Delay Kindergarten at Your Child's Peril - NYTimes.com - 2 views
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THIS fall, one in 11 kindergarten-age children in the United States will not be going to class. Parents of these children often delay school entry in an attempt to give them a leg up on peers, but this strategy is likely to be counterproductive.
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Teachers may encourage redshirting because more mature children are easier to handle in the classroom and initially produce better test scores than their younger classmates.
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This advantage fades by the end of elementary school, though, and disadvantages start to accumulate. In high school, redshirted children are less motivated and perform less well. By adulthood, they are no better off in wages or educational attainment — in fa
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I had never realized how incredibly critical the first years of a child's life were. This situation seems almost like a win-lose one; the younger children are more challenged and thus more prepared later on in life while the older ones will always be less motivated and all-around strong. Does this mean that we must set up our classrooms to have some students be statistically advantaged in life while others might potentially suffer? ARE WE GONNA DO THAT?!