Are children sent to school too early?
- Thread starter aimeeandbeatles
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bob bobato
L'imparfait
But what difference does it make today?
I think it would be a good idea to start by explaining what are the normal school hours, as they probably vary between countries. So we know what we are talking about.
My children started school when they were 3 years old, they do 3 years of kindergarten where they mostly play, learn songs and make drawings, so that's not real school. My son started real school this year, he's 6.
The "working" time is 8-12, 1:30-4:30. However, they can stay at school one more hour to do the homework. They leave at 5:45 in that case.
In their school, they have 4 days / week, they don't go the wednesday and the saturday. But in other schools, they go the saturday morning and/or wednesday.
A question to people who think children should not go to school to early: what are they supposed to do while the parents work? Stay on their own?
My children started school when they were 3 years old, they do 3 years of kindergarten where they mostly play, learn songs and make drawings, so that's not real school. My son started real school this year, he's 6.
The "working" time is 8-12, 1:30-4:30. However, they can stay at school one more hour to do the homework. They leave at 5:45 in that case.
In their school, they have 4 days / week, they don't go the wednesday and the saturday. But in other schools, they go the saturday morning and/or wednesday.
A question to people who think children should not go to school to early: what are they supposed to do while the parents work? Stay on their own?
azzaman333
meh
School goes from roughly 8:30am - 3:30pm for me, and I'm fairly sure its similar in most schools in the state at least.
Personally, I think that Primary School (Grade 1-6, 6-12 years old) should be kept at the time it is currently (9-3:30) but Secondary School (Year 7-12, 13-18 years old) should be pushed back a couple of hours to something like 10:30-5:30.
Civ-Lawyer
Chieftain
- Joined
- May 21, 2007
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^^ there are extra-curricular activities, eg, band, sport and for higher grades - remedial sessions, or extended sessions for the smarter kids... if school finished at 5:30 for everyone, and the big kids and band members had to stay back a period after THAT. They'd be home by 7 :|
azzaman333
meh
At my school, band and sport are included in the day anyway, and the higher year levels don't have school go any longer than the lower ones. Also, if the students want or need extra sessions with the teachers, then it is up to them to organise it on their own time as they are the minority.
I don't like school, but there is no way that it should be shortened. Most of the material should be gone over in class at school, not from homework.
Good Lord, what on earth do your teachers give you that takes so long?
In that case, I don't know about you but I'd prefer my "free time" to be in the afternoon, not the early morning.
German schools start at 8am and finishes at 1pm IIRC. See, it can be done.
azzaman333
meh
I prefer my free time when no one else is around or awake, which generally means about 11pm-8am.
Not without a radical overhaul of the Australian school system, which isn't going to happen. A 2 hour move of school start and finish times wouldn't be too hard to do however.
So
6-12 years start at 9, and 7-12 at 10:30?
Who takes care of the children the afternoon? I finish my work at 5:30 pm for instance. It means I can get the kids at school around 6 pm.
azzaman333
meh
Ideally 6-12 years start at 9, and 13-18 at 10:30 in my opinion.
Why? Younger children need more sleep, and older children usually have more studies to do
azzaman333
meh
My experiences give me the idea that older children don't function well in the morning, especially compared to younger children.
don't forget that we had to walk barefoot tooHell, I had to get up at 5 AM when my high school's schedule was pushed earlier to accommodate the students from Stuyvestant High School that had to move in after 9/11. And it was uphill, both ways, in da snow!
in elementary school is was mon-sat 8:30 - 12:00 and 13:30 - 15:30 with one or two afternoons + saturday afternoon off. never minded it that much....
but I hear kids these days get all saturday off
Mr. Blonde
Dr. techn.
I had school 6 days from 7:15 to either 12:05 or 13:00 for 12 years and I did not mind. Homework was 2 hours at most and I learned parallel to watching TV. The workload was nothing compared to University.
And: the starting age is imo OK. Kindergarten from 3-6 years for socialisation + learning some basics in a playful way without pressure is the way to go. In my experince kids who were not sent to kindergarten had severe problems with socialisation and were behind in knowledge. Keeping them at home means in most cases less input and development compared to kids who are sent to kindergarten.
And, imo schools can be places where creativity is fostered; it all depends on the teachers.
And: the starting age is imo OK. Kindergarten from 3-6 years for socialisation + learning some basics in a playful way without pressure is the way to go. In my experince kids who were not sent to kindergarten had severe problems with socialisation and were behind in knowledge. Keeping them at home means in most cases less input and development compared to kids who are sent to kindergarten.
And, imo schools can be places where creativity is fostered; it all depends on the teachers.
Portugal
Yaaarr!
TheDervish
Scion of the Achaemenids
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There are kids living in Buddhist temples that wake up at 4 AM. You people are lucky to wake up at 7 
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