We’re concerned about the level of education our children are receiving, and curious what some people’s experiences were when moving around with kids. Especially for younger kids.
Our specifics:
The northern parts of N. America have a lot of flaws in their education, a lot, and it varies a lot by area, but currently we are in Denmark and the education could best be described as… “Saturday Morning Cartoons until 9th grade”. I don’t need to get in to the pros and cons of both systems, but one thing we’re very aware of is IF we should move back, our children would *probably* be considered very, very far behind at a *good* US school after 2+ year here.
It seems like there is nearly no science or history early on and very, very little until high school. The math is just behind. Full stop. Reading and language skills are poor, both in English and in Danish, except in how you treat other people (a *very* useful skill, but not one that is measured in the US…at all)
Education and personal growth are things that are really, really important to us. So, this is putting a surprising strain on our decision making.
School systems are simply not compatible. The idea isn’t that kids jump from one country to another to complete or continue schooling, but we (expats and people who move around) throw a wrench into those plans.
My suggestion is to focus on where you are - and ensuring your children are in the best place to excel at that school and in that environment.
Then, you can supplement what you think is important that they might be missing. Maybe adding in extra reading or math or nothing at all.
We experienced similar thoughts in Germany. Here, kids don’t start formal school (reading/writing) until they turn six. That was light years behind what we were used to in the US growing up, and having a mother-in-law who was a teacher, we heard about this constantly.
Our oldest son started German “school” at 3, and is 7.5 now. When he went to first grade, he could write his name terribly and could not read more than a few words of German or English.
Within a few weeks, he was reading sentences and writing his name. Now 16 months later, he reads books at a 9-12 age range in German, taught himself how to read in English and learns cursive (which would make him advanced compared to kids in the US).
It’s all relative. I say unless they are truly getting NO education and it’s terrible, give it time and realize that in the end, you are the one that educates your kids, not school.
I’d much rather have education start later than see horror stories from friends back in the US prepping their 3 year olds for pre-k tests and evaluations. I’d rather my three year old out eating mud and jumping in puddles.