If only my mom had had half the motivation to look after my education as yours did. Hell, even a tenth.
I didn’t do bad, but I could’ve done much better weren’t it for the hindrances that mom didn’t care about.
Comment on US education
dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 1 week ago
I was homeschooled my entire childhood. My mom was a Christian. Not a crazy zealot, just a woman with faith. Initially, my school books were through a Christian curriculum program (I believe abeka books, iirc). One of my textbooks had this module on dinosaurs, with little pictures of humans in leopard print look clothes picking berries while a brontosaurus walked by in the background. My mom, ever the fantastic mother, immediately tossed those pieces of garbage and got me on the state curriculum that the public schools used. Took her forever to get it. Initially, when she called the state to ask how to get those resources she was told to stick with abeka, and was offered several other insane religious options before they finally relented. From then on, even though we lived in Virginia, my school standard came out of California, and I had to take end of year tests that aligned with the state of California. I got a great education, and because Mama let me basically choose what hours of the day I did my schoolwork in, I didn’t really need to take summers off. Ended up finishing 12th grade at 14 years old. I am so thankful that she realized how bad those books were, and fought to make sure, even as a single mother working well over full time, that her kids got a good education. My brother and I both placed highest in the state when we took our final exams, in everything but math.
Dasus@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Hathaway@lemmy.zip 1 week ago
This sounds similar to my childhood. Glad to know there are others. Growing up like that, I didn’t understand the stigma around homeschooling, however, seeing how some of my homeschool “peers” around me turned out, we’re a fraction of a fraction my friend. Thanks for sharing.
MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 1 week ago
What a coincidence! I had a very similar path! My elementary mis-education was largely a fundie school using Abeka as well. Their weird religious nationalism was so crazy when I look back on it. It’s amazing they could actually publish this crap.
I wish I still had all the old books we had to get because that would make for a good laugh (and possibly an embarrassment campaign.)
Like c’mon we were kids how were we supposed to know? But also it just felt so bullshitty, like a written form of that awkward feeling you got when it was really obvious adults were lying to manipulate you and thought you were stupid.
It was in California, so eventually I had to move to the state curriculum also, around middle school, for my grades to actually count.
Honestly, that requirement saved my intellect. I went to a secular charter school where I was pushed into interacting with so many different people of different perspectives, and I would be a much crappier person without that experience.
Even today the damage isn’t gone, there’s still so much untangling and deprogramming to do.
These “curriculums” are child abuse.
After all that, I still kept my faith, not because of that upbringing, but in spite of it.
mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 1 week ago
it stunts their development while assuring them they have all the answers. funny, this is a recurring theme in religion that I see…
dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 1 week ago
Damn! Fellow Homeschooled Abeka-refugee, and a fellow Christian anarchist‽ Well met! In fairness, my religion’s all over the place, but Christian anarchism is a big part of it.