All in Good Time

It is a darn good thing that Peach is a full-time student. Otherwise, he would have been off from school today. For parent-teacher conferences.

That’s right. The school is closed for conferences. Making a tremendous impact on those parents who work.

I understand the need for communication between the classroom instructor and the parent. I really do. But we are talking about a two year old. If my baby wasn’t meeting his developmental milestones or there was some other concern about his social behaviour, I certainly expect the preschool teacher wouldn’t wait untl four months into the year to mention it to me. In fact, Peach’s teacher, with whom I have a daily check-in at drop-off, thinks that a conference for a two year old is a bit over the top.

I expect our kids to take their education seriously. We take it seriously. One of us, in particular, sees education as a life-long experience and would have happily stayed in school had been an option. So this isn’t a reflection of any disinterest on my part. My disdain for a parent/teacher conference for the rugrat set has more to do with the current climate of parenting. Whatever happened to the carefree days of nursery school? Graham crackers, milk, fingerpainting, and naptime really do have an important place in a child’s development as a future scholar. The suggestion that a good preschool must have rigorous academic standards foists unrealistic expectations on our little ones. Is it any wonder that they arrive in Kindergarten with worries about benchmarks?

Childhood is so short. There will be plenty of time for conferences, academic assessment, and benchmark testing. Legitimate developmental concerns aside, let’s let our kids just be kids.