Editorials & Other Articles
In reply to the discussion: Salon: Home-schooled and illiterate - for some kids it means isolation with little education [View all]MineralMan
(146,317 posts)Late 1970s through mid 1980s. Just four hours a week. I quickly discovered that there was a group of about 10 children who were dropped off at the library when it opened, and picked up by their parents when they got off work. They were being "home-schooled." The reality was that they were receiving no schooling at all, but their parents were relying on the library as a baby-sitting service while the parents were at work or somewhere. I suppose the parents thought they'd learn by osmosis.
Fortunately, the librarian at that library didn't just leave it at that. She set up a system by which the kids learned to read and write and directed them to library resources for other things. We volunteers were part of that system. It worked, to a certain extent, but was no substitute for a real education. She tried informing the CPS in the county and the school system, but they did nothing.
I know that there are people who homeschool responsibly, and my praise goes out to them. But, there are other parents who provide no education at all. My contempt goes out to them.