My son's kindergarten class has several 7 yr olds in it.

[Anonymous]

Please don't engage 9:15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we're still talking about the article, here's what the author actually concluded:

Schools must adjust their programs to fit the new profile of their students – larger age spans and greater differences in size and capability perhaps. This can be done well if the school and its teachers resist the temptation to simply accelerate their program and truly reframe their curriculum and methodologies to fit the needs of the students they have. If this is accomplished, students can have the best of all possible worlds.

Wow, don't we all want the best of both worlds? To the private school parent, you have the choice to look around and find the school that best fits your needs. To the public school parents, there should be some confidence/trust to the non-neurotic parents that we live in an area of some of the best public schools our tax dollars can buy. Send your child to K when you think is best for your child and allow the K teacher to do his/her job.

And I've heard several seasoned educators agree that K is essentially the new 1st grade in terms of academics because parents demand it often in private and public and there is a federal law still on the books (NCLB) that demands certain proficiencies by the 3rd grade for public schools.

This and the oldest are not the biggest, brightest, etc. In the extreme case of 18 months age difference, it really isn't all that (especially when the older ones are by far summer boys or those with some developmental issues).

[Anonymous]

So now the schools need to adjust their staffing and programs to fit...."larger age spans and greater differences in size and capability."

Well, yes, that seems a clear need given the increases in delayed entry.

It seems an impossible goal though if the reason for the increases in delayed entry is the inability of the schools to deal with the range in size and capability of a 12 month selection of boys.

So we're dreaming...

[Anonymous]

I think you're wasting your "dreaming." It's just not that hard or that big of a deal. The older kids (predominately summer bday boys) need a bit more time and the on time kids are well-placed. The odd situation where the parents hold back the pre-April bday boy purely for size or athletics -- well, there's a whole host of issues that family will have to deal with -- but he won't skew the class dynamics or your child's chance for success in the classroom or on the playing field. Give the kids some credit.

[Anonymous]

If the schools can't handle the 12 month range of both sexes - essentially what they say when they say "he" can come next year - then they're not going to magically have the resources/capabilities to handle the even broader range of students that results from larger and larger numbers of students being held back.

Yes kids can survive, adjust to all sorts of conditions, but we try to have them in healthy supportive appropriate settings even though they could survive worse.

Delayed entry is not w/o impacts on the other students. So it should be very rare, imho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the schools can't handle the 12 month range of both sexes - essentially what they say when they say "he" can come next year - then they're not going to magically have the resources/capabilities to handle the even broader range of students that results from larger and larger numbers of students being held back.

Yes kids can survive, adjust to all sorts of conditions, but we try to have them in healthy supportive appropriate settings even though they could survive worse.

Delayed entry is not w/o impacts on the other students. So it should be very rare, imho.

Yes, and except for summer bday boys and others with developmental issues, it is rare.

[Anonymous]

The problem remains that schools can't handle the existing 12 month range now so won't better handle the larger range created by delayed entry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem remains that schools can't handle the existing 12 month range now so won't better handle the larger range created by delayed entry.

If your school "can't handle the existing 12 month range now" then you should be looking for a different school. Really, I don't know what you mean. Isn't this the private school forum? Even if you're public, publics have tons of services for the learning advanced and the learning disabled. No, nothing is perfect. But are you seriously arguing that summer bday boys are causing the decline of the educational system?

[Anonymous]

Please don't engage 09:51

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we're still talking about the article, here's what the author actually concluded:

Schools must adjust their programs to fit the new profile of their students – larger age spans and greater differences in size and capability perhaps. This can be done well if the school and its teachers resist the temptation to simply accelerate their program and truly reframe their curriculum and methodologies to fit the needs of the students they have. If this is accomplished, students can have the best of all possible worlds.

Wow, don't we all want the best of both worlds? To the private school parent, you have the choice to look around and find the school that best fits your needs. To the public school parents, there should be some confidence/trust to the non-neurotic parents that we live in an area of some of the best public schools our tax dollars can buy. Send your child to K when you think is best for your child and allow the K teacher to do his/her job.

And I've heard several seasoned educators agree that K is essentially the new 1st grade in terms of academics because parents demand it often in private and public and there is a federal law still on the books (NCLB) that demands certain proficiencies by the 3rd grade for public schools.

This and the oldest are not the biggest, brightest, etc. In the extreme case of 18 months age difference, it really isn't all that (especially when the older ones are by far summer boys or those with some developmental issues).

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This was the longstanding WASP formula to get their kids to school Senior Prefect, Ivy, Wall Street and the Secret Service.

I know I was told not to engage you, 9:15, but I will disobey the posting police because there is validity to what you say.
One PP chuckled at the notion that wall street looks at kindergarten enrollment dates -- and that PP is either really dumb or playing dumb, pretending she can't see past such a simplistic view of your statement. Yes, dear, we all know that Goldman Sachs does not care when people started kindergarten.

Confidence, high self-esteem, leadership tendencies, and extrovert characteristics, however, are all qualities that lead to success in business, and are all characteristics that are born at a young age. If you think that this redshirting trend does not change the classroom dynamics enough to affect the growth of these characteristics in "on-time" children, you are WRONG. Bigger and older boys change the classroom dynamics. Of course they do. All of you taking a narrow view at this are doing this only because such a simplistic approach serves your interests. What if you had a March boy? What if he was small? Or shy? But ready for K from an intellect prespective? I think you would feel differently.

I won't even touch the issue of how this affects the gender dynamics. In middle school and high school, when half the boys are older than all of the girls, how do you think that affects those girls?

I predict that, at the very least, we start seeing better disclosures on the part of the schools. Also, the high school athletic departments are going to have to confront this issue. Schools that are known for this have many older kids on their teams. It's an unfair advantage, and I doubt it will go unaddressed in the coming years.

[Anonymous]

Is that you 9:15? Hard to believe that there are two posters here who actually believe that white men held power in the US for generations because their parents delayed their schooling for a year....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is that you 9:15? Hard to believe that there are two posters here who actually believe that white men held power in the US for generations because their parents delayed their schooling for a year....

Thanks for saying so. I would have pointed it out but 9:15 has a temper too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was the longstanding WASP formula to get their kids to school Senior Prefect, Ivy, Wall Street and the Secret Service.

I know I was told not to engage you, 9:15, but I will disobey the posting police because there is validity to what you say.
One PP chuckled at the notion that wall street looks at kindergarten enrollment dates -- and that PP is either really dumb or playing dumb, pretending she can't see past such a simplistic view of your statement. Yes, dear, we all know that Goldman Sachs does not care when people started kindergarten.

Confidence, high self-esteem, leadership tendencies, and extrovert characteristics, however, are all qualities that lead to success in business, and are all characteristics that are born at a young age. If you think that this redshirting trend does not change the classroom dynamics enough to affect the growth of these characteristics in "on-time" children, you are WRONG. Bigger and older boys change the classroom dynamics. Of course they do. All of you taking a narrow view at this are doing this only because such a simplistic approach serves your interests. What if you had a March boy? What if he was small? Or shy? But ready for K from an intellect prespective? I think you would feel differently.

I won't even touch the issue of how this affects the gender dynamics. In middle school and high school, when half the boys are older than all of the girls, how do you think that affects those girls?

I predict that, at the very least, we start seeing better disclosures on the part of the schools. Also, the high school athletic departments are going to have to confront this issue. Schools that are known for this have many older kids on their teams. It's an unfair advantage, and I doubt it will go unaddressed in the coming years.

[Anonymous]

To 9:15 and 15:57, I'm sorry for the bad experience you obviously suffered at the hands of an older boy or on Wall Street.