Shop by Topic
Shop by Product
ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues
<< Previous Issue
| View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> 
Delaying Kindergarten
September 29, 2011
To reach real peace in the world, we will have to begin with the children.
-Gandhi
-Gandhi
"Teachers may encourage redshirting (delaying kindergarten entry) because more mature children are easier to handle in the classroom and initially produce better test scores than their younger classmates. In a class of 25, the average difference is equivalent to going from 13th place to 11th. 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 fact, their lifetime earnings are reduced by one year.
"...Parents who want to give their young children an academic advantage have a powerful tool: school itself. In a large-scale study at 26 Canadian elementary schools, first graders who were young for their year made considerably more progress in reading and math than kindergartners who were old for their year (but just two months younger).... Learning is maximized not by getting all the answers right, but by making errors and correcting them quickly. In this respect, children benefit from being close to the limits of their ability. Too low an error rate becomes boring, while too high an error rate is unrewarding. A delay in school entry may therefore still be justified if children are very far behind their peers, leaving a gap too broad for school to allow effective learning.
"Parents want to provide the best environment for their child, but delaying school is rarely the right approach. The first six years of life are a time of tremendous growth and change in the developing brain. Synapses, the connections between brain cells, are undergoing major reorganization. Indeed, a 4-year-old’s brain uses more energy than it ever will again. Brain development cannot be put on pause, so the critical question is how to provide the best possible context to support it."
Intellectual Emergencies: Some Reflections on Mothering and Teaching is a special contribution to the field by Lilian Katz. She has spent many years conducting workshops for teachers, parents, and students all over the world. During those workshops, she often refers to her son Stephen, and what she has termed the "intellectual emergencies" she experienced during the years he was growing up. Her responses to these "emergencies," the moments when he analyzed her actions and challenged her decisions as a parent and a teacher, are presented in this insightful, witty book.ExchangeEveryDay
Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
What is ExchangeEveryDay?
ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
Join the Procare family of 25,000+ child care centers operating efficiently through software and payment processing automation.
Comments (44)
Displaying 5 of 44 Comments [ View all ]United States
There is something I have not seen addressed in this discussion. Many families can not economically afford to delay their child's entrance to kindergarten. Once a child is age eligible for kindergarten, many other no cost or scholarship based programs can no longer serve that child. For some families sending their child to school is the only option they have. No matter the date of when a child is eligible to enter kindergarten, there will always be a wide range of abilities with in the classroom. Kindergarten programs need to be responsive to this range.
Clearwater, FL, United States
My daughter's birthday was the day before cutoff for entering kindergarten. We were told we were lucky when she was born; she made it! She began reading when she was three (really!), so when her teacher told us when she was four that she was probably not mature enough to start kindergarten, we started doing research on our own. We also found out we were expecting another child who would, also, be born just before the birthday cutoff for kindergarten. Our anecdotal research left us with a kindergarten teacher who suggested letting her play an extra year, a relative who started kindergarten and had to repeat it who felt like a failure since he had "failed" kindergarten and eventually dropped out of high school, among others. Her preschool teacher said if we sent her, she would be ok, but if we held her back, she would be a leader. The only one who said to send her was her pediatrician, who said she would catch up in 6 months (yes, but would the others then be six months ahead?). We ultimately held her back, sending her to a more challenging preschool when she was five. We have never regretted our decision. She ended up as president of student council and is the ultimate overachiever. She enjoyed college so much that she is in graduate school, studying Higher Education Administration. As for the other child, the decision to hold him back was easy. He was able to handle school, but he did not know his colors, and he didn't care that he didn't know them. He is now in a prestigious engineering college, and I have never regretted giving them that extra year to play. Children will never have that chance again, and we owe it to them to give them all the chances for success that we can!
United States
If children are born every minute of the year, then why is it "right" to group an entire grade on a single cut-off date? This practice insures a 364-day discrepency in classmates' ages in every class. Plus we educators see the (wonderful) diversity of development even in children with close or same birthdates--physical, emotional, social, artistic, musical, verbal, empathetic, logical, initiative, curiosity, etc.) The notion that rigid class placements based solely upon age is not supported by even the casual observer of children's development.
Talk, Walk & Learn Center, LLC
Jackson, MS, United States
I must add a few more things regarding the importance of recognizing child development:
1. We get the parents involved in the developmental process in several ways from documentation commitment to interaction.
2. We place developmenton our web site http://www.twlsnc24hr.com
Again, I reread this article to make sure my 24-hour childcare was truly focused on the social, emotional and physical development, in play as well, and in having the parents understand this importance.
I had a 4 year old girl tell me she liked to work and wanted to work. Her concept of 'work' is having something written on paper. I told her parent, "Work is not only paper. We watch and guide the children through their developmental growth i.e. seeing their interactions with peers and how they handle good, bad or indifferent behavior."
Minneapolis, MN, United States
It is up-lifting and encouraging to read so many intelligent and well-founded responses to this issue. I have been in early childhood education - birth through 2nd grade - for close to 45 years. There have been many conversations about going to Kindergarten during that time and I can honestly say that I have never had a parent regret waiting a year for their child's entrance into K. Many many have regretted sending their child on time or a little early. I consider it a gift of time to the child - time to play in the blocks or dress up area, time to paint and color and listen to stories, time to dance and have snack and take a nap - all of which to not seem to be included in the present K. classrooms. When the children from the joyful, relaxed, rich and varied environment of a early childhood program go to Kindergarten, many are disappointed, frustrated or sad. They like lunch time and recess, what little there is of it, and perhaps a once-a-week art or music, but worksheets, everyone doing the same thing and limited movement possibilities fill the rest of the time. It makes me disappointed, frustrated and sad too...that many schools have such little respect for the capabilities and interests and ideas of the young child.
Post a Comment