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Censorship In the Homeschool

© Joan Archer

I am not a big fan of book burners, record burners, or any other form of censorship. However, I am eternally grateful to Wal-Mart for their highly censored CD's, which my children have purchased. There are an awful lot of things in life which are not pleasant, some of which our children will need to know about when just going out to play, and some when they reach adulthood. Deciding where, when, and how much is a difficult task for any parent, maybe even more so when we are the sole teachers for our children.

Some people who do not understand home education believe we do it simply to be censors in our children's lives, dictating to them who they play with, what they read, what they hear, what they do, whom to marry, etc. Well, there are days I wish my children would comply with my every desire for their lives, but my children would never stand for that, and I think they'd get pretty boring after awhile if I could do that to them. My purpose in home-educating my children was to yes, have some control over what they are exposed to, but mostly it was to OPEN their eyes to what this world is all about, not close them. And, definitely, to stop walking around in their personal education with their eyes half shut!

For example, we know our children, in order to make good decisions for themselves as adults, will need to know about sex and sexuality. Both of these topics are best handled at home, because so much of our values as a family are based upon personal sexuality. After teaching our children (mine, at about ten years of age) about the basic biology of reproduction, we are then able to give our chidren feedback about how we feel about the use of that information, about personal sexuality, and what we feel is the best way to manage ourselves in relationships. In this way, our values are passed on.

We still censor our information, not in order to confuse, but out of respect for the maturity level of our children. I do not believe, simply because a child asks a question, he or she is ready for the exact answer. You still must judge, and answer carefully and respectfully, any such questions a child may ask.

For example, my Isaac at the tender age of seven asked me what abortion was. I was surprised at this question, but my answer was, "It's when a baby is killed, why do you want to know?" (Note:use your least-shocked voice when you ask them about why they would want to know something, unless you want them to never ask you anything again.) "Well, the lady down the street has a sign up in her window 'Abortion Kills Children' and I was wondering if it was something dangerous to me, that maybe you forgot to tell me about!" Of course, I laughed, and said he was never in any danger from abortion, and I would tell him more about it when he was older. Which, of course, I have.

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