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What's the deal with holding boys back in school to gain a competitive advantage in sports?
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Anonymous
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I was talking to a father of a Mater Dei boy and he said his son, with an October birthday (which used to be the "second-oldest" month in the September-August birthday cycle of a typical school grade)...was the youngest kid on his sports team because so many kids had been held back. At Mater Dei and Landon, there are apparently kids turning 16 (!) in the summer after their 8th grade year, and even a few who have triumphantly driven to 8th grade classes because they turned 16 in the 8th grade (!).
Think about that for a moment...Should you be turning 20 in your senior year of high school? I'm sure some boys have to be held back for academic reasons, but the wholesale holding-back of many boys at some of these so-called "sports" schools reeks of unethically trying to gain a competitive advantage. Are there no rules, and is there no shame? |
Anonymous
I'm pleased you posted this since it is not unusual for Mater Dei and years ago we [parents at our school] saw Mater Dei 8th graders getting in cars to drive [permits and licenses ] after sporting events. Landon is not the worst for this BS. During high school years [grades 9 through 12] you also see some kids flip schools and repeat a year. Lacrosse rosters with birthdates would be hilarious. |
Anonymous
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If you are 16 in 8th grade would that not mean that you are being held back at least twice? Seems excessive given the goal is to get through school, go to college, and find your place in the "real world".
I'd rather have my child take a gap year between HS and college and travel/volunteer rather then keep them back in the earlier years if we find that additional maturity is needed. |
Anonymous
| Don't most countries in Europe (not UK) start children into the first grade at age seven? There are lots and lots of different reasons for this. |
Anonymous
The additional maturity is physical and they want it in the earlier years for competitive edges in sports. Gametime and slots on teams. Easier to make varsity or play on JV as freshmen and sophomores. better for college |
Anonymous
| We held our son back but not because of athletics. Even with holding him back he will still only be 18 years old in his senior year of high school..He won't turn 19 until the summer, a few weeks before he leaves for college. |
Anonymous
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I really think most children would be better off waiting until age seven. Who and why deceided on age six anyways?
Daycare needs? |
Anonymous
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There are plenty of threads about this in the DCUM forum. It starts in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten to "give the gift of time" and becomes more pervasive in middle and high schools for athletics etc.
It is a problem, not only because "right age" children cannot compete physically on the field/court/rink, but socially as well. The only place where it may, or may not make a difference is in jr and sr high school academics. Elementary school academics certainly show, for the most part, older kids doing "better" (but only because they are second graders by age doing forst grade work, for example). What can be done? Parents and coaches can stop the continuing devolution of the practice, schools can implement age cut-offs in the upper end (ie no 19 or 20 year olds in high school). Short of that, well, it is simply lowering the bar on our society from a variety of perspectives. |
Anonymous
| As a parent of a high-school student, it's interesting to read this thread and other similar ones in light of the increasing trend toward students, especially young men, taking a "gap year" between high school and college. Every parent I know whose child has done this raves about the growth in maturity their son or daughter experienced. If that's the case, then why not start your child a little later, especially if you have a summer-birthday boy? In fact, why not start him/her a little later and take a gap year as well? What's the rush? College is a major financial and time-commitment, I'd rather have my son -- and our daughter as well -- wait a year or two if that will help him make the most of the opportunities presented to him. |
Anonymous
| In my opinion, Mater Dei is a competitive, nasty environment. The boys are not kind to each other. The parents are just as competitve and phoney to each other. I have found this to be true of all the catholic, private schools in this area, both elementary and high school. I have chosen the catholic school route for my kids and am seriously considering alternative choices. The education is good, but the culture is less than desireable. |
Anonymous
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I think the gap year is a brilliant concept, as folks probably know, it's extraordinarily popular in the U.K. and Australia. I hope my son, who's currently in middle school, does it.
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Anonymous
| OP, please tell me you're not one of the same people that starts all those other "red shirt" threads -- hasn't that horse been beaten to death? |
Anonymous
| I know a lovely family whose son goes to Mater Dei and loves it. He did repeat a year though. Apparently every boy there does. |
Anonymous
| Another issue with the redshirting is that these over 18 boys will be dating high school girls who are younger. . . |
Anonymous
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I got a bit of a lecture from a woman that I was chatting with at the pool today about this... when I told her that my DS (will be 6 in July) is starting first grade this year, she looked at me as though I had just announced that I support child abuse. She then launched into her "years of experience as a tutor" and all of the "problems that she sees in the teen years" when people do NOT hold summer birthday boys back. I finally just told her that I was sorry that her children obviously had problems, but that mine is more than able to keep up.
Sorry to hijack the thread with this overdone topic, but I've been steaming about it all day! What I don't get is why people feel so strongly about this issue when it doesn't even affect them personally. |