[On her homeschooling curriculum and reasons...]
We use various things. I got hooked on phonics off ebay. [...] I currently use some old textbooks that I have from when I went to school, some science, health, reading and grammar books. You know the ones they discarded. and we use flash cards and the kitchen and grammar correction throughout the day.
[...]
There are some who question about their social lives, but we go to church and they socialize there with kids their age.
And although I cant shield them from the world completely, and neither should I, I can limit what they learn until they are ready for it. I have a problem with kids learning things before they need to learn about, subjects like sex, and other religions and political correctness and what a family is.
29 comments
You need to make at least a half-arsed attempt to give your child a decent education.
I have a problem with kids learning things before they need to learn about, subjects like sex, and other religions and political correctness and what a family is.
Ambrielle: She's telling her kids "a family is a man, who works; a woman, who stays home with the kids, cooks, and cleans; and their many, many children. Single parent households aren't a real family. And homosexuals can never have real families."
Most of this post isn't too bad; aside from modern advances in physics and biology, whose differences wont all be glaringly obvious until university, a lot of what kids need to be taught hasn't changed much for decades. 40 year old textbooks for basic maths, english and so on shouldn't be too bad (plus, little known secret: some older textbooks are often much better written than modern ones, which try too hard to be engaging and interesting, and end up dumbing themselves down too much). Furthermore, modern textbooks are a racket; they're ridiculously overpriced and, as I have already mentioned, frequently contain identical material to much older, cheaper ones with revamped presentation.I have a problem with kids learning things before they need to learn about, subjects like sex, and other religions and political correctness and what a family is.
Most, if not all, of the things mentioned can only benefit the child for being taught as early as possible, not least because it's hard to know exactly when they will be needed, and the last thing you want to risk is running to catch up too late. If a concept is too advanced, fine, simplify it a bit (hell, even a lot of high school stuff, particularly science, is referred to as "lies to children" by people higher up, in university and so on), but don't block it out altogether. If you fail to at least lay the groundwork, you'll risk the children finding it far more difficult or even impossible to deal with the deeper concepts when it does come time to know.
I have to say my mother did more good for the development of my grammar skills than my school ever did. Though I wonder if the fact that my mother was at the time studying for a PhD in English had anything to do with it...
@ Brain_In_A_Jar:
So, your idea of a good education is discarded, old textbooks and the kitchen? Your idea of good socialization is some kids at your church? And, you do this so that you can control what they learn about sex, gay marriage and non-Xian religion until you have brainwashed them thoroughly? Sounds like a great program.
I have a grammar textbook from 150 years ago that's as good as or better than those used today; newer vocabulary is the only significant difference. Phonics doesn't change and can be taught with no more than pencil and paper. Elementary math doesn't change; you can teach it with or without textbooks if you have a working knowledge of it. An introduction to the scientific method is the same as it has been. I have a GED book from 25 years ago and a recent one; the only difference is that the social studies is now extremely left-leaning and very politicized as opposed to having a working knowledge of history and geography, and the science focuses almost entirely on evolution as opposed to basic science that actually helps a person day-to-day in understanding the world around us. Homeschooled children have been tested and come out far ahead of public schooled peers in all subjects, and have proven to be involved in as many if not more social activities than their peers, in general. They are generally well-prepared for advanced studies and don't need the remedial training that so many of their peers entering college need. Modern textbooks contain far more errors and are often dumbed-down and chaotic, lacking gestalt that hyperactives in particular need and the sophistication that an educated person will need to acquire.
Developmental psychology decides what your child is ready for, not you. This deserves its own award LOL
By the way, I will tell you homeschooling from an European perspective. We did a test with homeschoolers from the United States and compared them with average students from Finland, France, UK, Spain, Denmark, Greece and Ireland. Result, no significant differences. Moreover, in some fields they punctuated far lower than the European ones. And they have a very sub-standard command of a second language. I think it has to do with the social background of the communities. By the way, a study was made with the current highschoolers and the ones dating back 40 years ago in France, Spain and UK, to see if the books published 40 years ago and the old school system was better. Result, better scores in all scientific fields, better performance of almost all fields of maths, and fewer spelling errors. Moreover, the number of so-called "functional illiterates" is higher among the population between 40-65. The moral?, it´s obvious, the reason why apparently they perform better is that only a elite gets to the top. The ones who were left behind(a lot of them, according to statistics)are failures of homeschooling and old system education too.
From the Simpsons:
Well within the US homeschoolers outperform their peers, overall, by far. As in, they average between the 80-99th percentile on standardized tests where public school students are by definition the 50th percentile. Parental level of education did not have any significant effect on results. Independent study results: http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/rudner1999/Rudner1.asp
The problem is not homeschooling per se. The problem is that homeschooling is, by definition elitist. If all parents were to educate their kids, we´d be back in the nineteenth century, where illiteracy was rampant. I have forwarded data from Europe, where homeschooling is virtually non-existant and I think it´s eloquent, Public education works. If Finnish students are able to be in the same grounds as American homeschoolers(and, to a lesser degree, the other countries), the problem of schooling is a cultural one.
I have an encyclopedia set you might like. It's from before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, but he still has a tiny blurb in the A volume. Not exaggerating, either. Our encyclopedias really ARE from 1968.
"Well, blessedinhim's-dear-daughter, you know, the Lord has given men a way to make little girls like you very happy. Would you like me to demonstrate?"
"Sorry, Reverend, Jeff Shaughnessy's is much bigger, but thank you for showing me. Maybe I'll let you show me for my tenth birthday."
I have a problem with kids learning things before they need to learn about, subjects like sex, and other religions and political correctness and what a family is.
I can already see where this is going.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.
