Small Town, USA

I like living in a small town. We have only lived here six years now, but I feel like I know everyone! When I go to any kid-function, I know, or at least am familiar with, many people. I run into people I know at the store all the time. It's fun, that small-town feel.

So I just had to laugh at something that has transpired this summer, a great example of small-town living where news travels fast and everyone is in everyone else's business. A couple weeks ago my husband came home from his eye checkup. "You need to talk to the doctor, because he is considering whether to start his daughter in kindergarten this year, and she won't be five until October."

He went on to fill me in on the discussion he had with the doctor about his almost-five year old daughter. She's bright and is beginning to read. She very social and loves meeting people. She's tall. Now, these are good things. But she's still four, and if she starts school this fall, she will be in a class with kids who are about two years older than her, some of them. I was incredulous, because had I had a child with a fall birthday, I would have been elated! I would not have started them until they were five turning six, and I'd know they'd be a class leader.

Well, I had my eye appointment the next day, so I brought up this subject with the doctor. We discussed it at length. He gave me all the reasons why he and his wife were considering starting his daughter early. She had gone through some testing and tested above average on everything except for fine-motor skills (which is very important to school success, by the way). I was pretty straight-forward with my opinion AS A TEACHER, though, and pointed out all of the reasons why it would be best to wait a year. She'd be one of the oldest and a leader, instead of one of the youngest who would be a follower. And as she got older, think of puberty. Think of learning to drive. Think of peer pressure. And why is it a rush to get a kid into and through school? It shouldn't be a race. They obviously have money (I didn't say that) to give her a last year of enriching activities before the formality of school. I encouraged him to contact the school's principal; I don't know of any educator worth anything that would encourage a parent to enroll a four-year-old into kindergarten, and it turned out his daughter wouldn't be five until November! That's even worse.

I felt he listened to and appreciated my input as a teacher. I felt that I had really given him some things to think about, and figured he'd go home and really discuss it with his wife.

Yesterday my hubby and I stopped at the eye care place to pick up hubby's glasses (mine haven't come in yet, darn it; they are so cool...). The doctor came out with a patient, and as he was saying goodbye, the patient said, "Good luck with your Kindergartener! They grow so fast..."

What? Doctor, didn't you listen to me? I take your professional advice about my eyes but you can't take my professional advice about your daughter's education? I was pretty upset about this, as I felt he'd be making a mistake.

But here's where the small-town living comes into play. Later that day we went to the grocery store where we ran into the gal who was my younger daughter's third-grade teacher. We stopped to chat there in the produce section, and I was admiring her new baby. Her older daughter was also there, a tall girl. I asked, "Are you going into kindergarten," forgetting how old she was. My younger daughter's teacher said, "Not until next year. She won't be five until December."

"Good for you," I said. "She'll be one of the oldest kids and a leader." Not that I had to tell another teacher this, especially one who has taught kindergarten for the last three years. "You won't be making a mistake like my eye doctor is..." and I proceeded to tell her all about that situation. Her response to it was exactly like mine, and she also said that the district would not let them put her into kindergarten. "Who is your doctor," she asked. I told her. Turns out, he's her doctor, too (not a lot of options here in this town, but he's a good one). She decided it was time to get an eye checkup, and she'd give the doctor her opinion as well. Maybe he'll pay attention given she's taught kindergarten, and would be telling him the same things I told him. Maybe hearing the same message of "Don't Do It" from two different educators will make him rethink this kindergarten idea.

Poor doctor, though. That's what he gets for being in a small town.