To think these children are being let down?

[EarthboundMisfit]

And, if so, WWYD if anything?

A year ago, a member of my extended family in the US began home educating her children as she was unhappy with the school system and the lack of religious education her children were receiving.

I think home ed can be a great thing, but I'm really concerned, both from following her home ed blog and hearing her talk, always very positively, about their experiences.

She has 5 children aged from 8 to a year old. Home ed for the older 3 consists of two math worksheets per day, a literacy worksheet eg copying letters and then a 'daily project'. Examples from her blog...watching roadworks in the street, watching birds in the rain, going for a picnic, playing with Lego. That's it, apart from lots of church attendance.

Her 8yo cannot read anything except CVC words. He doesn't want to learn and she is waiting 'until he is ready'.

Her latest blog was entitled 'What about socialization?' 'People always worry about socialization for home educated children. The dictionary says socialization is control of methods of production by the state. Tell me, how is that a good thing for our children?'

This was the last straw for me.

I am deeply concerned about these kids. Would you say something? I have no idea about home ed in California...I'm English. Should she be overseen by education officials, or is she just left to it? Is there anywhere she can be reported to, since other family members have gently suggested it's not working out and have been harshly rebuffed?

In the US parents have far more freedom to treat their children exactly how they like.

I don't think that there is anything you can do. And I do agree that this is appalling (though the reading thing is less concerning than it first appears.)

You could certainly talk to her about it! But don't be surprised if she just blocks you from facebook or wherever.

I don't think the job thing is a concern - to be fair in the US, just as in the UK, a fair few children leave school without being literate or numerate.

I don't think YABU because she sound ill-equipped to teach. However, as far as learning is concerned, I think you could teach a kid one-to-one for half an hour what they learn in a whole day at school. I'm generalising, of course, but that's my experience.

We had lots of home Ed friends in California. I watched them grow up and do fine mostly. Many were because they wanted to teach religion and have a Christian view on everything. Others were because of bullying
Most (all the ones we knew) signed up with a home school, that way their tax money that would have gone to their local school goes to the child's education. They had to adhere to a school curriculum, and had to have paperwork showing there plan and subjects.
My one best friend was homeschooling her high school kids, they went once a week to meet with their "teacher" and were assigned work to be done for the week, they also went into the home school building for classes that needed a classroom such as Sciences. One of her children had some additional needs and had a special ed plan the home school even followed this, and he flourished under their tuition, excelling in subject he was good and and getting extra help in others.
It's not an easy thing to do, they can't just quit educating. There are people who do that too, that was called Unschooling, and I never met anyone who tried it.
Heres one of the ones near where we lived.
www.mountainoaks.org/

This lady doesn't have a curriculum, doesn't belong to any groups...they barely go out at all. She cares for an elderly aunt full time at home as well as her baby.

If other people who are home schooling in your family are concerned then I think I would be too. They would know what is reasonable for that age range in a home school environment based on their own experience

It's highly likely they would only know what they percieve to be acceptable,

Many home educators educate in many different ways using very different methods ranging from school recreated at home to radical unschooling to total life autonomous learning, and so many different variants inbetween or bits and bobs from all.

I rarely tell anybody in HE circles what I personally consider to be decent proper home education because quite frankly what I feel is decent and proper is of no concern to anybody else and chances are unless they also liked what would be my approach they would probally think my approach is not suitable or proper.

What would make me right and them wrong? Nothing.

This lady doesn't have a curriculum, doesn't belong to any groups...they barely go out at all. She cares for an elderly aunt full time at home as well as her baby

I understand the Americans are even more relaxed about HE than we are.

In the UK you are not required to have or follow any type of curriculum nor are you required to belong to any groups being a carer and having a young baby would not prevent you and neither are you required to be out and about like social butterfly's

Fair enough.

do you realise how little direct teaching time individual children get from a teacher in a classroom? there is such a range of abilities teacher is either group teaching similar ability children while others get on with a task, or teaching the whole class where they are all at different levels... you can get the same input to a home ed child in a fraction of the time to a class of children. the input in HE is directed specifically at the level the He child is at. class teaching is more of a scatter gun approach covering many levels.

teaching a couple of maths and a language worksheet is probably as much input as 1/30th of a teacher's time.

also there is a hell of a lot of curriculum that is covered by trips out. watching birds could well be covering science observations etc, or the environment. lego could be covering design technology, or geography, or fine motor skills, or finger strength or math....

a lot of the value of these things is in the language used, and discussion.

also children do learn at different rates. the child may not yet be ready to read, or may have specific learning difficulties.

you can not judge from information over the internet what they are learning if you are not there actually listening to what they are doing.

Yup. The 'big insight' of the bird watching session was that birds don't like the rain, which comes out of the grey clouds.

I absolutely accept your points. I'm just not sure they apply to this family. I'm willing to accept I don't know enough to make the call, and this thread has made me decide not to report.

Try and remember that she is an adult she will have a totally different perception of what has been learnt to the perception each child has.

What they are blogging about is highly likely to be an illusion of nonsence combined with what her perception of charming funny interesting/cute/endearing is.

If that was what was reported by the children as being all they learnt (via her or otherwise) birdwatching then I would say have a listen to the average child talking about what they did in a class at school that day one of mine would tell you "pens up noses are not ideal" another would say "nothing"

HE is such an emotive subject and one that often comes hand in hand with a projected image instigated by the parent that often to really see how and what a child is learning you have a lot of bullshit to cut through.

The poster upthread who talked about learning time could also apply the same approach to thinking about socialisation in school as well and it's a very good point

It's swings and roundabouts

'Home education' and 'religion'.

They're two notions that should make anyone worried.

This lady doesn't have a curriculum, doesn't belong to any groups...they barely go out at all. She cares for an elderly aunt full time at home as well as her baby
Then she may find she is running foul of the California law. Most join homeschool groups to make sure they are compliant. It is a full time lifestyle and is a huge part of how the family runs Send her this link.
www.pheofca.org/legalfactsheet.html

I have home educated all of mine at one point but now it is only several dc.

YABnaivelyU on certain aspects and YANBU on others.

Regarding their work, that is plenty at that age and definitely more written work than mine did at that stage. My eldest dc was very bright but could not read properly until after 8 (I was seriously thinking about getting him tested for dyslexia etc as he really struggled) Several years ago he decided he wanted to try school and got a place at a highly selective grammar, outscoring children who had sat the 11+ and been prepared for common entrance. He sat his first GCSE at 11 and got an A*. The most beneficial knowledge came from reading books and watching documentaries IMHO.

Studies have shown that children in primary school do between 60-90 minutes of academic work in a school day. They aren't sitting doing 6+ hours.

In your relative's case I don't think YABU to be concerned about their socialization. A lot of the fundamental christian blogs I read actively try to shelter their children from the "outside". As a result they only mix with a select few or else the children spend long periods of time at home. This can be a recipe for disaster I am looking at you, Duggars.

I'm not condoning her choices, but teaching children to observe is extremely important (rain coming out of clouds, birds aversion to it). That is the beginning of scientific method.