How young or old can a child be to enter first grade?

[jps-teacher]

Originally Posted by brocco

nor is it great in college when you're not 21 til your senior year and you can't get into all of the 18 and up clubs the freshmen go to during orientation week/parties.

I don't remember caring. My friends did things with me, rather than excluding me.

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by brocco

nor is it great in college when you're not 21 til your senior year and you can't get into all of the 18 and up clubs the freshmen go to during orientation week/parties.

Really? A thread about the age limits to enter first grade and you bring up a complaint about not being able to go out and drink with your buddies in college?

Fascinating. I continue to learn about peoples' priorities AND the ways the human mind works.

[brocco]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Really? A thread about the age limits to enter first grade and you bring up a complaint about not being able to go out and drink with your buddies in college?

Fascinating. I continue to learn about peoples' priorities AND the ways the human mind works.

i dont understand why thats so odd. its definitely relevant, but i didn't mean to imply that a parent of a first-grader would or should have such a thing in mind. calm down.

[brocco]

Originally Posted by jps-teacher

I don't remember caring. My friends did things with me, rather than excluding me.

i didnt drink or go out much when i was in college (nor did i care to). it wasn't until afterward that i went through that phase. i was always a little bit behind my peers socially, and i do think being younger than everyone in all of my classes throughout my life contributed to that.

[jps-teacher]

Originally Posted by brocco

i didnt drink or go out much when i was in college (nor did i care to). it wasn't until afterward that i went through that phase. i was always a little bit behind my peers socially, and i do think being younger than everyone in all of my classes throughout my life contributed to that.

One of the hardest things we do as humans is try to extrapolate what our lives would have been like had we followed a different path.

Early entrance - be it to first grade or to college - is one of those turning points that people point to as making their lives different. And they point to it in each direction, from each side of the divide!

"If only I had been permitted to enter school at 5 instead of 6, I would not have been nearly so bored!"
"If only I had been permitted to enter school at 6 instead of 5, I would have fit in better socially!"

"Thank heavens I was permitted to enter school at 5 - school was much more interesting and I had more friends than I would have!"
"Thank heavens I was permitted to enter school at 6 - I was doing more things at the same age as my classmates!

The same things get said of early entrance to college. Interestingly, in the largest study of early (after 10th grade) college entrants, they had a higher graduation rate, higher GPA, and reported a greater involvement with campus activities than either their freshman classmates with similar high school GPAs and test scores or their former equivalent classmates in high school who finished and went off to college.
********

I think in general we put more blame for social discomfort on the skipping/early entrance than on the social dynamic of who we are, and I don't think it is merited.

But I also don't think it is provable.

(And don't get me started on "red-shirting" boys for first grade! It is a practice that research conclusively shows is seldom merited.)

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by brocco

i dont understand why thats so odd. its definitely relevant, but i didn't mean to imply that a parent of a first-grader would or should have such a thing in mind. calm down.

Oh, I am calm.

I only jump up and down on true breakthroughs and revelations. Things that will change Western civilization as we know it. Your comment was in the "ain't that interesting" column.

[brocco]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

Oh, I am calm.

I only jump up and down on true breakthroughs and revelations. Things that will change Western civilization as we know it. Your comment was in the "ain't that interesting" column.

aw before it was "fascinating"

[DewDropInn]

Originally Posted by brocco

aw before it was "fascinating"

You're right!

Dang, you were downgraded to Business Class. Sorry.

I'll toss in a bag of honey roasted peanuts and a coupon for a free drink on your next flight.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by howard555

I think I entered first grade at age 6.
I was born in June, so this worked out fine.
The school year started in August or September. So, I was age 6 (plus a couple months).

What about kids born in September - December?
They would be under age 6, if their birthday was in the year they entered school. If they were born in September - December of the previous year they'd actually be closer to age 7, than age 6.

What age must a child be, to enter first grade?
Does it vary from state to state, or school to school?

Thanks.

Back on-topic please