Why is redshirting so common around here?

[Anonymous]

Maybe this leads to more redshirting:

http://www.chicagonow.com/still-advocating/2015/02/kindergarten-homework-is-absurd/

[Anonymous]

or this:

http://www.chicagonow.com/still-advocating/2015/03/more-absurd-kindergarten-homework/

[Anonymous]

I believe the parents who redshirt who say they made the best choice for their child. I wish they would offer me the same respect when I say redshirting has negatively affected my child's environment.

Parents know their own children best and each has to make the best decision for that child. Each has to assess whether the kindergarten environment is a good one for the child at that age and each has to decide whether waiting a year would be a better choice.

We can't ask a parent to put a child in an environment for which the child is not ready because it will somehow make another parent happy. Parents can only research the situation and look at their own children and then decide what the best fit is. We can only make what we hope to be a good choice for our own child, we can't make decisions for others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I believe the parents who redshirt who say they made the best choice for their child. I wish they would offer me the same respect when I say redshirting has negatively affected my child's environment.

Parents know their own children best and each has to make the best decision for that child. Each has to assess whether the kindergarten environment is a good one for the child at that age and each has to decide whether waiting a year would be a better choice.

We can't ask a parent to put a child in an environment for which the child is not ready because it will somehow make another parent happy. Parents can only research the situation and look at their own children and then decide what the best fit is. We can only make what we hope to be a good choice for our own child, we can't make decisions for others.

Research shows all things tend to even out by 3rd. Thus, redshirting may temporarily help your child, or may temporarily hurt mine.

Also, living in a community with other people means thinking of the group as well as your individual needs and wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe the parents who redshirt who say they made the best choice for their child. I wish they would offer me the same respect when I say redshirting has negatively affected my child's environment.

I wish they would offer me the courtesy of believing that parents who start their kids on time care just as much about their children and made their decision with as much thought as the redshirters.

Your kid wasn't ready for K? Fine.

You gave your child the gift of time and weren't in such a hurry to get rid of them when these are such precious moments and they're only young once? Where is the barf emoticon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I believe the parents who redshirt who say they made the best choice for their child. I wish they would offer me the same respect when I say redshirting has negatively affected my child's environment.

Parents know their own children best and each has to make the best decision for that child. Each has to assess whether the kindergarten environment is a good one for the child at that age and each has to decide whether waiting a year would be a better choice.

We can't ask a parent to put a child in an environment for which the child is not ready because it will somehow make another parent happy. Parents can only research the situation and look at their own children and then decide what the best fit is. We can only make what we hope to be a good choice for our own child, we can't make decisions for others.

Research shows all things tend to even out by 3rd. Thus, redshirting may temporarily help your child, or may temporarily hurt mine.

Also, living in a community with other people means thinking of the group as well as your individual needs and wants.

The group as a whole doesn't take precedence over your individual child. I would never suggest that someone make a choice that they know is bad for his/her own child because it would be better for the "group."

If a parent is worried that their child is possibly too young for the class as it is now composed and conducted, that parent has the freedom to choose to send the child the next year. No one is forcing parents of kids whose birthdays are close to the deadline to send their kids to school the second they are legally allowed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Ours has years too - I was surprised to see that.

What school or general area is this? I've been around schools for 20+ years and never seen this. I'm not doubting you, but I'd be interested to talk to the teacher to learn why years were included. Usually kids just like to know birthdays because birthdays are fun and exciting for them but they're not so interested in the year, just the month and date.

APS. Almost all of the teachers at this school are very young so maybe things are different these days? And I haven't seen all of the classrooms so maybe it just depends on the teacher. My friend (who also red-shirted her son) and I did a little reconnaissance when our kids were in K just to see how many others there were. Seemed like only 1-2 per class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I believe the parents who redshirt who say they made the best choice for their child. I wish they would offer me the same respect when I say redshirting has negatively affected my child's environment.

Parents know their own children best and each has to make the best decision for that child. Each has to assess whether the kindergarten environment is a good one for the child at that age and each has to decide whether waiting a year would be a better choice.

We can't ask a parent to put a child in an environment for which the child is not ready because it will somehow make another parent happy. Parents can only research the situation and look at their own children and then decide what the best fit is. We can only make what we hope to be a good choice for our own child, we can't make decisions for others.

Yes, seriously. If other parents were so concerned about "the community" then they would have worked on some of those distracting "quirks" that some kids have that all of the rest of the kids need to tolerate. It's public school and we all need to deal with others' crap to some extent. If you want a more perfect, protected environment try private. Oh wait. EVERYONE redshirts in private.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't mean that but in our case that's how it is. In our class you can easily pick out the red-shirted kids. They are a head or more taller than the rest of the class and in the highest reading and math groups. With the exception of one kid the highest reading group/math group = red-shirted kids.
I'm not saying I think it's a problem but it's definitely noticeable.

Anonymous wrote:
Good point - just because kids were redshirted does not actually mean that they are at the top of the class academically or bigger than the others. Sometimes we are only talking about kids that are a few weeks older than the ones who went on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't mean that but in our case that's how it is. In our class you can easily pick out the red-shirted kids. They are a head or more taller than the rest of the class and in the highest reading and math groups. With the exception of one kid the highest reading group/math group = red-shirted kids.
I'm not saying I think it's a problem but it's definitely noticeable.

Anonymous wrote:
Good point - just because kids were redshirted does not actually mean that they are at the top of the class academically or bigger than the others. Sometimes we are only talking about kids that are a few weeks older than the ones who went on time.

That's crazy for kids who are just a month or two older than their class. Do they have tall parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't mean that but in our case that's how it is. In our class you can easily pick out the red-shirted kids. They are a head or more taller than the rest of the class and in the highest reading and math groups. With the exception of one kid the highest reading group/math group = red-shirted kids.
I'm not saying I think it's a problem but it's definitely noticeable.

Anonymous wrote:
Good point - just because kids were redshirted does not actually mean that they are at the top of the class academically or bigger than the others. Sometimes we are only talking about kids that are a few weeks older than the ones who went on time.

+1

It's true of my sister's kids. They are all tall for their age and in the top reading/math groups. Both redshirted.

The kids are very smart, and would likely be in the top groups in the next grade up. It doesn't seem very nice to me for them to crowd out the non-redshirted kids in the top groups.

[Anonymous]

11:56 here. Could be a coincidence because they have taller parents or something but I think the difference is also very striking because there are also a number of summer/fall birthday kids who were not red-shirted and a couple of kids who did EEK and who are small.

Red-shirted kids are 10-16 months older than that group.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't mean that but in our case that's how it is. In our class you can easily pick out the red-shirted kids. They are a head or more taller than the rest of the class and in the highest reading and math groups. With the exception of one kid the highest reading group/math group = red-shirted kids.
I'm not saying I think it's a problem but it's definitely noticeable.

One of my kids was always the tallest in the class and in the highest reading and math groups. And if you saw that child and thought, "Must be a red-shirted kid," you would have been mistaken. That was my August birthday kid who was always the youngest in the class. It is possible to be the tallest and also the youngest.

That kid ended up at a top 20 university, so always did fine in school. For another child with the same birthday, going on time may not have been the best decision. We're all in charge of our own kids and have to do what's right for our kids. We gather information and make the best decisions we can with the knowledge we have at a particular time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Maybe this leads to more redshirting:

http://www.chicagonow.com/still-advocating/2015/02/kindergarten-homework-is-absurd/

I have to wonder more about the family dynamic if mom cannot get her child do to a few pages of simple homework a week. Or, perhaps that is why some of us are glad our preschools start it so it becomes part of the routine early enough where it just gets done. Ours takes 20 minutes a week. It is not a big deal. If anything, it is way too easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
or this:

http://www.chicagonow.com/still-advocating/2015/03/more-absurd-kindergarten-homework/

They spend 3-4 hours a week on homework like drawing a picture of a trash truck and writing "I love trash" under it? What am I missing?