Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

i agree. why do you care OP? as long as your child is getting the educational experience you hope for them you really shouldn't care about the others in his class.

The point is that children are not getting the educational experience we want.

The education systems are a mess. The "advanced curriculum" idea has in many cases turned K into 1st grade with a ripple effect on down the line to about 7th grade. So it's no wonder bright children are being held back one year and some children with completely manageable learning challenges are held back two years.

What, in essence, has happened is that the exception has become the norm. Of course there are 5-year-olds advanced enough to tackle a 1st grade curriculum, bright kids who are late bloomers, down-the-middle kids and kids with challenges. But we have this crazy "K is the new 1st grade" mindset that works for a small minority of students and we shove children in here and there to accommodate the system instead of having the system accommodate the children. We pigeonhole many children before they have had chance to learn the three Rs,

It's nutty. If you want to play this game your best bet is to have girls with January birthdays!

Anonymous wrote:Well, as a parent of kids on both sides of this issue, I am somewhat disturbed by some of the comments here.

My DD has always been one of the younger kids in her class. I cannot point to any negative incident that was a direct result of her being in the class with older kids. She had good and bad experiences with older kids and age level kids. There was no disctinction. In her case, the older kids were not “slow”. They were pretty bright and she became good friends with many of them. But we never became obsessed with the ages of her classmates. In our minds, we had certain expecations for her and the ages of her classmates was irrelevant. They did not get in the way of her achievement.

My DS (5 years younger than DD) started a year late at the school’s request – he repeated pre-K. He is on the small side so size was never an issue. He has done very well academically, but I am not sure that harms any of the other kids. If he had started on time, he would have been one of those disruptive kids – he was just not ready at 5. Not solely my opinion. The private school initiated the conversation.

But I must warn all you anti redshirters. Once your kid gets to high school, they will be in the mix with folks of varying ages. As a high school freshman, my DD was in Spanish classes and math classes with perfectly capable college bound HS juniors and seniors. She is a varsity athlete, so as a 14YO freshman she was competing with and against 18 YO’s. If you think there is difference between a 5 YO and a 7YO, wait until you see the difference between an 18YO getting ready for college and a 14YO still trying to find her locker! But you know what? That is life!!!

My advice is to worry more about what you can do to help your child progress – and stop focusing on the other children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a belief that summer boys can not cut it, I wonder if there is a unknown rule about blacks and hispanics. When do they need to turn 5 by? Is the same April cut-off or is it Jan. because they need the extra time? This is discrimination pure and simple. Privates, will almost come out and tell you that summer boys are not ready, and there numbers would bare this out. This is discrimination and if they said that there cut-off was different (earlier) for blacks and hispanics they would be sued and run out of town.

I am so confused. My Black son was denied entry into first grade, though he completed K last year. The reasons both public and private schools have noted are his age versus everyone else's. He turned 5 in May of 2011. The children entering K are 6 plus years old, some are 5 to 5 1/2.

What does this have to do with being Black, Hispanic, vegetarian, fat, skinny, pretty, or weird? The conistently presented issue is one surrounding the age of an entrant, not color. Now if you say it is sex discrimination, then I would stand behind you in the fight because I was told a boy is not as mature, regardless of the fact my child's test scores indicate he paces beyond first grade academically. He will be homeschooled, until we figure out what to do. He is not repeating Kindergarten.

I don't know where you live, but the Maryland Department of Education indicates a child must be 5 by some point during September to start K and 6 by some specific date in September of the year of enrollment. Early admissions tests can be given to children who will turn 5 no later than Dec. 31 of the year he or she is trying to enroll in K, or 6 by Dec. 31st of the year to be enrolled in 1st grade. For early admission to K, they must pass a test, which will not be given until they have sat in the K class for 6 weeks. I cannot speak for other counties in MD, but know Montgomery public and private schools follow those guidelines strictly as noted by the state.

Anonymous wrote:I thought Kindergarten was supposed to help kids get ready for their future learning experiences in all-day school. In other words, I thought it was the class that set the stage for moving forward, the starting point. Why does anyone need to be "ready"? Isn't that the whole point of Kindergarten? Maybe I am a bit off here.

Anonymous wrote:My point is that it is sex discrimination and that it is tolerated. It is blatant. If it was blatant race discrimination it would never happen. They would not be so direct and the community as a whole would not tolerate it. Plus they would be sued. Also, do you think if someone believes that boys can not sit still that it is impossible for them to think that other races are inferior or can not keep up. It becomes a slippery slope. When you believe one sterotype you are likely to believe another. What about black boys? Is the age cut-off different for black boys? Do you think they would give a black summer birthday the benefit of the doubt? What about April?

And yes, I am black. I do not think there are a ton of spots for black kids in a lot of the privates that I looked at. Maybe 1 to 3 spots per grade but that was it, not sure how many applicants but if there was 4 qualified black applicants 1 was getting left out.

Not to worry, I think you can reenroll your child, I think they stop checking age either entering 2nd or 3rd.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a belief that summer boys can not cut it, I wonder if there is a unknown rule about blacks and hispanics. When do they need to turn 5 by? Is the same April cut-off or is it Jan. because they need the extra time? This is discrimination pure and simple. Privates, will almost come out and tell you that summer boys are not ready, and there numbers would bare this out. This is discrimination and if they said that there cut-off was different (earlier) for blacks and hispanics they would be sued and run out of town.

I am so confused. My Black son was denied entry into first grade, though he completed K last year. The reasons both public and private schools have noted are his age versus everyone else's. He turned 5 in May of 2011. The children entering K are 6 plus years old, some are 5 to 5 1/2.

What does this have to do with being Black, Hispanic, vegetarian, fat, skinny, pretty, or weird? The conistently presented issue is one surrounding the age of an entrant, not color. Now if you say it is sex discrimination, then I would stand behind you in the fight because I was told a boy is not as mature, regardless of the fact my child's test scores indicate he paces beyond first grade academically. He will be homeschooled, until we figure out what to do. He is not repeating Kindergarten.

I don't know where you live, but the Maryland Department of Education indicates a child must be 5 by some point during September to start K and 6 by some specific date in September of the year of enrollment. Early admissions tests can be given to children who will turn 5 no later than Dec. 31 of the year he or she is trying to enroll in K, or 6 by Dec. 31st of the year to be enrolled in 1st grade. For early admission to K, they must pass a test, which will not be given until they have sat in the K class for 6 weeks. I cannot speak for other counties in MD, but know Montgomery public and private schools follow those guidelines strictly as noted by the state.

Anonymous wrote:There is a belief that summer boys can not cut it, I wonder if there is a unknown rule about blacks and hispanics. When do they need to turn 5 by? Is the same April cut-off or is it Jan. because they need the extra time? This is discrimination pure and simple. Privates, will almost come out and tell you that summer boys are not ready, and there numbers would bare this out. This is discrimination and if they said that there cut-off was different (earlier) for blacks and hispanics they would be sued and run out of town.

Anonymous wrote:

I am laughing because I can't even get offended by your denial. You and I both KNOW children will be children, and they will tease and torment the other child who is much older.

By the way, I have 2 master's degrees in early child development and a PhD in Psychology, in case you think I am hallucinating!

Peace and honesty from the realist!!

Psychology consultation:

I do not follow your logic. If these older kids are red shirted (when they alledgedly shouldn't be from a developmental standpoint) then an extra year in the world alledgedly makes them more physically and intellectually developed than their younger peers ("the unfair advantage" everyone is worried about)-- primed to be leaders in the classroom and gridiron.

What will be the motive/motivation/gumption for the younger child to tease or bully the older child that is bigger, stronger, smarter and more handsome? Why wouldn't envy and adoration prevail instead?

I think I need to first let you know where I stand on the redshirting issue, so you will be more informed about my position. First, I am against redshirting, period. I feel all children should start K when they are old enough, unless they have delays, in which case maybe they should be enrolled in a different school where their needs can be more appropriately met. Redshirting does not give a child an academic advantage. I believe it hinders them in the long run, and can have negative social implications.

Also, age and looks are not relevant in this case. Handsome boys/men are handsome and pretty girls/women are pretty, whether they are 2 years older or younger. We all attended school with big jocks, so yes - age will give the children (boys in articular) a physical advantage for sports.

Really smart children that are advanced socially, emotionally, and academically will not usually admire older bigger children who are academically slow. Also, I am not predicting they will bully less smart kids. I simply know that intellect is still considered a positive thing for kids to possess, and those who have it are often able to recognize or make assumptions about others who seem to lack it in school.

Realist

As a realist and reader of biography history informs me people through the ages that have made a difference to mankind and the globe have not been the swiftest, smartest and youngest. I would never raise my children in a cocoon destined to "smooth" the Bell shape curve in favor of homogeneous ages, WPSSI scores and hypoactive children that do not "cause trouble". It's nice to have choices even if some of these choices include public schools along the way.