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Not that it matters
in the grand scheme of things, but you have my support, Editormum. When the school refused to work with legitimate health problems one of our daughters had, we homeschooled her. She now says it may have saved her life. For parents who are sincere and qualified, I can recommend it, especially for "highly sensitive" children whose tender spirits some educators seem determined to crush.
It is a right we have in this country, thank goodness, and a personal decision. I don't see where anyone gets off criticizing it, since each family has the right to do what they feel is best for their children. And since families and children are not all cardboard cutouts, a variety of solutions, thankfully, are available. 
posted by
Witchflower
on February 12, 2005 at 10:21 PM
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Oh for goodness sake.
Exorcised? What is this---the Middle Ages?
All kids go through a time of testing what they believe, and whether the things that they have been taught are true. I did it. My mom did it. My brothers did it. Everyone I know has done it. I don't consider it rebellion. I consider it a time of maturation. Only infants believe everything that they have ever been told without checking to see if it's true. You have to test and push boundaries to grow.
The job of a parent is to transmit values and information, and then stand back and let the kid work it out ... when he's old enough to comprehend and accept the consequences. I figure that we all understand cause-and-effect pretty well by the time we are teens, and my job, at that point, will be to offer counsel and guidance as my kids explore the truth of what I've tried to teach them through the years. Will I be sad if they reject what I believe in? Of course. But I won't disown them or hate them. I will, however, insist that they take the consequences of their actions.
For example, I've taught my kids that it is not safe to drive when you've been drinking alcoholic beverages. So I won't bail out the 22-year-old who drives drunk and gets chucked in jail. (Well, not more than once, anyway.) But I will come see him, and I will pick him up when they release him. I've taught my kids that we don't touch other people's private parts until we are married to them. So I won't pay for an abortion for the 18-year-old pregnant girlfriend. But I will offer to adopt the baby.
Not all fundamentalist Christians are irrational isolationists with guns in the front hall and six years' worth of preserved food in the cellar. I'm really just a normal person who happens to think that our current educational system is horrifically inefficient and fails to accomplish its goals in many cases. And I don't want my kids damaged by a faulty system.
posted by
editormum
on February 11, 2005 at 9:36 AM
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I just hope when your kids rebel
and they will, you won't take them to the pastor to have them excorcised.
posted by
fwmystic
on February 11, 2005 at 8:47 AM
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Who Says They're in a "Make-Believe Cocoon"?
See today's post for my response to your comments.
posted by
editormum
on February 11, 2005 at 8:17 AM
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You've got to be kidding ....
I mean, if you want to isolate yourself from society and anyone that is just the least slight bit different from you, that's OK. But why do you want to screw up your kids? Kids develop social skills by being around other kids and having shared experiences. What's going to happen when they get older and the make believe cocoon you've conjured up bursts. How will they cope?
posted by
fwmystic
on February 10, 2005 at 10:31 PM
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