tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29783395.post3512429487410600229..comments2023-10-21T02:43:05.419+11:00Comments on Ariane's little world: School daysArianehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17977679825245376111noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29783395.post-76534408714030949332009-11-03T15:53:11.806+11:002009-11-03T15:53:11.806+11:00Mindy, the problem is, my gut feel is that Feb 10 ...Mindy, the problem is, my gut feel is that Feb 10 is too soon and Feb 11 is too late. <br /><br />We'll survive and all, it won't be the end of the world, but it isn't just my problem. By not having any culture of repeating any kids at the end of kindy, if you get it wrong and your child really needs another year of kindy, it effectively can't be done. Gut feelings aren't always right, and people don't always follow them even if they were. In other words, I won't be sending Charlie to school next year, but I think the system needs to change. Kids are being lost in the cracks, and that's just wrong.Arianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17977679825245376111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29783395.post-88426218209059610132009-11-03T14:06:14.434+11:002009-11-03T14:06:14.434+11:00Go with your gut feeling. My son's birthday is...Go with your gut feeling. My son's birthday is in Feb, about three weeks after the school year starts so I sent him the year he turned five. His teacher didn't believe that kids should go to school until they have already turned five which would have meant another years wait for him, but he was ready. Now in year one, he's bigger than some of the year twos, and towers over the kinder kids. It would have been a big mistake to hold him back. Likewise if you feel your son isn't ready, then keep him back. As you say there will be a huge spread of ages in the year so having his birthday in the middle of the year won't be an issue.Mindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10634135486127575735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29783395.post-80049833428549310562009-11-02T22:34:52.656+11:002009-11-02T22:34:52.656+11:00"Flexible" - not so much. Although there..."Flexible" - not so much. Although there is another school that might be plausible. I have no idea how flexible that principal is. Mostly, though, I really can't see him being ready until mid-year, and I can't see any principal that doesn't have some catastrophic numbers problem wanting to know about that.<br /><br />I was one of the youngest kids all the way through (May birthday) and repeating was discussed every year until I finished primary school. Some kids were repeated based only on age, but it seems to have been assessed on a case by case basis and in consultation with parents. It was kind of annoying not being 18 when I started uni, but that's about it. I was probably a little more immature than other kids, but that may well have still been the case if I had waited another year...Arianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17977679825245376111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29783395.post-62671412451032352512009-11-02T22:10:05.049+11:002009-11-02T22:10:05.049+11:00My sister's best friend started school a few m...My sister's best friend started school a few months into the school year (her birthday was in July and she was "supposed" to wait til the next year) after her mother negotiated with the principal. That would have been 1991. It might be worth having a word, depending on the intelligence and flexibility of your school's principal.<br /><br />My sister's friend has since graduated from university and suffered no ill-effects from being the youngest. I'm a June baby, I was always one of the youngest til I repeated year 10 (I didn't really go the first time) to be honest, the problems with my education had nothing to do with when I started and everything to do with the way we expect all kids to learn the same stuff at the same speed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29783395.post-51769411704172453692009-10-30T22:14:54.724+11:002009-10-30T22:14:54.724+11:00Well, of course, if you are that incredibly over-p...Well, of course, if you are that incredibly over-prepared, you can ensure that you only have children in the latter half of the year.... <br /><br />But yeah, I've not heard of any child being repeated in years & years. When I was at school, by the end of primary school there were at least half a dozen kids in each class who had repeated a year.Arianehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17977679825245376111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29783395.post-18600705669701256592009-10-30T20:16:12.963+11:002009-10-30T20:16:12.963+11:00You see, this has worried me in the past and I'...You see, this has worried me in the past and I'm not even a parent. (You can tell I am going to be the most hugely overprepared parent in the history of the world.) I didn't realise kids repeating was so unpopular at present.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com