Starting School

(Warning: Rant ahead!)

If you haven't guessed by now, most of the post on this blog are somewhat out of sync with the real world. This is mostly due to finding time to actually write about things. Some times I get lots of time to write, other times I have to grab a minute here and there when I can. The little man started school back in August (were in Scotland) but I've only just had time to really sit and write about it, even though the blog post has been sitting empty in the draft folder for weeks.

So, getting on to the actual topic of the post, the little man has started school. For most people in the UK it will seem a little late, as he is almost 6 and over a year older than many starting school in England and Wales. This may seem odd for a lot of people but for me it really makes sense. The little man was in no way ready for school this time last year, when he would have been starting school at just over  4 and half. Now, we have friends in England, whose children are the same age as the little man and they are reading and writing far more then the little man is but he is progressing so quickly and is really keen and interested in letters and writing, something he showed no interest in at all last year. Sending children off to school at 4 just seems so wrong to me, they are so young at that age and the little man was defiantly not ready at that age.

Given the choice, I would like to see things go further, more towards the Scandinavian system, where formal education doesn't start until 7 or so. Many may say that's too old but when you look at the system and results, they have some of the best education results and establishments in the world. In also not very keen on the Scottish proposal for nursery to run all day and especially not from 2 years old. Granted I understand how this does help a lot of people who work and will cutdown on child care costs, but I don't see how it puts the child first? I also think the whole "no child left behind" thing doesn't work properly. Ok, every child deserves a fair chance, but children are so different, each has their strengths and weaknesses and some children will be left behind academically, to potentially hold other back for the sake of one or two makes no sense to me. Anyway, its a few years off before we will need to worry about that sort of thing and these things always change, who knows what's going to be happening in 10 years time.

I seem to have go a little off topic during this post! Oh well, its done now.

Being a stay at home dad

I was at a friends wedding the other day, a thoroughly enjoyable affair and far to long in the making, 9 years to be precise.

As with these types of occasions, you end up talking to lots of people from all sorts of backgrounds and places. Our table, for example, had my wife and I, two friends from Boston, USA, a couple from Wales and another from Australia. There was a mix of ages too, with one couple being grandparents, one being parents to older children who had left home and a couple who had young twins (our American friends), so quite a mix on our table.

Now, our friends knew what I did and think its good, they even have a Manny, aka a male nanny, that looks after their twins. But the other older couples were surprised about it. There was lots of talk about changing times and "back in our day" lines, but generally they were positive about it. I think they weren't so positive to the fact that my wife said that she didn't think things would work the other way around and that she wouldn't want to be a stay at home mum.

But why? I know history would tell us that its tube women that raise the children, but these days, in our times of sexual equality and all the nonsense thatgoes with it, why shouldn't a man raise children. What is it that my wife can do that I can't? Or vice versa? Personally I think personality counts for more, ability is always going to be important but if you don't have the tempetment and personality for it,it will never work.

My wife is great with the kids, better than I am in some respects, but she's a go gutter type. She's driven to succeed, always pushing herself and her boundaries, something I don't think the routine of children would satisfy. Me, I'm happy plodding, I like the routine, knowing that each Monday I'll be doing x, and Tuesday y. Every week is the same, except school holidays, and that suits me, everyday is different for the wife and that suits her.

So, how to change perceptions and ideas? I doubt we ever will, at least not in my life time, as few want to. Plus were going against generations of nature. Did you know that one of the highest levels of divorce in the UK is amongst families with stay at home fathers? (That's percentage wise amongst total families with stay at home fathers) And most are iniated by the wives? Yet when things are the other way around the percentages are no different from average?

Personally I don't care for stereo types and averages, it works for us and that's what matters.