Why is redshirting so common around here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an article on redshirting by Linda McGhee, a local psychologist.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/dc-schools/mcghee-the-rush-to-hold-back-d.html

Too bad she missed the point why many parents redshirt. K isn't age appropriate.

Kindergarten clearly is age-appropriate for many children, even if it is not age-appropriate for all children.

Also, there is more to school than kindergarten. Is 12th grade age-appropriate for 19-year-olds?

But it's your child -- if you want to redshirt, then go ahead.

[Anonymous]

I am anti-redshirting and pro-play. Not all kindergartens have worksheets or homework. And plenty of parents send their children on time and preserve plenty of time for them to play.

We always knew we would send our children on time even though they would be the youngest. We didn't worry that they were behind socially or academically, nor did we think they needed some theoretical size/age advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
APS
there is more in our evening routine - it does take 2 hours
awake at 7-7:30; leave for bus by 8:10 -- mornings are a struggle, no time to add anything else.

Not all APS schools assign 20 minutes of homework in K. This sounds like an overeager new teachers. The good K teachers let 5YOs be 5YOs.

Overeager is a great description! I did hear that some teachers (Taylor) don't give out homework at all - even in higher grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am anti-redshirting and pro-play. Not all kindergartens have worksheets or homework. And plenty of parents send their children on time and preserve plenty of time for them to play.

We always knew we would send our children on time even though they would be the youngest. We didn't worry that they were behind socially or academically, nor did we think they needed some theoretical size/age advantage.

If our local K was more play then we would have considered sending him on time. The only K options we found like that were private. And many of those automatically redshirt summer birthdays anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am anti-redshirting and pro-play. Not all kindergartens have worksheets or homework. And plenty of parents send their children on time and preserve plenty of time for them to play.

We always knew we would send our children on time even though they would be the youngest. We didn't worry that they were behind socially or academically, nor did we think they needed some theoretical size/age advantage.

If our local K was more play then we would have considered sending him on time. The only K options we found like that were private. And many of those automatically redshirt summer birthdays anyway.

Why is this, do you think? We're at private and were told to redshirt our summer son, and since we didn't feel strongly about it, we went with their suggestion. But I do wonder what the benefit is. Can't be about making things easier for the teachers, because these teachers really do bust their butts to teach at a very high level.

In any case, in private the inequality seems to be out of the picture, since the kids are being uniformly redshirted…

[Anonymous]

I don't know why the privates redshirt almost automatically. We would have pushed back for both of our children. Yet another reason I'm glad we didn't go that route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why is this, do you think? We're at private and were told to redshirt our summer son, and since we didn't feel strongly about it, we went with their suggestion. But I do wonder what the benefit is. Can't be about making things easier for the teachers, because these teachers really do bust their butts to teach at a very high level.

In any case, in private the inequality seems to be out of the picture, since the kids are being uniformly redshirted…

I truly wonder about this too. Private schools can do whatever they want; they don't have to "teach to the test"; they can make kindergarten "age-appropriate" for kindergarteners in whatever way they want to define it; there seems to be a demand for play-based kindergartens for summer-birthday children -- and yet the private schools all (as far as I've heard) have cut-offs that are EARLIER than the public schools. Why?

[Anonymous]

Why?

Why do other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why?

Why do other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

We are not talking about first grade, we are talking about kindergarten.

Also, specifically which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
APS
there is more in our evening routine - it does take 2 hours
awake at 7-7:30; leave for bus by 8:10 -- mornings are a struggle, no time to add anything else.

Not all APS schools assign 20 minutes of homework in K. This sounds like an overeager new teachers. The good K teachers let 5YOs be 5YOs.

Overeager is a great description! I did hear that some teachers (Taylor) don't give out homework at all - even in higher grades.

We're a Taylor family, and there is homework, but we've only had one teacher who was 9th the top about it.

[Anonymous]

Also, specifically which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

Lots of European countries. Finland, for one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Also, specifically which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

Lots of European countries. Finland, for one.

Yes, but they start school much earlier. 97% of 3-6-year-olds are in day care and preschool, and the day care and preschool curricula are aligned with the school curricula.

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287255411/what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-finland-where-school-starts-at-age-7

Now, how about other countries? Which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, specifically which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

Lots of European countries. Finland, for one.

Yes, but they start school much earlier. 97% of 3-6-year-olds are in day care and preschool, and the day care and preschool curricula are aligned with the school curricula.

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287255411/what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-finland-where-school-starts-at-age-7

Now, how about other countries? Which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

But their 6 year old pre-primary school is only 1/2 day and is play-based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, specifically which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

Lots of European countries. Finland, for one.

Yes, but they start school much earlier. 97% of 3-6-year-olds are in day care and preschool, and the day care and preschool curricula are aligned with the school curricula.

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287255411/what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-finland-where-school-starts-at-age-7

Now, how about other countries? Which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

But their 6 year old pre-primary school is only 1/2 day and is play-based.

What does "play-based" mean? What do the 3-6-year-olds do for the rest of the day, while they are in universal day care and preschool? And what about all of the other countries? Why the focus solely on Finland?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Also, specifically which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

Lots of European countries. Finland, for one.

Yes, but they start school much earlier. 97% of 3-6-year-olds are in day care and preschool, and the day care and preschool curricula are aligned with the school curricula.

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287255411/what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-finland-where-school-starts-at-age-7

Now, how about other countries? Which other countries wait until 7 for first grade?

But their 6 year old pre-primary school is only 1/2 day and is play-based.

What does "play-based" mean? What do the 3-6-year-olds do for the rest of the day, while they are in universal day care and preschool? And what about all of the other countries? Why the focus solely on Finland?

Play-based means that the encourage learning through play. They go back to the regular daycare program for the rest of the day.

Someone mentioned Finland earlier? I think people refer to Finland because they seem to have a very successful model. Must be doing something right. May not scale for larger countries but there are probably lessons to be learned. In this case, not pushing academics until children are older.