Homeschooling And Religion - Can it constitute abuse?

[Athena]

One lovely, sunny afternoon, my father and I were sitting on his back porch, enjoying some iced tea and shooting the political shit, as we often do. Slowly but surely, an increasingly loud noise interrupted our conversation. It sounded like a fleet of riding lawn mowers coming down the alley that the porch faces. I look to my father with intrigue. His face is contorted, surely containing laughter until the appropriate moment. Expecting no help from him, I turn back to the alley in anticipation - What could be coming?

...Well, my guess was painfully accurate. A young man, maybe 15 appeared in the alley once past the neighbor's fence. He was wearing a day-glo neon green shirt and a safety orange helmet...and he was riding a lawnmower. Oh, but it gets better. Soon, not one but two more boys appear behind him, also driving lawnmowers and dressed very similarly. Not knowing what to think, I again look to my father, whose face is now struggling to contain the above mentioned laughter. In disbelief, I watch these young men as they travel by my father's back yard at a speed of maybe 3 miles an hour. Just as soon as they disappear behind the next neighbor's fence, my father erupts, face red, hardly able to breath he's laughing so hard. At this point, I've no choice but to join him.

We laugh until our bodies simply cannot support such activity any longer. Yes, we know we're going to hell, but, by God...It feels good to laugh that hard. Once we've regained a bit of composure, I turn to my dad and ask very innocently, "Dad? Did we just laugh at retarded kids?" This sends him over the edge again. I wait for him to simmer down, head slightly cocked to one side, obviously expecting an answer. "No, dear," he finally forces out, still chuckling, "it's worse than that. They're homeschooled."

I'm absolutely horrified. Those children - their posture...that clothing...those helmets - all point to mental handicap. A bit upset by this, I urge more from my father. "What do you mean, 'homeschooled'?" I ask in a bewildered tone. My father, detecting my concern, then spins a tale of the four boys, one girl and two hyper-religious parents who live on the corner of the block. The details turn from amusing to chilling. He tells me that the trips around the block in the lawnmowers is common practice for the boys (sure enough, we endured another several passes that day). He describes the demeanor of these children much like the demeanor of a beaten dog; they are friendly, but skiddish. There are no signs of abuse, however, as the children are well-clothed, fed and never display any marks of any kind. The girl, apparently, is treated very much like a caged bird. Apparently, my father had seen her maybe twice in the couple of years he had lived there.

Now, I'm all for the right to homeschool. Parents should be able to raise their children as they see fit, within reason. My question: Is homeschooling that is driven by religous fervor, which often results in severe social ineptness, still within reason? We criminalise beating ones children because of the effect it has on that child, right? So, if something like homeschooling as a similar effect, should we reanalyze how we regard it?

According to the 2003 U.S. Census survey, 33% of homeschooling households cited religion as a factor in their choice to homeschool, for an approximate total of 327,000 students homeschooled for religious reasons.

[The Diabolical Mr. Lieman]

Now, I'm all for the right to homeschool. Parents should be able to raise their children as they see fit, within reason. My question: Is homeschooling that is driven by religious fervor, which often results in severe social ineptness, still within reason? We criminalise beating ones children because of the effect is has on that child, right? So, if something like homeschooling as a similar effect, should we reanalyze how we regard it?

According to the 2003 U.S. Census survey, 33% of homeschooling households cited religion as a factor in their choice to homeschool, for an approximate total of 327,000 students homeschooled for religious reasons.

My first inclination would be to say of course not. Homeschooling has done wonders for several children, and many times, the homeschooled children test better.

Now I emboldened your sentence where you say when it results in severe social ineptness, and thats ok, but I would say overall, if the kids are homeschooled because of religion or because parents dont trust out terrible schools, it doesnt make a difference as long as the education is good, and they adjust socially somehow other than banging it with bros and hos in the hallways. It ultimately comes down to how parents help their children adjust regardless of religion.

Religion can be such a scapegoat for things nowadays. Any child who is homeschooled will face this challenge, and any kid with religious zealots will face their bizarre upbringing and the challenges it that come with. EH....overall, I say no. Abuse is a strong word, and its a great subject...but I dont see it.

[Athena]

Oh, I don't mean to imply that all children homeschooled for religious reasons become socially inept, however, there does seem to be, in my personal experience, a much higher rate of social issues with children homeschooled for religious reasons.

This can, as illustrated, cause children to be SO socially inept that it mimicks mental retardation. I've got a cousin like this. Insanely bright, but so severely socially inept due to fervently religious homeschooling, he has been unable to hold a steady job or manage to educate himself in a formal setting. He, and others like him, have been permanently crippled by the nature of their upbringing...Far more crippled than kids I knew who were beaten or neglected, in many instances. If the resulting behavioral issues are what we are concerned about, shouldn't someone be held accountable?

[Zsu Zsu's Petals]

Interesting subject, and I'm not sure how I stand on the issue... but it isn't stopping me from posting a reply! IRL, I have only known two families that homeschooled, one for medical reasons (I think the program was called "home hospital") and one family that did it primarily for religious reasons.

I know that the plural of anecdotal is not data, but my experience with the religious homeschoolers mirrors the experience related in the OP. Both boys were socially inept, and the mother-teacher had decided that she would only teach her sons what they were interested in. This seems to have worked fine with the older child, he was an early reader and academically inclined. The younger son was not reading when he was nine. A lot of their education revolved around playing video games (hey, it was what interested them), and little else. I have no idea how they turned out, since they were the nephews of the guy I was dating for a while, and I have no contact with any of the family now.

The articles I could find on the subject tend to focus on the families who have succeeded, such as this one: http://www.heritagehomeschool.com/news%20articles%20htmls/homeschool.html

A question that interests me, is whether or not homeschooling is good for the society that allows it. Historically, the argument can be made that the primary reason for offering public education is in part to inculcate children early on into the ideas that are considered of primary importance to society-- we teach children early on about our heroes, and the ideals of democracy and so on. Will this happen for homeschooled children? "Whither the Common Good? A Critique of Homeschooling" http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327930PJE751&2_12 is a fascinating read (okay, maybe only fascinating to me!) I should mention that I came across the article in JSTOR, and have not attempted to access the PDF file provided by the link. As far as I know, they do not charge to view materials. If they do, I apologize!

When my children were very young, my dh and I mulled over the idea of homeschooling. Since I would have been the primary teacher, I had to admit that I had neither the ability nor the patience to do it right, regardless of the resources available to me. I do not knock homeschooling, nor those who do it with care and awareness of the awesome responsibility entailed, but I am curious as to the long term ramifications of poorly educated children and the question of the benefit to society at large.

[CPL CHUD]

The biggest problems I can see arising from homeschooling is that the parents may not be truly adept at teaching. It seems like a huge burden, something that requires a lot of sacrifice, and realisticaly parents can't really be expected to keep up with that kind of demand. I'm not sure how homeschooling is, my only experience with it has been meeting one kid that was homeschooled, and like the stereotype dictates he was a social retard, but I think that before the government allows it to go on in a particular home then perhaps the parents have to pass some sort of test or get some sort of teaching certificate.

[Dark Star]

I can understand the concern when children are home schooled for religious type reasons. Some are not given the proper curriculum, they are given a made up curriculum that coincides with their religious beliefs. Some children are more sheltered.

Mr. Hip and I made the decision to home school our daughter after she went to kindergarten in public school. We are agnostic. We decided to home school for several reasons. First of all we noticed a huge change in our daughter's attitude, she was much more hateful, and would repeat a lot of stupid shit from other's in her class. Secondly, she was picked on, on the school bus and for a good part of the year I had to drive her back and forth to school. Third reason, I wasn't always spiffy on what she was being taught. I don't think a Kindergarten age child should be standing up everyday saying the Pledge of Allegiance. My daughter did not understand the words, she didn't understand why she had to stand and do that, and she had loads of questions about god. Now an older child by all means, should be taught the Pledge of Allegiance. Once her school actually sent letters home, about a religious weekend retreat thingy. I was like wtf?, this is school not church. My daughter also came home from Kindergarten with Pro-George Bush talk. Her teacher being a Bush supporter. Just ridiculousness. The final reason for choosing home school was my husband's job. We decided we wanted to travel with him, and we did this 7 months out of the year pretty much.

When I decided to home school my daughter, I did a hell of a lot of research. My husband and I bought workbooks that were from Publisher's of school books and that were made by teachers. We ordered them via the internet, with all the subjects and complete curriculum mapped out for us. Of course there was a lot of work involved with researching her subjects, computer time, etc. It was a job. I want to add that we also tested her with state standardized tests that we also purchased on line. I believe if any laws are changed with home school, that curriculum be one. I can see using the same curriculum for every home schooler, same tests. Like in a public school, but at home. I know with my daughter I had to keep a journal of her curriculum. Copies of her work and I had to do a certain number of hours in various subjects. Every state has different home school laws, and Missouri's are pretty lax compared to other states.

Our daughter is now in the 5th grade and is in public school. She wanted to go this year. We felt she was older and more prepared for school. I really hated sending her off in Kindergarten, she was so little, and other kids were so cruel. At least now, at eleven she has more "tools" to defend herself with. She is doing excellent in school and I am not trying to brag here, but she is one of the top in her class. Her grades have been mostly A's this school year. The principal and the her teacher complimented my husband and I for the excellent job we did with her.

You know, when I started home schooling her, I was very scared, and very uneasy about my skills to do so. I am not a college graduate, although I am well educated. I graduated top of my class in high school and top of my Nursing School class. I have taken college courses along the way, but never have obtained my degree. I pretty much burned myself out on Nursing. Mr. Hip is a high school graduate of course, and has taken some other classes. He is a prolific reader. We just really figured, the best way for us, and our daughter was to buy the curriculum.

Our son is five and I will probably home school him through 1st or 2nd grade, depending on his development and maturity.

The socialization thing, for us did not seem a large issue. With traveling we did numerous things with our kids. Museums, zoos, parks. We surely did not "contain" them in the house where they did not associate with other children or members of society. I made sure I made play dates with my daughter. Other than her teacher saying she is a little shy about raising her hand in class, she seems very socially active. I might add that when I home schooled her, she was in various group type activities, such as swimming and gymnastics.

I think responsible and intelligent parents should be able to home school their children if they want. Again, if the State or Federal Government made standardized curriculum for the homeschooled child, this could be monitored, that way "we" know the child is getting the proper education.

One more thing I wanted to add. When we were complimented by the Principal, she flat out told us that when they heard our daughter would be starting school and had been home schooled, they were worried. She said many children that are home schooled seem to fall behind in the studies. They were/are pretty proud of her and so are we.
Peace,
Hippie

[gprime]

Like many of the above, I have mixed feelings on the issue. Certainly, I'm opposed to public education, and support home schooling as one of the viable alternatives that parents could use to educate their children. And, even with the existance of public schools, many of them are either so bad or so dangerous, that keeping them outside of such an environment has its perks. And not everbody can spend $30,000 a year for Exeter, or for that matter get in there.

When it comes to the issue of religion, I respect the right of individuals to practice it, however unfortunate it may be. And I realize that it is impossible to prevent the parents from involving, even at a most basic level, their children in religion. So I'm not about to demand with the same fervor that Swivel might that we shield children from religion (though I'd love to be able to). And in the most limited of contexts, it may even have a place in the classroom. Take the "Bible as literature" idea, which has been catching on this country. Not an ideal subject, but there are so many references to the bible within Western literature and culture that a modest familiarity with it is worthwhile. Or, looking at something that cannot be done in public schools, intense textual analysis has a place too. I can honestly say that the toughest classes I ever took, and the ones that helped mold my analytical, writing, and translation skills were those upper level courses in Talmud and Tanach. I therefore see no issue with homeschooling parents doing something similar.

Where the issue arises is the moment that religion is treated as fact, and is allowed to overshadow scientifically-validated material. That is, teaching that the world is only 6800 years old and that evolution is a trick being play by Satan, strikes me as a criminal form of indoctrination and child abuse. But, even if this is avoided, there can be other issues. Anybody who has seen Jesus Camp realizes the methods of indoctrination parents apply, which ought to certainly be illegal. They essentially inspire a sort of violent devotion comparable to that demanded by the Koran of Muslims. To essentially teach your child that they are a warrior of God, as is happening increasingly among Evangelicals, should be automatically deemed abuse, and treated as criminal abuse.