It's the reading (or lack thereof) that scares me....

[Koala]

I remember when I first came to FJ I read something about a 9 year old little girl that couldn't read or write, but her idiot parents boasted that she could clean house and take care of a baby, which of course for a fundie girl is all that matters.

Anyway, I have noticed a common thread among the fundie homeschooling families. The reading levels the children are on typically don't match up with what would be expected for their age. Yes, I know that not all children learn to read at the same time or the same pace, but I would think that by a certain age there would be some expectations.

I taught both of my children to read, and though I did not press "early reading", I was consistently teaching them by the time they were 4. Both children love to read now and consider new books a great treat (which we get often). The books they read avg. between 200-300 pages.

The post about Abigail got me to thinking about it and then today I stumbled across this:

raisingarrows.net/2013/06/special-night/

Raising Arrows isn't nearly as offensive as some of our fundie blogging friends (at least that I've read) and she seems to genuinely like her children. I wasn't surprised at all to see that she is doing a special night for each of them. What did surprise me was the picture attached to the post. She is reading this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039480 ... aisarro-20 to what appears to be one of her older children. Out of curiosity I looked it up on Amazon and it seems to be geared towards very young children.

In the interest of full disclosure, my biological father was illiterate. He and his 5 brothers and sisters had a tragic childhood that ended with none of them being able to read or write. Perhaps that is why I am so passionate about literacy, and why I find it so troubling to see a mother reading a "Beginner" book to a child that looks to be the same age as my daughter.

I am wondering if I am the only one that has noticed this. I find it very disconcerting and it makes me wonder what exactly is going on in some of these homeschool situations. (Yes, I know homeschooling can be done well - trust me I do).

[Cheetah]

Oh my! I don't read that blog... the girl in the photo looks like she's about 10? Hopefully that was just a staged photo to show an example of mom reading to a kid and not the real thing... that book is not one an adult should read to a child at all... that is an early reader for a child to read themselves (or to the adult).

[Cheetah]

Oh my! I don't read that blog... the girl in the photo looks like she's about 10? Hopefully that was just a staged photo to show an example of mom reading to a kid and not the real thing... that book is not one an adult should read to a child at all... that is an early reader for a child to read themselves (or to the adult).

Oh, and it's for beginning readers.... 3 to maybe 7 year olds. If a 10 year old is just reading that book they have serious learning issues.

[Mama Mia]

Oh, and it's for beginning readers.... 3 to maybe 7 year olds. If a 10 year old is just reading that book they have serious learning issues.

Or maybe it's just her favorite book and they have a nice cozy time with her mom reading it to her ? :roll:

[FlorenceHamilton]

Part of the problem might be that these folks are very concerned about the content of the materials their children read. the earlier they read, the sooner they get exposed to content that fosters critical thinking. Many books for 9-12 year olds seem innocent to most people in content. But they often contain stories about girls who wear pants or kids who go ghost hunting or girls who climb trees, or kids going to school where nothing evil happens.

I believe that part of the strategy is to ingrain as much of their brand of biblical thought as possible into these children before they are actually able to read for content....even and especially the bible. Education for these children starts late and ends early. This way, most of their thoughts come from what their elders tell them.

[ladyamylynn]

Oh my, at that age my favorites were Sherlock Holmes mysteries and some fairly dark fairy tales- I don't think my fundie dad had much of an idea of what we were actually reading- just that they were "classics." At least my parents were equal parts repressive and disinterested... I guess. Reading was really my only escape for most of my childhood. I can't imagine having my reading limited to books intended for early readers, or god forbid, shit like the Moody series.