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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We double redshirted my son. We did the research and it showed holding back a year was advantageous. So we thought if one year is good two must be better.

Holding back a year is advantageous because being the oldest is advantageous. However, redshirting is almost always enough to make one the oldest, so redshirting twice is pointless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know some people refuse to believe it, but the older kids end up doing better in school. It's not surprising that people who can swing redshirting do it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/18/544483397/oldest-kids-in-class-do-better-even-through-college

Why has the subject of pressure not come up once in regards to this? What you say is true. Since older kids usually do better, this means that if a kid is redshirted, they'll be expected to excel. So if, for some weird reason, an older kid does worse, it'll be a lot more embarrassing for them than had they been on the young end. It's always embarrassing to perform poorly, but it's still much less embarrassing to perform poorly when you were expected to excel than it is to perform poorly when you were expected to perform poorly. Conversely, it's much more impressive to excel when you were expected to perform poorly than it is to excel when you were expected to excel. I just think parents should consider how much pressure their kid would be under if they redshirted. There's no room to exceed expectations in school when you're the oldest.

God you people are crazy.

Seriously what the heck?? I think the age difference matters less and less as kids get older. So this is all malarkey.

[Anonymous]

Why do we have grades anyway ? I have always learnt best by watching people who are better than me, picking up how they do it and then experimenting my self until I work out how best to achieve the results. As a kid that was from older cousins and family friends.

Just have completely mixed aged classrooms though to high school. Between Redshirting, Greenshirting and grade repeating that already occurs to some extent. And it defeats the purpose of comparing peers in rigid grades so just get rid of all of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know some people refuse to believe it, but the older kids end up doing better in school. It's not surprising that people who can swing redshirting do it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/18/544483397/oldest-kids-in-class-do-better-even-through-college

Why has the subject of pressure not come up once in regards to this? What you say is true. Since older kids usually do better, this means that if a kid is redshirted, they'll be expected to excel. So if, for some weird reason, an older kid does worse, it'll be a lot more embarrassing for them than had they been on the young end. It's always embarrassing to perform poorly, but it's still much less embarrassing to perform poorly when you were expected to excel than it is to perform poorly when you were expected to perform poorly. Conversely, it's much more impressive to excel when you were expected to perform poorly than it is to excel when you were expected to excel. I just think parents should consider how much pressure their kid would be under if they redshirted. There's no room to exceed expectations in school when you're the oldest.

I remember all the times job interviewers asked when my birthday was so they could determine if my success was due to my young age and then reward me accordingly. Oh wait, that never happened. How is it that nobody is impressed by my success because I was one of the younger kids to graduate from my class? How do people impress people when their birthday and age are unknown? Besides ones own parents, who are the kids trying to impress? I have the same expectations of all my kids regardless of their birthdays.

It's not about impressing employers or colleges. It's about being able to find comfort within yourself in knowing that your failures are not to you being stupid. You may not be able to impress anyone, but you can still yourself, "I'm not stupid, just younger." An older kid who did poorly can't tell themselves that and will have to live with the knowledge that they may really be stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know some people refuse to believe it, but the older kids end up doing better in school. It's not surprising that people who can swing redshirting do it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/18/544483397/oldest-kids-in-class-do-better-even-through-college

Why has the subject of pressure not come up once in regards to this? What you say is true. Since older kids usually do better, this means that if a kid is redshirted, they'll be expected to excel. So if, for some weird reason, an older kid does worse, it'll be a lot more embarrassing for them than had they been on the young end. It's always embarrassing to perform poorly, but it's still much less embarrassing to perform poorly when you were expected to excel than it is to perform poorly when you were expected to perform poorly. Conversely, it's much more impressive to excel when you were expected to perform poorly than it is to excel when you were expected to excel. I just think parents should consider how much pressure their kid would be under if they redshirted. There's no room to exceed expectations in school when you're the oldest.

I remember all the times job interviewers asked when my birthday was so they could determine if my success was due to my young age and then reward me accordingly. Oh wait, that never happened. How is it that nobody is impressed by my success because I was one of the younger kids to graduate from my class? How do people impress people when their birthday and age are unknown? Besides ones own parents, who are the kids trying to impress? I have the same expectations of all my kids regardless of their birthdays.

It's not about impressing employers or colleges. It's about being able to find comfort within yourself in knowing that your failures are not to you being stupid. You may not be able to impress anyone, but you can still yourself, "I'm not stupid, just younger." An older kid who did poorly can't tell themselves that and will have to live with the knowledge that they may really be stupid.

Let me be more clear. When something goes wrong in your life, it always feels a lot better if you know it wasn't your fault; that it wasn't because there was anything wrong with you. If a young student does poorly, they should feel better about themselves upon learning that their poor performance was solely because of their age, not because they were dumb or lazy. If an old student does poorly, they can't tell themselves such a thing. There was no excuse for their poor performance, and they have to live with the knowledge that this can only mean they are dumb or lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know some people refuse to believe it, but the older kids end up doing better in school. It's not surprising that people who can swing redshirting do it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/18/544483397/oldest-kids-in-class-do-better-even-through-college

Why has the subject of pressure not come up once in regards to this? What you say is true. Since older kids usually do better, this means that if a kid is redshirted, they'll be expected to excel. So if, for some weird reason, an older kid does worse, it'll be a lot more embarrassing for them than had they been on the young end. It's always embarrassing to perform poorly, but it's still much less embarrassing to perform poorly when you were expected to excel than it is to perform poorly when you were expected to perform poorly. Conversely, it's much more impressive to excel when you were expected to perform poorly than it is to excel when you were expected to excel. I just think parents should consider how much pressure their kid would be under if they redshirted. There's no room to exceed expectations in school when you're the oldest.

I remember all the times job interviewers asked when my birthday was so they could determine if my success was due to my young age and then reward me accordingly. Oh wait, that never happened. How is it that nobody is impressed by my success because I was one of the younger kids to graduate from my class? How do people impress people when their birthday and age are unknown? Besides ones own parents, who are the kids trying to impress? I have the same expectations of all my kids regardless of their birthdays.

It's not about impressing employers or colleges. It's about being able to find comfort within yourself in knowing that your failures are not to you being stupid. You may not be able to impress anyone, but you can still yourself, "I'm not stupid, just younger." An older kid who did poorly can't tell themselves that and will have to live with the knowledge that they may really be stupid.

Let me be more clear. When something goes wrong in your life, it always feels a lot better if you know it wasn't your fault; that it wasn't because there was anything wrong with you. If a young student does poorly, they should feel better about themselves upon learning that their poor performance was solely because of their age, not because they were dumb or lazy. If an old student does poorly, they can't tell themselves such a thing. There was no excuse for their poor performance, and they have to live with the knowledge that this can only mean they are dumb or lazy.

Nope, that’s definitely not what I just read.

The unbalanced ranting of someone with serious mental issues? Yeah, that’s closer.

You have fixated on and demonized redshirting to an extent that is deeply unhealthy. It’s easy to laugh at, but also sad. Please consider talking to a professional.

[Anonymous]

It’s very convenient to be pro redshirting when you have a middle class summer born white boy ( the most common demographic to be redshirted) since they get all the benefits of that system. It’s convenient for you to say how insignificant the age difference is when your kid is over 12 months older than the very youngest in the class.

[Anonymous]

There's so much generalizing here. Age is just one factor. My young for her grade DD is doing great, even though she barely made the cut off. I just knew with her that she'd be fine. She's mature, social and very smart. I absolutely cannot picture her being in kindergarten this year vs. 1st grade.

Interestingly, my niece who is 2 weeks younger than my DD is repeating kindergarten this year and it makes sense for her. She struggles more in making friends and with new situations. She also cannot read yet. I can't picture her in 1st grade.

Since they are about an apples to apples comparison that I could get (same age, both UMC, white, suburban kids) the thing I believe made the biggest difference is that I WOHM full time and my DD has always been in a structured learning environment and daycare before that. She's used to making new friends, listening to adults that aren't her parents and sitting still and doing what's asked of her. My niece was home with my sister for 3 years and then spotty preschool/daycare after that before kindergarten. If I had to pinpoint a difference between the 2 of them, it would be that.

[Anonymous]

Our kids are all summer babies. Didn't red shirt - but all were ready to start school.

Don't worry about whether redshirting is good or bad - just ask yourself whether DC is ready to start school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It’s very convenient to be pro redshirting when you have a middle class summer born white boy ( the most common demographic to be redshirted) since they get all the benefits of that system. It’s convenient for you to say how insignificant the age difference is when your kid is over 12 months older than the very youngest in the class.

Oh please. Nobody rational can say that the anti-redshirt posters in this thread sound like anything other than utter nutcases. I didn't redshirt, and I can spot the crazy a mile away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you who don’t know, redshirting is the practice of delaying a fall-born child’s Kindergarten entrance until they’re almost 6 instead of almost 5. This is something I’m thinking about doing with my son, who will be 4 in November and will be eligible for Kindergarten in the fall of 2022. There are many studies that show that kids who are redshirted do better in school as well as later in life, and honestly, you don’t have to be a scientist to see why this makes sense. Kids who start older are going to be more mature and ready to handle the challenges of school. This means they’ll get better grades, get into better colleges, and get better jobs.

You’d think that based on this information, any parent with a fall-born child who could afford an extra year of daycare would redshirt without hesitation. But this is not the case. When I think of all people I know who have fall birthdays and are from affluent families, the vast majority started Kindergarten at 4. As tempted as I am to redshirt my son, I can’t help but feel that there must be a reason why so few parents do it.

If you have a fall-born child who you could afford to redshirt but didn’t, why not? And if you could do it over again, would you redshirt?

Because it's common and not rare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's so much generalizing here. Age is just one factor. My young for her grade DD is doing great, even though she barely made the cut off. I just knew with her that she'd be fine. She's mature, social and very smart. I absolutely cannot picture her being in kindergarten this year vs. 1st grade.

Interestingly, my niece who is 2 weeks younger than my DD is repeating kindergarten this year and it makes sense for her. She struggles more in making friends and with new situations. She also cannot read yet. I can't picture her in 1st grade.

Since they are about an apples to apples comparison that I could get (same age, both UMC, white, suburban kids) the thing I believe made the biggest difference is that I WOHM full time and my DD has always been in a structured learning environment and daycare before that. She's used to making new friends, listening to adults that aren't her parents and sitting still and doing what's asked of her. My niece was home with my sister for 3 years and then spotty preschool/daycare after that before kindergarten. If I had to pinpoint a difference between the 2 of them, it would be that.

I bet your sister just loves hanging out with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's so much generalizing here. Age is just one factor. My young for her grade DD is doing great, even though she barely made the cut off. I just knew with her that she'd be fine. She's mature, social and very smart. I absolutely cannot picture her being in kindergarten this year vs. 1st grade.

Interestingly, my niece who is 2 weeks younger than my DD is repeating kindergarten this year and it makes sense for her. She struggles more in making friends and with new situations. She also cannot read yet. I can't picture her in 1st grade.

Since they are about an apples to apples comparison that I could get (same age, both UMC, white, suburban kids) the thing I believe made the biggest difference is that I WOHM full time and my DD has always been in a structured learning environment and daycare before that. She's used to making new friends, listening to adults that aren't her parents and sitting still and doing what's asked of her. My niece was home with my sister for 3 years and then spotty preschool/daycare after that before kindergarten. If I had to pinpoint a difference between the 2 of them, it would be that.

Its also possible that your niece has a learning disability and/or just isn't as smart as your DD. Kids can actually be different even from the same environment and at the same age. Which is why you can't just say someone is doing well or not SOLELY based on age as the other person seems to be fixated on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's so much generalizing here. Age is just one factor. My young for her grade DD is doing great, even though she barely made the cut off. I just knew with her that she'd be fine. She's mature, social and very smart. I absolutely cannot picture her being in kindergarten this year vs. 1st grade.

Interestingly, my niece who is 2 weeks younger than my DD is repeating kindergarten this year and it makes sense for her. She struggles more in making friends and with new situations. She also cannot read yet. I can't picture her in 1st grade.

Since they are about an apples to apples comparison that I could get (same age, both UMC, white, suburban kids) the thing I believe made the biggest difference is that I WOHM full time and my DD has always been in a structured learning environment and daycare before that. She's used to making new friends, listening to adults that aren't her parents and sitting still and doing what's asked of her. My niece was home with my sister for 3 years and then spotty preschool/daycare after that before kindergarten. If I had to pinpoint a difference between the 2 of them, it would be that.

I bet your sister just loves hanging out with you.

Haha, I had the same reaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know some people refuse to believe it, but the older kids end up doing better in school. It's not surprising that people who can swing redshirting do it.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/18/544483397/oldest-kids-in-class-do-better-even-through-college

Why has the subject of pressure not come up once in regards to this? What you say is true. Since older kids usually do better, this means that if a kid is redshirted, they'll be expected to excel. So if, for some weird reason, an older kid does worse, it'll be a lot more embarrassing for them than had they been on the young end. It's always embarrassing to perform poorly, but it's still much less embarrassing to perform poorly when you were expected to excel than it is to perform poorly when you were expected to perform poorly. Conversely, it's much more impressive to excel when you were expected to perform poorly than it is to excel when you were expected to excel. I just think parents should consider how much pressure their kid would be under if they redshirted. There's no room to exceed expectations in school when you're the oldest.

I remember all the times job interviewers asked when my birthday was so they could determine if my success was due to my young age and then reward me accordingly. Oh wait, that never happened. How is it that nobody is impressed by my success because I was one of the younger kids to graduate from my class? How do people impress people when their birthday and age are unknown? Besides ones own parents, who are the kids trying to impress? I have the same expectations of all my kids regardless of their birthdays.

It's not about impressing employers or colleges. It's about being able to find comfort within yourself in knowing that your failures are not to you being stupid. You may not be able to impress anyone, but you can still yourself, "I'm not stupid, just younger." An older kid who did poorly can't tell themselves that and will have to live with the knowledge that they may really be stupid.

Let me be more clear. When something goes wrong in your life, it always feels a lot better if you know it wasn't your fault; that it wasn't because there was anything wrong with you. If a young student does poorly, they should feel better about themselves upon learning that their poor performance was solely because of their age, not because they were dumb or lazy. If an old student does poorly, they can't tell themselves such a thing. There was no excuse for their poor performance, and they have to live with the knowledge that this can only mean they are dumb or lazy.

This is crap. A younger student doing badly may have nothing do with their age and vice versa. There is more to performance than age. Age may be one factor but it is certainly NOT the only factor.