Why is redshirting so rare if it's so advantageous?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty.

That makes no sense. The older two people get, the LESS their age difference matters. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, which is obviously bigger than the difference between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. I understand that a year still makes a huge difference in junior high and high school, but just not as big of a difference as in elementary school. The longer you live, the smaller a fraction a year is of your life.

Yes. Kids’ happiness in school largely depends on their ability to learn the required material, and to fit in and interact productively with their fellow students. This becomes very apparent, physically and mentally when kids hit prepubescent and puberty ages. Girls will physically mature 1-2 years before boys. Boys also have a longer spread in time as they move through puberty than girls. These issues are most evident in the middle school years, but particularly for boys, they carry through into high school. It is easy to see. Walk into any middle school and look at the physical maturity differences between the girls and boys in the same grade, and in particular, the wide range in physical development status of the boys. It will take you 1 class change period to see it. It is that obvious.

It ain’t rocket science. Every middle school teacher and administrator knows it. Getting kids into high school with more physical and mental maturity will help them do better at all aspects of school - academic and social. You as a parent can make those years easier for the kid, or more difficult for the kid. It is as simple as that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty.

That makes no sense. The older two people get, the LESS their age difference matters. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, which is obviously bigger than the difference between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. I understand that a year still makes a huge difference in junior high and high school, but just not as big of a difference as in elementary school. The longer you live, the smaller a fraction a year is of your life.

You as a parent can make those years easier for the kid, or more difficult for the kid. It is as simple as that.

This means that the vast majority of parents choose to make school difficult for their kid, hence my confusion. If we redshirt our son, he'd be one of the only students, if not the only student, in his cohort to be redshirted, which wouldn't seem to make sense if it was as advantageous as you and so many experts say it is. Aren't parents supposed to want what's best for their kids? The idea of us being able to give our son advantage that no other parent would think to give just feels a little too good to be true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty. Talk to your middle school counselors as they see the effects of redshirting at that stage. When will your kid hit their growth spurts effects almost everything they do from age 12 to 18.

This is not something middle school counselors are worried about.

This is all they are worried about. As every middle school action on the part of the kids is related to this. Now, whether girls are mean to each other in 6th grade versus 7th grade is something they still have to deal with, but the big thing is getting kids through middle school in one piece so they can effectively transition into high school. Back in the day this was a bit simpler because high school started in 10th grade. With 9th graders in high school buildings it is more of an issue.

You anti-redshirt posters live in some truly weird worlds in your heads. In reality, not your imaginary world, middle school counselors do not spend all their time worrying about redshirting. Good Lord. You people are delusional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty.

That makes no sense. The older two people get, the LESS their age difference matters. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, which is obviously bigger than the difference between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. I understand that a year still makes a huge difference in junior high and high school, but just not as big of a difference as in elementary school. The longer you live, the smaller a fraction a year is of your life.

Getting kids into high school with more physical and mental maturity will help them do better at all aspects of school - academic and social.

Well, that's sort of true. Any child would get better marks in a lower grade than a higher grade. Any 10-year-old would get better grades in 4th grade than in 5th grade, any 14-year-old would get better grades in 8th grade than in 9th grade; but it's not an apples to apples comparison. A 9th grader getting B's still probably knows more than an 8th grader getting A's. At any given point in time, a redshirted student is not going to be more mature than they would be had they not been redshirted; they'll just be less educated. A redshirted student getting straight A's really doesn't mean all that much when you consider that most kids their age are in the grade above and have already mastered the material the redshirted student is studying.

Let's take, for example, a hypothetical kid more in October of 2016. They're going to hit puberty whenever their body decides, and whether or not they're redshirted isn't going to change that. A redshirted kid won't hit puberty any earlier than they were meant to, but they will be less educated than they should be when they do hit puberty. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drive in October of 2032, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll have 10 years of education under their belt instead of 11 year. If this kid becomes valedictorian, it really won't be that impressive when you consider that they should have finished a year of college already. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drink in October of 2037, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll only be halfway done with their Bachelor's Degree, instead of 3 quarters done.

In short, I never of a redshirted kid as being the first in their grade to hit puberty, drive, and drink; I think of them as being the last in their age group to hit their educational milestones, such as graduating from high school and college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My June baby was ready for kindergarten. So we put her in kindergarten

I was asking about kids with Fall birthdays. It wouldn't really make sense to hold back someone with a June birthday seeing as how they're already on the older half by default.

June birthdays are in the YOUNGER half of the class. Older half is Sept.-Feb.

[Anonymous]

Youngest 25%, in fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty. Talk to your middle school counselors as they see the effects of redshirting at that stage. When will your kid hit their growth spurts effects almost everything they do from age 12 to 18.

This is not something middle school counselors are worried about.

This is all they are worried about. As every middle school action on the part of the kids is related to this. Now, whether girls are mean to each other in 6th grade versus 7th grade is something they still have to deal with, but the big thing is getting kids through middle school in one piece so they can effectively transition into high school. Back in the day this was a bit simpler because high school started in 10th grade. With 9th graders in high school buildings it is more of an issue.

You anti-redshirt posters live in some truly weird worlds in your heads. In reality, not your imaginary world, middle school counselors do not spend all their time worrying about redshirting. Good Lord. You people are delusional.

The redshirts are pretty common in my area. Seems like half the boys in my kids K were 6 or 7. DC has an August birthday and is one of the youngest but they were ready for school. Holding them back would;'ve done them a disservice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty.

That makes no sense. The older two people get, the LESS their age difference matters. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, which is obviously bigger than the difference between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. I understand that a year still makes a huge difference in junior high and high school, but just not as big of a difference as in elementary school. The longer you live, the smaller a fraction a year is of your life.

Getting kids into high school with more physical and mental maturity will help them do better at all aspects of school - academic and social.

Well, that's sort of true. Any child would get better marks in a lower grade than a higher grade. Any 10-year-old would get better grades in 4th grade than in 5th grade, any 14-year-old would get better grades in 8th grade than in 9th grade; but it's not an apples to apples comparison. A 9th grader getting B's still probably knows more than an 8th grader getting A's. At any given point in time, a redshirted student is not going to be more mature than they would be had they not been redshirted; they'll just be less educated. A redshirted student getting straight A's really doesn't mean all that much when you consider that most kids their age are in the grade above and have already mastered the material the redshirted student is studying.

Let's take, for example, a hypothetical kid more in October of 2016. They're going to hit puberty whenever their body decides, and whether or not they're redshirted isn't going to change that. A redshirted kid won't hit puberty any earlier than they were meant to, but they will be less educated than they should be when they do hit puberty. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drive in October of 2032, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll have 10 years of education under their belt instead of 11 year. If this kid becomes valedictorian, it really won't be that impressive when you consider that they should have finished a year of college already. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drink in October of 2037, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll only be halfway done with their Bachelor's Degree, instead of 3 quarters done.

In short, I never of a redshirted kid as being the first in their grade to hit puberty, drive, and drink; I think of them as being the last in their age group to hit their educational milestones, such as graduating from high school and college.

You are giving this issue too much space in your head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty.

That makes no sense. The older two people get, the LESS their age difference matters. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, which is obviously bigger than the difference between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. I understand that a year still makes a huge difference in junior high and high school, but just not as big of a difference as in elementary school. The longer you live, the smaller a fraction a year is of your life.

Getting kids into high school with more physical and mental maturity will help them do better at all aspects of school - academic and social.

Well, that's sort of true. Any child would get better marks in a lower grade than a higher grade. Any 10-year-old would get better grades in 4th grade than in 5th grade, any 14-year-old would get better grades in 8th grade than in 9th grade; but it's not an apples to apples comparison. A 9th grader getting B's still probably knows more than an 8th grader getting A's. At any given point in time, a redshirted student is not going to be more mature than they would be had they not been redshirted; they'll just be less educated. A redshirted student getting straight A's really doesn't mean all that much when you consider that most kids their age are in the grade above and have already mastered the material the redshirted student is studying.

Let's take, for example, a hypothetical kid more in October of 2016. They're going to hit puberty whenever their body decides, and whether or not they're redshirted isn't going to change that. A redshirted kid won't hit puberty any earlier than they were meant to, but they will be less educated than they should be when they do hit puberty. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drive in October of 2032, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll have 10 years of education under their belt instead of 11 year. If this kid becomes valedictorian, it really won't be that impressive when you consider that they should have finished a year of college already. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drink in October of 2037, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll only be halfway done with their Bachelor's Degree, instead of 3 quarters done.

In short, I never of a redshirted kid as being the first in their grade to hit puberty, drive, and drink; I think of them as being the last in their age group to hit their educational milestones, such as graduating from high school and college.

You realize that your statements are an actual advertisement for redshirting right? Stay back a year. Get better grades. Be more confident. Excel in school and social activities. Get in to better colleges. Win In fact, win big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty. Talk to your middle school counselors as they see the effects of redshirting at that stage. When will your kid hit their growth spurts effects almost everything they do from age 12 to 18.

This is not something middle school counselors are worried about.

This is all they are worried about. As every middle school action on the part of the kids is related to this. Now, whether girls are mean to each other in 6th grade versus 7th grade is something they still have to deal with, but the big thing is getting kids through middle school in one piece so they can effectively transition into high school. Back in the day this was a bit simpler because high school started in 10th grade. With 9th graders in high school buildings it is more of an issue.

You anti-redshirt posters live in some truly weird worlds in your heads. In reality, not your imaginary world, middle school counselors do not spend all their time worrying about redshirting. Good Lord. You people are delusional.

The redshirts are pretty common in my area. Seems like half the boys in my kids K were 6 or 7. DC has an August birthday and is one of the youngest but they were ready for school. Holding them back would;'ve done them a disservice.

The question is where will they be relative to their fellow students in 7th and 8th grade? Will be able to do well academically? Will they be happy in socializing with their fellow students? Or will they forever be barred from getting into the top classes? Making the team? Getting a date? WIll they become anti-social? Will they turn to alternative interests like drug usage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty.

That makes no sense. The older two people get, the LESS their age difference matters. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, which is obviously bigger than the difference between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. I understand that a year still makes a huge difference in junior high and high school, but just not as big of a difference as in elementary school. The longer you live, the smaller a fraction a year is of your life.

Getting kids into high school with more physical and mental maturity will help them do better at all aspects of school - academic and social.

Well, that's sort of true. Any child would get better marks in a lower grade than a higher grade. Any 10-year-old would get better grades in 4th grade than in 5th grade, any 14-year-old would get better grades in 8th grade than in 9th grade; but it's not an apples to apples comparison. A 9th grader getting B's still probably knows more than an 8th grader getting A's. At any given point in time, a redshirted student is not going to be more mature than they would be had they not been redshirted; they'll just be less educated. A redshirted student getting straight A's really doesn't mean all that much when you consider that most kids their age are in the grade above and have already mastered the material the redshirted student is studying.

Let's take, for example, a hypothetical kid more in October of 2016. They're going to hit puberty whenever their body decides, and whether or not they're redshirted isn't going to change that. A redshirted kid won't hit puberty any earlier than they were meant to, but they will be less educated than they should be when they do hit puberty. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drive in October of 2032, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll have 10 years of education under their belt instead of 11 year. If this kid becomes valedictorian, it really won't be that impressive when you consider that they should have finished a year of college already. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drink in October of 2037, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll only be halfway done with their Bachelor's Degree, instead of 3 quarters done.

In short, I never of a redshirted kid as being the first in their grade to hit puberty, drive, and drink; I think of them as being the last in their age group to hit their educational milestones, such as graduating from high school and college.

You realize that your statements are an actual advertisement for redshirting right? Stay back a year. Get better grades. Be more confident. Excel in school and social activities. Get in to better colleges. Win In fact, win big.

There's nothing impressive about winning competitions against kids a year younger than you. And for the record, I don't think being less educated than others your age at any given point in time as "winning".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty. Talk to your middle school counselors as they see the effects of redshirting at that stage. When will your kid hit their growth spurts effects almost everything they do from age 12 to 18.

This is not something middle school counselors are worried about.

This is all they are worried about. As every middle school action on the part of the kids is related to this. Now, whether girls are mean to each other in 6th grade versus 7th grade is something they still have to deal with, but the big thing is getting kids through middle school in one piece so they can effectively transition into high school. Back in the day this was a bit simpler because high school started in 10th grade. With 9th graders in high school buildings it is more of an issue.

You anti-redshirt posters live in some truly weird worlds in your heads. In reality, not your imaginary world, middle school counselors do not spend all their time worrying about redshirting. Good Lord. You people are delusional.

The redshirts are pretty common in my area. Seems like half the boys in my kids K were 6 or 7. DC has an August birthday and is one of the youngest but they were ready for school. Holding them back would;'ve done them a disservice.

The question is where will they be relative to their fellow students in 7th and 8th grade? Will be able to do well academically? Will they be happy in socializing with their fellow students? Or will they forever be barred from getting into the top classes? Making the team? Getting a date? WIll they become anti-social? Will they turn to alternative interests like drug usage?

That concern makes no sense. If they're doing well in Kindergarten, then of course they'll do well in 7th grade. Like a already said, the age difference between any two people matters less as they get older, not more. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 60-year-old and a 72-year-old, while the difference between a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 60-year-old and a 65-year-old, which is obviously smaller. As for getting into top classes, just remember, if they're in a regular class in 8th grade, they're technically more advanced in their education than someone in a 7th grade honors class. And as for getting a date, since when did you have to be in the same grade as someone in order to date them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty. Talk to your middle school counselors as they see the effects of redshirting at that stage. When will your kid hit their growth spurts effects almost everything they do from age 12 to 18.

This is not something middle school counselors are worried about.

This is all they are worried about. As every middle school action on the part of the kids is related to this. Now, whether girls are mean to each other in 6th grade versus 7th grade is something they still have to deal with, but the big thing is getting kids through middle school in one piece so they can effectively transition into high school. Back in the day this was a bit simpler because high school started in 10th grade. With 9th graders in high school buildings it is more of an issue.

You anti-redshirt posters live in some truly weird worlds in your heads. In reality, not your imaginary world, middle school counselors do not spend all their time worrying about redshirting. Good Lord. You people are delusional.

The redshirts are pretty common in my area. Seems like half the boys in my kids K were 6 or 7. DC has an August birthday and is one of the youngest but they were ready for school. Holding them back would;'ve done them a disservice.

The question is where will they be relative to their fellow students in 7th and 8th grade? Will be able to do well academically? Will they be happy in socializing with their fellow students? Or will they forever be barred from getting into the top classes? Making the team? Getting a date? WIll they become anti-social? Will they turn to alternative interests like drug usage?

Long term outcomes seem to be that the kids are just fine. Redshirting is not a new phenomenon. Many independent schools have been doing it for >30y. If it commonly caused problems, they'd be apparent by now.

And lol "forever be barred from getting into the top classes". What planet's high schools are you observing? Not ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - redshirting has nothing to do with K-5. It matters when kids hit puberty.

That makes no sense. The older two people get, the LESS their age difference matters. The difference between a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old is equivalent to the difference between a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old, which is obviously bigger than the difference between an 11-year-old and a 12-year-old. I understand that a year still makes a huge difference in junior high and high school, but just not as big of a difference as in elementary school. The longer you live, the smaller a fraction a year is of your life.

Getting kids into high school with more physical and mental maturity will help them do better at all aspects of school - academic and social.

Well, that's sort of true. Any child would get better marks in a lower grade than a higher grade. Any 10-year-old would get better grades in 4th grade than in 5th grade, any 14-year-old would get better grades in 8th grade than in 9th grade; but it's not an apples to apples comparison. A 9th grader getting B's still probably knows more than an 8th grader getting A's. At any given point in time, a redshirted student is not going to be more mature than they would be had they not been redshirted; they'll just be less educated. A redshirted student getting straight A's really doesn't mean all that much when you consider that most kids their age are in the grade above and have already mastered the material the redshirted student is studying.

Let's take, for example, a hypothetical kid more in October of 2016. They're going to hit puberty whenever their body decides, and whether or not they're redshirted isn't going to change that. A redshirted kid won't hit puberty any earlier than they were meant to, but they will be less educated than they should be when they do hit puberty. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drive in October of 2032, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll have 10 years of education under their belt instead of 11 year. If this kid becomes valedictorian, it really won't be that impressive when you consider that they should have finished a year of college already. A kid born in October of 2016 will be able to drink in October of 2037, redshirted or not; the only difference is that if they were redshirted, they'll only be halfway done with their Bachelor's Degree, instead of 3 quarters done.

In short, I never of a redshirted kid as being the first in their grade to hit puberty, drive, and drink; I think of them as being the last in their age group to hit their educational milestones, such as graduating from high school and college.

You realize that your statements are an actual advertisement for redshirting right? Stay back a year. Get better grades. Be more confident. Excel in school and social activities. Get in to better colleges. Win In fact, win big.

There's nothing impressive about winning competitions against kids a year younger than you. And for the record, I don't think being less educated than others your age at any given point in time as "winning".

Who cares if you are impressed? Are you in a position to grant admission to a university or make hiring decisions? When the kids graduate they will all have exactly the same amount of education regardless of their birthday. No more, no less.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. I did not know colleges looked at a graduating seniors’ ages and said - “well older kids in the graduating class have better grades, better test scores, did more and are way more accomplished, but they are 10 months older so we will not accept them and instead we will go with the kid who gets lower grades and did less.

Certainly that will work with athletics too. My daughter played college soccer for 4 years. I am sure that coaches are out looking for younger players who are not as accomplished when they are recruiting.