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Redshirting: Holding kids back from kindergarten

March 4, 2012 4:00 PM

Morley Safer reports on the rising trend of "redshirting," delaying kindergarten until children are 6 years old. Will this make these students more successful in school and life?

Redshirting: Holding kids back from kindergarten

60 Minutes OverTimeKindergarten "redshirting." What would you do?

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by SDTB October 4, 2012 7:21 AM EDT
My son is the youngest in his year group by 11 months. His school has a September 1 cutoff and his birthday is August 25. He is now 12 and has struggled to keep up with his classmates who are 11months older. It became very noticeable when playing with several sets of brothers who are a year apart in school. He would always play with the younger brother who was in the year group directly below his as he was closer in age and had more in common. I wish I could have given him the gift of time but the schools did not allow me that chance. He has been getting C's and D's since first grade and wonders why he even should go to school. Since he has been 6 years old he has spent hours doing homework and been tutored. He has seen numerous professionals who all say there is nothing wrong with him. Other parents have commented that red shirting robs a child of their childhood but my son has spent his entire childhood trying not to flunk out of elementary school and middle school. How is that the better option?
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by codesuth October 1, 2012 11:57 AM EDT
What I'm shocked about the the 41 state conspiracy to have the same educational program. St Johns County FL just FAILED my Kindergardener last year. We have spent thousands of dollars on private tutoring this past summer and of course now he's the top of his class and they are still giving us a hard time about trying to get him promoted to 1st grade. They simply expect too much too soon out of the kids today. Unless you have a stay at home parent or tons of cash to throw at tutors I don't understand how a kid can learn what they require. How on earth is a kid expected read/write and do math before they can get promoted to 1st grade? Kindergarden should be what it used to be a location for the kids to learn about social interaction and perhaps learn their alphabet. Once they kids have the basics THEN slam em so we can catch up with the rest of the world.. say 3 grade or around there.
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by aloha365 September 13, 2012 7:55 AM EDT
I'm a parent of 2 boys, my first, with a September birthday, who accelerated and skipped a grade, and the second, with a July birthday, who I am "redshirting" this year. Since I've experienced both ends of the spectrum of kindergarten admission, I feel it safe to comment that every child has very individual needs and it should be the parents right to decide when it is best to begin formal schooling. My older son started kindergarten as a 4 year old, and now in second grade he is still at the top of his class academically and does well all around. He had to go through intense testing to be allowed in early. Through the entire testing process I heard, "Kindergarten is now like first grade and is very demanding." I'm happy with my decision to send him early, as I know he would have been extremely bored had he gone in as the oldest in his scheduled year. Even with skipping a year, I do not think the curriculum is at all challenging for him. With my younger son, who was recently diagnosed ADHD, we recognize that he is a natural athlete and know that redshirting him would be in his personal best interest. It was a tough decision for us, especially as his brother will be 3 years ahead of him in school. It was interesting that all I needed to do to "redshirt" was fill out a simple maturity waiver form. But to accelerate a year, we needed write an essay, interview with the principal, assistant principal, psychologist and 2 days of SAT testing with a reading teacher. If redshirting was such a serious negative epidemic, I'm sure the school system could a implement more rigorous filter as they do with accelerating students.
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by mom5163 September 8, 2012 2:37 PM EDT
Until now, I did not know that this was such a huge epidemic. I have a 7 yro son born in July. I had to make the hard decision during pre-school. I had a feeling that he wasn't ready to move up to the jr-k program. My son could read and retained everything, but he could never sit still or focus. Despite lack of focus he was very quiet and did not distract other kids. There were other very active children in his class and I felt it was just too much for him so I moved him down to a younger class. He began to pay attention and talk and grow. Overall he was happy and happy learning. Since my son was smart, everyone assumed I would push him along. I struggled with the thought of him going into kindergarten and getting into trouble for not following directions. After a talk with the director at his current school, his doctor, and a child therapist, I decided to move him to another school to repeat their pre-school program so he wouldn't feel like he had been held back. When I talked to the teacher at the new school we decided to move my son into the kind. Class the second semester if he was bored. After two weeks with my son, he could read, count, and explain to you the scientific differences of a reptile and amphibian, but he couldn't/wouldn't color. He wouldn't complete his work. This was not a huge deal in pre-school (his emotional level was right on target w/the other kids) but it is counted against you in kindergarten even if you know the material. So we let him stay in his new pre-school. He then went to kindergarten as a 6 year old, he did a little better but as expected he still had problems with basic maturity skills. If he had gone into kindergarten at 5 and first grade at 6 they would have immediately tried to medicate my child. Now in first grade, he is doing well and hanging in there with the same kids, he is very smart but if you don't give your smart/gifted children the ability to grow at their own pace they could make c's and d's in high school. Our children have to be the best they can be. Like it or not, the world is a competitive place. C's and D's don't get you into the advance classes and if you have smart child who decides he wants to go to a competitive college , you need to be able to get those classes. If he gets bored in a couple of years and needs to skip or graduate early then we will revisit at that time, but at least I want have to say to my son I am sorry but all your friends are going to be in high school and you have to stay and repeat the 8th grade. That was a huge trend when I was in High School, that wasn't a very successful movement.
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by greatfallsmom July 9, 2012 10:30 AM EDT
My youngest son had a July birthday. He couldn't wait to go to school with his big brother. Sweet, athletically stunning by any measure,this child told us he couldn't wait to go to school! So When the 23 year old fine arts major teaching the cooperative preschool I enrolled him in ( which he didn't like and he was right , it was a mess! ) looked me straight in the eye and advised me to hold him back a year because in her "experience" he wasn't ready, I thanked her and told her that he would not be returning to that coop program.

This teacher then told the school in the area that our son wasn't ready for kindergarten.
I had to have him tested. All tests were fine and the developmental psychologist who tested him said that we not only had his blessing to send our son to school, but in his professional opinion this " redshirting " was problematic on so many levels. " The problems really begin in high school " , was his professional observation. So far from providing children with an edge, parents where unwittingly hamstringing their sons for highschool.
Our son graduated from highschool last year, and the list of overgrown, physically mature, socially awkward 19 ( almost 20 year olds ) in a sea of 15 through 18 year olds was so sad.
These were not the leaders their mother's anticipated. From the private schools to the public schools in our area these boys experienced just as much if not more problems academially, with the law and sadly with substance abuse, as any other group.Possibly more.
The " edge " was mitigated by those things that families go through; divorce, economic upheaval, family tradegy. There is nothing sadder than watching a child unravel because of family issues, but they've been told to be " a leader " because they have " an edge " .

The boys we knew who had been held back did have behavorial problems. Depending on the school they were enrolled in, some were teased because they were " too big " , some became bullies. Some were taunted because they weren't as smart as their younger ( by alot ) schoolmates.Some were clearly bored. But the biggest problem I saw in the classroom was their mother's inability look past their own social problems in school and provide the kind of parenting that emphasizes kindness, fairness and niceness, fostering a love of learning and sharing with regard to their child's upbringing in favor of raising a five or six year old " leader " who gets good marks because because they have have and " edge " over other children.

This may work in tony neighborhoodsfor a time, but in fact in real life this redshirting fosters nothing more than a false sense of entitlement.

There's always going to be someone who comes from nothing and suceeds beyond any measure; just look in the White House. We should celebrate this.

I think " redshirting " is a way of telling your child that as they stand they cannont make it without some parental interference where none was needed. And that's an awful message to give to anyone, especially a five year old.

If we as a society, a nation, want to really provide our children with an " edge " we need to start voting for the appropriate investment in our schools.

Build more schools. Keep enrollments manageable. Invest in technology, vocational programs and most importantly, invest in arts education. There is nothing more life affirming than watching a group of school children create. It does not matter what level, what medium. There is magic in the air in painting class, in the music room , on school play night.
Bring back the school nurse. Pay teachers, fund their academic advancement. They return it to their classes. Respect the process.
Let every child know that as an adult you care about their future. Volunteer more in schools.
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by MrsBernstein April 26, 2012 2:17 PM EDT
I am a parent and a teacher. My second son had a summer birthday and I had him repeat kindergarten. But I sis so because he was a weak reader and felt he would struggle too much in first grade. I did not hold him back to give him an advantage. My third son was a winter birthday- he did great in Kinder and is moving along just fine in first. My oldest son is in High School. I wish I had done many things differently.

I think it depends on the child. I teach High School and I have had many students that come to high school with weak skills or very immature and I feel one more year in Kinder may have made a huge difference. Other students are fine. I have had students that were held back and I have never had one complain. They all say in the end it was a good decision.

The lady in the video is going to have problems with her son when he is older, unless she continues to keep doing everything for him. I have taught those kids too. She is giving him this sense of entitlement. He will get to high school and believe that his teachers owe him respect and that they should be working for him instead of him doing the hard work. There is a large generation of kids whose parents have done everything in their power to give them a leg up or an advantage over others and they haven't had to lift a finger to figure things out for themselves.

I have been writing articles about this epidemic. There is a large disconnect about decisions made in elementary school and what happens in highs school. SOME kids need to be held back so that they are stronger students and can keep up with the majority, but not so that they can have an advantage over others.

That little boy will end up being a high school teacher's worst nightmare- unless his parents allow him to struggle and do hard work for himself and find his own place in his society he will one of the entitled high schoolers that want an A in class, but don't want to work hard and whose parents will call the teacher if their grade drops and try to help them out.

Talk to a high school teacher.
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by mahimaki March 12, 2012 6:09 PM EDT
Wow... It is amazing to hear all about this. I myself being a parent makes me sick to think of myself but not my kids. Why would anyone wants to teach their child cheat at an early age like this? So you think your kids will have an advantage by staying back and competeing with kids who are a year to 18 month younger than them. I don't see any accomplishment in this. I would be very happy when my daughter accomplishes anything or if she bacomes a leader within her age group not when she excel things with the younger kids. I am not going out and brag like these many parents that my child is smart and a leader when clearly they are leading the youngest kids not their peers. So much for teaching competetivness and leadership. And certainly I am not going to go out and say my child reads better than his/her classmates who are a year younger than him/her. That is absurd. I will tell you this, instead of cheating; let please teach our childre; how to face real challenge in life by being honest and truthful, by working hard and by overcoming obstacles. This comment not intend to the parents whose children has learning or bahavioral disabilities but those who is obsessive with reaching to their goal by cheating themselves and the system. Let me tell you one more thing; my daughter is an end of September baby who is younger than everyone in her pre-school but taller than everyone and She is only 3 years old. She is in PreSchool because she is naturaly advanced and a quick learner. She reads, writes, and do simple math. She stands up for herself and has an edge for more challenge. I let her ride with her own pace as some are fast and some are slow.
As parents, we should let our children become who they want to become not who we want to become. Let teach them how to choose their path but not choose them path for them by cheating. We are parents so let's reason things with importance but not needs. Lets teach them honesty and hard work. But let's stop teaching our children the free ride with blind fold and only to find out nothing easy unless we cheat.
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by jpedcal March 12, 2012 5:43 PM EDT
Each parent should look at the needs of their own child to make this decision. In 2000, our daughter's pre-school teacher suggested that it would be best to wait the extra year to start her in kindergarten. In California at the time, the cutoff for kindergarten was turning 5 by December 1. This meant that some children were spending almost half of their kindergarten year as 4 year olds. This at a time when academic requirments were being increased for each grade...kindergarteners were expected to read, first graders were doing subtraction in the first weeks of school, and so on. This was very different from what had been our, her parents', school experience when kindergarten was more of a socialization year and academics didn't really begin until 1st grade. We trusted our daughter's pre-school teacher and waited the extra year to enroll our daughter, who has a late October birthday. She has thrived in school, and now as a high schooler is taking advanced classes. She had two pre-school friends with birthdays within days of hers. These children started school at age 4, with the same pre-school teacher's blessing, and have done beautifully. Just as not all kids learn to walk at the same time, not all children are ready for kindergarten at the same time. I am thrilled that I will have the extra year with my beautiful daughter at home, before she moves on to college and all that awaits her.
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by rmsdusa March 11, 2012 9:12 PM EDT
Very ironic that the first parent interviewed was found at what appeared to be a Little League field. In Little League, the league age is the league age and kids only get to play until they are 12. There is no such thing as redshirting, their age is their age. So, if she wanted to, she could decide to not let her son play until her was a year older and then artificially hold him down division after division but once he was 12, he'd be done. Also, at the very best, he'd only have 1 year in the most competitive division, Majors. I actually know a lot of parents who push their kids to play in a division where they'll be the youngest so that they'll play against kids who are better than them, thus they'll improve faster. In fact, some of the most talented kids on our current team are playing majors at 10, they'll play three years in this division and will have earned it every step of the way. The scary part is that a parent that is willing to game the system in kindergarten will probably be gaming everything they can throughout life so that when their kid gets into the real world, they'll have a very rude awakening when they get out and realize that the big bad world really is competitive and Mommy and Daddy cannot do anything more to game the system. That'll be a nice wake up call that'll keep some therapist busy for years.
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by pwh70 March 11, 2012 9:05 PM EDT
Seven years ago, when we found out that we had the option of placing our son into Kindergarten in the coming September or to hold off another year because of where his birthday fell, it was a no brainer... my shift schedule at work allows me a few days off during the week, and the ability to spend one more year with my son doing fun stuff during the day vs sending him off to start the next 12 years of his life was not a difficult decision.
For the parents who are eager to exploit every possible angle to give their child an advantage over his/her peers, I would suggest that their child might benefit from starting kindergarten as soon as possible - if only to get out from under the hovering competitiveness of their parent(s) - a year sooner.
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