Redshirting - An Unfair Advantage?

Red-shirt  noun - A high school or college athlete kept out of varsity competition for one year to develop skills and extend eligibility.

If you know me, you know I am not athletic.  I'll be honest, I had never heard of the term "redshirting" until my son started kindergarten.  My son has a June birthday.  Naturally, I assumed he would be right in the middle of his class when it came to his age.  As the year progressed and my son shared in birthday celebrations of his classmates, I noticed most of the children were already turning six years old.  My son ended up being the second youngest in his class.  Although some of the kids were only a few months older than him, there were quite a few who were a full year older.

I was speechless.  I began questioning friends with older children in the school system.  Why were there children a full year older in the same class with my son?  That was when I was introduced to the term redshirting - postponing a child beginning kindergarten.  This allows the child extra time to grow socially, physically or intellectually.  If you've read my previous blog First Grade Report Cards - Not What They Used To Be, I've expressed how high the academic expectation is of children as soon as they begin kindergarten.  The kindergarten curriculum is no joke. In my opinion, it seems like kindergarten has become the new first grade!

People make the choice to hold their children back for different reasons.  I support those that have a genuine concern about their child's maturity level or social skills.  I do not agree with redshirting to give your child an academic advantage over other children in their class.  Aren't we supposed to challenge our children?  What happend to learning from your mistakes?  If at first you don't succeed, try again?  This is a fundamental life skill.   Parents have told me they have delayed their child's entry into kindergarten because they don't want it to be hard for them, they don't want their kid to struggle.  It leaves me speechless.  Overcoming obstacles, even at five years old, builds character and increases motivation for success.

It's not as though the older children are necessarily "smarter" than the children who entered kindergarten as soon as they were eligible.  They simply have had another year to mature and learn materials that help make the transition to kindergarten easier.  I look at it that these children might do better in their grade, but will not necessarily do as well as other children their age.

What do you think about this phenomenon?  Have your children experienced such a wide age range in their kindergarten class?