When I tell my peers, friends and family that ideal age to start education is around 7, they laugh on me. (I shared on this online forum several times)
When I explain them the reason behind Sacred Thread ceremony (Yagnopavit/Janoi – which is unfortunately have become symbol of one community only.) as a mark of beginning of the study, which is around same age 7, they laugh on me.
Admitting child to formal education too early is colonial legacy which Britishers introduced to produce obedient slaves. But even in UK, there is anger against damage caused by early school admission.
“The fear is that the English system, introduced in 1870, is now causing profound damage”
If we consider the contribution of play to children’s development as learners, and the harm caused by starting formal learning at 4 to 5 years old, the evidence for a later start is very persuasive.
For your school going kids below age 7 – be carefree! Don’t give them stress! If they don’t want to go school, it is fine! Let them enjoy the rhythms!
Research : England and a few other countries start formal education at age 4 or 5. That’s harmful and misguided
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029435-000-too-much-too-young-should-schooling-start-at-age-7/
Article at newscientist writes:
This would bring it in line with the overwhelming evidence showing that starting school later is best, and the practice in many countries, such as Sweden and Finland. These countries have better academic achievement and child well-being, despite children not starting school until age 7.
The fear is that the English system – which was introduced in 1870 in order to get women back into work, rather than on the basis of any educational benefit to children – is now causing profound damage. A similar story applies in the rest of the UK, and there is pressure for greater formality in preschools in other countries, such as the US.
This evidence comes from anthropological, psychological, neuroscientific and educational studies. For example, research on children’s play in extant hunter-gatherer societies, and evolutionary psychology studies of other mammalian young, have identified play as an adaptation that enabled early humans to become powerful learners and problem-solvers.
Neuroscientific studies have supported this view of play as a central mechanism in learning. The 2009 book The Playful Brain: Venturing to the limits of neuroscience, for example, reviewed many studies showing that playful activity leads to the growth of more connections between neurons, particularly in the frontal lobe – the part of the brain responsible for uniquely human higher mental functions.
Experimental psychology has consistently demonstrated the superior learning and motivation arising from playful, as opposed to instructional, approaches to early education.
Yet another study, in 2002, demonstrated that, by the end of their sixth year in school, children in the US whose preschool learning had been academically directed achieved significantly lower marks compared with those who had attended play-based programmes.
