Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I red-shirted for similar reasons but at a much younger age. Schools in VA place children in grades not by birth year, but by age in September. Keeping my LO on the state's track would have made her the youngest every year. Not fair to her, so I kept her back to give her an advantage. I have no guilt or shame.

Both my kids are youngest in their class every year, too - summer babies. They are at above grade level for reading and math. DS is smallest in his class, but extremely bright. I could not imagine how bored he'd be if I held him back. He got into GT. Yes, he has some physical disadvantages in sports, but life is not fair. I am not going to manipulate his life to make it fair for him. I tell him some kids are going to be better than others in some things, like he is better in academics than most of his peers. He's not perfect and will not excel in every single thing he does. But we still encourage him to try sports and compete with his grade level peers. He is probably going to be one of those kids who are picked last for sports. Yes, I feel bad for him, but like I said, I will not remove every obstacle in life for him -- now that would be unfair to him.

My take on redshirting to be "fair" is if every parent felt that way, then all of our kids would start K at 7 or 8 because we'd just keep one uping each other and wanting the "best" for our kids.

Anonymous wrote:I red-shirted for similar reasons but at a much younger age. Schools in VA place children in grades not by birth year, but by age in September. Keeping my LO on the state's track would have made her the youngest every year. Not fair to her, so I kept her back to give her an advantage. I have no guilt or shame.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This article is a joke. Redshirting is common at all area privates for boys -- the schools encourage it and it isn't for lacrosse. However, it isn't occurring at the middle school level, it occurs at the kindergarten level. Notice that the article never mentions when the "redshirting" actually occurs, it just (falsely) implies that it is middle or high school.

You aren't quite understanding -- these boys are DOUBLE held back. Once when they're 5.25, meaning they begin school st age 6, and then again when they're in middle school. So they are almost 2 full years (but not quite) older than some of the girls in their grade at the time of graduation.

They only do this if it does not interfere with eligibility. They have to be 18 on the 1st day of school. So they can turn 19 during the school year.

So enter K as a 5 yo, you eventually enter 12th as a 17 yo. if they redshirt once they are 18 but if they redshirt twice they are 19 ... so that does not work. But for kids that are in 9th right now started school if they were 5 by November 1st (in MoCo). So they are technically redshirted twice if they are born in September or October.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This article is a joke. Redshirting is common at all area privates for boys -- the schools encourage it and it isn't for lacrosse. However, it isn't occurring at the middle school level, it occurs at the kindergarten level. Notice that the article never mentions when the "redshirting" actually occurs, it just (falsely) implies that it is middle or high school.

You aren't quite understanding -- these boys are DOUBLE held back. Once when they're 5.25, meaning they begin school st age 6, and then again when they're in middle school. So they are almost 2 full years (but not quite) older than some of the girls in their grade at the time of graduation.

Anonymous wrote:I red-shirted for similar reasons but at a much younger age. Schools in VA place children in grades not by birth year, but by age in September. Keeping my LO on the state's track would have made her the youngest every year. Not fair to her, so I kept her back to give her an advantage. I have no guilt or shame.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Insanity. I know at least four boys who left our DC private in 6th grade and repeated the grade at St. Albans, Landon and Prep.

"Institutionalized cheating" is a very accurate term for this.

You seem to be caught in your own cheating.

My bad. I lumped in another kid I know that left a public school in 9th to "reclassify" at Prep. I know. I've lost all credibility now.

Anonymous wrote:This article is a joke. Redshirting is common at all area privates for boys -- the schools encourage it and it isn't for lacrosse. However, it isn't occurring at the middle school level, it occurs at the kindergarten level. Notice that the article never mentions when the "redshirting" actually occurs, it just (falsely) implies that it is middle or high school.

Anonymous wrote:It's happening at SSSAS too. They have a JK, which just encourages it.

Anonymous wrote:I think it's quite an exaggeration to say or imply that most parents hold their kids back because of sports. We know many, many parents who have made the choice to have their child, usually son, repeat a grade (including ourselves). No one takes this decision lightly and there are always many reasons to "redshirt" a child. Our son's teachers are the ones who recommended that he repeat a grade and I guarantee that sports didn't cross their minds when making the recommendation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What child would allow this - I can't imagine anything more humiliating than being held back in 6th grade.

If LAX is your world and your best friends are doing it too- AND your parents want you to. Why not?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Insanity. I know at least four boys who left our DC private in 6th grade and repeated the grade at St. Albans, Landon and Prep.

"Institutionalized cheating" is a very accurate term for this.

You seem to be caught in your own cheating.