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Judge cites homeschoolers for violating U.N. mandate
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 377694" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I want to emphasise that when I was talking about society, I meant in general, not the culture of the school or the streets in your neighbourhood. There is a lot more to a country than that. As our children grow into adulthood they move beyond the things of childhood (hopefully) and into opportunities to learn and to make their mark on their world. </p><p></p><p>I am also one of those parents who pulled a child from mainstream to (among other reasons) protect him from the bad social experiences he was copping every day, and to help him learn good social skills and also reduce his anxiety to a point where he could also learn academically. But the only "bad" culture around him was primarily the youth in the school and in the area. The rest of society, and the country - it's good. As I believe it is for so many of you, too.</p><p></p><p>My expressed concerns are about people who home-school because of their abhorrence for the corruption of society in general - these people who create a sort of segregated community in general, insulating the child permanently so that they grow up unable and unwilling to live in society in general; the children are so sheltered that they become unfit for any sort of interaction and as a result, I believe their later development risks becoming stunted. I'm talking only about the extreme cases, those who simply shut off all communication with the rest of the world permanently for themselves as well as for their children. No TV, no phones, no radio, no newspapers. No checks on what, if anything, the children get to learn. I believe this is definitely a human rights issue and I got the impression that this is what the Botswana judge was trying to legislate. The trouble is, he's stirred up a much bigger problem with huge issues for all of us home schoolers who are homeschooling for more specific reasons and not merely to permanently shield our child from involvement in society when they're adults.</p><p></p><p>My hope and aim is that difficult child 3 will learn about how to survive in this country, how to contribute and how to enjoy living independently, capably and safely. For now, he needs our form of home schooling. But no way is he isolated, as I'm sure none of you isolate your children from society in general either. The trouble is, some people do this, primarily for the purpose of permanent segregation from the society and culture of the country in which they live. We do have these groups in Australia too and they are a major concern. They claim they are protecting their children from the corruption of society, but this shelter is extreme and extends to all areas, permanently. That's why I said that if they don't want to live in this society, then THOSE people should consider moving back to the society they are trying to emulate. Chances are, the utopia they crave no longer exists anywhere and their attempts to re-create it risks creating nothing but dysfunctionality. What can start as one family home schooling for the purpose of permanently protecting the children from the evils of society, can morph into a growing gated community where freedom is controlled by the decision of a very limited number (usually one) of people in charge. Once access to information becomes so tightly controlled, the ability for individuals to make informed choices is lost.</p><p></p><p>That is a separate debate to home schooling but this Botswana judge has focussed on home schooling as a target, I think mistakenly. For us, we all have our reasons to pull our kids out of school and keep them with us. Not necessarily at home - a home schooled kid is a portable kid, I often say. The best lessons a kid can learn about life, they can learn at your side as you do your daily duties (including shopping, balancing the budget, organising the household, greeting the neighbours, helping other people, interacting with the wider community). We've taken difficult child 3 around the country with us (and overseas) and consider this as a vital part of his education both academically and socially.</p><p></p><p>I don't get the vibe from any of you, that you want to permanently keep your child insulated from the world around them and from finding a career path they enjoy that helps them contribute productively to society. I DO get (and agree) that sometimes you need to protect your child from local, nearby, bad influences. So do we. That is not the same thing that I was talking about and I believe you are doing a GOOD thing by helping a child make decisions that, at that age and under these circumstances, your child may not be able to make for him/herself just yet. But your ultimate aim is NOT to keep doing this for the rest of their lives.</p><p></p><p>What upsets me is, for some people that IS their motive. Their main motive. And for those people (and their children), I am deeply concerned.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 377694, member: 1991"] I want to emphasise that when I was talking about society, I meant in general, not the culture of the school or the streets in your neighbourhood. There is a lot more to a country than that. As our children grow into adulthood they move beyond the things of childhood (hopefully) and into opportunities to learn and to make their mark on their world. I am also one of those parents who pulled a child from mainstream to (among other reasons) protect him from the bad social experiences he was copping every day, and to help him learn good social skills and also reduce his anxiety to a point where he could also learn academically. But the only "bad" culture around him was primarily the youth in the school and in the area. The rest of society, and the country - it's good. As I believe it is for so many of you, too. My expressed concerns are about people who home-school because of their abhorrence for the corruption of society in general - these people who create a sort of segregated community in general, insulating the child permanently so that they grow up unable and unwilling to live in society in general; the children are so sheltered that they become unfit for any sort of interaction and as a result, I believe their later development risks becoming stunted. I'm talking only about the extreme cases, those who simply shut off all communication with the rest of the world permanently for themselves as well as for their children. No TV, no phones, no radio, no newspapers. No checks on what, if anything, the children get to learn. I believe this is definitely a human rights issue and I got the impression that this is what the Botswana judge was trying to legislate. The trouble is, he's stirred up a much bigger problem with huge issues for all of us home schoolers who are homeschooling for more specific reasons and not merely to permanently shield our child from involvement in society when they're adults. My hope and aim is that difficult child 3 will learn about how to survive in this country, how to contribute and how to enjoy living independently, capably and safely. For now, he needs our form of home schooling. But no way is he isolated, as I'm sure none of you isolate your children from society in general either. The trouble is, some people do this, primarily for the purpose of permanent segregation from the society and culture of the country in which they live. We do have these groups in Australia too and they are a major concern. They claim they are protecting their children from the corruption of society, but this shelter is extreme and extends to all areas, permanently. That's why I said that if they don't want to live in this society, then THOSE people should consider moving back to the society they are trying to emulate. Chances are, the utopia they crave no longer exists anywhere and their attempts to re-create it risks creating nothing but dysfunctionality. What can start as one family home schooling for the purpose of permanently protecting the children from the evils of society, can morph into a growing gated community where freedom is controlled by the decision of a very limited number (usually one) of people in charge. Once access to information becomes so tightly controlled, the ability for individuals to make informed choices is lost. That is a separate debate to home schooling but this Botswana judge has focussed on home schooling as a target, I think mistakenly. For us, we all have our reasons to pull our kids out of school and keep them with us. Not necessarily at home - a home schooled kid is a portable kid, I often say. The best lessons a kid can learn about life, they can learn at your side as you do your daily duties (including shopping, balancing the budget, organising the household, greeting the neighbours, helping other people, interacting with the wider community). We've taken difficult child 3 around the country with us (and overseas) and consider this as a vital part of his education both academically and socially. I don't get the vibe from any of you, that you want to permanently keep your child insulated from the world around them and from finding a career path they enjoy that helps them contribute productively to society. I DO get (and agree) that sometimes you need to protect your child from local, nearby, bad influences. So do we. That is not the same thing that I was talking about and I believe you are doing a GOOD thing by helping a child make decisions that, at that age and under these circumstances, your child may not be able to make for him/herself just yet. But your ultimate aim is NOT to keep doing this for the rest of their lives. What upsets me is, for some people that IS their motive. Their main motive. And for those people (and their children), I am deeply concerned. Marg [/QUOTE]
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