What is redshirting, and does it happen in Canada? (Part 1 of 2)
本周，在美国，约有9%的5岁的儿童——大约十一个孩子当中的一个——没有来上幼儿园第一天的课。他们是被“红衫”了：他们的父母要等孩子6岁时再给他们报名上学——到时候，他们就会比自己的同班同学年纪大一些、身体高大一些，而且——从理论上讲——也更成熟一些。
This week, an estimated nine percent of American five-year-olds – roughly one in 11 – did not attend their first day of kindergarten. Instead they were “redshirted”: their parents will enroll them in school next year, when they’re six – older, larger and, in theory, more mature than their peers.
在美国，提倡“红衫行为”（该术语源于高校体育）的许多家长和教育工作者引用作家马尔科姆•格拉德威尔发表于2008年的畅销书《异数》——其中描写了通向成功的因素——来证明自己的观点。
Many parents and educators in the United States who encourage redshirting (the term is derived from college athletics) use author Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 bestseller Outliers, about factors that lead to success, to support their case.
在他的书中，格拉德威尔先生描绘了一个叫做“累积优势”的概念——即当孩子6岁时给以“额外地往前轻推”可能意味着他们到了7岁时将处于稍微更有利的地位，这也就意味着他们到了8岁时将处于稍微更有利的地位，等等。
In his book, Mr. Gladwell wrote about a concept called “cumulative advantage” – that an “extra nudge ahead” when a child is six years old can mean they’re slightly better positioned at seven, which means they’re slightly better positioned at eight, and so on.
他举的例子是加拿大少年男子冰球：在他的研究中，格拉德威尔先生称，加拿大青年冰球全明星队的大多数球员都是在前半年出生的。
His example was Canadian boy’s hockey: In his research, Mr. Gladwell reported that the majority of Canada’s junior all-stars were born in the first half of the year.
在今年3月份的一次报道中，时事节目《60分钟》采访了格拉德威尔先生。他在采访中表示，他认为导致这种差异的原因是加拿大青年冰球的出生日期划线，即1月1日。
In a March story, 60 Minutes interviewed Mr. Gladwell, who said he believed the reason for this disparity is the birthday cutoff for junior hockey in Canada: January 1.
他告诉《60分钟》节目记者，如果“你出生在1月5日，那么你比那些12月份出生的孩子要高大得多。这样一来，大家都会以为你更加优秀。”
If “you’re born January 5th, you’re an awful lot bigger than the kid born in December. And so, everyone thinks you’re better,” he told 60 Minutes.
于是，表现优异的孩子就会得到教练更多的关注，还会得到更多的训练机会。格拉德威尔先生说，即使在国家冰球联盟中，大部分的选手也都生于冬天，而在学术界也存在着相同的现象。
Strong performers then attract more interest from coaches and receive more practice. Mr. Gladwell said the predominance of winter birthdays extends into the NHL, and that the same effect occurs in academics.
他告诉《60分钟》记者：“纵观很多领域，你都会发现这种格局的存在。”
“You can see this pattern in one field after another,” he said to 60 Minutes.
多伦多大学安省教育学院（OISE）副教授琳达•卡梅伦表示，格拉德威尔先生提出的冰球统计数据所反映出的情况与学校是“非常不同”的。
Linda Cameron, an associate professor with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), said that Mr. Gladwell’s hockey statistics reflect a scenario “very different” from school.
况且，她表示，美国的教育体系是基于标准化考试的，“所以在美国，当孩子们进入幼儿园时，你在全国各地都会看到孩子们坐在书桌前做着功课，但从安省的角度来讲，他们所做的这些功课并非与他们的年龄特征相一致。”
Moreover, the U.S. system is based on standardized testing, “so that when kids go into kindergarten in the U.S., across the country you see children sitting at their desks doing what we in Ontario would not consider developmentally appropriate,” she said.
卡梅伦女士说：“在安省，幼儿园教育是是以游戏为主的。我们并不期待孩子们做好上学的准备，而是期待学校做好迎接孩子的准备。”
“Kindergarten in Ontario is play-based,” Ms. Cameron said. “We are not expecting kids to be ready for school, but rather school to be ready for kids.”
她说，美国所存在的“红衫行为”在安省是不允许的，因为在安省，孩子所读的年级要与他们的年龄相匹配。
Redshirting as practiced in the U.S. isn’t allowed in Ontario because the province is committed to “age-appropriate placement,” she said.
安省家长没有法律义务给子女报名上初级幼儿园，而美国根本不提供初级幼儿园教育。如果父母认为自己的孩子尚未准备好上幼儿园，则这个孩子将于次年进入高级幼儿园。
While there is no legal obligation for Ontario parents to enroll their children in junior kindergarten – which isn’t offered in the U.S. – if they decide their child isn’t ready, that child will be registered in senior kindergarten the following year.
卡梅伦女士说：“如果他们决定不为自己的子女报名上高级幼儿园的话，当他们拿着出生证明书前来学校（报名时必须出示孩子的出生证明书），根据法律，这个孩子将被安排上一年级了。如果有个孩子从美国来到加拿大，而他先前属于“红衫”之列——即他们在美国读的是小学一年级，但他们在这里符合读二年级的条件，那么来到这里之后他们就会被安排进入二年级就读。”
“If they decide not to put their child in senior kindergarten, when they go in with birth certificates, which are essential for registration, the child will be put into first grade… by law,” , Ms. Cameron said. “If someone came to Canada from the US and they had been redshirted so that they were in grade one in the U.S. but were age-appropriate for grade two here, then they would be placed in grade two here.”
在今年3月份的报道中，《60分钟》既采访了一些支持“红衫行为”的父母，也访问了一些反对这一做法的父母，其中包括一位有被“红衫”了的孩子的母亲，记者莫雷•萨费尔称这个孩子是“同班同学中年纪最大的和最聪明的人之一”。
In its March story, 60 Minutes interviewed parents who both in favour of and against redshirting, including one mother whose redshirted child was described by reporter Morley Safer as “oldest in his class and among the brightest.”
这位母亲说：“我宁愿他在班里属于年纪较大者——并成为他所处环境中的领导者，也不愿他属于年纪较小者而成为一个追随者。其实，我并不认为这样做是在玩弄制度。作为一名家长，我会尽己所能，确保我的孩子为迎接人生的种种挑战而做了尽量充分的准备。”
“I would prefer him to be an older in the class and become a leader in his environment, rather than a younger and be more of a follower,” the mother said. “I don’t think it’s really cheating the system. I’d do whatever I think within my realm as a parent to make sure that my child is as prepared as they can be for the life challenges.”
另一位母亲说，她儿子的学前班老师——以及其他家长——都建议她让孩子进入“红衫状态”。原因之一是，如果不这样做的话，他将成为全班同学中最后拿到驾照的人，并且在找恋爱对象方面也会遇到困难。
Another mother was encouraged by her son’s preschool teacher – and other parents – to hold her child back. Among the reasons: he would be the last among his classmates to drive, and have trouble finding dates.
第二位母亲说：“很多父母都说，‘我希望我的儿子将成为一个领导者。’这里面有一个微妙的信息，即我们将比其他所有人具有优势。”
“There’s a lot of talk of, ‘I want my son to be a leader,’” the second mother said. “There is a subtle message that we’re gonna have an advantage over everyone else.”
这位母亲不管三七二十一就给自己的儿子报名上幼儿园。据《60分钟》的该报道称，虽然他是全班同学中年纪最小的，但他似乎有着茁壮成长的态势。
The mother enrolled her child in kindergarten anyway, where 60 Minutes said he seemed to be thriving despite being the youngest in his class.
OISE旗下埃里克•杰克曼博士儿童研究院主任珍妮特•佩尔蒂埃上课时将《60分钟》的该报道播放给自己的学生看。她说，学生们对那些想要给自己的孩子尽可能多的优势的父母表示了同情。
Janette Pelletier, director of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at OISE, showed the 60 Minutes story to one of her classes, and said there was sympathy for parents who want to give their child every advantage in school.
不过，她说，她的学生们也认为，“每个儿童应当作为一个个人来受到肯定，并且以他/她自己作为衡量标准，而不是以‘平均值’来衡量。”
However, she said, her students also believed that “every child should be appreciated as an individual and measured against himself or herself, not against the ‘norm.’”
佩尔蒂埃女士说：“当然，与平均值对比之下，年龄较小的孩子显得不那么成熟，而年龄较大的孩子显得更有能力。”
“When measured against the norm, of course, the younger children appear less mature and the older children appear skilled,” Ms. Pelletier said.
她说，在一般情况下，在安省的教育体系中，孩子被视为个人来对待，而并非以某个标准来衡量。
In general, she said, Ontario’s system views children as individuals instead of measuring them against something.
她说：“如果孩子不成熟或尚未掌握某个技能，这个情况会被注意到，并且会作出相应的课程安排。就这样，有人认为，所有的孩子都是根据自己所处的水平而得到相应挑战，因此，他们用不着为达到全班最好的成绩而‘竞争’。”
“If children are immature or have not acquired a particular skill, that is noted and the curriculum is planned accordingly,” she said. “In this way, it is argued that all children are challenged at their own levels and thus do not need to ‘compete’ to be at the top of the class.”
然而，佩尔蒂埃女士也承认，《60分钟》的报道和格拉德威尔先生的著作确实列举了一些令人信服的统计数字，这些统计数字所针对的问题是：哪些冰球运动员取得最大的成功？而很多情况下，他们是在一年中较早的时候出生的。
Nevertheless, Ms. Pelletier acknowledged, the 60 Minutes story provided some compelling statistics, as did Mr. Gladwell’s book, about which hockey players achieve the greatest success – and often, they are born earlier in the year.
下周，大中报将探讨“红衫行为”所造成的后果，以及部分加拿大家长在试图确保自己的幼儿园年龄孩子取得成功时所利用的办法。
Next week, Chinese News will examine the consequences of redshirting, and the system some Canadians use when trying to ensure their kindergarten-age children achieve success.
编注：英翻中：马特-杜鲁门编译。
