Starting School At the Age of 7

[mrs_overall]

A friend of mine has a very bright little girl age 4.5. I was asking which school she is going to in September. I was surprised when my friend told me that she is going to enrol her daughter in a Steiner school and the starting age is 7.
I personally think she is mad. What are your thoughts?

[B00]

Think we're one of the few countries in the world where we enroll children into school at 4/5 and personally I think they're too young. The little things always look too tiny to be there- they should be at home with their mummies.

[mrs_overall]

I wouldn't mind but my friend is adamant that the little 'un will not be taught anything at home , e.g. the alphabet, telling the time etc until she is 7. I think it will put her at a disadvantage. She is so very bright and wants to learn to read but is not allowed.

[Kiki-frog]

That's fairly common for Steiner schools, Mrs O. Certainly in many other European countries 7 is the usual age for starting school, and it certainly doesn't seem to hamper their educational progress.

[B00]

Just been reading about Steiner schools, as i've not heard of them until your post Mrs O, and I have ot say, I like the sound of them :-)

Why do you think she's mad by the way?

[mrs_overall]

I guess it must be me then.
Some children are ready for school at the age of 5 and some aren't. I just think it's a shame when she wants to learn but isn't allowed to.

[mumsie_wumsie]

My youngest grand daughter started school last September age 4yrs 5mths.She was so ready for school, has been doing remarkably well and loves it. She has now just turned 5 and is one of the brightest kids in her class. I think though it all depends on the child, some are ready for school at that age, and some are not.

[Old_Geezer]

Sounds a little late to me. Personally I didn't want mummy always around when I was 4½. I liked the illusion of independence by being at the school. But I guess it must work whatever the system is anyway. Although one is hardly getting a head start by beginning at 7.

[B00]

Don't get why she's not allowed to teach her anything? From what i've read just now, the idea is to teach a child at their pace, not dictated to by a curriculum- surely if the child's ready now, teach her!

[mrs_overall]

My friend is adamant that the girl is not to be taught anything until 7, in line with the views of the school

[B00]

Is your friend sure she's got the right info?

According to this, they start at three?

http://www.steinerwaldorf.org/earlyyears.html

[mrs_overall]

She already has one child at a Steiner school (he moved there age 11). Maybe it is her philosphy and not that of the school. I still think she is in the wrong, but at the end of the day it's not my child

[bert_h]

I think your friend, and the Steiner school rule, are more right than the current practice of strictly starting school between 4 1/2 and 6 (apparently if your child's 5th birthday is after the start of the school year, you can choose whether to start them that year or the following one). But the starting age in a majority of other countries is 6 rather than 5.

But your friend is wrong to deliberately hold the child back. She obviously - but I would say incorrectly - thinks that any self-learning will have some adverse effect on her child's schooling when it comes. Try to convince her otherwise. Do you suppose for a moment that the Steiner system can only work on blank slates? Of course not; it wouldn't be a very good system if that was true.

[Kiki-frog]

The Steiner system is a bit bizarre. Where I live there are several Steiner schools and they seem to produce children who are very bright, happy, articulate and confident, but not necessarily all that well-versed in the three Rs, so not that ideal for parents who want to see academic success. Swings and roundabouts, I suppose.

[mumsie_wumsie]

I think age 7 is a little late to start learning the basics. Does this child not even look at books and have access to paper and pencils. Just doing these things would help her learn without having it 'taught' to her. When a child wants to learn, then he/she is ready to do so----in my opinion!

[B00]

gotta agree with Bert there.

I'm sure your friend believes she's right, but I dunno about anyone else, but Mini Boo enjoys learning and always has. She learnt to read pretty early and loves nothing more (well, apart from drawing!) than to sit and read one of her books. Seems a shame to deny a child that IMO.

[Kiki-frog]

B00 - that's the early years/nursery provision. I think that's all learning through play (not necessarily a bad thing), without any real numeracy/literacy work.

[B00]

not necessarily kiki- Mini Boo was at nursery due to me working, and they do teach them to basics, like learning small words and their names etc.

[mrs_overall]

I know all kids are different but my three couldn't wait to start school and they were all more than ready for it and (boasting time) they have all done really well
Eldest at medical school
Middle child doing 5 A levels
Youngest child just moved to middle school & in the top set in all subjects

I'm grateful they all have their father's looks and my brains...and not the other way around lol

[EcclesCake]

It seems odd to actively stand in the way of natural development and a desire to learn, there again I think Steiner schools are a bit odd. My niece attended one, she was a bit spoilt when she went and by the time she finished she was/us utterly obnoxious. The ethos seemed to be about empowerng the child and giving them confidence without much focus on basic numeracy and literacy as that would develop over time.

My brother ended up with a teenager who said 'I want' and expected to get because she believed that was how the world worked.

Of course she might have turned out an unpleasant brat whatever school she went to!

[B00]

Mini Boo, like yours, was eager for school too Mrs O, infact, the bag cried each time I collected her at hometime as she was having that much fun and didn't want to stop.

I had visions of the social services being notified each time she burst into "nooooo, don't wanna go" with teachers agog as to why this child obviously didn't want to leave. I could have murdered her.