Should Kids Start School Later?

[Annpan]

Don't even get me started on the whole drive to get both parents working as soon as possible - I've had serious flack from "friends" and relatives because I intend to take an extended break from work when I have children to spend as much time as possible when they are growing up. Apprently, this makes me an enemy to the advances in equal rights for women and "only" a housewife! Pah!

There, rant over ;)

Indeed, a whole other topic altogether.

[Urban Ayisha]

i find people sort of aghast when i tell them i dont want to return to work, as if i'm just trying to leech off the government using my child as an excuse! unfortunatley the situation is that i will HAVE to some extent, 'leech' off the government as my hubby was made redundant a month after the baby was born, this was unforseen and i think many people are in a similar situation.
my mum didnt go back to work til my younger sister was 16, so she had 21 years 'off work'. i dont think anything could ever replace the education my mother gave me as a full-time mum. maybe back then it was more the norm for mums to stay at home, i think its crazy to expect mothers to hand over their kids to childcare or nursery, as people have said, when they are barely off the breast, as for some people they will barely break even after the cost of this. i would much rather make do and colour my baby's childhood memories in a similar way to the way mine were, rather than please the general public for a measley monthly profit after childcare costs covered!

as to when to begin school education... this thread has sort of reinforced my views on home education. some of the stuff they teach you at school is insane! especially in history lessons! it was sort of ironic that at my catholic secondary school, which was mainly populated by irish, i cant count the many assemblies we were given about the jewish holocaust. nevermind the irish holocaust, which happened on our doorstep! oh but wait... we weren't the 'goodies' in that one, were we?

[home ed is fun]

i like most people sent my daughter to nursery then school only for her to be constantly bullied from day one. i took my daughter out of school just before her 12th birthday. she was a misrable girl who stuck to me like glue once i took her out it took several month before she became the girl she is now full of fun and some one who loves to learn before hand she went with the flow and copied work like most other kids in school now she searches for what she wants to learn. i managed to get her into coll at 15.5 years so she could do a BTEC national diploma in photography which is now almost complete. she still talks to all the other kids she was home educated with and still continues like myself to be part of the home education comunity in our area. if i had known home education was legal years ago i would have taken her out of school so much earlier as it did so much damage to her education and to her mental well being.

[Rosendula]

As soon as my little girl turned 3 everyone suddenly started asking if she's started nursery yet. It's only been 19 days since her birthday and I'm fed up of it already. I've 13-15 more years of this yet

[Annpan]

The in-laws asked me the other day, when do I need to put E's name down for the nursery (she is 3 in Sept.) They know we are going to home ed.... but I think secretly they are telling E she is going to go to school soon - MIL is an ex-teacher.... so.... well... school's great isn't it

[home ed is fun]

after taking my daughter out of school i was warned people would ask why she was not in school, no one ever asked but then again shortly after taking my daughter out of school i put a huge notice on my living room window telling every one that home education was legal lol.

i also got to talk to many teachers and teaching assistants and was shocked at the stories they told me about schools i would never send another child into that situation again it's unhealthy for their mental and physical well being.

many parents won't even consider home education due to work or they feel there children won't get educated. i have seem both sides of the educational fence and i have found home educated children better at socializing, better at learning there knowledge is amazing and they are far more freindly even the teenagers speek and don't grunt you can have a conversation and learn a great deal from a home educated child yet a school educated child your lucky if they will tell you what they had for dinner and forget having a conversation with them as they are just not interested.

i have also found that most kids are sent to school as the father thinks it is best for the child yet most of the fathers have never been to a home educators meeting where kids of all ages mingle and learn from each other. the fathers of home educated children tend to be far more involved in there childs life and encourage them as much as the mothers do simpley because they want the best for there child.

[Helsbells]

I am a teacher, and am very interested in everything that everyone has talked about.
I am currently completing a masters in teaching and learning and writing an essay on home schooling.

I feel quite strongly that children must not leave the parent/parents till they are 3, anything before this can result in them being quite damaged mentally. (read Affluenza by Oliver James for more info).

I think that the education system might be quite corrupt and am drawn to the theory that the education system is just teaching children how to conform and behave the same as everyone else. How to "succeed" in a capitalist society (mainly how to get money and stuff). Interesting that the govornment's new innitiative "every child matters" lists the things that schools etc must provide for children and what children can expect to have/achieve by the end of it and yet fails to mention happiness as one of these "vital" things. (am about to read a book called "Dumbing down" which addresses the issues of conforming etc)

Children should not start school so young.

Could go on for a while, am very very interested in this topic.

[Rosendula]

I am currently completing a masters in teaching and learning and writing an essay on home schooling.........

Could go on for a while, am very very interested in this topic.

And I am very interested in your findings. Please keep us posted