GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 26 John Holt is away on his Euro pean lecture trip (a schedule appears elsewhere in this issue). Before he left, he delivered the final re visions for the new edition of HOW CHILDREN LEARN to his Delacorte edi tor. Also (in addition to the events mentioned in GWS #25), he spoke on radio shows aired in Phoenix, Fall River, Mass., and Pittsburg; did a TV show in Pittsburg with home-schooler Katy White, and another TV show, "Speaking Out," in Ontario; gave t h e keynote address at a conference on psychology and education in Newton ville, Mass.; and spoke at the Univer sity of Evansville on his Indiana trip. At John's request, I have start ed doing the radio and TV requests that have come in. My first opportuni ty was an hour-long phone interview from a radio show in Pittsburg; a week later, home-schooler Barbara Rodriguez and I were on a late-night Boston TV talk show. Since then I've been on radio in Providence RI, New York City, and Framingham MA (with Mary Maher). Several of these inter views were prompted by an excellent article by Elin McCoy in the April Parents Magazine on home schooling and compulsory education. No way of knowing when the Peo ple Ma~azine story featuring John-and the Ma ers will be printed - keep a lookout for it. A friend's family invited Tim Chapman to stay with them in Spain, so he left March 28 for a month or two. He intends to learn Spanish while he's there, and later travel around Germany and Italy. Pat Far enga, who had done volunteer work for us, will handle the subscriptions and book orders while Tim is gone. For the first time, we have over 4000 current subscribers to GWS' In the first three months of 1982, we've received about 550 new subs and 400 renewals (which we especially appre ciate) . Delacorte, the publishers of TEACH YOUR OWN, have just sent a flyer about the book to all the peo ple who have written us since John's first appearance on "Donahue" in 1978. Too early to tell yet what kind of response we'll get to the mailing. The newly revised edition of HOW CHILDREN FAIL (the original text plus 20-25,000 words of new writing) will be available by the time you get this. As usual, we'll sell copies from this office: $5.35 + 75¢ post age. The original edition is no long er available. --- Donna Richoux JOHN'S COMI NG SCHEDULE
May 23, 1982: Home-schooling meeting . Contact Nancy Wallace, 119 Irving Place, Ithaca NY 14850.
June 13: Wakefield Unitarian life. And at this point, it's hard to Universalist Church, 326 Main St, imagine it being otherwise. I've Wakefield MA 01880 . 11 AM . Contact never lived in a house that is being Tom or Mary Maher, 245-7634. so fully utilized as this one. It June 25-27: "A Weekend With John feels good ... Holt," Rowe Conference Center, King Highway Rd, Rowe MA 01367. $60-100. Contact Doug Wilson, 413-339-4216 .. . VICTORY IN IDAHO July 22-25: Homesteaders' Festi val. Contact Norm & Sherrie Lee, RD 2 From Debbie Jones (ID): Box 151, Addison NY 14801. July 26: Florida Atlantic Univer . .. We have had an exciting time sity, Boca Raton FL 33431; 305 here the last month or so ... The 395-5100. Contact Edward Dejnozka, state superintendent of public College of Education. instruction introduced a bill to make the local school boards have jurisdic tion over unaccredited private schools in their district. Their FROM PEGGY stated intent was to get at these friends - a note to say many, home schoolers who were calling them selves private schools so that the many t hanks to all of you who have sent me cards and letters of good local boards couldn't get at them ... wishes. i especially like the home The Idaho Federation of Independent Schools introduced an alternative made cards; i make them myself for special people and occasions . for bill which would have done the same those of u wondering why . .. i was in thing except it limited the subjects a grisly and bizarre accident. you they could require to language may have read of or seen on '60 min skills, American history and govern utes,' the case of the 'faulty ford ment, geography, and basic mathemati transmission recall'? well, on feb. cal computation. We were against it 20 my '73 thunderbird, which was too. There was another bill to have included in that recall case, jumped private schools register with the out of 'park' into 'reverse,' and state each year and report the name began rolling down my driveway. as i of the director, the principal, the stepped back to avoid the moving car number of teachers and number of stu i lost my footing and slipped to the dents. At the present time even this ground, landing under the car. the is not required in Idaho; the ldaho front wheel rolled over my left arm, Constitution is very limiting on pub jaw, and nose, and kerplunked onto lic school authority, stating specifi the right arm . the left arm sustained cally that it has authority over multiple bruises, my nose was gashed PUBLIC instruction. The legislature - i suspect from a piece of gravel so far had been consistent in its sup and my right arm was seriously frac port of this principle; they are not tured. quick to give public school people i should be pretty well healed ~ control of private education even by the end of may, but until then my so much as having the private schools ability to help is strongly cur register with them ... tailed. i have a homemaker at the We did a lot of phoning and a h ouse, and i'm ordering the books we lot of writing . We even went over to sell from there. i can put in a few Boise (five hour drivel and testified hours a week at the office, but get before the Senate HEW Committee when very sore quickly. my one-handed they had a hearing. At first the typing is easiest in lower case only, Christian school people and large pri a nd even that pulls and yanks at my vate schools were very leery of being back and s h oulders. seen with us. They wanted us to keep luckily the plans for john's quiet because we were the ones who europe tour needed only final touch were giving private schooling a bad es. a lot of other work will be name or something .. . I used John's delayed somewhat, but all considered "legislative strategy" from TEACH i'm pretty up to date. so, my thanks YOUR OWN almost verbatim. Those that again for the generous and much appre heard me speak thought it was ciated concern . now on to law suits great ... One after another, some and healing, backed by a healthy great people gave some excellent tes regard for nothing short of a miracle. timony: Linda Q. Jones, Ph.d.; Susan - peggy durkee Bond, certified teacher; Ed Bond; Paula West; Leslie Bair; Sherrel Olsen - each in turn making important points ... Paula used what Donna gave LIVING LI FE FULLY her over the phone about the legisla George Levenson (CA) wrote: tion going on in other states. Paula made it sound as if everyone else in . . . Without knowing exactly how the country was going just the oppo or why, I seem to have reached a site way and trying to make it easier frame of mind wherein my children's for parents to teach their own ... presence at home is not "instead of After the hearing, it was as being in school . " They carryon their though the ice had been broken. Many lives much the same way I/we adults Christian school people came up to conduct ours, playing with each other shake my hand and congratulate me ... and by themselves; being happy, sad, We had stood up and let them know we grumpy according to the match of mood were responsible people, parents try and situation; being bored, being ing to do a good job, people with cre intensely interested, fretting, care dentials and titles, people who know free, depending, it seems, on such the law. They were impressed and felt variables as the weather, their hung the legislators were too ... er or tiredness, and all the other Well, we have finally defeated factors that make humans such inter all the bills . The two bills which esting and unfathomable creatures. would have given control to local . . . Watching them play, sing, school boards were killed in commit squabble, eat, dance, read, bathe, tee. The registration bill was killed run, sleep, look out for each other, on the Senate floor, 19 to 9' We felt sort out disagreements, share so that especially good about this because it inequalities get ironed out (or was pretty much out in the open that don't) - watching all this and more it was a home school issue and still has been a framework for experiencing they were all defeated. I feel that