13th January 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
In a recent report on Google News, Penny Marshall describes how her experience of moving to South Africa for six years with her three daughters, gave her a renewed outlook on education in this country.
Penny’s daughter, Jessica, was assessed and accepted by a leading London primary at the age of 3, and Penny was assured that her daughter was on course to pass the 11+, and attend one of the top secondary schools in the country. When Penny discovered that her husband had been offered a job in South Africa, her only concern was for her daughters, particularly Jessica; would the hard work over Jessica’s first year at school be undone by relatively worse education in South Africa.
Jessica’s teachers advised Penny to find a private tutor in South Africa, who could continue the education started in England. However, upon arriving in South Africa Penny was shocked to be told that Jessica, labelled an outstanding student in London, was said to have special needs. The new school thought that Jessica lacked the social skills present in many children of her age.
After six years in South Africa, with no (what we in the UK would call) formal education, Jessica and her two sisters integrated back into schools in England within a term, and have gone on to develop well in the rest of their studies. This may not be conclusive proof that intensive education is unnecessary at an early age, but it’s interesting to note that a focus on play rather than literacy and numeracy at an early age certainly doesn’t necessarily hinder students.