Would you send your two year old to school?

Wow, there is research in Canada that says two year olds should be in school!  I find this difficult to believe.  To be truthful, I haven’t read the actual research, only the media reports of it, but what I have learned has me worried.

First, I had great respect for the researcher in question- Dr Fraser Mustard, who died recently- but I have to wonder about how this research was presented.  Yes, we all know how important those first years are to a child’s future development, and yes, we all want to make sure that children gt the experiences that lead to great life outcomes.  But sending two year olds to school, surely that is going too far?

Before I go any further with this I have to make a distinction between school and day care or any other preschool support for children and families.

My understanding is that school is where there is either a formal or informal agenda or curriculum that teachers are expected to transmit to their students.

Day care – or its equivalent – is where young children develop the skills they need to be part of society – and part of a school.  Parents send children to these places either because they are working and cannot take care of the child themselves or they want their child to develop skills of social interaction beyond those they can get from family life.

Here’s my problem with putting two year olds into school.  They will miss the chance to develop some of the vital skills that will help them learn, love, and live well.

I know the problems kids face when they don’t have the skills they need to be able to learn.  I have worked with hundreds of parents desperate to help their child who is struggling in school as a result.  I have seen the despair on the faces of bright kids who don’t know why they can’t learn.

And I want it to stop.

Perhaps – and I hope this is the case- this research was suggesting that children go to school to develop those skills. Even then I have concerns.

Teachers are not trained to help kids develop these skills. They do not have the special relationship  that allows children to develop these skills in a natural and easy manner.

Schools are important, of course they are, but so are parents. Parents are the most important influence on a child’s learning. Let’s not limit this influence by putting children in schools before they have had chance to learn from their parents.

I hate to say it but the results of this research seem to me to be part of the ‘teachers know best’ attitude that I often come across.

Time to change that attitude – and keep two year olds out of school!