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

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[quote=Anonymous]
By contrast, the redshirters want to wait until their kid can handle school's demands.  What's at stake for them isn't academic success vs. stellar performance.  It's incompetence vs. competence.  The school, apparently, agrees with the parents' POV in these cases  (we're talking private schools here, so they always have the option of just rejecting the application for admission).   Does it make sense to let some third party decide that the older kid should flounder in school just so that their child can be shown to better advantage?  That's screwed up.   [/quote]
Your argument is logically flawed.  This is why -- it ASSUMES that the redshirted children are all "incompetent" -- to use your word.  This is a flawed assumption.  There is no "competence" standard at all -- they are held back merely because their parents -- often competitive and/or misguided -- determine it to be so. 
So your argument fails.  
Even if the school is involved in the decision, they have little information other than what the parents tell them -- hardly an objective view.

The poster who called it a race to the bottom hit the nail on the head.  My April-born 5 year old DS can sometimes be really immature.  LIKE ALL FIVE YEAR OLDS.  But I witness that he refuses to share, fights with his little sister, whatever.  So maybe I decide he's "socially immature."  He needs another year of emotional development.  He doesn't like to sit still!!  He hates to wait in line!! He wants his way all the time!!  So I tell the school this.  They say ok.  We keep him back.  
He is smart, tall, very strong and athletic.  But hey, he's an april baby -- i can hold him back!! And he will be even taller, stronger, and smarter, compared with the kids 13-18 months younger than him!  It wouldn't be fair to those kids.  They will be judged against him, of course.  Some of them will appear fidgety as compared to him and the other 6 year olds, who have had a year to develop.  So their parents get told the kids have ADHD.  He can read -- some of the younger ones can't -- they go to a "reading specialist."  He can run fast and throw well -- the other boys feel bad, and it affects their self-esteem.
But, of course, the redshirting parents aren't thinking about this.  They are only thinking about thmselves.  Therein lies the problem. [/quote]

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