is the topic of a blog entry on Betsy’s Page.

Boys have been less well educated, starting in the 80s, when my husband was in high school. But the trends are reversing. Despite this, the researchers are still finding boys are more medicated and more isolated -into special ed classes- and less likely to go to college. They also find that boys are more likely to graduate from high school as functional illiterates.

I have said this before, but I am going to say it again. I am grateful to God for getting me homeschooling. My youngest would have been in a special ed class because he didn’t start reading until after he was eight. I can’t remember now if he was eight or nine. I do remember it was in February. But within six months after he started reading, he tested at the 12th grade level in reading. He reads like a house afire. So does my oldest, who didn’t start reading until his second week in first grade. (He had told me it wasn’t important for him to read before that. I was the only one who thought he should read. So he just refused.) He also reads exceedingly well.

My boys were able to do what they did because I was willing and able to homeschool them.

One thing they talk about in the blog entry is free time. My boys have plenty of free time. Most kids these days go to school from 8 to 4 and have homework another hour each evening. Then they have some activity at least three nights a week and one on the weekend. My boys have about 20 hours of structured work a week. The rest of the time they have free.

Going to work is going to be a shock to them. I’m hoping to wean them into it, with classes at the college and part-time work before they leave home.