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Nine months ago Victor and Sally Wilkings withdrew¹ their two elder children from a small country school which, Sally says, «had nice teachers and a friendly atmosphere.» It was not this particular school but a belief that all schools have a damaging effect that prompted the withdrawal of Seth, aged nine, and Esther, aged six and a half.

Sally feels that schools rob children of the personal responsibility for use of their own time. She also thinks that children are exposed² to conflicting opinions and examples which confuse³ them. The influence of television also worries her.

A typical education-at-home day begins with a few domestic chores. These done, Seth and Esther settle down at the table in their cosy kitchen. The children usually choose what they do, select three or four subjects from a list which includes story-writing, reading, maths games and puzzles, science, history and music. The children keep a daily diary of their work and Sally corrects the balance if on occasions she feels something is being neglected. She also encourages them to finish whatever they begin. After a couple of hours it's time for refreshments and a story. The afternoons, when Victor is sometimes free to join them, are usually spent out of doors — gardening, or enjoying an outing or nature walk. During the evenings and at week-ends the children often attend local clubs.

Victor admits that he was a bit uneasy about home education when Sally first talked about it. «I suppose I thought that other people might think we were being irresponsible. In fact it's quite the opposite. I was also worried that it would be too much for Sally to take on. What made the decision easier for me was going to a conference organised by Education Otherwise and finding that even academics were disillusioned with the school system. After that we decided to give it a year's trial.

Now that I see how happy the children are I wouldn't dream of sending them back to school.»

¹ withdraw —забирать

² to be exposed to —быть незащищенным от

³ to confuse —запутывать

Test № 22

I. Определите, верны (True) или неверны (False) сле­дующие утверждения.

1. Victor and Sally withdrew their children from school because it was a small country school.

2. Sally believes that watching television does the children a lot of good.

3. When Sally finds that something is neglected she makes the children keep a diary.

4. Sally was the first to think about educating their children at home.