Decisions, Decisions (Schooling)

We’re not applying for Primary School places next year.  Our twins won’t be starting reception class in September.  Writing it down here makes it feel official! 

We have looked at a few local primaries, mulled over a delayed start, evaluated part time schooling, researched Montessori and Steiner-Waldorf schools, and thought hard about home education.  We have been thinking about this choice since the boys were babies, knowing that it was a decision we would perhaps struggle with.  It is a choice, after all, although home education appears to be an almost secret option!  We have found our own way to the conclusion that the state primary schools which we have seen wouldn’t be the best possible environment for C + H to grow up in.  We’re not seeking perfection, but the best option available to us.  We’re not perfect ourselves after all, far from it!  Sending our children to school would mean delegating our parental responsibilities to someone else, and that’s a big deal.

The primary schools made us feel uncomfortable in so many ways, and we have ended up ruling them out altogether.  I have issues with their expectations of children, the objectives of the schools, the coercion, the lack of freedom, the lack of respect, competition, the teaching styles, the class sizes, the lack of time spent outdoors, punishments, the reward charts, the examinations, the attitudes of some of the staff and the list really could go on.  I would like to like a school.  It would certainly make life simpler.

Our interest in sending the children to a school stems from our desire for them to feel part of a wider community, to mix with a range of individuals and to form friendships with other young people. 

I liked the feel of the Montessori preschool nearby, and we are still researching Steiner education....but school at just 4 years old?  That’s not a lot of time given to just being a child.  Staying in the home environment for a few more years has a lot to offer them.  Fun and variety, free play, no assessments, unconditional love, understanding, acceptance, trust in themselves, time and freedom to grow and soar.    Again, the list could go on...   4 or 5 years old seems very young to be asking them to conform.  I had a fairly positive schooling experience, but it doesn’t mean that formal schooling would suit all children.  In the case of our twins, I suspect that school would crush them!  After all, the young starting age in this country is more about economics than a child’s best interests.  We chose not to send the boys to preschool, and it has been really great for them.

Talking to other parents, many seem to agree that their child was too young to start school.  So why make that choice?  I think that a lot of people are unaware that there is a choice to home educate for as long as it suits, and a large number who know about it don’t feel that it could fit with their life circumstances.  We are all free though, free to choose and make that choice a reality.  Homeschooling our twins for a few years won’t be the perfect option, but we believe it to be the best choice we can make for them at this point in time.  

You know that feeling we sometimes get as parents when a decision feels ‘right’?  Well, I have that lovely feeling now, and with it comes strength and confidence.  I’m not sure how our extended family will feel, but we are all excited and optimistic!