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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Bit of a Rant - Milestones

I've posted about this before. The tendency of The Establishment (for me this is usually the AAP) to make hard-line statements about the timing of everything from weaning to learning fractions, and the parroting of same from a) people online - parents or otherwise - who don't know my kids, and b) non-parents in person who read these generalizations and claim to know better than I do about my kids.

This particular rant was brought on by people claiming either for or against the issue of children entering kindergarten at just-or-almost-five. Let me tell you a few things here, people.
  1. She's four years old. It's ten months until our next school year starts. We've got time to make a decision.
  2. We have two older children. We do know what we're doing here. We're considering several options.
  3. Her doctor and preschool teachers are expected to weigh in (again) before we make any such decision.
  4. She has one thing her older sisters did not - and that's older sisters. Whether this works for or against her likelihood of being socially mature enough to enter kindergarten at just-five (looks like the first day of school for 2012-2013 school year is on her fifth birthday) remains to be seen. Please see Points 1-3.
This is by no means the only thing where other people think they know better than me about things like my children simply because they have a degree (whether in education or not is immaterial, apparently), or they're younger or older or smarter or more urban or more rural or thinner or who-the-hell-knows. The date for entering kindergarten was just today's trigger.
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5 comments:

  1. McTaggardNovember 21, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    I love those people that think because they have regurgitated enough information to get a special piece of paper from what passes for an institute of higher learning these days they feel like they can tell you what to do, when to do it and how you are doing wrong. I am quickly getting to the stage where I am going to make a T-Shirt that says "If I wanted your opinion I will beat it out of you." I encounter this not just with my Son, but in my daily life as an IT guy. Every idiot who has ever replaced a CDROM drive feels like it's ok to tell me what the problem is and how they feel like it should be fixed and "Shouldn't take that long". I have found that a long steady stare with an emotionless face until they apologize is very effective.

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  2. JennTheGamerMomNovember 21, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    Amen, McTaggard. This is why - when I need help for anything more complicated than changing that CD-ROM drive (or even when changing that CD-ROM drive if I feel I need the hand-holding) - I call one of you guys. I might say, "hey, I think it's x problem", but I'm asking for a second opinion, not second-guessing yours.

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  3. UnknownNovember 21, 2011 at 11:50 AM

    For me it feels weird to not send children to school around the age of 3. In the Netherlands we have a system where children from the age of 2 or 3 go to a non-compulsory kindergarten, mainly to focus on social skills with people outside of family settings and to learn basic things like counting (this of course can be taught at home but a lot of children like the setting of the classroom). They also sort of get used to going to school and being away from their parents for 2 or 3 parts days (either mornings or afternoons).
    At the age of 4 they go to primary school which (as far as I remember) is compulsory for a few days a week (most kids go full weeks as soon as they get used to the system) and fully compulsory from the age of 5.
    I am a "young pupil" meaning my birthday is before the 1st of October (it is on the 1st of September) which often meant I was the youngest in the class because I started primary school basically on my birthday. The rules say that when pupils start their year after a certain date (I think it's December or January) they have to redo their first year because they are seen as not having had enough time in the first year.

    So yeah, for me it's really weird to think about school not being something you do from the age of 3 or 4. (I have to admit though, I did lose the advantage after I got out of highschool ;) I am now 23 and doing my second year of uni :P )

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  4. JennTheGamerMomNovember 21, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    Lizzy's currently in preschool (nursery school) three mornings a week. I know that my friends in New Zealand and Australia have a system more like yours as well, Kia.

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  5. BrootNovember 21, 2011 at 10:05 PM

    New Zealand is non-compulsory preschool until age 6. Primary School starts on your 5th birthday, or the closest school day after your birthday.

    You have a year (from the child's 5th birthday to their 6th) to enrol them in a primary school (public or private) or decide to homeschool. They have to be enrolled in *something* by age 6.

    They get 1 term (approx. 10 weeks) of New Entrants class (where they get used to the idea of school, learn where the toilets are, etc etc etc) and then spend 2-4 more terms in Year 1, depending on their knowledge and ability. They try to have the Year 2s all start together in January.

    (So, for example, our school year starts in January. If your child was born in June, they'd have 1 term of new entrants and 5 terms of Year 1. If your child was born in September, they'd have 1 term of new entrants and 4 terms as Year 1. And if your child was born in January, they'd have 1 term of new entrants and 3 terms of year 1.)

    I think Australia is different again. :)

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