advanced September girls who are starting K this year, whereas my socially & physically immature August boy started K last year because of the cut-off dates. Those girls are always going to be ahead of my boy. But I know I chose not to redshirt him, so it is what it is.

Also private schools REQUIRE parents to redshirt.

So this really has f-all to do with you.

My July birthday boy is in a private school on the DC area and was not redshirted, so you are incorrect.

How many August/September boys went on time? Independent private school or parochial?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My late summer boy was not redshirted. He is now in 3rd grade and super good friends with a kid in his class two years older than him.
Maybe this is NBD, people.

see, this is what i don’t get. how is this any different than a ,omtessori ckass, where kids at a few different age groups are grouped together, so you would have kids hanging out and learning socially for, kids a year or two older or younger. why is it desirable there and not in traditional schools?.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My late summer boy was not redshirted. He is now in 3rd grade and super good friends with a kid in his class two years older than him.
Maybe this is NBD, people.

see, this is what i don’t get. how is this any different than a ,omtessori ckass, where kids at a few different age groups are grouped together, so you would have kids hanging out and learning socially for, kids a year or two older or younger. why is it desirable there and not in traditional schools?.

Correct me if I’m wrong but in a Montessori school I think they’re still technically in multiple grades. A three year span doesn’t all graduate together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has a summer birthday and a serious medical condition that is not obvious to most and we do not disclose to others. It is expected to get worse in the next few years and so we red shirted him in case he will miss a lot of school in a couple years. People, you never know what others are dealing with. Be kind and give these kids the benefit of the doubt.

Very best wishes for your son's health, happiness, and education. People here really lose sight of the big picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grow up. I was in a moms group with late summer/fall babies. 2 of the moms have extremely advanced September girls who are starting K this year, whereas my socially & physically immature August boy started K last year because of the cut-off dates. Those girls are always going to be ahead of my boy. But I know I chose not to redshirt him, so it is what it is.

Also private schools REQUIRE parents to redshirt.

So this really has f-all to do with you.

My July birthday boy is in a private school on the DC area and was not redshirted, so you are incorrect.

How many August/September boys went on time? Independent private school or parochial?

Not all privates. I haven't asked around, but I'm not aware of any redshirted kids among my 2nd graders friends. I do know of one kid who skipped a grade. This is not a parochial school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has a summer birthday and a serious medical condition that is not obvious to most and we do not disclose to others. It is expected to get worse in the next few years and so we red shirted him in case he will miss a lot of school in a couple years. People, you never know what others are dealing with. Be kind and give these kids the benefit of the doubt.

Very best wishes for your son's health, happiness, and education. People here really lose sight of the big picture.

+1

You can't take the anti-redshirt people on DCUM seriously. Please don't let these lunatics get to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has a summer birthday and a serious medical condition that is not obvious to most and we do not disclose to others. It is expected to get worse in the next few years and so we red shirted him in case he will miss a lot of school in a couple years. People, you never know what others are dealing with. Be kind and give these kids the benefit of the doubt.

I think it's a bit extreme to raise your very unusual situation as an example of anything. I don't care about redshirting one way or the other but I'm surprised you would hold him back now just because of something that may happen in the future. If I were in your shoes, I could imagine thinking that if he's might miss a lot of school in the future, better to push him ahead as much as he can handle now. But, I'm not in your shoes. Also, I think it's fine to redshirt or not since I don't think it affects my kids, who were not redshirted, at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has a summer birthday and a serious medical condition that is not obvious to most and we do not disclose to others. It is expected to get worse in the next few years and so we red shirted him in case he will miss a lot of school in a couple years. People, you never know what others are dealing with. Be kind and give these kids the benefit of the doubt.

Very best wishes for your son's health, happiness, and education. People here really lose sight of the big picture.

I don't think anyone on DCUM has ever argued against a legit reason like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has a summer birthday and a serious medical condition that is not obvious to most and we do not disclose to others. It is expected to get worse in the next few years and so we red shirted him in case he will miss a lot of school in a couple years. People, you never know what others are dealing with. Be kind and give these kids the benefit of the doubt.

Very best wishes for your son's health, happiness, and education. People here really lose sight of the big picture.

I don't think anyone on DCUM has ever argued against a legit reason like this.

No, but I'd be surprised if the DCUM anti-redshirt crusaders don't carry their holy fervor into the real world and side-eye tall-for-grade kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My late summer boy was not redshirted. He is now in 3rd grade and super good friends with a kid in his class two years older than him.
Maybe this is NBD, people.

see, this is what i don’t get. how is this any different than a ,omtessori ckass, where kids at a few different age groups are grouped together, so you would have kids hanging out and learning socially for, kids a year or two older or younger. why is it desirable there and not in traditional schools?.

I think a multi-year age span IS desirable in traditional schools. But that's not how schools are set up. The Montessori classroom has lessons and materials to cover the three year age span (actually, usually a 4 or 5 year age span to account for advanced and lagging kids.) The fundamental concept of montessori is to teach each child where they are in the progression, rather than in adherence to a rigid age system. So Larla, age 6, and Larlo, age 8, could easily be working on the same material in a montessori room, and that's fine. And likewise, a 6 and 8 year old could be working on two totally different things. And that's also fine. Likewise, if you stay for all 3 years in a Montessori room, you will start out being the youngest, learning from your older classmates. Eventually, you'll be one of the oldest, being the peer model and teacher. So *all* kids will get the benefit of being one of the youngest and the benefit of being one of the oldest.

Unfortunately, that's not how traditional classrooms are set up. The idea is that all kids within a ~12 month range should be taught the same material. The classroom structure, lesson plans, and curriculum all cover only 9 month's worth of material. Teachers have limited ability to differentiate - certainly not enough to cover a typical three year age span.
So if the ages start to range too much, the classroom just isn't structured in such a way as to handle it. And the youngest kid is the youngest kid for 12 years. And the oldest kid is always the oldest.

I would *love* to see more multi-age classes in public schools, but comparing redshirting to montessori (or any other intentional multi-age/multi-grade structure) misses the point.