Dictionary.com, the popular destination for writers seeking definitions and synonyms, contains some scathing commentary on homeschooling.
"If you want to keep your kids from reality and turn them into mindless automaton copies of yourself," the site declares, "homeschool them."
The pointed statement is just one of three potentially offensive sentences that could be found on the site as late as Tuesday morning as examples for how to use "homeschool" in a sentence.
"If you wish to teach your children such nonsense," another of the sentences declares, "then homeschool where lame propaganda can remain unchallenged."
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"If she can't find anyone willing to validate her helicopter parenting," lists a third, "she'll homeschool."
Mark de la Viña, a representative for Dictionary.com, has since told WND the sentences have been removed and users who clear their computer's cache and cookies should see the issue resolved.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention," Dictionary.com replied in an email to WND. "We value the homeschooling community and education in all forms. These example sentences have been removed because they do not meet our editorial standards. Our 1,605,969 example sentences have been pulled programmatically from reputable publications online over the course of the last ten years, and our lexicographers are constantly reviewing them to ensure that our site is a reference source of the highest quality. As a small team, we appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention so that we could quickly fix this situation."
A screenshot of the Dictionary.com "Examples for homeschool" section, accessed Tuesday morning, can be seen below:
This isn't the first time the popular website for definitions and synonyms has posted some questionable content.
WND reported in 2009 when Dictionary.com listed a definition equating "narrow-minded" with "conservative."
The website UrbanDictionary.com, which has no connection to Dictionary.com, but instead uses open-source, volunteer definitions to explain pop culture terms, also has some harsh opinions about homeschoolers.
Its definitions for "homeschooler," for example, accuse homeschoolers of being "strange inbreds" who "think they are better than you."
UrbanDictionary.com's definition of the "Well-Trained Mind Forum," a online gathering place for homeschoolers who use a classical education approach to home instruction, is little more than a profane diatribe accusing "bats---t insane" homeschoolers of child abuse and racism.
The site does, however, include a definition for "homeschool" that's obviously slanted the other direction, though no less laced with obscenity.