School maturity

School maturity refers to a child’s biological readiness to begin formal education at a specific level. It addresses such factors as a child’s physical size and development, eye-hand coordination, and ability to control the body. School maturity also includes matters related to nutrition and overall health. While these physical conditions are related to a child’s intellectual ability, a child can be intellectually ready for school but lack physical maturity, or vice versa. Education experts say that children stand the best chance of academic success when their level of school maturity matches their grade level.

Parents and early education teachers can help a child reach intellectual readiness at or before the age when formal education begins. However, very little can be done to speed up or improve a child’s physical school maturity. Adequate diet and rest, appropriate physical activity, and regular medical care can improve the chances that a child will reach school maturity at or around the same time intellectual readiness for school is achieved.

Background

For decades, children began school at a set age, usually between the ages of five and eight. There was little interest or even awareness that children might develop at different rates and that some may be readier to attend school than others at set ages. Eventually, some parents became aware of the disadvantage experienced by children whose birthdays occurred just before the cutoff date for school enrollment.

For example, if children needed to be 5 years old by September 5 to be eligible to start kindergarten, parents of children born in July, August, and early September might question how their child would fare compared to children who were born the previous September and were nearly a full year older. Parents began to opt to keep their children home or in preschool for an extra year to allow them to develop and mature.

This practice is known as “redshirting.” It originated in college athletics where athletes were held out of competition for a year to allow them to develop physically and athletically and extend their eligibility to play competitively later. They would continue to work out and scrimmage with the team but customarily wore red shirts during these activities, giving the practice its name.

Academic redshirting occurs more often with boys than with girls. This is because boys of the age group in question can sometimes be slower to mature physically, emotionally, and verbally. It has become somewhat common in the twenty-first century for parents, especially in America and other Western countries, to give serious consideration to evaluating their child’s physical school maturity level before enrolling the child in school. In some other countries, formal or mandatory education starts later, at 7 or 8 years old, so children are more likely to have achieved the physical maturity necessary for school before they begin.

Overview

School maturity specifically refers to a child’s state of physical maturity at the time entry to school is being considered. In some cases, it is also part of the discussion when it comes to promoting a child from one level of school to another, though this is far less common. School maturity is a factor in overall school readiness, which takes into account the child’s emotional and intellectual capabilities in addition to physical maturity.

Academic success is generally measured by standards based on the child’s mental and verbal ability to perform certain skills such as recognizing numbers and letters, writing, reading, and working with numbers. As a result, when children are being assessed for school readiness, emphasis is often placed on their abilities to recognize letters, numbers, and colors, and to understand information that is read or said to them. These are important factors in a child’s success in school. However, researchers have noted that a child’s physical condition also plays a key role.

Children who are less physically mature will look younger and have fewer of the physical capabilities of older or more physically mature children. Their arms and legs will be shorter, for instance, which can be a factor in sitting comfortably at school desks and tables. They may also have not yet reached an appropriate level of physical coordination and eye-hand coordination that will facilitate school success. For example, they may not yet have developed all of the physical musculature and coordination needed to hold a pencil and write with accuracy, or to manipulate scissors for cutting activities.

Education experts have also noted that many modern children come to school with lower levels of physical fitness and muscle development than in the past. This can be attributed to less time spent outdoors due to safety concerns or living circumstances as well as increased amounts of time spent watching television or playing games on tablets or computers. As a result, children are sometimes deficient in skills they may be asked to perform in physical education classes, such as jumping, skipping, and running.

This can present a number of problems for children. They may lack the physical ability to sit comfortably and still in a chair, and may be unable to keep up with other children when it comes to activities such as writing, using learning aids such as blocks for counting, and completing physical tasks that may be incorporated into classroom activities. This can cause the child to feel inadequate or unintelligent. It can lead to teasing from other children and may be perceived as laziness, disinterest, or being uncooperative by a teacher. All of this can lead to academic difficulties if the child, the parents, or the teacher see the child as failing to perform, setting up the child for potential failure throughout the school experience.

A child's emotional maturity can also impact their school readiness. Emotionally mature children are better able to communicate their wants and needs in school. Emotional stability further helps a student's independence in learning, which is an important factor in their academic success. A child that is emotionally mature can self-regulate their thoughts,feelings, and actions better than a child who struggles with emotional maturity. In recent years great emphasis has been placed on emotional intelligence and self-regulation in schools and among children.

While it is not possible to speed up a child’s physical maturity, educational experts say there are some steps that can be taken to ensure a child’s physical maturity does not hamper their academic success. First, parents should seek expert advice from doctors and educators to assess their child’s physical readiness to attend school. Parents should not try to force the issue just because their child is the right age if their child is not yet physically ready. Providing adequate nutrition, rest, and appropriate medical care can ensure that the child grows and develops without any unnecessary delays. Encouraging physical activity and providing opportunities to practice the skills used in the academic setting without forcing the child to perform in a way they are not yet capable of will also help the child reach physical school maturity at around the same time they reach intellectual and emotional readiness.

Bibliography

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