”’In the behavior literature, it's clear that kids who have too much screen time can have deficits in different areas, like language, imagination, and attention,’ Dr. Hutton replied…’Too much screen time is a setup for atrophy, or underdevelopment of these higher-order brain networks. If what we know about brain plasticity is true, it will be harder for kids who grow up with underdeveloped networks to learn, to come up with their own ideas, to imagine what's going on in stories and connect it with their own lives, and they'll be much more dependent on stuff being fed to them, passively.’”

I would be interested to see how this atrophy affects adults who, in theory, have fully developed higher-order brain networks. I found this article but I’d be curious to read other studies. Honestly this helps explain a lot of why most corners of the internet feels so horrible.

”…in the spirit of tradition (not to mention ease of reading) I use the pronoun he to describe any theoretical child.”

Nah sorry I’m already annoyed by this book!! I’m sick and tired of the “neutral” pronoun always being male!!! Women/girls are not a deviation from the “norm” and this shit always bugs the hell outta me! The “neutral” clothing choice is what we typically consider masculine!!! The “neutral” colors are male-coded!!! The “neutral” names lean traditional male!!!! Like goddamn you can use the pronoun “she” to refer to a general group of people it’s not a crime!!!!!

”You can’t go wrong.”

Uhhhhhh shouldn’t one of the main facets of homeschooling be that if you take it on, you should have the discernment to know that there can be times it just won’t work for your kid(s)/family and maybe needs to change????? Too often I’ve met homeschooling moms where it’s clear they continue to homeschool because of how accomplished/whatever it makes them feel, regardless of the effect on their kids.

”Everything you’ve heard about homeschooling is wrong…It is the future of education. Just as Uber and Lyft put ride sharing in the hands of drivers and Airbnb put lodging in the hands of homeowners, homeschooling is putting education back in the hands of parents and changing the face of education as we know it.”

LMAO NOT HER USING NOTORIOUSLY EXPLOITATIVE COMPANIES LIKE UBER AND AIRBNB AS LIKE…A GOOD EXAMPLE LMAOOOOO BE SO FOR REAL

”Still, [my 10 year old son] Cody doesn’t fit the mold. He can’t write a paragraph or read a book.”

Okay previously she mentioned that he has a speech impediment of some kind? But first of all I feel like it’s incredibly inappropriate to publicly discuss intimate (possibly embarrassing for them) details of your child’s life/challenges when they cannot consent. Second of all, maybe I’ve just been exposed to too many “unschoolers” recently who think it’s a flex that their preteens are barely literate, but this is not inspiring confidence.

”After all, an accent is not inherently a negative thing—it’s a marker of where in the language world we come from, a marker of our culture and heritage and, above all, an indication that we are making an effort to speak a language that we are not a native speaker of. Surely that should be lauded and not criticised?”

Hah, this would have been great to hear when I was younger!!!! I’ve always loved hearing other people’s accents, but used to hate when I myself had an obvious accent in another language. I’m older and wiser and less feel-the-need-to-beat-myself-up-for-an-imperfect-accent now :)