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Judge cites homeschoolers for violating U.N. mandate
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 377715" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>Not just cults, FarmWife. More what happens before a cult forms...</p><p></p><p>The church husband & I belong to now, resembled a cult 20 years ago. What it was then would have frightened us off. But somehow it adapted and grew (and threw out their leader, although she's now welcomed back in but as an equal, not someone in control). It is very much about choice, and any situation that removes informed choice also risks exploitation. And the rest of us get tarred with the same brush when we don't deserve it.</p><p></p><p>Especially through difficult child 3's correspondence school I've known a lot of home-schooling families. Most are people who have made the choice to home-school for reasons similar to yours and mine. But I remember one girl who attended the school a couple of times for lessons, she was a lovely girl whose mother told us that they were using the correspondence school for the girl because she had asthma. OK, fair enough. But the girl was wearing very plain clothing, all the same shade of brown and all-covering. They were not Muslim, the girl seemed to be dressed more like a nun from the pre-Vatican II days including a crucifix. She was 12 years old. At these optional study days at the correspondence school, the kids get to mix and mingle, so do the parents. I made a point of chatting to the girl's mother and just listening, she told me how her daughter is precious and needs to be kept safe from the evil influences in the world. I got the impression that the asthma was just a handy excuse; also got the impression that the mother was equating the asthma attacks to a direct damage effect due to the girl's exposure to the wider world.</p><p></p><p>I only saw the girl a couple of times, then she stopped attending study days. I saw her name in the list of students for a few years longer.</p><p></p><p>At least with correspondence, the curriculum is still the one set by the Board of Studies. It can be modified for students who need support, like difficult child 3. But I have also had teachers complain to me that some parents want their child's work modified to exclude references to events or concepts that the parents don't want the child to know about. Censorship, in other words. </p><p>OK, we kept difficult child 3 from knowing about 9/11 because his anxiety was so extreme, he would have gone into panic overload. He was in Grade 6 when it was raised in class, and the teacher found himself in trouble when difficult child 3 began to get upset; thankfully we were then able to say, "That happened a few years ago; you are safe." But censorship of knowledge is a different thing, and when a home schooling environment is sought after purely so a parent can completely control and limit a child's exposure to life in general, so utterly - then I think it risks a great deal of harm, even though the parent is primarily motivated for the good of the child.</p><p></p><p>The problem is, cults do it (home-school) so they can control what the children do and don't learn. Random families also do it for similar reasons, but they're individuals, not cults (not yet; maybe not ever). And those of us who do the right thing suddenly find ourselves in the firing line too, having to justify what is working so well for us, it should be patently obvious that the right to home-school is a valuable one.</p><p></p><p>It is easier to home-school in the US than in Australia. Here, we either have to enrol in a program like difficult child 3's (which required a lot of documentation and justification from doctors) which they don't refer you to or tell you about. We happened to hear of it form other kids with problems, it's really not good to have such good opportunities hidden from those who need it. Or parents have to write their own curriculum for their students, submit it to Dept of Ed for approval plus send in reports on their child's progress and endure regular inspections to ensure they are actually doing what they say they are doing.</p><p></p><p>For us, we've found ways to make this work. A friend of mine who recently chose to home-school her boys for a couple of years, managed to meet all the rules. But I know she did SFA with her boys' education, she pretty much let them run wild. WHen her older son asked to be allowed to go back to school, she agreed (thank goodness) and found that in some areas he was ahead, in other areas he was behind. But I do remember being concerned at her lack of actual education in any formal sense. I organised a couple of joint excursions for them with difficult child 3, we had a lot of fun. But if you home school, you have to DO stuff, not just let the child do nothing, or turn the child into a midget mine worker.</p><p></p><p>It is so ripe for abuse. We do the right thing, but get scrutinised more closely because of those who abuse the privilege.</p><p></p><p>Very annoying.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 377715, member: 1991"] Not just cults, FarmWife. More what happens before a cult forms... The church husband & I belong to now, resembled a cult 20 years ago. What it was then would have frightened us off. But somehow it adapted and grew (and threw out their leader, although she's now welcomed back in but as an equal, not someone in control). It is very much about choice, and any situation that removes informed choice also risks exploitation. And the rest of us get tarred with the same brush when we don't deserve it. Especially through difficult child 3's correspondence school I've known a lot of home-schooling families. Most are people who have made the choice to home-school for reasons similar to yours and mine. But I remember one girl who attended the school a couple of times for lessons, she was a lovely girl whose mother told us that they were using the correspondence school for the girl because she had asthma. OK, fair enough. But the girl was wearing very plain clothing, all the same shade of brown and all-covering. They were not Muslim, the girl seemed to be dressed more like a nun from the pre-Vatican II days including a crucifix. She was 12 years old. At these optional study days at the correspondence school, the kids get to mix and mingle, so do the parents. I made a point of chatting to the girl's mother and just listening, she told me how her daughter is precious and needs to be kept safe from the evil influences in the world. I got the impression that the asthma was just a handy excuse; also got the impression that the mother was equating the asthma attacks to a direct damage effect due to the girl's exposure to the wider world. I only saw the girl a couple of times, then she stopped attending study days. I saw her name in the list of students for a few years longer. At least with correspondence, the curriculum is still the one set by the Board of Studies. It can be modified for students who need support, like difficult child 3. But I have also had teachers complain to me that some parents want their child's work modified to exclude references to events or concepts that the parents don't want the child to know about. Censorship, in other words. OK, we kept difficult child 3 from knowing about 9/11 because his anxiety was so extreme, he would have gone into panic overload. He was in Grade 6 when it was raised in class, and the teacher found himself in trouble when difficult child 3 began to get upset; thankfully we were then able to say, "That happened a few years ago; you are safe." But censorship of knowledge is a different thing, and when a home schooling environment is sought after purely so a parent can completely control and limit a child's exposure to life in general, so utterly - then I think it risks a great deal of harm, even though the parent is primarily motivated for the good of the child. The problem is, cults do it (home-school) so they can control what the children do and don't learn. Random families also do it for similar reasons, but they're individuals, not cults (not yet; maybe not ever). And those of us who do the right thing suddenly find ourselves in the firing line too, having to justify what is working so well for us, it should be patently obvious that the right to home-school is a valuable one. It is easier to home-school in the US than in Australia. Here, we either have to enrol in a program like difficult child 3's (which required a lot of documentation and justification from doctors) which they don't refer you to or tell you about. We happened to hear of it form other kids with problems, it's really not good to have such good opportunities hidden from those who need it. Or parents have to write their own curriculum for their students, submit it to Dept of Ed for approval plus send in reports on their child's progress and endure regular inspections to ensure they are actually doing what they say they are doing. For us, we've found ways to make this work. A friend of mine who recently chose to home-school her boys for a couple of years, managed to meet all the rules. But I know she did SFA with her boys' education, she pretty much let them run wild. WHen her older son asked to be allowed to go back to school, she agreed (thank goodness) and found that in some areas he was ahead, in other areas he was behind. But I do remember being concerned at her lack of actual education in any formal sense. I organised a couple of joint excursions for them with difficult child 3, we had a lot of fun. But if you home school, you have to DO stuff, not just let the child do nothing, or turn the child into a midget mine worker. It is so ripe for abuse. We do the right thing, but get scrutinised more closely because of those who abuse the privilege. Very annoying. Marg [/QUOTE]
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