PreK teacher recommending redshirting my son

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I followed the preschool teacher’s advice to redshirt my July birthday son. He is now almost 14 and I have been so glad I followed her advice. He is a thriving, social, straight A student and athlete.

That being said, I would not redshirt in your case. Your teacher has not, unlike our teacher, indicated any issues with your child regarding his ability to keep up with the academics or follow guidelines/standards in a classroom environment.

I think you should follow your gut and send your child on time.

Of course he is. He's behind in school.

It was a great decision! No regrets.

Still wouldn’t make it in OP’s case.

LOL. Imagine stunting your child on purpose.

Results speak for themselves. I’d make the same decision again.

Who brags about their standards? LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I followed the preschool teacher’s advice to redshirt my July birthday son. He is now almost 14 and I have been so glad I followed her advice. He is a thriving, social, straight A student and athlete.

That being said, I would not redshirt in your case. Your teacher has not, unlike our teacher, indicated any issues with your child regarding his ability to keep up with the academics or follow guidelines/standards in a classroom environment.

I think you should follow your gut and send your child on time.

Of course he is. He's behind in school.

It was a great decision! No regrets.

Still wouldn’t make it in OP’s case.

LOL. Imagine stunting your child on purpose.

Results speak for themselves. I’d make the same decision again.

Who brags about their standards? LOL.

*low standards

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that an 18-year old needs no parental permission for activities and can compel the school to not share information with you. This can greatly complicate any fits of teen angst and family conflict during their last year of school.

(And yes, looking at your sweet five-year old, you may be certain that won’t be you. But the teen years have a way of surprising everyone.)

I have an 18 y/o senior (Sept birthday, not red shirted) and a 14 y/o 8th grader (special needs, red shirted). I agree that there doesn't seem to be much reason for OP to red-shirt, but don't agree with your point. Kids are going to turn 18 either in high school or in college. If they are shutting you out and not allowing the school not speak to you, you have much bigger problems than the fact that you red shirted. Also, I'd personally rather go through that while my child is still in high school and living at home rather than when they have moved away to another state.

[Anonymous]

Ignore that PK teacher. Trust your own and husband's opinion and send him to kindergarten as scheduled. There's no reason not to. May isn't even a late birthday. He would be so much older then everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I currently a preschool teacher, taught kindergarten for 20 years before making the move. I tend to err on the side of giving kids with summer birthdays the extra year of preschool.

Why?

- August birthday child who excelled academically

DP. They've changed school since we were kids, made it more stressful and less enjoyable. They also have greater EF expectations earlier and expect kids to be self-sufficient without teaching them how.

We didn't redshirt our August boy and academically he's doing fine - but am extra year of maturity would have benefitted him significantly.

Stop expecting so little of your child. If he's doing fine, he's doing fine, and no one wants your 18 year old man in school with their 17 year old daughter.

My daughter will be 18 all senior year because of her Sept birthday. It's normal to be 18 all year. Stop spewing this nonsense that it's not. If a cutoff is 9/1 or 9/30 what do you think happens to kids who happen to be the oldest? It's by design.

It's literally not normal. People like you have made it common, but common is not normal.

Yes, it is normal. The age cutoff is Sept 1 nearly everywhere. The Sept-Dec kids will be 18 most of their senior year and that is normal

It is not normal. I just had my third kid graduate high school. The large majority of kids turn 18 just before graduation.

Maybe your kids were only friends with the more immature kids?

[Anonymous]

Our Preschool provided evaluation for K before the transition to the last Preschool room. I trusted our schools recommendation because the recommendations were clearly based on the individual kids and well thought out. There were a few kids they suggested needed another year in preschool before K, they tended to be boys with late summer birthdays and knowing the kids it was hard to disagree. There were a few kids that the school suggested private ES for K because the kids birthday was the week after the cut off and everything in preschool indicated that they would do fine if they started K "early." Both kids who were in that boat are doing just fine in ES right now. They are also kids that were above average for height so they were not likely to be the smallest in their class as well as the youngest. Most of the kids, my son included, they suggested go on time.

Most of our kids had been at the same day care/preschool since they were babies so it wasn't unusual to share these conversations. we also knew the ages of the kids because of when the kids joined the class as babies in the infant room and the annual birthday celebrations. It was obvious when the two kids who had been in their class every year were not moved to the next class and the 2 kids who we knew were after the cut off moved with the class. We stay in touch in a variety of ways so we know how each other kids are doing.

I would take the Teachers recommendations with a grain of salt because the Preschool Teacher couldn't point to anything that would lead to people red shirting a kid.

I was the youngest kid in her class, I graduated as a 17 year old and started college as a 17 year old. It was fine. I can see where I might have been better off with starting later but only because I have LDs, which were not diagnosed in Preschool but were caught in K. I don't think a year delay would have hurt me but I am not so certain that it would have been great for me either.

[Anonymous]

OP, one other thought. Our son's private pre-k recommended moving him to their Kindergarten early because he was a Sept birthday who just missed the PS cut-off by a few days. We said no because he was clearly not ready (barely knew the alphabet, struggled with the long pre-k day, annoyed other kids on the playground, etc.). They went on and on about how "gifted" he was but we knew they were wrong.

Found out later they were under pressure to promote as many kids as possible because the incoming K class was really small, and my son's Pre-K class was really large. So the suggestion was all for the benefit of the program, not our kid (who went to K on time for him and still struggled a little those first few months).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I currently a preschool teacher, taught kindergarten for 20 years before making the move. I tend to err on the side of giving kids with summer birthdays the extra year of preschool.

Why?

- August birthday child who excelled academically

DP. They've changed school since we were kids, made it more stressful and less enjoyable. They also have greater EF expectations earlier and expect kids to be self-sufficient without teaching them how.

We didn't redshirt our August boy and academically he's doing fine - but am extra year of maturity would have benefitted him significantly.

Stop expecting so little of your child. If he's doing fine, he's doing fine, and no one wants your 18 year old man in school with their 17 year old daughter.

My daughter will be 18 all senior year because of her Sept birthday. It's normal to be 18 all year. Stop spewing this nonsense that it's not. If a cutoff is 9/1 or 9/30 what do you think happens to kids who happen to be the oldest? It's by design.

It's literally not normal. People like you have made it common, but common is not normal.

Yes, it is normal. The age cutoff is Sept 1 nearly everywhere. The Sept-Dec kids will be 18 most of their senior year and that is normal

It is not normal. I just had my third kid graduate high school. The large majority of kids turn 18 just before graduation.

Maybe your kids were only friends with the more immature kids?

Give it a rest, lady. Having an adult in high school is nothing to be proud of!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I currently a preschool teacher, taught kindergarten for 20 years before making the move. I tend to err on the side of giving kids with summer birthdays the extra year of preschool.

Why?

- August birthday child who excelled academically

DP. They've changed school since we were kids, made it more stressful and less enjoyable. They also have greater EF expectations earlier and expect kids to be self-sufficient without teaching them how.

We didn't redshirt our August boy and academically he's doing fine - but am extra year of maturity would have benefitted him significantly.

Stop expecting so little of your child. If he's doing fine, he's doing fine, and no one wants your 18 year old man in school with their 17 year old daughter.

My daughter will be 18 all senior year because of her Sept birthday. It's normal to be 18 all year. Stop spewing this nonsense that it's not. If a cutoff is 9/1 or 9/30 what do you think happens to kids who happen to be the oldest? It's by design.

It's literally not normal. People like you have made it common, but common is not normal.

What? My son went to kindergarten on time. He will turn 18 in October of his senior year. That is 100% NORMAL. My daughter went on time too. She will turn 18 the summer after she graduates. That is also NORMAL. Because the cut off in VA is Sept 30th. So anyone born after that will turn 18 their senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I followed the preschool teacher’s advice to redshirt my July birthday son. He is now almost 14 and I have been so glad I followed her advice. He is a thriving, social, straight A student and athlete.

That being said, I would not redshirt in your case. Your teacher has not, unlike our teacher, indicated any issues with your child regarding his ability to keep up with the academics or follow guidelines/standards in a classroom environment.

I think you should follow your gut and send your child on time.

Of course he is. He's behind in school.

Behind? It isn't a race

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I currently a preschool teacher, taught kindergarten for 20 years before making the move. I tend to err on the side of giving kids with summer birthdays the extra year of preschool.

Why?

- August birthday child who excelled academically

DP. They've changed school since we were kids, made it more stressful and less enjoyable. They also have greater EF expectations earlier and expect kids to be self-sufficient without teaching them how.

We didn't redshirt our August boy and academically he's doing fine - but am extra year of maturity would have benefitted him significantly.

Stop expecting so little of your child. If he's doing fine, he's doing fine, and no one wants your 18 year old man in school with their 17 year old daughter.

My daughter will be 18 all senior year because of her Sept birthday. It's normal to be 18 all year. Stop spewing this nonsense that it's not. If a cutoff is 9/1 or 9/30 what do you think happens to kids who happen to be the oldest? It's by design.

It's literally not normal. People like you have made it common, but common is not normal.

What? My son went to kindergarten on time. He will turn 18 in October of his senior year. That is 100% NORMAL. My daughter went on time too. She will turn 18 the summer after she graduates. That is also NORMAL. Because the cut off in VA is Sept 30th. So anyone born after that will turn 18 their senior year.

Again, common is not normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I currently a preschool teacher, taught kindergarten for 20 years before making the move. I tend to err on the side of giving kids with summer birthdays the extra year of preschool.

Why?

- August birthday child who excelled academically

DP. They've changed school since we were kids, made it more stressful and less enjoyable. They also have greater EF expectations earlier and expect kids to be self-sufficient without teaching them how.

We didn't redshirt our August boy and academically he's doing fine - but am extra year of maturity would have benefitted him significantly.

Stop expecting so little of your child. If he's doing fine, he's doing fine, and no one wants your 18 year old man in school with their 17 year old daughter.

My daughter will be 18 all senior year because of her Sept birthday. It's normal to be 18 all year. Stop spewing this nonsense that it's not. If a cutoff is 9/1 or 9/30 what do you think happens to kids who happen to be the oldest? It's by design.

It's literally not normal. People like you have made it common, but common is not normal.

What? My son went to kindergarten on time. He will turn 18 in October of his senior year. That is 100% NORMAL. My daughter went on time too. She will turn 18 the summer after she graduates. That is also NORMAL. Because the cut off in VA is Sept 30th. So anyone born after that will turn 18 their senior year.

Again, common is not normal.

How so? Explain your reasoning bc nobody understands your point. If the cutoff is 9/1 what age are September and October born kids all senior year? And what is uncommon about that?

[Anonymous]

It doesn't sound like you should hold him back. I think there needs to be a compelling reason to hold back, particularly a MAY birthday. I think June is even pushing it. But my DD7 is a late July birthday and I sent her on time and there are kids that are 15 months older than her and I just think that's gone too far.

She's doing great in 2nd grade FWIW and no regrets so far.

[Anonymous]

Pretty teacher sounds nuts. Send him on time. None of things you listed are reasons for holding him back.

[Anonymous]

Sports are by birth year not by grade. So if he got red shirted in school he would go to sport with kids one grade above. So he'll miss playing sports with his classmates.

If there is no obvious reason to redshirt (which rarely was), send him on time.