(no subject)

[brightlywoven]

shehasathree linked to this article about 'school refusal', and the fairly appalling comments. I thought some of my f-list would find them interesting, particularly this one (which was balm, given some of the comments!):

"Have you ever heard of "drapetomania"? This was the 'disorder' (invented) that caused slaves to run away. 'School refusal' and 'school phobia' are the same. This is a label we apply to children who cannot bear their situation. Help her find a different one. Home education is a legal option."

Comments

[emily-shore.livejournal.com]

My uncle, who home schools my cousin, believes many of these arguments are made to allay the guilt of parents who send their children to school, knowing it kind of sucks. I tend to agree.

Yes, yes, yes. I couldn't have said it better.

[dr-biscuit.livejournal.com]

These are words that may come back to bite me should I procreate! In fact, it's one of the things that makes me very unsure about parenthood. See, I'm quite certain I'd be unhappy if I stopped paid work for an extended period of time (say, more than a year), but I do think that childcare/school etc can be pretty awful. The best compromise I can imagine is 2 parents negotiating some part time arrangement, and having some external child caring, plus different days with parents. Who knows.