How young is too young?

Education based on birthdays is just bizarre and I suggest is anti-child. Children should learn, do activities, join classes based on their appropriateness and not on some calendar square.

Calendar-based education assumes that we are all the same based on our date of birth and simple observations shows how ridiculous this is. (And if date-based, why not time-based? Surely, following this logic, someone born at 3.42am is more advanced than someone born at 7.17am or even 3.43am?)

Most public-school systems, and even many private or independent schools, place a student in a class or grade based on his/her date of birth and not whether s/he is fit for that clas or level. Inevitably this leads to some students being "advanced" and bored and potentially problematic, and to others being "behind" and thus frustrated and potentially problematic.

This is a "one size fits all" approach, yet children are all different and again, simple observation shows how ridiculous this is. Some three year-olds can read, some are ready to read, some are not. Some systems, eg UK and US, begin reading instruction from age three; others, eg Finland and Germany, do not begin until age seven and the later (or earlier) start does not appear to harm the child.

Yes, teachers should and do differentiate, however realistically teachers teach to a mean and so may offer only three levels of activities and expectations. Rarely do they or can they truly offer an individual program, especially with large classes or multiple classes as in a high school, so the bigger the gap between a child and this mean or these levels, the less appropriate is the program. (Check out our discussions on gifted education.)

A child should learn, do activities and join classes based on what is developmentally appropriate* for him/her. Obviously, practicalities and economies require groupings rathet than classes of one, thus a ranges of performance, abilities and potentialities will result. However these will be narrower than the age-based apartheid of placement by date of birth, and will allow teachers more easily to target teaching and learning to that child.

*NAEYC's model of Developmentally Appropriate Practice ("DAP") is excellent, and although they target it at Early Years teaching and learning (birth to age seven or so), the model can usefully be applied to all ages. See below for two excellent guidebooks to DAP.

**Questions and comments below.**

Further reading

http://www.sciencealert.com/new-study-suggests-we-re-sending-our-kids-to-school-too-young

https://ed.stanford.edu/news/stanford-gse-research-finds-strong-evidence-mental-health-benefits-delaying-kindergarten

https://theconversation.com/the-right-age-to-start-school-varies-for-each-child-98704

https://www.verywellfamily.com/is-your-child-ready-to-start-preschool-2764924 

Upstart : The case for raising the school starting age and providing what the under-sevens really need

Listening to Children's Advice about Starting School and School Age Care

Developmentally Appropriate Practice : Curriculum and Development in Early Education

Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs : Serving Children From Birth Through Age 8

Some of the links I share may lead to a referral payment, at no cost to you.