Scrupulous means acting with extreme care. When dealing with the education of children, one has to be scrupulous. If children do not sense a modicum of care and concern, chances are, they will not be open to learn. Even when done unintentionally, one misplaced word can do a lifetime of damage.
News report after news report tells of teachers that are truly unscrupulous (devoid of scruples; oblivious to or contemptuous of what is right or honorable)~dictionary.com. A quick Google search shows numerous teachers jailed on sex charges ranging from child porn to rape. Last year a local teacher made a child kiss her foot, and another teacher gave “birthday punches” to a child and let other students do the same. In my personal experience, one teacher single-handedly ruined my love for math, while others went out of their way to humiliate me and other students. These actions are hardly scrupulous and are certainly damaging to the children.
I am not saying that teachers do not try their hardest to be scrupulous when dealing with their students. For every unscrupulous teacher who damages hundreds of children, there is likely to be one unscrupulous parent (homeschooling or not) who damages their own. My mom was a teacher so I know that most teachers aspire to be sensitive to children’s needs, and to “first, do no harm”. I do feel however, that it is an impossible task to take extreme care with a group of students who have lots of different needs, especially when you hardly know most of them.
(This essay is an exercise in vocabulary. I encourage you to pick a new word each day and have your children to write an essay. Choose the number of required words according to grade level, age, or ability. Perhaps you will want to do this exercise yourself.)
Read my other vocabulary words of the day: