17 Kids!!!

[dukedogsmom]

Are they part of a religious group?

Oh, don't yu know it? Quiverfull. Now why am I not surprised?
http://www.quiverfull.com/articles.php/id20/

[inlovewithanimals]

My grandmother had 14 kids but 2 died at birth but she suported them all on her own and it was always the children come first she would do whatever she had to do for them.


Justin

[columbine]

I know a bunch of people who were homeschooled, and who had a hard time getting the hang of the Code of the Playground (might makes right, lying's cool if you don't get caught, ridicule the one the others ridicule or you get ridiculed yourself, etc.) because they were raised with stuff like the Golden Rule instead. One thing they've all told me is that summer activities, like sports or drama, and Scouts/Guides were integral to their development, because they could find "translator" buddies who could help them avoid the worst abuse and come through with integrity.

It's true that homeschooling is becoming more popular among those who are afraid to send their kids to public schools because of drugs and violence, but can't afford private school. Because of that, there are lots of parents' groups, online and local, springing up where homeschooling parents can share ideas and resources and moral support.

But it's also compounding the ghettoization of public school unleashed (at least here in the USA) by the No Child Left Behind legislation, and concentrating the low-income kids with health and social challenges in schools that burn through teachers like matches, moreso because it's young, inexperienced teachers who have to prove themselves in the trenches before they can get a job in a safer school where they can teach instead of just put out fires. Few make it that far before deciding to switch careers.

So, I guess, homeschooling's a good option if you can manage it, but make sure the kids get to play with hard-knocks kids too... and that, if they want to be teachers, that they put in boatloads of volunteer hours in a nice PRIVATE school so they'll have an in when they graduate!