The value IS the explicit way it is presented. By showing the thought process of the pedophile, Morrison is showing just how depraved the abuser is. No "normal" person thinks that way and are themselves sick. Incest and abuse are issues that were not always talked about or addressed. Her book reflects that issue from an unconventional point of view as most of her works do.

In retrospect, I should have said high school aged kids. Definitely not K-8. I also agree 100% with the bolded part.

While her theory might be right, I'm not willing to sacrifice my child to a mediocre education while the system is trying to catch up. She sounds like everyone else who gives an opinion no one asked for...

Just because the book is written from the abuser's point of view does not make their actions seem NORMAL. It actually points out the deranged thought process of the abuser. The pedophile is NOT glorified. That is why I wanted to note the difference between the language used and the content. If I choose to use such a book with my child I would use excerpts that don't include the passages noted in the blog BUT the theme of the book is an important one.

I don't think you are ignorant. You have chosen to not include this type of writing into your child's curriculum. That is what you should do. My question is, do you (or anyone else on the thread) think that all books that contain similar language should be outright banned or just banned from K-12 reading lists?

I will also suggest Wong's book. It is a valuable resource.

Thanks for this!!! Great literature is a reflection of the history at the time it was written. The Bluest Eye is a beautiful book about a young girl who, in addition to being molested, was mentally and physically abused. A person who reads this book will learn empathy and may even be able to relate better to others who have dealt with abuse. That being said, we can always choose to not include this book in our child's work. I own the book along with many others like it because I'm a fan of Morrison and others like her. Whether or not my daughter will read it in hs will depend on her maturity level. I didn't read it until I was in undergrad for a literature class. I did read others like it in high school by Zora Neale Hurston that I don't think had the language Morrison uses. I also highly doubt that Morrison intended this to be a children's book. I've never seen it advertised as such. As to common core... I'm not a fan at all. I worked with them in the classroom and its connection to Agenda 21 disgusts me, but that is another thread topic.

I don't think you were being harsh. I think it's important to enforce those types of things because I don't want my dd to have a problem when she is taught by someone else. I know I won't be able to teach her all of her hs subjects. Enforcing some classroom basics is important IMO. My dd12 and I have struggled with this for a while as well. In addition to not putting papers back in her workboxes, she "forgets" to put other things away. This summer I made a list of things she has to do at the end of each lesson and at the end of the day. It's posted just above her desk so she can't miss it. If she doesn't do something, I tell her to look at the list. Sometimes I only have to point. She's getting better about remembering so I think it's working. We also stopped using binders for her. Spiral notebooks are best for her at this age.

We school year-round. We do 6 weeks on with one week off between each unit. We take off from thanksgiving to the first of the year. It works for us because we live on Arizona. Its too hot to take off in june or july. My dd12 does math, ELA & history year round and we alternate the unit focus between science & literature for 6 units. The extra unit is flexible. Like this year we are spending the summer with family in another state so we are visiting area museums and she has to create a lap book documenting her experiences. Year-round is easier for us. No reviewing and less rushing.

I voted bananas. DD11 had this issue last year. We have compromised. On days where we go out- she dresses. When we are in all day it's pajamas. When she was younger, she got dressed, but that was the expectation. Now... we have a lot more reading so sometimes dressing is another thing on the "to do" list.

^^^ This is how I saw it. I say the answer is 1.

We're in Central Phoenix and have been home schooling since 2009. We've participated in... AZ Sportx Kids in Avondale: It's a PE group that meets once or twice a week over in Friendly Park. I really liked the program. We attended for a year, but stopped because I needed to work. Covenent HS co-op: My daughter took Science, Spanish and Art classes there. The classes were nice, but the time between classes was not good for us. Calvary Chapel Tuesdays: They have a women's bible study on Tuesday at their location just off of hwy 17. Kids attend classes while the adults are in bible study. This was good for socialization. My daughter needed it at the time. I am considering attending it again this year. Az Charter School Conference: I love it. We have a great time every year. The sessions helped build my confidence to homeschool when we started out. We were YEC before deciding to homeschool so this fit us.

Apparently I smacked a hornet's nest with this one- lol. I guess we can agree to disagree. Have a great day ladies.

I know this is an old thread, but I have a related question. This is the first year we're doing any formal science for our dd11. Prior to this, she was pretty 'unschooled' with science. She's done exploration lapbooks (Grand Canyon, ocean life, body systems, etc.) watched documentaries, done some experiments, used her telescope whenever she wanted and has observed things under her microscope, but nothing formal. She tends to like biology like her mommy. I just purchased the AGS book to finish out her 6th grade year since I saw it was young-earth/creation and an easy read. My first question was if it would be ok to start a 6th grader on this since it's meant for 7th grade. You all answered that. My second question is, would it beneficial to suppliment the text with other assignments since it is such a light read? We plan to finish it by May 2013. My goal is to solidify her in YEC science before we move on to more secular text. She's familiar with both and we discuss the differences all the time.

No worries. I reread my OP. I did mention community colleges at first, but I my experience and example was with a university. I should have been clearer. Ok, now I see what the problem is- lol. Definately university dual-enrollment over cc. That may be why none of my students had an issue with credits. Thanks for the clarification.