RedShirting and Malcolm Gladwell

If you child was born in the months of Oct-Dec, would you deliberately delay his/her entry into Pre-School?

Parents in America are deliberately doing just that!

“Redshirting” as it is termed is on the rise in society today! This is the practise of holding children back from kindergarten so they can start school at age 6 – older, bigger, and more mature than their 5-year-old peers.

The reason being is that some research shows that redshirting will give these youngsters an edge in school, and maybe even in life. As little Johnny will be bigger and more developed than his friends, it means that he can run faster and jump higher than the friends that he has in class! This also results in little Johnny being given leadership positions, and a higher probability of being Captain of the football team!

This theory has been made popular by Malcolm Gladwell. In his book “Outliers”,  we are introduced to the term “cumulative advantage”. This study shows that when you are given that little advantage when you are 6, it means that you are slightly better positioned when you’re 7, and this means you’re slightly better positioned when you’re 8, and so on. The advantage rolls on exponentially and it results in a more confident and assured Johnny!

Well…the advantage sounds fantastic, and this theory has got parents in the States holding back their kids, so that they can have a little bit more of an advantage when they enter pre-school.

Although Singaporeans will not be able to do this in the Singapore Education System when they hit Primary School, but I wonder if some Singaporean Parents have tried it at Pre-School?

According to CBS, the studies are not conclusive, but with Malcolm Gladwell’s book being a Best-Seller, I am sure that such theories will be of great interest to parents in competitive Singapore.

Do watch the Video, as it gives a very interesting presentation to the whole issue: