Is school readiness really that important?

Elia is having her first trial play date at kinder/pre-school this morning and I’m having a hard time realising she could possibly be old enough. 

I sent Emma to school at about this age without a bat of an eye lid. It was just time and school was what you did when it was time and not a thought crossed my mind otherwise. 

Now its child 4s turn to try preschool (even though she could technically be preparing for school too right now) and I can’t help but reflect how much I have changed in my belief system and my understanding of school readiness. 

Truth be told – school readiness is not even on my radar anymore. 

I was forced to consider this concept with Cobi. I spent so many months stressing about her school readiness when she couldn’t even cope with pre-school. So many hours invested in therapy torn between my heart telling me she didn’t need to learn to conform and my head telling oh but she should. 

I woke one morning and just decided it’s actually ok if she doesn’t do preschool and from that day on she never did. 

Cobi never did a 4 year old pre-school program. You wouldn’t know it now she is 8. Mila is well on her way too. 

Now that we reach Elia’s turn I am not even looking at the boxes she should be ticking. I’m just excited she’s excited about trying something new and fun. 

I see preschool just like a see school these days and that is merely a chance to do some activities outside of home. 

I care little about how well they cope away from me. I don’t need to force that if they aren’t there yet. They will be one day. 

Truth be told if we were in a bigger town with more activities I could take them to we wouldn’t bother with school based activities at all. 

I don’t believe in the system at all. 

A system designed to pump out factory robots that don’t argue just do. 

I am truly thankful for the respectful adults teaching my children their chosen activities- this is not an attack on my children’s current teachers – However, I fully support my child refusing a class based on the behaviour of a domineering teacher. 

I have worked with disgusting humans. 

I cannot bare the concept that they are as protected as they are within the education climate. 

I would love to see a world where more people felt comfortable standing up against the abuse of power and saying you don’t get to offload your baggage onto my child. My child won’t be attending that class. 

I started this trend myself when I was in year 10. 

I left my English class and taught myself. I had no ears for misogyny then, I certainly won’t allow it in my space now. 

Why’d this post turn so dark? 

Because I feel it’s a real time for some radical thought and some radical change. 

I have many a naysayer with a ‘should be’ advice to throw and to those I say it’s falling on deaf ears. 

Each to their own to the fullest degree. 

If you are happy with the education model you chose for your child – brilliant. 

So am I. 

If you are not – know that you could be! 

We are no longer living in a world where your child must be forced to conform to standards that their soul and your soul screams no too. 

Your child came into this world kicking the system for a reason. 

And delinquents are born from repressed selves not freedom to be. 

You cannot convince me that a child needs to fit an arbitrary box to ‘turn out fine’ 

I believe they were born more than fine- perfect in fact. 

And the less people fucking them up the better. 

So Elia May- I hope you have the grandest day! I love how excited you are! I love that you will make friends and explore a whole new world today – stepping into learnings that I couldn’t offer you – because I don’t believe you only need me- what I believe is you deserve the best and my promise to you and all my children is I will only encourage you into places where you will be celebrated. Not on my watch will you be squashed or taught to be something you’re not.