For what I've seen 4 is simply TOO YOUNG for kindergarten today. It's too long a day, too heavily academic, for a 4 year old who should still spend most of the day PLAYING.
Kids should have to be 5 before the first day of school.
Our first day of school was Sept 11th this year, I think. Maybe the 9th. What difference does TWO weeks make for my DD who turned 5 at the end of September? Why on earth would she --- who had been reading for almost a year, and was reading chapter books at home -- need to wait a year to start K just because YOU think "4 is simply too young??" Thankfully, her birthday is before the cutoff and I didn't have to worry about it. She is, according to her teacher, "eager to learn, a joy to have in class, and a great example to the other students." She is reading well above grade level, does great at math, has excellent handwriting, etc. I suspect even as one of the youngest first graders next year, she'll be following her brother's footsteps (he is a March birthday) and doing the extension curriculum and independent study next year. She is bright. I have never pushed her to learn ANYTHING. Nor my son. They learned to read early because they wanted to and were ready. Had I been forced to wait another year for her to start K, I wouldn't have been happy. She's not crazy young. She is within the cutoff. The only reason she would be considered out of the norm as far as ages is if someone with a mid-year birthday decided to hold their kid back. Then, sure -- she's young compared to a child whose birthday is 18 months before hers. But THEY are the ones who are out of the norm.
It has been my experience that teacher will ignore the needs of the child who is ahead in order to work more with the kids who are average or behind. The child who is ahead can fend for themselves. It really isn't fair to deny that child the opportunity to advance. Everyone says that it all evens out by around 3rd grade, but that is because those advanced children are just sitting around waiting for others to catch up. Give them the chance to advance, and they will.
I completely agree. I have seen this strikingly this year. My DD's K class is full of behavior problems, kids who didn't go to preschool, and kids who don't speak english fluently. My DD started the year reading. She hasn't been challenged at all, because the teacher has to teach the basics of the alphabet and deal with bad behavior.
In contrast, my DS started first grade at our district's "Traditional School." The principal and his teacher are all about challenging kids to excel. ANd he IS. It is amazing to see how much progress he has made this year, particularly in his writing. I am thrilled with how his teacher has made it a priority to give him and the other kids who are above grade level in many ways the chance to really advance and learn more. I wish all schools (and teachers!) could be so good. I am SO hoping that my DD will be in her class next year so that she will finally get the challenge she so desperately wants!
Actually, this is not true about GA. We're in GA too and my dd would've been 4 for 3 weeks when Kindergarten started the first week of August. Her birthday isn't until August 29 and cut-off here is Sept 1. We were lucky to have a transitional kindergarten class offered at a private school which she did for a year before starting Kindergarten at age 6.
In VA, we would have to explain our reasoning if we did not start our kids in first grade if they turn 6 before the cutoff. I think K is not a requirement here at all, at least last time I looked.
I have no problem with redshirting so long as there is a REASON for it. But the more common it becomes, the more people are doing it "so junior won't be behind, since so many people are holding THEIR kids back!" That, I think, is all kind of wrong. There are reasons to hold your kids back, especially if they have a birthday close to the cutoff. But when people with kids born 6 months before the state cutoff are holding back their kids because "that's what everyone is doing," it starts to be a problem. And it must be a nightmare for the teachers. My guess is *many* (certainly not all!) of the kids who are held back are the ones with a good, supportive parents and a good base for learning. The ones who are on the young side, had no preschool, whose parents aren't english speaking, etc are likely to send their kids when they qualify. That's going to set up a huge gap for the teachers, between the kids who turned 6 in the spring/summer, and those who are just 5 and not coming in prepared.
That's why I don't like it. I am certainly not saying some kids don't need it, but it seems like certain people/groups are pushing for that to be the norm. The whole "gift of time" philosophy is growing in popularity, when really, MOST kids who fall within state cutoff dates don't NEED it. It might make them bigger/faster/stronger/smarter, but it also might make them bored as hell. You really have to look at YOUR child and not do this "just because." *I* found myself questioning my decision at times before school started, and my husband thought I was insane. and he's right. I totally was doing it only because other people were talking about it so much -- it had *nothing* to do with Lanie's ability to do well in K (or beyond).
