Dear parents, Admission session is on full swing, and after meeting so many parents, I wish to address a common problem our parents face. When a child misses a cut off age for formal schooling by few days or months, then the obvious dilemma parents face either hold the child or to put in an environment to keep up with the peers. This is what we call REDSHIRTING. Holding kindergarten age children back a year is known as redshirting. Originally a term used in college sports, parents began redshirting their children to have the advantage of being the oldest and, therefore, smartest children in class. 1. Statistics show that boys and affluent children are twice as likely held back as their peers. 2. Associate professor at USC’s School of Policy, Planning, and Development Gary Painter has found there is no significant academic or social benefit to redshirting. (Kelmon, 2013) Most research indicates that any academic gaps experienced between younger and older children are bridged by the third grade, unless there are significant learning disabilities 3. Opponents of redshirting state that the dynamic of kindergarten is changing, giving some children an unfair advantage of being older than their peers. 4. While others discuss the social and emotional impact of being physically larger than the rest of the class. 5. Older children who remain in the preschool classroom also change that environment. As well, there has been evidence that adolescents tend to misbehave more when they feel they are too old for their grade. (Williams, 2012). So whenever I face the problem of placing a child in pre-nursery, nursery, or kindergarten..one should always follow the golden rule brain can not be redshirted…it can never be held back….it will grow. This is where teachers should heavily rely on Montessori way of teaching, and avoid redshirting. rgds vineet.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:45:32 +0000