Прочитайте текст два раза и выполните следующие задания. Elaine and Roy Fullwood had no intention of educating their children themselves until things went badly wrong at school

Elaine and Roy Fullwood had no intention of educating their children themselves until things went badly wrong at school. When a new headteacher with what Roy describes as «trendy educational methods» took over at the local school, the work of their eldest child, Alex, suffered and she became bored and aimless.

Despite a meeting with the headteacher, the Deputy Director of Education and other concerned parents nothing changed. At this point Elaine and Roy decided to take Alex, aged 8, and Anna, aged 6, away from school.

A year later Elaine was concerned about whether the girls were making enough progress. «For advice, we took the girls' work to the heads of the schools where they would have been pupils. In both cases they were well ahead for their age. This reassured us that we were on the right way.»

Alex and Anna have now been at home for two years and are joined in their morning studies by six-year-old sister Miriam, who has never been to school. Four-year-old John occasionally joins in and 14-month-old Luke is often crawling nearby.

Having no teacher-training, it was necessary to plan work very carefully in the early days but now Elaine finds that it's become second nature.

Roy trained as a teacher but has never actually taught. Now he spends as much time with the family as his job allows.

Roy and Elaine make it quite clear that being at home is not a soft option¹. They put a lot of emphasis on responsibility and self-discipline. For example, Alex and Anna are in charge of the animals — hens, a horse and a goat — which they have to feed and clean out in all weathers. No one stands over them but they know that if they shirk their responsibilities² then the animals will go. The children themselves will decide whether they want to do «O» and «A» levels. Roy and Elaine certainly won't try to influence them.

The Fullwoods are clearly a close-knit family but they also have many friends. Although the children may never go to school again there is no anti-school feeling in the home. «The door's open. If ever they want to go they can».

¹ soft option —легкий выбор

²to shirk responsibilities — уклоняться от выполнения обязанностей

Test № 17

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

1. In the beginning Elaine and Roy didn't plan to educate their children at home.

2. Three of the Fullwoods children have never been to school.

3. Neither of the parents has ever had any teacher-training.

4. Roy and Elaine will decide later whether their children will do «O» and «A» level exams.

II. Ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. At what moment did things go wrong at school?

2. What was Elaine concerned about during the first year of home education?

3. How much time does Roy spend with his family?

4. What do Roy and Elaine put a lot of emphasis on in the upbringing of their children?

III. Исправьте предложения в соответствии с содержани­ем текста.

1. At the end of the first year of home education Elaine and Roy took the girls to the heads of the schools where they would have been pupils.

2. Although the children will never go to school again there is no anti-school feeling in the home.

№18

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