My psychologist and I had a long discussion about the pros and cons about being younger/older than your cohorts in school. The short version is that boys will do better socially being the elder of...
My psychologist and I had a long discussion about the pros and cons about being younger/older than your cohorts in school.
The short version is that boys will do better socially being the elder of their cohort, while girls will tend to do better as younger. Using mental health rates as the proxy for emotional wellbeing into adulthood.
It mostly manifests in the teen years, where the jealousy and hormones dynamics play out in nasty ways.
I was the youngest or second youngest in my cohort usually, and anecdotally, it was a little tough sometimes. Kids frequently defer to the oldest in a group, and age was a frequent way our school...
I was the youngest or second youngest in my cohort usually, and anecdotally, it was a little tough sometimes. Kids frequently defer to the oldest in a group, and age was a frequent way our school would arrange groups or assign kids to temporary leadership positions. Overall, I feel like there was a benefit in tackling tougher challenges relative to my age when it came to my educational development, but it definitely had some effects on my social development. When everyone is young, age differences are that much more exacerbated and it led to some anxieties about being less physically developed than my peers, having a higher voice, and being treated as the "kid" of the group.
I sent my oldest at 4.5 years old and am about to do the same with my youngest. I still wonder if I did the right thing - some of her friends are 18 months older and so are taller and faster, and...
I sent my oldest at 4.5 years old and am about to do the same with my youngest. I still wonder if I did the right thing - some of her friends are 18 months older and so are taller and faster, and are better readers due to starting earlier with their parents; however now she’s half way through year 1 some of these differences are starting to level out.
We made our decision purely on her social skills and maturity. I knew that academically she would catch up if she was behind (she wasn’t anyway, as it turned out), so we looked at how she was with friends, whether she was confident around adult educators, could she navigate friendships without adult intervention, was she showing interest in learning. Our youngest is on the same trajectory, so it makes sense to us to send her early too, even though she only just scrapes in with a July birthday.
I somewhat wish that the choice was taken away so that my own anxiety didn’t make me dwell on whether it was the correct choice, but I do appreciate the flexibility for children who are very ready or not so ready. I just wish it was more of an external decision (perhaps by the school or daycare!)
I look askance at people who hold their kids back to give them some kind of advantage. It makes me wonder whether they’re doing what’s best for the child or doing it for their own bragging rights. Sure, it’s nice for the ego to have the most advanced kid in the class, but you risk them being bored in highschool which can lead to poor behaviour (I know this from my own experience).
Does Australia have access to public preschool or kindergarten programs? This is a bit outside of my wheelhouse since I don't plan on ever having kids, but preschool programs are proven to improve...
Does Australia have access to public preschool or kindergarten programs? This is a bit outside of my wheelhouse since I don't plan on ever having kids, but preschool programs are proven to improve outcomes when kids attend them. Here in the US almost all public elementary schools have kindergartens, and many states and school districts have "universal pre-K" programs that (attempt to) provide additional preschool programs that start before kindergarten.
The focus of school has changed
The education system and the way childhood is viewed by schools has also changed in recent decades. Instead of seeing children as “blank slates” to be filled with knowledge, contemporary ideas see children as active learners, with rights to play and agency or choice.
Learning today is about ways of thinking, ways of working and ways of living.
Coincidentally earlier this week I came across the youtube channel for an organization called Human Restoration Project that advocates for a more "human-centric" style of education. I think they have really good ideas, though perhaps an educator such as @kfwyre might have more to say about it.
Neat ideas, weak/counterproductive implementation. They advocate for a bottom-up approach, but I’m a pretty firm believer that top-down is the only way to implement meaningful reform in education....
They advocate for a bottom-up approach, but I’m a pretty firm believer that top-down is the only way to implement meaningful reform in education. Bottom-up is slow, inconsistent, fragile, and limited in scope.
Also, while certainly not a right-wing organization, their proposed method of action is exactly what conservatives are trying to do right now in the forms of “parents’ rights” and “taking control” of schools in an attempt to undermine schools’ influence and capabilities. That gives me pause. It feels like their well-intentioned methods could be easily co-opted.
I do get where they’re coming from though, as I’m not exactly holding my breath for good top-down changes either. They’re the optimistic counterpart to my jaded pessimism, so them looking for a lever for action that they actually have the power to pull feels right in that sense.
In NSW (the topic of this article) our first year of school is called kindergarten. Before that there is optional preschool; many daycares also offer a preschool program. It’s not free but we have...
In NSW (the topic of this article) our first year of school is called kindergarten. Before that there is optional preschool; many daycares also offer a preschool program. It’s not free but we have a good means-tested subsidy system, where their attendance is subsidised up until the couple earns over $350,000. It’s also more heavily subsidised for second+ children (for example, with my youngest the government paid 95% of the fees until my oldest turned 6). Because of the subsidy with daycare (and high cost of living) you find that most women return to work, so attendance at preschool is quite high. At least, this is true of the city - I image the more rural you are, the less available the preschool programmes.
There is a plan to provide free preschool to all children, but I think this won’t start for another 8 years or so.
Ah, so barring implementation differences it's pretty close to how the US has it. I'm also fairly sure that the kindergarten label is a misnomer here, too; I have vague memories of learning things...
Ah, so barring implementation differences it's pretty close to how the US has it.
I'm also fairly sure that the kindergarten label is a misnomer here, too; I have vague memories of learning things when I was in it, but googling the definition it seems to imply it's supposed to function more like a preschool i.e. a transitional place to allow kids to adapt to their new environment.
Sounds like it! The names here are different in different states too. In QLD the first year is called prep, I think, and they use kindy to mean preschool. It’s all a bit confusing! In NSW kindy is...
Sounds like it!
The names here are different in different states too. In QLD the first year is called prep, I think, and they use kindy to mean preschool. It’s all a bit confusing! In NSW kindy is full on learning, all day lessons, homework (ie reading, nothing strenuous); preschool is learning a few letters and numbers, shapes, colours etc but all in the context of play. Our daycare also does a lot of roleplay for transitioning to school which I love - for example a recent one was how to ask someone to play with you, how to react if they say no, how to say no in a kind way. So helpful!
At this time of year, many parents and carers are asking a familiar set of questions.
Should I send my child to school next year? Are they ready? Would it be better to hold them back?
These are complex questions. Here are some factors for parents to consider.
Research shows wealthier families are more likely to delay starting school, to give their children more time to develop physically, academically and emotionally....There is some evidence this is more often the case for boys.
Australian research suggests delayed school entry does not have a lasting influence on basic reading and maths skills in middle primary school and the early years of high school.
Nevertheless, the option to delay starting school is particularly important for children who may need more time to develop. This includes
Children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as well as
Children who have specific inclusion needs.
Parents of these children also need more support as they prepare their children for school.
The education system and the way childhood is viewed by schools has changed in recent decades
Instead of seeing children as “blank slates” to be filled with knowledge, contemporary ideas see children as active learners, with rights to play and agency or choice.
Learning today is about ways of thinking, ways of working and ways of living. This means specific subject knowledge – such as children knowing letters and sounds – is now considered just one of the skills children learn.
Our ideas about “school readiness” have also changed
When educators think about whether a child is ready to start school they consider these sorts of issues:
Executive function: can your child stay focused and retain bits of information?
Self-regulation: can they manage their emotions?
Asking for help: can they ask for help if they need it to understand an instruction or deal with a problem in the playground?
Wellbeing: does your child have good self-esteem and how do they manage if things aren’t going well?
These aspects of children’s development have been found to be closely linked with success in educational contexts.
It can seem like there is huge pressure on parents to “get it right” over school starting age. But it is worth remembering starting school is just one of the transitions children will make in their lives.
I started Kindergarten when I was five years old, but my Kindergarten teaches recommended that I attend an extra grade (which was called Junior Primary) between Kindergarten and 1st grade. They...
I started Kindergarten when I was five years old, but my Kindergarten teaches recommended that I attend an extra grade (which was called Junior Primary) between Kindergarten and 1st grade. They told me parents that I was not emotionally ready for 1st grade (I had recently gone through a traumatic experience and cried all the time in class), and they said it would also give me an extra year to make important life decisions, such as my university major. So my parents agreed.
Even though I was in Junior Primary for emotional reasons, it primarily existed for kids who were not academically ready for 1st grade. It was particularly focused on getting kids ready to read and write, and I remember it actually being really intensive. We practiced phonetics, reading stories, and writing stories all day, every day. Then we took breaks by drawing pictures for the stories we had written.
I am really glad that I went through that process. I entered 1st grade already knowing how to read, and I kept up an interest in reading, writing, and drawing to this day.
I was about 6-12 months older than my classmates, but I don't remember it having an effect on anything, especially in later grades when I started making friends from other grade levels anyway.
My psychologist and I had a long discussion about the pros and cons about being younger/older than your cohorts in school.
The short version is that boys will do better socially being the elder of their cohort, while girls will tend to do better as younger. Using mental health rates as the proxy for emotional wellbeing into adulthood.
It mostly manifests in the teen years, where the jealousy and hormones dynamics play out in nasty ways.
I was the youngest or second youngest in my cohort usually, and anecdotally, it was a little tough sometimes. Kids frequently defer to the oldest in a group, and age was a frequent way our school would arrange groups or assign kids to temporary leadership positions. Overall, I feel like there was a benefit in tackling tougher challenges relative to my age when it came to my educational development, but it definitely had some effects on my social development. When everyone is young, age differences are that much more exacerbated and it led to some anxieties about being less physically developed than my peers, having a higher voice, and being treated as the "kid" of the group.
I sent my oldest at 4.5 years old and am about to do the same with my youngest. I still wonder if I did the right thing - some of her friends are 18 months older and so are taller and faster, and are better readers due to starting earlier with their parents; however now she’s half way through year 1 some of these differences are starting to level out.
We made our decision purely on her social skills and maturity. I knew that academically she would catch up if she was behind (she wasn’t anyway, as it turned out), so we looked at how she was with friends, whether she was confident around adult educators, could she navigate friendships without adult intervention, was she showing interest in learning. Our youngest is on the same trajectory, so it makes sense to us to send her early too, even though she only just scrapes in with a July birthday.
I somewhat wish that the choice was taken away so that my own anxiety didn’t make me dwell on whether it was the correct choice, but I do appreciate the flexibility for children who are very ready or not so ready. I just wish it was more of an external decision (perhaps by the school or daycare!)
I look askance at people who hold their kids back to give them some kind of advantage. It makes me wonder whether they’re doing what’s best for the child or doing it for their own bragging rights. Sure, it’s nice for the ego to have the most advanced kid in the class, but you risk them being bored in highschool which can lead to poor behaviour (I know this from my own experience).
Does Australia have access to public preschool or kindergarten programs? This is a bit outside of my wheelhouse since I don't plan on ever having kids, but preschool programs are proven to improve outcomes when kids attend them. Here in the US almost all public elementary schools have kindergartens, and many states and school districts have "universal pre-K" programs that (attempt to) provide additional preschool programs that start before kindergarten.
Coincidentally earlier this week I came across the youtube channel for an organization called Human Restoration Project that advocates for a more "human-centric" style of education. I think they have really good ideas, though perhaps an educator such as @kfwyre might have more to say about it.
Neat ideas, weak/counterproductive implementation.
They advocate for a bottom-up approach, but I’m a pretty firm believer that top-down is the only way to implement meaningful reform in education. Bottom-up is slow, inconsistent, fragile, and limited in scope.
Also, while certainly not a right-wing organization, their proposed method of action is exactly what conservatives are trying to do right now in the forms of “parents’ rights” and “taking control” of schools in an attempt to undermine schools’ influence and capabilities. That gives me pause. It feels like their well-intentioned methods could be easily co-opted.
I do get where they’re coming from though, as I’m not exactly holding my breath for good top-down changes either. They’re the optimistic counterpart to my jaded pessimism, so them looking for a lever for action that they actually have the power to pull feels right in that sense.
In NSW (the topic of this article) our first year of school is called kindergarten. Before that there is optional preschool; many daycares also offer a preschool program. It’s not free but we have a good means-tested subsidy system, where their attendance is subsidised up until the couple earns over $350,000. It’s also more heavily subsidised for second+ children (for example, with my youngest the government paid 95% of the fees until my oldest turned 6). Because of the subsidy with daycare (and high cost of living) you find that most women return to work, so attendance at preschool is quite high. At least, this is true of the city - I image the more rural you are, the less available the preschool programmes.
There is a plan to provide free preschool to all children, but I think this won’t start for another 8 years or so.
Ah, so barring implementation differences it's pretty close to how the US has it.
I'm also fairly sure that the kindergarten label is a misnomer here, too; I have vague memories of learning things when I was in it, but googling the definition it seems to imply it's supposed to function more like a preschool i.e. a transitional place to allow kids to adapt to their new environment.
Sounds like it!
The names here are different in different states too. In QLD the first year is called prep, I think, and they use kindy to mean preschool. It’s all a bit confusing! In NSW kindy is full on learning, all day lessons, homework (ie reading, nothing strenuous); preschool is learning a few letters and numbers, shapes, colours etc but all in the context of play. Our daycare also does a lot of roleplay for transitioning to school which I love - for example a recent one was how to ask someone to play with you, how to react if they say no, how to say no in a kind way. So helpful!
Kate Highfield and Victoria Minson
I started Kindergarten when I was five years old, but my Kindergarten teaches recommended that I attend an extra grade (which was called Junior Primary) between Kindergarten and 1st grade. They told me parents that I was not emotionally ready for 1st grade (I had recently gone through a traumatic experience and cried all the time in class), and they said it would also give me an extra year to make important life decisions, such as my university major. So my parents agreed.
Even though I was in Junior Primary for emotional reasons, it primarily existed for kids who were not academically ready for 1st grade. It was particularly focused on getting kids ready to read and write, and I remember it actually being really intensive. We practiced phonetics, reading stories, and writing stories all day, every day. Then we took breaks by drawing pictures for the stories we had written.
I am really glad that I went through that process. I entered 1st grade already knowing how to read, and I kept up an interest in reading, writing, and drawing to this day.
I was about 6-12 months older than my classmates, but I don't remember it having an effect on anything, especially in later grades when I started making friends from other grade levels anyway.