"Homeschooled reveals how Block ended up spending five years deprived of the company of his peers (including Aaron, who continued going to school) and at the mercy of his mother's unpredictable moods. She had decided school was stifling her younger son's creativity and that mainstream education wasn't right for a boy of his sensitivities."
"Any sense that his mother—whose name we never learn—is genuine in her desire to give him the best possible education is dispelled as they begin spending days at the mall or searching for the cheapest possible lunch (french onion soup at $1.50 a cup). When Block wonders out loud if he is learning enough facts, his mother buys him the educational game Brain Quest."
"Slowly it dawns on her son that the reason he is home has little to do with nurturing his creativity, or the iniquities of formal education. Mom just needs me all to herself, he concludes."
Stefan Merrill Block was pulled from school at age nine when his family relocated to Texas. His mother, isolated after leaving her job and social life, decided to homeschool him, claiming mainstream education stifled his creativity. However, the homeschooling experience proved inadequate and inconsistent. Rather than following a structured curriculum, his mother conducted minimal math lessons while Block spent afternoons reading comics and watching television. Activities shifted to mall visits and budget lunching. When Block expressed concerns about learning, his mother provided only a casual educational game. Over time, Block recognized that his mother's true motivation was not educational enrichment but rather her need for constant companionship to combat her own loneliness and lack of purpose.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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