The Zero Boss asks the question. Read his article and then let me know what you think.
There are a number of good reasons to homeschool. “Religious indoctrination” is not among them. I would go so far as to say that this type of indoctrination, in the 21st century, is tantamount to child abuse. There are hundreds of thousands of parents in this country teaching their children to not think, not reason, and not question - simply to submit and obey. How is being homeschooled by such parents any better than being raised in Communist China?
This is an area where my libertarian and atheist values conflict. Because I lean toward common sense and personal liberty on issues like this, I tend to side with homeschoolers. Teach your kids what you want. After all, it's a Darwinian world we live in, if homeschoolers don't teach their kids how to think along with the religious rhetoric, their kids will grow to fill vital jobs in the service sector. Somebody has to take my order at the drive-thru.
2 comments:
homeschooling - there are about as many reasons parents choose to homeschool as there are parents who homeschool.... our reasons are many: economics, family unity, freedom, etc. etc. However, I have to respond to your question about "religious indoctrination" being tantamount to child abuse. Not all homeschoolers are homeschooling to produce robots who will submit and obey. Some of us want our children to learn how to think through a situation and come to a sensible conclusion. I wasn't taught how to do this in public school. In fact, all I remember learning to do is memorize a bunch of facts (most of which stayed in my brain for about 2 hours) in order to pass a test.
Homeschooling gives us a chance to watch our kids respond to what they are being taught, answer their questions, ask them some questions, listen to their answers, give them food for thought and repeat the process the next day. We are hoping to raise thinkers not robots.
By the way.... I found your blog from your comment on Spunky's.
Redhead - your comments fill me with hope. Teaching children to think is what school, or homeschool should be all about.
Thanks for stopping by.
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