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For those who thought that the starting post was too long, or for those who missed what I really meant:
What *should* the cutoff date be so that parents will be LESS likely to redshirt their children?
There is no cutoff date that will reduce the problem. Any date you pick will have some kids who were born right before it, whose parents want to hold them back; and some kids who were born right after it, whose parents don't want them to miss another year before starting school.
It seems to me that one possible solution would be to have school run year-round, and offer two tracks: one with a cutoff of July 1, and the other with a cutoff of January 1. At least that way, each class would have an age range of only 6 months (maximum) instead of a year.
I think parents are the best people to determine if they want to send their child earlier or later to a school. Some kids can read and write before going into K. They might be able to enjoy coming to school 1 year earlier. Some kids are too small-framed, or sick, or not ready for school yet, they should be allowed to stay back 1 year.
In our district, there is a pre-screening of kindergartners before they are admitted (or at least that's the way it was about 20 years ago).
I personally think that children should be admitted at no earlier than four years of age and no later than six years of age on the day school starts. For a child to be admitted at four, however, I think that s/he should know his or her colors, be able to count to 20, and be able to sit still and listen to a story for at least 10 minutes. For five-year-olds, I think it should be a joint decision between the parent and school (or teacher) or wait until s/he is six -- and if there is a disagreement, then there should be a one- or two-week trial period.
There is no cutoff date that will reduce the problem. Any date you pick will have some kids who were born right before it, whose parents want to hold them back; and some kids who were born right after it, whose parents don't want them to miss another year before starting school.
It seems to me that one possible solution would be to have school run year-round, and offer two tracks: one with a cutoff of July 1, and the other with a cutoff of January 1. At least that way, each class would have an age range of only 6 months (maximum) instead of a year.
Just a thought: If people were required to be age 10 to go to kindergarten, would parents still complain about "my child is the youngEST one in the class"? Most of the immaturity issues with little kids would be almost non-existent with someone who is age 10, and 10 years old is plenty old enough to handle separation from parents most of the time and at least have some level of learning on their own.
Yet, "being one of the youngEST" even with no other problems thrown into the equation, is frowned upon by some people.
Yet, "being one of the youngEST" even with no other problems thrown into the equation, is frowned upon by some people.
Yeah, but "youngEST" alone is not an issue for enough people that it causes any noticeable affect on society. You know? For every one or two families that don't want their kid to be the "youngest" there's plenty of folks who are fine with it.
Per your OP, I don't think there can be a hard cut off. Kids are different. Would a hard cut off prevent kids who would benefit from repeating a grade to do so? What about kids who change districts? Would they be forced to skip a grade? What about kids who've been homeschooled and are ahead or behind?
Parents (with input from teachers, friends and relatives, if desired) should be able to decide when their child is ready for school.
If you change the cutoff date, it has to be in relation to the day that school starts, and not a particular date on the calendar. Because the day that schools starts keeps changing. Where I live, the cutoff is Sept 1. Which was fine several years ago when school started after labor day. But the school districts keep starting earlier (in order to get more instructional days before the first standardized test) and so now school starts at the beginning of August. So you have kids in Kindergarten who are 4 for one month.
This is a real problem when you have late-talking summer-birthday boys. They are barely speaking in sentences by the time they are forced into Kindergarten. And if you red-shirt them, then the district can deny speech therapy on their IEP in favor of the boys who were not red-shirted. Which forces late-talking summer-birthday boys to start Kindergarten at 4, and these are the exact kids that would benefit the MOST from red-shirting.
No kid should be forced into Kindergarten at 4 years of age. They should be given the option to start when they are 5 or 6. So they must be 5 or 6 on the first day of school.
I really do find it hard to believe that there is no solution that will reduce the likelihood of this debate between parents and teachers and students every school year.
I really do find it hard to believe that there is no solution that will reduce the likelihood of this debate between parents and teachers and students every school year.
Very few people try to start school later. Most kids start right on time, and a few parents push for early admission. I might have one kid every year that's older or younger out of 22-25 kindergarteners.
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