North Star provides an unconventional alternate answer, with a refreshing immediacy: “Shall we consider not going to school anymore?” In this issue, the families of Wren Williams, 17, and Dexter BabionePutnam, 15, explain how they accepted this idea in different ways. Wren’s family describe their sense of crisis regarding Wren’s experience in school, and how, as Wren’s father writes, “It was truly a leap of faith” to leave school. They learned about North Star in the midst of their challenging school situation, and Wren grabbed on to this lifeline. continued on page 2 4
Spring 2009
What can parents say when a child comes home from school frustrated day after day, month after month? What can they do when they see their child’s zest for life dissipate over time because he or she feels so completely drained by going to school every day? We all know the conventional answer: “I’m sorry you don’t like school. But you have to go. Maybe we can find a way to make things better.”
It is painful for me to read Wren’s story in which she describes feeling ostracized in school. During her year at North Star, Wren has shown herself to be a kind and gentle person. She always seems to be smiling, and she exudes a sense of warmth and an acceptance of those around her. It is unfathomable to me that she experienced her peer interaction in school in such a dreadful way. In this first year of homeschooling, Wren has made herself a fixture in North Star’s common room, where she is frequently drawing or folding paper cranes. Her smooth adjustment to North Star indicates a resilience inside of her that I find heartwarming. Her experience, and her willingness to describe it here, is a highlight of this year at North Star.—K.D.
Wren
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When I started at Amherst Regional High School (ARHS) in ninth grade, I learned that