This is a personal post but if you look at various parenting websites (like Mumsnet) - it seems like I'm not alone in think that formal school for 4 and 5 years olds is just wrong! It may even be damaging our children. Am I right in thinking that we are the only European country that frogmarches our young children into literacy and numeracy work before they are 6?
I'm a community minded person so it took me two years of listening (or more to the point- not listening) to my 4 and then 5-year old daughter object in every possible way she knew to spending most of her days in term time in an unsuitable environment doing unsuitable things at our local village primary school. More on that in other posts...
Her means of objecting included (as we left the house for school) crying, screaming, stamping her feet, hanging onto the front door, holding the car door shut, clinging to me at the playground, refusing to walk in line into the school, having to be physically peeled off me....and then at the end of school being unable to walk 12 minutes home without shouting and screaming and
stamping and complaining. So we drove the distance it took to walk 12 minutes walk, 8 times out of 10 she would then go to her room and fall asleep for the remainder of the afternoon, briefly interrupted by having her supper. During this time I was supposed to be doing 30 minutes home work with her (practicing phonics and hearing her read.) Yeah right - after she'd been at school from 9.00-3.15. And I put up with this for...yes...TWO YEARS!
It was just not possible to carry on...despite teachers;' protestations that it was 'just a phase', things had got to the point where I felt my child, aged 5 had to have a period of time to 'recover' from her experience of school...and this is when we found the Cambridge Steiner Waldorf School. At this time, the school was in an overcrowded church hall with no facilities to speak of but what was different was that the children were treated as children. Their days filled with wonderful activities and stories that we felt right for their age. So despite it being a modest fee-paying school, we moved her and our son (then aged 4).
Both my children thrived in this school for two years. There was everything to like about the curriculum both at the school and the kindergarten. Every interaction we had with the school oozed quality. However after two years while there was still everything to like about the curriculum there was a lot to dislike about class and school management practices (at this school). So we moved them back into a small state school near us last September (2008). My daughter is doing well. But its my son whose progress must end this story....He began school, like most children in Europe at six and...just 5 months on in Year 2, he is close in his basics of reading and writing and numberwork to the children who are in their third year of formal school. He is delighted with learning and laps it all up. The teacher assures me he will be ready to move to Year 3.
Two children are no case study and no point can be proven but, can someone answer these questions for me: What is the case for 4 and 5 year olds to start school? What evidence is there that training 4 and 5 year old children in phonics and numeracy work is necessary? And, what cost does this strategy have to our families and to our understanding about that children need at this early age?
I would your comments and insights!
