Past Principal Points
 

When Should Children Start School?

Around the world there are a variety of starting ages for children ranging from four years to seven years old. There is also considerable debate about whether children should start earlier or younger. Proponents of an earlier age are primarily concerned about children growing up in poverty who lack a stimulating home environment. They are pushing for more daycare and earlier entrance ages to school in order to compensate for deficient homes. This is not a problem we see in our school!

Other than the above, there aren’t any really good arguments for starting children early. There are some significant arguments for starting children later. The skills that are taught in the primary grades are, for many children, quite complex. We expect children to be able to grasp a small pencil and form characters on paper. We expect them to discriminate between a ‘p’ and a ‘g’ or a ‘b’ and a ‘d’. These are very difficult for children. Consider this: A hammer is still a hammer regardless of how it is held, but a letter changes completely by turning it around. This requires careful reasoning and precise visual discrimination. Furthermore, children are also expected to sit quietly, work at a task they might not be interested in, listen to and follow instructions.

In my view, and in the view of every teacher I have ever spoken to on the matter, later is generally better. I have never had a family come back with regrets about holding a child back a year, but I have had numerous ones regret the decision to move them ahead. The older the child, the more ready they are for learning. They are more mature physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally.

Regardless, of the cut-off date, there will always be discrepancies between the youngest and oldest in the class. However, the more mature the class, the easier it is for each student to handle the work at their grade level. Currently, in the US, the most common cut-off date for entry into kindergarten is Sept. 1 followed by Sept. 30 or Sept. 15. Some States have dates in July or August and one even has June. Others have dates in October, November, and December. Much of the Christian curriculum we use is advanced, and in part this is because it was developed in the States and assumes a somewhat older student population. A Christian school in Olds has used the September 30 date for years, and they highly recommend it. Finally, Alberta Learning considers Sept. 30 as the normal cut-off date for funding purposes (i.e. children who are six by Sept. 30 should typically be in grade one rather than kindergarten.)

For these reasons, the Board is currently reviewing our cut-off dates for entry into kindergarten and grade one with a view to revising them to age five by Sept. 30 for kindergarten and age six by Sept. 30 for grade one. We feel that over the subsequent years we will end up with a more capable, mature student population, and that will translate into higher achievement with less stress and, ultimately, happier and healthier kids. If we do make this change, there may be some flexibility allowed for children with later birthdays, but this would be on a case by case basis only.

We appreciate that for some families this may be disruptive to their plans for work, etc. However, in many cases parents recognize that their children are not ready for kindergarten and hold these children back anyway, so we are anticipating that very few families will be affected. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on this change, either positive or negative.--BH

Brian Hazeltine, B.Ed., M.A.
Principal, Airdrie Koinonia Christian School

Last modified: 2005-10-26