Growing Without Schooling 47

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 47 JOHN HOLT April 14, 1923 September 14, 1985

Most of you have already heard the sorrowful news that John Holt died on Saturday, September 14, of cancer (multiple metastatic mela­ noma). He died peacefully in his sleep, at his home, at 6:50 AM. As we said in GWS #46, John refused radiation or chemotherapy when the cancer was diagnosed in June, believing from his own research that such methods do more harm than good. He spent 10 days in July in a hospital in Bangor, Maine being treat­ ed (fairly successfully) for fluid accumulation in his lungs; then he spent several days with George and Mabel Dennison in Maine, and the Wallace family in Ithaca, New York.

Returning to Boston, John stayed two weeks with the Van Doren family in Quincy and began to receive the Vita­ min C treatment he wanted. On August 26, however, he blacked out for sever­ al hours and spent the next 10 days in Mass. General Hospital, Boston.

When he had severe internal bleeding August 30, we began to have friends stay with him around the clock . At his insistence we arranged for him to go home Thursday, Sept. 5, where nurses and friends looked after him.

Over the last few weeks he lost much weight, was very jaundiced, and spent most of the time dozing. He was rare­ ly in any pain.

John wished to be cremated and his ashes have been sent to his sis­ ters in New Mexico.

On Saturday, October 5 - ten days from now as this is written ­ there will be a memorial service at 3 PM at the First Parish Unitarian Church in Quincy, MA (adjacen t to Boston). Present plans for music include a piano duet by Ishmael and Vita Wallace; a selection by Nehemiah Richardson, a young cellist with the New England Conservatory Youth Orches­ tra; a short solo on violin by Mary Van Doren, who, with John's guidance, has been playing for a year; a number from Patrick Farenga on sax and Steve Rupprecht on guitar; and John's special request, a recording of the 1st movement of Bruckner's 9th Sym­ phony. A potluck meal will follow, and we look forward to becoming acquainted with many of John's

A second tragedy has left us all stunned. On September 25, Anna Van Doren, 4 years old, was killed in an elevator accident at our office building.

Ever since she was 10 mon~hs old, Anna has been coming here with her mother Mary, and later her sister Helen, now 2. She was dear to all of us, and the friendship between her and John Holt was special indeed. This sudden loss is a wrenching blow, and it will be long before our grief lessens.

Anna has been buried in Illinois, and there is to be a service for her in Quincy, MA at 1 PM on the same day as John's service, at the same church .

friends.

We expect to devote much of GWS

#48, the next issue, to a tribute to John's life and ideas. Many warm and beautiful letters are already arri­ ving, and if you have any particular memories to share, we invite you to send them in.

Also, in the next issue, we will tell you a little about each of us on the staff - who we are and how we came to work with John.

Furthermore, as John was a pro­ lific letter-writer until his health failed, some of you probably still have letters he wrote you. If you ever come across something he wrote that you have not seen in GWS or his books, some special point he made, do please send us a copy.

As John knew, the staff of Holt Associates and our supporters will continue the work he started, and this helped him to feel satisfied with what he accomplished in his life. It comforts us to remember that we will always have his writings to guide us . --- Donna Richoux, Patrick Farenga, Mary Van Doren, Steve Rupprecht, Sandy Kendall, Mary Maher, Wendy Baruch

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want you to know of the incred­ ible amount of physical support John's friends gave him in his last days. The top of the list must be Pat Farenga, who was responsible for every detail of John's care, dealing with innumerable doctors, nurses, hospitals, agencies, making sure John got from one place to another, always finding out what John wanted and doing his best to make it happen.

Seeking alternative care in a world full of traditional medical practice turned out to be harder than anyone expected, yet Pat coped superbly . Ar.d now, as Pat is executor of the estate, many duties and responsibili­ ties for John's affairs will still fall on him.

Mary Van Doren and her family also spent much time and energy on arranging details and caring for John in their home, the hospital, and his apartment. At one pOint, when John was in the hospital, a torrential rain flooded his basement apartment, and the Van Dorens and Day Farenga spen t hours removing water from the sodden carpet and drying hundreds of record albums' If several friends of John's had not .come from out of town and stayed in his apartment to do a heroic amount of care, we probably would have had to suspend all regular busi­ ness - but they came and the work con­ tinued. Leila Berg from England stayed for two weeks, spending long hours at Mass. General. David ChicKer­

ing, the Chicago Symphony cellist who is on leave of absence visiting home­ schooling families, was especially precious for his gift of music, play­ ing John's favorite pieces at all hours of the day and night. Theo Giesy of Virginia and her daughter Anita ( 12 going on 25) not only looked after John but also did a tre­ mendous amount of work in the office (you'll find some announcements in this issue Signed TG').

John was always very comforted when his sisters, Jane and Sue, were with him at Mass. General. Many local friends, too, spent hours and hours at John's bedside: Connie Bernhardt, Karen Franklin, John Hughes, Lynn Kapplow, Merloyd Lawrence, Jean Mur­ ray, Dick Rapacz, Dawn Reger, and we and our families - Pat's wife Day, Mary and Tom Maher, Steve Rupprecht, and my husband Franklin Ross . We know that many of you would have done the same, too, if you could.

--- Donna Richoux

NEW OREGON LAW The bill we described in GWS #46, House Bill 2475, was indeed signed into law by the governor. The relevant portions: SECTION 2... (2) Before a child is taught by a parent or private teacher, as provided in ORS 339.030 (5), the parent or private teacher must notify the (county] superinten­ dent in writing . The superintendent shall acknowledge receipt of the noti­ fication in writing and inform the superintendent of the school district of the child's residence. The notifi­ cation must be received and acknow­ ledged before a child is withdrawn from school and thereafter before the start of each school year.

(3) Children being taught as pro­ vided in subsection (2) of this sec­ tion shall be examined annually in the work covered in accordance with the following procedures :

WHAT'S INSIDE Court (MO, TX, Ireland, AL, MI): 2 --- MA District: 2 --- TV: 2 --- NV Turnaround: 3 Local news : 3-4 --- Reforming schools: 4 --­ Christians: 5 --- Curriculum: 5 --- Wartes / ­ School-Homeschool relations: 5 --- Credential: 6 --- Reading: N.Z., Chicago: 6 --- Tests: 7-8 --- Teens: 8-10 --- Library work: 10 --­ Gloves: 11 --- Scissors: 11 --- Housework: 11 --- Success: 12 --- Hard to live with: 12 --­ Free to quit: 12 --- Catalog: 13-24 --­ Husband ·disagrees: 25 --- Return to school: 26 --- Latchkey kids: 26 --- Independent schol­ ars: 27 --- Classes: 27 --- Writing: 28 --­ Typewriter: 28 --- Late reader: 29 --- Far­ sighted : 30 -- - Encylopedias: 30 --- Science: 30 - -- Letters to composers : 31 --- Art lessons: 31 --- Book reviews: 31-34

(a ) The St a te Board of Education s hall a d o pt by this rule a list of a ppr ove d compr e hensive examinations wh ich a r e read i ly available . ( b ) The pa r e nt shall select an examina ti o n fr o m the approved list a nd a rr a ng e t o have the examination a d mini s t e r e d t o the child by a quali­ fie d neu tr a l pe rs o n, a s defined by rul e of th e Stat e Board of Education. (c ) The parent shall submit the r e sult s o f the examination or the com­ plet ed e xa mination to the superinten­ d e nt. I f a completed examination is su bmitt e d, th e s uperintendent shall ha ve it scored and shall notify the par e nt of the results. ( d ) If the superintendent deter­ min es a fter examining the result of the exa mination that the child is not s howing satisfactory educational pro­ g res s , a s defined by rule by the S t a t e Boa rd o f Education, the super­ i nt e nd e nt ma y o rd e r the parent or o th e r pe rson having contr o l of the c hild t o send the child to school for the r e mainder of the school year. ( e ) The parent or other person havi ng c ontrol of the child may a pp ea l the ord e r t o the Superinten­ d e nt of Publ i c Instruction, whose d e ci s ion in the matter may be app ea l e d to the circuit court.

Until then, Nangle wrote, "par­ ents may continue to educate their children at home in the same manner a s they are currently doing ... " Nangle's ruling came in a suit brought against state and local school and juvenile-court officials by parents who have taken their child­ r e n out o f s chool on grounds that edu­ cation in the home gives them "a means of instilling their own reli­ gious values and beliefs into their children."

At a hearing earlier this year, several parents testified that their families were facing juvenile-court proceedings over removing their child­ ren from school. .. . Nangle noted that while the state law allows home education, there has been no definition of "sub­ stantially equivalent" by the legis­ lature, education officials, or state c ourts . "The parents have not been equipped with an adequate definition of substantially equivalent to inform them of their obligations under the statute." . .. The law, he said, "is a prime example of legislation which yields an unacceptable amount of discretion to officials charged with its enforce­ ment." . . .

[ DR: ] There i s another clause in the bill which I can only interpret as being intended to close the pri v at e- school route for home school­ e rs:

Any decision in the class action suit filed by six Texas families (GWS #46) has been delayed until March '86 because the Texas Education Agency failed to notify the 1,100 school dis­ tricts in the state about the suit .

The Texas Home Educators Newsletter says that a number of ot h er prosecu tions around the state have been post­ poned pending outcome of this case.

SECTION 4 . .. (2) "Private school" means a private elementary or secondary school operated by a person or by a private agency except as pro­ vided in ORS 339.030 (5), offering e ducation in prekindergarten, kinder­ garten, or grades 1 through 12 or any part thereof ... [ DR:] The section referred to, ORS 339.030 (5 ) , is the c lause that says children shall not be required to attend public full-time schools if the y ar e "taught for a period equival­ e nt to that required of children attending public schools by a parent or private teacher the courses of study usually taught in grades 1 through 12 in the public school" ­ that is, the home school exemption.

COURT NEWS Albert Hobart (MO) sent us this July St. Louis Globe Democrat story, with the comment, ii I have mixed feel­ ings about the decision . It's probab­ ly a good thing for those folks who have been harassed by school people in St. Louis and elsewhere. But I have a hunch that the new law, when it's finally written, will make test­ ing mandatory. Thus, many homeschool­ e r s will feel pressured to imitate th e kind of education offered in pub­ lic schools . " From the clipping: ... Chief U.S. District Judge John F. Nangle has struck down a Missouri law that has been used to prevent some parents from educating their children at home instead of s ending them to school.

Ho wever, because the ruling also c ould leave a void in Missouri law on the matter, Nangle delayed the imple ­ mentation of his order until May 15, 1986, noting that the Missouri Gener­ al Assembly "has expressed a desire t o allow parents to educate their c hil d r e n a t h ome."

The Irish Times had a story July 20 about a Mayo County farmer, Aidan P. Brennan, who was appealing his con­ viction for failing to send his two sons to school. Judge Grattan Esmonde of the Circuit Court agreed that the home education was allowable for the younger son, who was in poor health, but stayed any decision regarding the older son pending an evaluation of his academic progress . .

t~on,

GeOr~ians

for Freedom in Educa­

9/8 :

ALABAMA PARENTS NOT IN JAIL After being jailed for four months, Ed and Sharon Pangelinan were released about the middle of August in Decatur, Alabama. They had been found guilty of contributing to the deliquency of their children by educa­ ting them at home and not in a public school. They were put in jail because they refused the judge's requests for the children to be brought to court .

Recently the Pangelinans turned the custody of their children over to par­ ents in another state. Since the children were no longer the responsi­ bility of the Pangelinans, there was no reason to hold them any longer ...

Elaine Andreski reported in the Home School Journal about three M~ch~gan homeschooling decisions: - A compromise in the case of the Vass family of Monroe, requiring them to use a certified teacher sever­ al times a week and submit lesson plans to the local authorities. Judge J . McCauley Seitz remarked "The odd thing is there's a complaint here that these people aren't providing something for their child when

they're really probably providing more than most parents."

- A ruling against the Firming­ ham family of Pontiac, who have decided to move.

- And a victory for Pastor and Mrs. Don Milano of Tuscola County, whose children are to be tested annually.

In a series of articles about homeschooling in the Detroit Free­ Press, it was mentioned that a-hOme­ school case is pending before the state supreme court. What case would this be?

Other news in brief: Ontario : A second court hearing for the Prentice appeal has been scheduled ' for November 12.

Kansas: A suit similar to the class-action of Texas, asking for a declaratory judgement in favor of homeschools, has been filed in dis­ trict court. - DR

NEW FRI END LY DISTRICT From Jane Reid of Lowell, MA : . .. We met with Mr. James McMahon, Assistant Superintendent in charge of curriculum development this afternoon. He was very cordial . He offered the use of music, art, physi­ cal education, and computer lab facil­ ities . He is going to have the art supply person call me - "Don't ask her what she has, tell her what you need." The supplies are to be deliv­ e"red to my door when she delivers to the local school' If we want to use the school's books we have only to ask . For evaluation we are to submit a brief sample of the children's work four times a year, with a national achievement test to be administered at grades 3, 5 and 9.

He also said he's willing to be listed as a "Friendly School District" .. .

[DR : ] Delighted to hear it - see "Additions to Resources" for details .

May I remind readers that in the next issue we will be reprinting all our Resource Lists, and it sure would be nice to get a few more "Friendly School Districts" in there. I know that some of you are having excellent relations with your schools, so why not ask them if they'd like to be listed ? When they say Yes, tell us the district name, address, phone, and a contact person and title.

LETTER LEADS TO TV SPOT Ron Edmondson (ME) wrote: ... I'm sure few homeschoolers were awake August 21 at 2:50 or 4:50 AM to see the "Voices" interview seg­ ment on the CBS Nightwatch show. Fred Graham interviewed me on the diversi­ ty of the homeschooling movement.

I had written to CBS on Friday in response to their request for "causes" or situations that were get­ ting unfair or inadequate coverage on TV or newspapers. My point was that media coverage of homeschooling con­ centrates on specific situations with specific families and tends to identi­ fy whatever style of learning used by that family as the "regulation" style tha t is followed by every family .

On Monday afternoon, the pro­ ducer called, wanting me down that night' I ~nded up flying down the

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

next day. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take Maggie and the children along.

They told me that a primary reason for choosing me was that I was obviously not part of an organized letter-writing campaign.

When it was over, I wondered if it had been worth all the effort. I don't think I said anything new, but the CBS people said it looked very good ...

TURNAROUND IN NEVADA

From Cher Bateman (NV): ... As you probably know, the school district recommended that we terminate homeschooling for Jeb (10) this year due to "serious academic deficiencies." His test results from the Iowa test in reading were in the 3-7 percentile. Interestingly enough, he scored quite well in punctuation, capitalization, reference and map skills, and math computation. ... Jeb's name came up on a wait­ ing list for the University of Nevada at Reno reading clinic in July .. . The clinic was four weeks, one hour per day, Monday through Friday. Jeb had 12 actual hours of one-on one instruc­ tion in word attack skills by a certi­ fied teacher who was learning how to deal with reading problems . She told Jeb all the things I had said but somehow they clicked. He now reads by himself. The day the clinic ended, he read a shortened version of ROBINSON CRUSOE, he reads lots of short stor­ ies, and is now reading a shortened version of BLACK BEAUTY. He also read a couple chapters of Book 7 in the Chronicles of Narnia . He's really proud of himself ... He asked if now he can read, would I still read to him sometimes. I said, "Of course'" ... We enjoyed a major victory with the Douglas County School Board in August. I had requested a closed hearing on our case, without the administrators present who I said I felt were biased against us so it would be difficult to get a fair hear­ ing. So at the meeting, we adjourned to "executive session," and after the superintendent, assistant superinten­ dent, and district psychologist pre­ sented their case, the board presi­ dent asked them to leave ... The super­ intendent and assistant superinten­ dent told of the rocky road of commun­ ication they've had with me over the past four years, and a few not so com­ plimentary comments ... However, at the meeting, the administration did not suggest that we put Jeb in school. In fact, a board member asked if by putting Jeb in school, his read­ ing would improve, and the Superinten­ dent said, "Probably not ." ... The psy­ chologist came with a graph of Jeb's test results for the past three years. He was in the 81st percentile in math the second year and dropped to the 39th percentile this year. A board member asked why the big spread. He answered that the Iowa test had many reading math problems .

Since Jeb's problem was with reading, he couldn't do the word problems fast enough.

The board asked some very good questions. One woman who works with adult illiterates spoke of the terri­ ble stories her students have of school experiences and their low self-esteem as a result. She asked the psychologist if ' Jeb was hyper­ active. He said no, and proceeded to tell her what a pleasant child he was to work with, how he stayed "on task," what a vast store of knowledge

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

he possessed, etc. - not one negative comment.

After the administrators left, we were deluged with questions from the board, including about our required 25 hours of consultation with a Nevada certified teacher. I had had consultation with several teachers, not Nevada certified, in excess of 25 hours during the school year ... We also felt the UNR reading clinic would satisfy the requirement. .. . We spoke with the board for 45 min­ utes in peace and then returned to the public session where we expressed our dissatisfaction with testing our children with the other kids in school. We also questioned the valid­ ity of the regulations.

The board voted unanimously in our favor to homeschool for another year under Section 8, which basically grandfathers those who have home­ schooled for over a year. We are allowed to hire our own tester and may use the test of our choice along with the Iowa test and have our child­ ren tested in our home. And perhaps best of all is that we no longer are required to communicate with our administration. We are responsible for keeping the Board informed; pri­ marily, they wantIYiItten verifica­ tion of the 25 hours of consultation from last year, with which we will comply ... I intend to let the board know by way of an informal letter how the children are doing from time to time. I finally feel relaxed about educating my children in the manner which is most conducive to their learning, that being freedom ...

LOCAL NEWS

For addresses of state and local homeschooling groups, see GWS #42 or our "Homeschooling Resource List," $1ALABAMA: Members of the ALABAMA CITIZENS FOR HOME EDUCATION met in September for the purpose of encour­ aging favorable home school legisla­ tion. One member estimates that there are well over 250 families in the state who are homeschooling, most of them underground.

ARKANSAS: An AP story quoted Ed Bullington, the new president of the Arkansas Education Association, as saying soon after the recent home­ schooling law was passed [GWS #46], "The issue of homeschooling to me is more devastating than even the [mini­ mum-skills] testing issue . I am sure there are situations where parents can do a good job but in three or five or seven years' time we will be asked to pick up the pieces when the homeschooling fails ... And I'm sure it will fail and again we will be blamed for something we didn't create.

1t

COLORADO: The Colorado Home School Network News lett er reports that parents on the Homeschooling Advisory Committee [GWS #46] continue to meet with officials from the state Department of Education. Two parents who hold teaching certificates will help to review future homestudy mater­ ials for possible state approval . The state supervisor of school finance told the committee that a school district, is eligible for half-time funding when a student is enrolled between 1 and 3 3/4 hours per day, and full funding when a student is enrolled for 4 or more hours per day (Colo. Revised Statutes 22-50-102 and 22-50-104) .

The newsletter also contained a story by Terry and Nancy Kipp about their meeting with Dr. Dale Moore,

Director of Program Evaluation in Jefferson County, who said he is available to offer any assistance he can to local home schooling families.

FLORIDA: State Representative Jim Fr~she of the 57th District sent us an editorial from the St. Peters­ burg Times that was critical of home­ school~ng. Rep. Frishe wanted the other side to be told' I forwarded the editorial to Karen Jackson of FLASH, and both she and Ann Mordes sent the Times very eloquent rebuttals-.-HAWAII: A group is working on new homeschooling legislation, and says they know a sympathetic represen­ tative who is willing to introduce a bill in January. Contact Lora Burbage, 45-535 Luluku Rd K-l, Kaneohe HI 96744; 808-247-1509.

INDIANA: The CREATIVE ALTERNA­ TIVES NETWORK newsletter (18166 CR 48, New Paris IN 46553) asked Jim Browyer, the state's Liaison for Non-Public Schools, if there are any requirements for homeschoolers. He said, "Unless the children are consid­ ered enrolled in their local school district, an annual report of the num­ ber of children taught at home needs to be sent to us ... And it's impor­ tant to keep good records to substan­ tiate that 'equivalent instruction' is being provided." Browyer said there is a possibility that the state will establish more specific guide­ lines.

IOWA: Patti Rowe (IA) writes, "Here~Iowa we in the homeschooling movement have been quite involved recently in hearings related to the DPI's 'emergency rules' to clarify what they mean by 'equivalent instruc­ tion by a certified teacher .' ...

There were many ( over 400) who came to Des Moines August 22 to testify ...

A significant number of those \~o testified, myself included, were former public school teachers ...

"On August 26, Governor Bran­ stad's Task Force heard witnesses who encouraged them to look at other states that have found ways of accomo­ dating homeschoolers. More than once it was pointed out that the concern about equivalent education should be directed at the public schools.

"Dr. Raymond Moore brought out some good points on testing ... Those of us who are trying to minimize the early formal schooling and/or have late readers are not so anxious to show off' So it was good to have that angle pointed out . ..

"The last word I heard was that the 'emergency rules' were to be re­ written to clarify the 'supervisory­ consultant' role to our advantage ."

Another Iowa reaoer sent us an Associated Press clipping, 8/1/85, that said the Des Moines School Dis­ trict has a year-old homeschooling program for grades K-8 . At least 44 students are expected to enroll in the state-approved program this year.

KANSAS: Bonnie Sawyer of KANSAS FOR A~TIVE EDUCATION writes, '~he Department of Education has a new Director of Legal Services . I con­ tacted Dr. Bieker in June to inquire what stance his office would be tak-

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47, Vol. 8 No.5.

ISSN #0745-5305 . Published bi-monthly by Holt

Associates, 729 Boylston St, Boston MA 02116.

$15/yr. Date of Issue, Oct. I, 19B5. Second­

class postage paid at Boston MA.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GWS, 729

Boylston St, Boston MA 02116.

ADVERTISERS : Deadlines are the 15th of odd­

numbered months. Discount for ads in 3 consecu­

tive issues. Contact Patrick Farenga for rates.

4

ing on home schools . According to him, the position taken by his depart­ ment would remain unchanged from that of David Kester (former director) .

Dr. Bieker said that when he received an inquiry from a school or county official, he explains that the Kansas law is vague and unspecific, informs them o f past Supreme Court decisions, then leaves the decision to prosecute or not with the local officials ."

MARYLAND: The newsletter of the MARYLAND HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION says the state has yet again modified the definition of a private school, in order to rule out any chance of homeschoolers using that route. The definition now reads, "Any individu­ al, partnership, cooperative ... organ­ ized for the primary purpose [of] pro­ viding instruction for an organized group (or groups of pupils pursuing defined studies at a defined level) of pupils at least two of whom do not have the same arent or uardian and at east two 0 w om are not e1n~ instructed on a regu lar da1l~ bas1s by the 1r parent or guard1an.

However, the State Board did finall y step in to aid a family in a two- year struggle with the Howard County schools, after first refusing to consider the appeal because it was made after the 3 ~-day cut-off period.

MINNESOTA: In October the Senate Educat10n Committee is to hear the views of homeschoolers and educators on the compulsory attendance law, which is expected to be revised in light of the State Supreme Court's Newstrom decision [GWS #46] . Ellen Loeger1ng of the MINNESOTA HOMESCHOOL NETWORK says the group is trying to decide if an expensive professional lobbyist is necessary. She says they also met with "a representative of William Ball (a constitutional lawyer who has won the big decisions for pri­ vate and home schools). His represen­ tative said we should go for a clean approach to home education, i.e., call it home education and provide for it and protect it ."

MISSOURI: Steve and Debra Baird of Gower sent a letter to a number of parent educators, recommending that they meet according to state legisla­ tive districts, evaluate candidates, and work for their election.

NEW YORK: Karen Schadel writes that she and her husband met with the local superintendent about their home­ schooling and all went smoothly .

However, "There still remains a ques·· tion about possible state-mandated testing to be given at the end of 2nd, 5th and 6th grades ... Apparently Albany is attempting to make the test­ ing a requirement for homeschoolers ...

"We signed up with Clonlara (MI) for the purpose of obtaining a cur­ ric~lum . .. One interesting item - on our visit I requested copies of the 1st and 3rd grade curriculums and dis­ covered that there really aren't any, per se ... It made me wonder how they would evaluate our curriculum ... It really seemed ironic that they are reviewing homeschoolers when they may actually be deficient themselves ... " NORTH DAKOTA: According the the Home School Journal of Nebraska, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Wayne Sanstead, told the legislature's Education Committee that "homeschooling will not go away," and everyone needs to "search for a solution" because the courtroom is not the "preferred method."

PENNSYLVANIA: The homeschooling bill, HB 1478, is in committee and is expected to be voted on this fall or winter. It is modeled after HB 877, whi ch sets min i mum r equi r eme nt s for

private and parochial schools. Under HB 1478, homeschoolers would merely file a notarized affidavit with the state and agree to teach specific sub­ jects .

Howard Richman wrote in the Western PA Newsletter #13, "Our bill will become the law if we can line up 102 supporters in the House of Repre­ sentatives and 26 supporters in the Senate ... We are one-third of the way in the House of Representatives ... 20 different homeschooling families in western PA have agreed to coordinate efforts in their own Senate district and in about four House districts. In eastern PA, the homeschooling support groups have similarly divided the leg­ islators ... " TENNESSEE: A reader told me on the phone chat it was his impression that the state was not granting any exemptions to the requirement in the new law [GWS #46] that pa~ents of high-school age homeschoolers have a college degree. It appears that many families are using the clause that exempts "parents who are associated with an organization that conducts church related schools ... which admin­ ister standardized achievement tests" from all other requirements - but this only applies to grades K-8.

Vickie Tolbert wrote us about the difficult legislative battle. "At one sad pOint, one homesch091ing group was writing to kill the bill, while another group was writing to support it. The legislators were con­ fused . .. Memphis is 50 -50 black/ white . Therefore, the homeschooling movement was perceived by some, especially black legislators, as another example of white flight ... " TEXAS: Mike Shepherd says he has finisnea-fiis dissertation on home­ schooling and will make parts availa­ ble at cost to anyone who requests them. He has chapters on "Homeschool­ ing in Texas," "Arguments For and Against Homeschooling," and "The Future of Homeschooling." Address: 728 S. Winnetka Av, Dallas TX 75208.

UTAH: Laurie Huffman of the UTAH HOME EUUCATION ASSOCIATION writes that one of the special events of this year's annual convention was the acknowledgement of Utah and Idaho's home school "graduates" of the last several years . A booklet was pub­ lished with their photographs and a brief write-up on each one and what they are pursuing since graduation.

19 graduates are listed.

Laurie also reports that the Granite School District in Salt Lake City has established a loaning lib­ rary for homeschoolers, free of charge, with curriculum development when requested.

VERMONT: Yet another state in which homeschoolers plan to introduce legislation. Kathy Blair of Lea rning at Home, Vt. says that the state edu­ cat10n ott1cials have been increasing their requirements, and when she objected, they said that the law .is so vague they do not feel limited by it. Homeschoolers have met to discuss what legislation to propose, have set up a phone tree, and expect Represen­ tative George Gruner of Morrisville to sponsor a bill.

VIRGINIA: In GWS #43, Jennifer Seip told about moving to Floyd County and, among other things, help­ ing to work on an evaluation plan for the many homeschoolers there. Now, Ed Wilhelm of Floyd writes, "Last year, we went as a group of 17 families and 24 homeschooled children to the Super­ intendent with a proposal to perform our own evaluations and just submit summaries to him . .. We presented the

evaluations to the school officials on July 30. The Superintendent didn't respond directly to the evaluations we presented, but he approved us again for the next year. I assume this means he viewed our evaluations as showing adequate academic growth."

WASHINGTON: The August FLEX news­ letter (FAMILY LEARNING EXCHANGE) reports on various steps taken to implement the new law lGWS #46]. By now, the state director of private education should have devised a form for notifying one's superintendent of homeschooling plans. One of the ways to qualify for homeschooling is to take a course in Home Based Educa­ tion, and the Community Colleges of Spokane are offering such a course.

We · would like to know where else such courses are offered, and whether they are being taught by homeschoolers' The same issue of FLEX has a long and very interesting transcript of a talk given by Senator Lois Stratton about the passage of the home school bill. She said, "I think you folks should know what you've accomplished in the short time that you've been working on this ... is nothing short of phenomenal." The change of attitude of many of the legislators was due, she was certain, to the hard work of many home school­ ers, particularly Kathleen McCurdy who acted as the bill's "mama." Sena­ tor Stratton praised the WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF HOME EDUCATORS' deter­ mination to guard the hard-won free­ dom from abuse and mismanagement, for, she said, legislators often for­ get about what they have passed.

WISCONSIN: The WISCONSIN PARENTS ASsoCIATION has put together a "Hand­ book on Home Education in Wisconsin."

To order, send $10 to Betty Walton, ~12 W Cramer, Ft Atkinson WI 53538.

- DR CAN HOME ED REFORM SCHOOLS?

John once said in an interview, "I think in time the homeschooling movement will do more to change schools than anything I ever did when I spent most of my time talking to schools. Only when enough people give them a vote of no confidence will schools begin to think seriously about change."

I was reminded of this quote by two items received recently. One is from a report of a public meeting with Democratic Congressman James Jeffords in Newport, Vermont: ... The asbestos problem in the Charleston School was brought up by Maren Whitlock who lives in East Charleston ... "Four of my children are not going back" to school this September, she said.

Truancy is going to be a problem for the school until the asbestos is removed. According to John Spargo, 38 parents are not going to send their children to the Charleston School this fall. He also said that despite the fact that some parents are plan­ ning to get textbooks and other mater­ ials to use to teach their children at home, the state will consider them to be "criminal." However, Mrs. Whitlock said, the state's attorney has been contacted and "he said that he will be willing to put it in writing that he will not prosecute truancy" in this case.

Mr. Jeffords agreed that "there is no question that we have to remove those health hazards, or at least seal them in a way that they are not creating any sort of problem." He said he supports the program which

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

5

calls for the removal of the asbes­ tos. But, he noted, they will need more adequa t e sta te or federal fund­ ing to carry out their plans . . .

Also, we got thi s note from Marta Clark (KY): ... My friend Joy accompanied her daughter on her firs t day of school, to sign papers and pay fees, and got swept up by some sort of action com­ mittee of parents. This group formed a couple of years ago when a senior honors student was expelled fo r hav­ ing beer in th e trunk of his car i n the school parking lot. The g rou p took the school to court and won $40,000' Since then they have stuck together and have brought action s against teachers who've done c rue l and arbitra r y things, such as strike a girl's hand with a ruler for put­ ting a comma after the name of the month instead of the date. There are 48 parents involved.

One woman exp l ained to Joy, "If the schools don't toe the mark and-oo what we say, we threaten to p~ll our kids out and home sc hoo l. They can 't a ff ord to l ose that muc h money." She went on to tell Joy that there are three homeschooling famillies in the Southw est county district and that the schools are afraid more families will do it. When Joy said she knew one of the families, the woma n wanted to know why we are doing it - it's one thing to take your kids out if they're having trouble, but she couldn't figure out why someone wouldn 't even sta rt school ...

[DR:] Interesting to hear about these actions, though only time will tell if they are truly effective. If the schools call the parents' bluff, how many will actually take their children out, and how long wi ll they keep it up? Even parents who sincere ­ ly believe home education to be best often find the first few months to be rough gOing . Furthermore, if educa­ tors feel too threatened by home­ schooling, -rfiey may find ways to make it more difficult or prohibit it.

Nevertheless, it seems logical that a viable, inexpensive alternative to public schools competition would force them to improve. If you hear of similar stories to these, do please send them in .

ON CHRISTIANS

... As Christians, we are sorry that there are some extremists in Indiana giving Christian home educa­ tion a bad name (GWS #46). We person­ ally are excited about what the Lord is doing in our home and othe r s we know. Please don't label all Chri s­ tians in your minds as extremists ­ we too are personally embarrassed by those who use the name of Jesus Christ to do what they want and not wha t He wants. - AN OHIO READER. . .. 1 was sorry to read of the experience one mom had with a "Christ­ ian" home school group ["Excluded Because of Religion," GWS #43]. I am part of a large group here i n San Diego, cal l ed CHRI STIAN FAMILY SCHOOLS; there are 12 park days all over the county which meet at l eas t once a month, f unct ionin g somewhat as support groups. We plan field trips, seminars, beach days, and picnics; in June we had a "Curriculum Fair" which was attended by abou t 300 people . Any-

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

one is welcome at any of our f unc­ tions, regardless of religious beliefs (o r the lack thereof); we do no t actively proselytize, our main purpose being to help homeschoolers, but certainly, if the subject comes up, we will talk about spiritual things .

As for the reader from Indiana and his extremists (GWS #46) - I too have met people like that; in certain ways I agree with them, but not with th ei r comments about the government trying t o take control of us all - I think a lot of that stuff is plain wacko' ... I.have met those same kind of radicals who were not "Christian" and s till come up witn-5ome wacko ideas. I just don't want people to begin equating all Christian home­ schoolers with the wackos who believe th e big bad government wants to con­ trol my children's minds . We aren't all like that . - ELL IE ANDREW (CA). ... 1 have been thinking about the reader in Indiana who was appa lled by the group of 40 Christ­ ians who ac t ed in ou tlandish ways.

They don't sound like MOVE to me, for one th i ng the y are n ot barricaded i n a rowhouse and blasting their message through a l oudspeaker system. ... My religion differs from basic Christianity in several ways, but I admit that my homeschooling efforts could not be taking place without a long and unpleasant his t ory of Christian ac ti vis m in the field of education . Those cour t decisions which bolster all homeschoolers' legal position have come through the sacrifices of Christian educators . It is ignorant to bad-mouth the latest batch .

Many social c hanges and govern­ ment policy changes have occurred when groups of people have risked looking foolish and have risked cen­ sure to speak their minds. The forty angry Christ ia n homeschoolers in Indiana follow a long tradition of similar a nd effective people. - AN ILLINOIS READER. CURRICULUM GUIDE

Parents who need to provide a hi g h schoo l curriculum or program of study to th ei r local sc hool district might find MODEL CURRICULUM STAN­ DARDS, GRADES 9-12, published this year by th e Ca lifornia State Depart­ ment of Educa tion, t o be helpful . The 200+ page book includes sections on English/Language Arts, Foreign Lang­ uages, Hist ory , Social SCience, Mathe­ matics, SCience, and Visual and Per­ forming Arts . It is intended as a "model, not a mandate." The language is descriptive, giving standards or goals and then suggestions of read­ ings and activi ties to achieve those goals. In co ntrast to teacher guides which give eve ry word and intonation the teacher is to u se, it is written as a guide for people presumed to be intelligent and competent . The goals seem r easo nable and broad. Co pies are avai l ab le for $5 . 50 each (p lus sales t ax for CA re s idents ) from Publ i ca­ tions Sales, PO Box 271, Sacramento CA 95802-0271. --- Theo Giesy

I began purchasing materials from her about two years ago. About nine months ago I sent another order along with a check. The ca nce ll ed check came back but no materials arrived .

There have be en no replies to written correspondence sent to the Kendrick, ID address. I tried phoning but there was no Emery listed in directory assist ance.

I realiz e you' re not i n the busi­ ness of handlin g complaints - and I don't expect you to. I just thought perhap s you cou ld shed some light 011 the situation . ..

[DR: Carla, are you out there' If anyone knows how to contact her, please tel l this office . ] EDUCATOR/ HOM ESCHOOLER RELATIONS John Wartes (16109 NE 169 Pl, Woodinville WA 98072) has written an 18-page handout en t itled ONE EDUCA­ TOR'S OBSERV ATI ONS ABOUT HOMESCHOOL­ lNG, which he and Wend y offe r for $2.

Some excerpts:

. . . 1 have observed a tendency for homesc hoole r s t o assume th at school admi n istra t ors and superinten ­ dents know about homeschooling and know that it works . Therefore, when an administrator speaks out against homes chool ing, they wonder, since homeschooling works, why he is nega­ tive. They searc h for other motiva­ tions. The ot hers are all negative (e.g . protect teacher jobs, protect funding, desire to impose a particu­ lar philosoph y on all studen t s.)

Mos t educators are where I was a few yea rs ago. They know lit tl e about homeschooling and because it seems contrary to many of the accep t ed ideas about quality education (e.g . need for highl y tr ained teachers), the y conclude that it cannot possibly work.

I believe that 80 to 90% of edu­ cator resistance to homeschooling is based upon their belief that it doesn't work. Upon being shown that it does work they wil l become posi­ tive. . .. During th e 1985 legislative session, I received a phone call from a radi o talk show hos t who was prepar­ ing a show on home schooling. He was looking for a public school educator who was both knowledgeable about home­ schooling and op posed to it. Obvious­ l y , I was not that person. I l ater learned he never found that person' First impre ssions may often be nega­ tive, but on this t opic, the second look is almost always positive ­ information breeds under sta nding and acceptance. ... The foremos t challenge facing homeschoolers is to create the condi­ tions whereby others are willing to take the second l oo k . I offe r the fol­ lowing suggestions: 1. Invite educa t ors to your home - let them meet you and a few other

t>t>'!' .

Smithsonian Family Learning Projttt ~W"'·

1986 Science Calendar

Developed by the Smiduoruan Family uaming Project

Monthly .:timics for the whole (~ usins mlltriak found II hornt­

Shows how 1Citnce;. aU around ut. 8'8 and beautiful H~ 16' .. 52'

Learning Every Day

SUPPLIER DISAPPEARED

From Jeris French (NY): . . . Would you folks happen to know how I can get in touch with Ca rla Emery? She advertised her busi­ ness TEXTBOOKS FOR PARENTS in GWS .

Route I Box 5

Fairftdd. WA 99012

l...t:aminr rNllma fot families

math muip.aliitM., IcirnCI: and ~m.J~boob.

McCufft"f PrimtT and

mDft

Frtt Catalog flO" ppd.

WA res. add 7% Wcs

WI:

ii-~c& •• .ij."+84+*,H~·~ ~~'*'

5 home schooling families personally.

2 . Describe why you c hose to h omesc ho ol. Emphasize the positive as pect s of homeschooling - minimize refer en c e s to the negative aspects of co nventional schooling.

3 . Fr o m time to time, provide additi o nal information such as writ­ t en a rt i cl es , case histories, a book, i nv it a t io n s t o suppo rt group meet­ ings, e tc.

4. Gi ve th e m time. It took me 18 mo nth s o f pe rsonal contact and study t o co rne ar o llnd' 5 . Alw a ys be honest in what you

say and do.

... Fo r th e pr e sent I would ca uti o n hom e schoolers t o not claim that h om es c h o oling is academically su perio r t o conventional education .

Th e r e is indeed evidence to suggest th a t h om escho o lers do better but i mpo rt a nt variables have not been con­ tr o ll e d. Current research may suggest t h a t h om es c hoo led childre n, who as a g r o u p have highly supportive parents, d o bett e r than conventionally educa­ ted c hildren, who as a group have par­ ents wh o ar e less involved o r support­ iv e . It is unclear whether the differ­ e nc e is due to the educational deliv­ e r y s ys t e m o r to parent s upport. Com­ munit y vari a bles are als o influential (s ocial and economic conditions, com­ mun i t y values, etc.). In homeschool­ i ng r e sear c h the way to control for commun i t y d i ff e r e nces is to sample homesch o ol e rs and traditionally educa­ ted students who live within the same sch oo l district. If a pattern emerges for a va ri e t y of districts then gener­ aliz a t io ns can be drawn. There are, how e ver, a number of Washington dis ­ tri c t s wher e public school students typic a lly s c ore in the 70-85 %ile.

Will horne schooled children from these distr ic t s c o nsistently do better?

Merc e r Island 8th graders scored at th e 91 %ile in a spring '85 test' My pOint is this: to a researcher (and most s c hoo l administrators have train­ ing in rese a rch ) th e present evidence d o e s n o t suppo rt the superiority of one me thod over the o ther. For the s ake of c redibility, it is best to avoid an y such claim . . .

RENEWING HER CREDENTIAL Frances Bauer ( MI) writes: ... This will be our sixth year of home scho o ling. Last fall our s ch oo l district found that my certifi­ cation had expired several years ago.

They s aid they were going to take us t o court and I immediately enrolled in si x hours of college courses to apply t o ward my recertification. This is not the best answer to the prob­ l em , but it was the fastest, least painful way for us to comply with the i r requirements . We've covered our­ s elv es , but this option is available t o o nl y a select few . ... 1 was a bit leery of the edu­ cation courses in which I enrolled .

I was afraid of being ostracized, mis­ underst ood, and corning away from c lass wo rrying about what my children we ren't getting . To the contrary, eve r yon e was quite curious and I r e c e iv e d much support from classmates a nd i n s tructors alike.

Af ter completion of three cour ­ s es ( reading, math, and science), I was mor e convinced than ever that I wa s d o ing the best thing for my child­ ren. I have the best of everyt h ing: an ideal learning situation, recep­ tive students, and none of the prob­ lems the other teachers in my classes face each day .

... The reading instructor wanted me to publish something about our experiences. The scie n ce i n structor was impressed by my final paper which described our science curriculum .

Throughout the course, he kept saying that kids don't ask questions and need "artificial" experiment setups to be sure they explored all areas . kept saying that kids do ask ques­ tions, and that's what-r base my cur­ riculum on. ( I have the advantage of fielding questions 14 hours a day. ) After he read my paper, he said that our curriculum sounded excellent and he wished more kids lived in homes such as ours. My paper was simply a record of one week's worth of occur­ rences, experiences, and conversa­ tions which could be classified as science related ...

All in all, the classes were an interesting experience and we didn't have to give up our homeschooling ...

NEW ZEALAND READING WORKS...

An August '85 article by Chris Barber of the Gannet News Service, headlined WORLD ' S BEST READERS AMONG CHILDREN ARE FOUND IN NEW ZEALAND: In New Zealand, schoolchildren have few homework aSSignments, no spelling drills and they don ' t fill in workbooks.

They aren't given standardized tests for reading comprehension - or for anything else - until the age of 15.

Yet New Zealand students consis­ tently outscore the rest of the world in reading .

To find out why, members of a New York educational group we n t to New Zealand recently to study the system .

"I saw more success than I anti­ Cipated," said Mary Eichas-Gavigan, an elementary teacher in Hilton. "I wouldn't say it's the only way to teach, but I would say it's a very successful way of teaching."

New Zealand children progress at their own rates and do not compete against each other, she said .

"There is not the egomaniac com­ petition," Eichas-Gavigan said . "They understand the fact that every stu­ dent has a capability, and they share in the joy when tha t student does something well."

New Zealand's approach to educa­ tion differs sharply from the beliefs of many America n educators who think a return to the baSics - such as drilling of phonics and grammar - is what students need, said Miriam Thomas, a New Zealand remedial read­ ing specialist .

The New Zealand system incorpor­ ates the best e l ements of teaching in the horne, she said.

Reading is a skill that, in New Zealand, is nurtured from the moment a child enters school, S 0 ~n ~ftp­ reaching the age of 5, In ~··· s said.

Training begins with "shared read­ ing," in which a teacher reads to a group of children, just ai ~~~y par ­ ents do at horne.

Thomas said the key to New Zealand's educational success is apparently capturing and then keeping the child ' s interes t in readi n g by using materials the child can enjoy .

"When we read, as adul t s, it's for enjoyment a n d learning. We don't read because it's a job, do we?" she said. "So t h ey star t the kids th at way - reading for pleasure and infor­ mation . " Much of the e mpha s i s on read i n g

has corne in the form of large, bright­ ly illustrated books. Called "big books," they feature large illustra­ tions and enlarged text but also employ what Thomas calls "natural language." A sample: '" Oh, love 1 y mud,' said the cow, and she jumped in it . " Thomas compared this with an American beginning reader, which showed a black-and-white drawing of a dog running away with a girl's doll.

The dialogue: "Stop, Tag, stop' "Oh' Oh' Oh' "Corne and see Tag. "Corne and see the doll."

The New Zealand books' natural­ language style - often coupled with surprising or humorous endings ­ helps make them so enjoyable that children beg to read them, Thomas said.

Schools in the United States have only recently begun to use "big books" imported from New Zealand.

Using the New Zealand system, a teacher will read the book to the children and point out the large words. As they become more aware of the words, or know a word that is corn­ ing, the children are free to shout out the next word. And, Thomas said, they receive great praise for doing so .

The reading program is supple­ mented by other innovations, especial­ ly in class structure, Thomas said.

There is little delineation between subjects in New Zealand schools. A pupil's "art class" might be making a picture to illustrate a story. A "wri­ ting class" might be creating an end­ ing to a book . ..

...AND CHICAGO READING DOESN'T From Page One of the L.A. Times: .. . Last month, after an outside study found that two-thirds of its ninth-graders were reading at "an appalling, low level," the Chicago school system scrapped its highly touted program that broke reading into 290 separate skills [ GWS #2J. Education researchers who origin­ ated the program had contended that all children could learn to read if they were carefully taught and tested at each step of the way.

In practice, however, this often meant that teachers were told to ensure that children had learned their "consonant blends" and "dip­ thongs" and could "identify homonyms" and "select topiC sentences . " And for pupils, this meant sit­ ting at their desks drawing lines from the word "red" to a red balloon or circling the consonant that appeared most in a sentence .

In Chicago and elsewhere, teach­ ers complained that they were bur­ dened with all of the paper work of certifying who had mastered what.

Children complained that they were bored .

But critics noticed an even more fundamental flaw with this approach: Children rarely got a chance to read.

"It was like teaching someone all the skills of tennis, but never letting them play the game," &aid Prof. Benjamin Bloom of the Universi­ ty of Chicago, who devised the mastery l earning concept in the 1960s, but disavows the program in the Chicago schools. "If there is a way to screw up any theory, there ' s always a school system that will find the way . " But other educa t ors claimed the

concept itself was deeply flawed As I knew he was a good reader, and because it put the focus on skills they offered to supply the test and that could be easily taught and pay for the scoring, I readily agreed. He did extremely well, and tested.

Indeed, a recent study found the handwritten comment from the reading instruction in the nation's assistant superintendent was to the primary schools consisted mostly of effect, whatever you're dOing, keep pupils doing exercises in workbooks. doing it.

Very little time was devoted to read­ The next year the tests were not ing stories. Among the nation's offered - nor requested. As we are fifth-graders, 50% read on average not far from the University of Iowa, for less than five minutes a day, I stopped in and asked if it would be according to the report, "Becoming A possible to buy a test and answer Nation of Readers" l GWS #45]. sheet. I told them we're homeschool­ ... "Our main criticism of the ing. I was told, "No problem, just (Chicago) program was that it just take one, but when you're done with didn't work. Our ninth-grade reading the test booklet, return it rather scores are just dismal," said Sharon than throw it away." I did administer Weitzman, research coordinator for the test that year, but never had it Designs for Change, a citizens group scored. in Chicago that issued a harsh indict­ It has been offered by the ment of the school system's reading school again this year, but I declined (no pressure at all). With program.

"We found that students had to our second son being a late reader, I work through page after page of work­ don't want any problems. ·1 wouldn't books. Teachers were judged on how mind finding a test that doesn't well ( the pupils ) were mastering the depend on reading - but then that's skills, not on how well they were the ultimate measure of everything in reading," Weitzman said. "It was a school. Any ideas? I have thought of monster that gobbled up all the read­ giving the ITBS orally ... ing time." ... "If you want children to love to read, you have to give them real [DR:] The folks at LEARNING AT books and fantastic stories. They are HOME (Box 270, Honaunau HI 96726) not going to love to read with ditto phoned to say they have just arranged sheets and workbooks," said Beatrice to sell the test-preparation series Cullinane, a New York University pro­ SCORING HIGH, which they are very fessor and past president of the enthusiastic about. There are SCORING Interrtational Reading Assn.

HIGH books for the California Achieve­ ... Los Angeles Schools Supt. ment Test, the CTBS, and the Metropol­ Harry Handler, in a recent speech to itan, teaching test-taking methods the district's 700 principals, and giving samples just like the real stressed that the goal of reading exams. There are different volumes instruction is comprehension, not for different grades; LEARNING AT just recognizing words .

HOME will be happy to send anyone a "It's easy to believe you are free brochure on levels and prices. making great strides in reading when you are teaching word recognition," Handler said. "Our analysis shows TEST NOT SO CRAZY that we are teaching the mechanical skills of 'decoding' (words). We are A Canadian reader writes: weakest in comprehension.

"Cu'r rent practices in delivering ... 1 do think the article on reading instruction haven't worked page 17 of GWS #44 was unfair and mis­ and aren't working now for far too leading. As you can see from the many children," Handler told the prin­ enclosed instructions to teachers, cipals. He urged primary teachers to the child is not left to figure out use "high quality" literature like the words from the pictures ... The CHARLOTTE'S WEB and JOHNNY TREMAIN to child is given the words to rhyme-by teach reading. the teacher, the p~ctures only serve as add~tional reminders ...

[DR: Readers will remember the test pictures that we reproduced ­ ACQUIRING TESTS fang, mink, bang, etc. I'm relieved In GWS #46, we reported that to get this straightened out - it was some readers had trouble obtaining not pleasant to believe that anyone tests from the BUREAU OF EDUCATIONAL could be as irresponsible as the MEASUREMENTS ( 1200 Commercial, Empor­ designers of that test seemed to be.] ia KS 66801). Another reader responds: ... When I first sent for tests from the Bureau of Educational Meas­ urements I, too, was refused. There is a phone number on their litera­ ture, 316-343-1200 ext. 296, which I called.

I explained our circumstances and asked if there was any way around the refusal. They were very polite and helpful. If I would send a copy of our school district's permission to homeschool, they would send the tests. The copy was sent, along with another order, and the tests were received .. .

Patti Rowe (IA) writes: ... When the school authorities first became "officially" aware of us, and came to observe our home school, they asked if I would admin­ ister the ITBS to Matthew, then 10.

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

TESTING: A TALE OF WOE

Kitty Semisch (VA) wrote, 4/85: ... I'm sure you know that our new law requires homeschoolers be evaluated by August 1 of each year, either by scoring 40th percentile or better on a standardized test or by an alternate assessment which, "in the judgement of the division super­ intendent, indicates that the child is achieving an adequate level of edu­ cational growth and progress." The problem is that division superinten­ dents as a group seem to me to be sadly lacking in imagination. They all seem to want to apply that 40th percentile rule .

I don't like the idea of testing anyone, much less my son Christopher (5~). I received a letter telling us that that's what the school officials wanted to do ••• I wrote back express­

ing my regret . I t ol d th em about po rt ­ folio assessme nts, and interview assessments, a nd some of my reserva­ tions about te s t i n g (i t s inaccura c y , the invasi on o f pri vacy, the stress it inflicts ) . Then I said that if they want e d to kn ow about alterna t ive assessment s I could find some schoo l districts which used them.

I proba bl y s hou ld have left i t at that, but I finished my letter by saying tha t if t hey insisted on test ­ ing Christ opher, it s hould of course be in a sit ua t ion compa r able to that under which sc hoo l children are test ­ ed, that i s, i n t he environment i n which the y di d t~eir learning.

Some time later I got a phone call from the assistant division superintendent, a very polite phone call, asking for more information about alt e rnat e assessments . I to l d him about the Fr iendly School Dis­ tricts listed i n GWS, but he said he reall y wanted Virginia school dis­ tricts, s o I s a id I 'd see what I could do. I cal l ed your office and talked to Donna Ri choux, and she said to tr¥ Fl oyd Co unt y [GWS #43 & this issueJ and gave me some addresses.

Then I made an appointment to see the di v isi on s up erintendent. My husband and I bot h went, as Jim O'Toole (VA) advised us, and we lent him some i s sues of GWS, for he had expressed a n inte r est in seeing them (he'd read some of Jo hn Holt's books ) . We pa ssed a l on g the informa­ tion abou t Fl oyd . Then he told us that the y pl a nn ed to go ahead with the testing anyway , a l though they didn't want t o app l y t he 40th percen­ tile rule t oo rigid l y . He said they'd be using the SRA k indergarten test, that Christ o phe r would be tested wit h the other homesc hoo l er of his age in the district, in th e administration building.

I po i nte d ou t some of my rese r va ­ tions about st and a r dized testing , he listened po lit e l y, and then I agreed to it, with th e understanding that if Christopher did n 't score above the 40th percentil e, h e wouldn't be dragged o f f t o school .

This is whe r e I made my mis­ takes. I s hould have as k ed whet her the SRA 1S ad m~n~s t ere d to k~ndergar­ teners ~n the sc hoo l . It 1sn ' t . I should ha v e aske d exac tl ! how lon~ i t takes - a bout 3; hours. shou l d ave been more rel u ct a nt, but in my eager­ ness to be coope r a t ive and pave t h e way for fri e ndl y rela t ions between homeschoolers a nd the schoo l dis­ trict, I forgot t o stand up for my own positi on.

I had the examiner ' s booklet for the test, and Chris t op her and I looked at it t oge th er . I t seemed easy for him, bu t bori ng . He liked to do the first few i n each section a nd then to go on t o th e next batch. One thing I kne w h e d id n ' t know was sh and ch and what so unds th ey make ~ so

S.L.L. ASSOCIATES P.O. Box 212 New Hope, Pa.I8938

8

tried to drill him a little in th o se . He got mad at me for pestering him and I realized I'd already fallen i nto the trap of teaching to the test.

I told him that the kids in the sc ho o ls take these tests. In truth, I found out later that they didn't take th e m until 2nd grade because it's too. stressful and hard for the younger kids to fill in all those dots' I told him he didn't have to worry about doing well because it didn't mean the y wouldn't let us homeschool.

The day of the test, he felt very chipper and ready and eager. We arrive d at 8 : 55 AM, were shown to the r oom by a very nice teacher, and s e ttl e d in. I sat in the next room with the door open so he could see me. I think she didn't want me actual­ ly in the same room because I had a 3~ -month-old baby with me, and she thought it might disturb him. The r oom where I was was the kitchen, and some one came in and dropped some­ thing , so the teacher shut the door.

At 10:50, we'd been there two hours, he came to me sobbing. H~ Just had it with sitting there with no one-fie knew in sight, in a strange place , doing idiot work, under pressure to fill in the whole circle but not to~o outside the circle . He wa s utterly miserable with the bore­ dom and stress . I thought they might penalize him if we left before the end, but we left anyway, after I left a passionate message for the assis­ tant s uperintendent.

You should have seen the three of us burst out of that fluores­ ce nt-lit office building into the s unshine and shade and breeze and LIFE of one of the first beautiful days of spring. It makes you glad you're alive and not immured in some school somewhere, filling in dots. ... When the assistant superinten­ dent called, he was again very polite and concerned, but he real~y wanted the test . Wouldn't I just ring him back tomorrow morning and we could try again? .. But we stalemated. I wouldn't bring him back to be tested, and the asst. supt . wouldn't give up the idea of the test.

Where we are now is the teacher is c oming here, to our house, Monday and Wednesday morning. We have l~ hours to go, so that should be only 45 minutes' work each day. The reason I dec i ded not to just refuse to do ~ more testing is that we plan to move in a year to Pennsylvania, where I und e rstand we will need permission from our school district to home­ s choe l, and these scores may help us.

But what a mess. I know now that I have to learn to be a little less nice, to ask more que~tions ... [ DR:] In my reply, I wrote: ... Sorry to hear about your troubles with the district and test­ ing . I agree that it is most unfair that your child be given a lengthy test that is not given to other kin­ dergarteners.

I just looked over the Virginia law again, to see how it is that these superintendents can get away with demanding tests and refusing to consider other alternatives ... The la w says the parent must provide eith­ er test scores or an "evaluation or assessment." It does not say it is up the superintendent to p~ck wh~ch .. .

It says that ~£ parents do prov~de the second, that the superintendents must use their judgement as to wheth­ er the evaluation indicates the child

is achieving an adequate level of pro­ gress . If they say "No, this evalua­ tion shows the child has not made ade­ quate progress," they would surely have to give some reasons, point out where the deficiencies lie, etc. To refuse to even consider the alterna­ tive evaluation would be negligence ...

students for completing the school year! Everyone had a great time.

Those who couldn't come missed the best event of the year ...

AFTER TEN YEARS AT HOME

From Kandy Light of Ohio: ... Some of your readers may enjoy hearing about some older long­ time homeschoolers. I know when we .. . You are absolutely right started, it was a great source of about the Va. law stipulating that it is the parent who supplies the evalua­ encouragement to us to see or hear about older homeschoolers . Judging tion and the superintendent who from the questions people have asked judges it adequate or not, NOT the us over the years, I believe a lot superintendent who determines what have the same doubts that we did ten evaluation is to be used. I regret years ago. The ~ question seems to that I hadn't recognized that before. be, "What! will El'iey do when they are When the teacher came to our older and ready for a life work?" house to administer the test, Christo­ pher felt more comfortable, but he Of our six children, four of them are teenagers, so we are was still bored. I sat next to him for parts and could read over his approaching the stage where they will shoulder, and I could see why. For soon be leaving the nest. Although example, the teacher says : "Find the none of them has launched out as yet, I see many possibilities opening before them. I share them here, not as an attempt to brag, but in hopes ~ of encouraging others .

This will be the start of our eleventh year of homeschooling. Our o o o o oldest is the only one to have attend­ ed public school for two years. None, shape that has 3 fewer dots than the as yet, has a high school diploma circle. Fill in the dot under that although we do belong to Clonlara's HBEP . shape." Christopher counted all the . .. Dawn ( 16) is in New York dots in all the shapes, which is a right now helping some friends while jaw-crackingly boring task, and at they have their third baby. They live the end he'd forgotten the question.

Does this strike you as ridiculous a and work at a health reconditioning 'center. Dawn has been he lping in question as it does me? I've heard their various programs, learning mas­ him do this kind of subtraction and sage, hydrotherapy, etc. She has also addition many, many times. He gave up worked in their vegetarian restaur­ even counting after three or four ants. They want her to come live and questions like this (there were a dozen or more in all). work there. (I'm not ready to give her up yet . ) She also met some doc­ In spite of which, he scored tors while there, who have invited well above the 40th percentile in her to come work and learn with them everythi ng except one test, which may at their health center in the South. have been the one we walked out of.

Last year she was a full-time babysit­ So we're allowed to continue to home­ ter for a local school dean. The dean school, and at the end of next year recently moved and called this week we'll move to another s tate anyway. to ask if Dawn could come to live Since this, I have asked several with them and teach their children at elementary school teachers about the home (in California'~ SRA test. One who teaches 4th graders When here at home she is hired said her classes find it very diffi­ cult to cope with, being so long and as a secretary for a local business­ man, besides apprenticing with the redundant. She says the longest she ever spends at in in one session is Barkers at their Country School (GWS two hours ... If I ever have to have #46). She has also been asked to learn lay midwifery, train as a col­ my kid tested again, it isn't going to be that SRA ... porteur, gardener, etc. Her biggest problem is not in finding a job ­ it's which one to take.

She may go to a private college RECOGNITION DAY to study nutrition. I've already spoken to them and they are thrilled From the newsletter of HOME with homeschooling.

SCHOOLS UNITED/VEGAS VALLEY (NV): . .. Our 15-year-old twin boys, Tim and Dave, are apprenticing with ... Our First Annual Promotion an Amis~ man learning engine repair. and Recognition of Home Scholars was They are learning first-hand how to a success ... [Eight children] repair tractors, lawn mowers, chain received a promotion certificate from saws, etc. A neighbor has bartered their families ... two calves with them in exchange for We had a few special performan­ them helping him do hay, plant corn, ces from the following students: and occasionally milk his cows. Every Shandy Mangione did a tap and a bal­ day they work for another neighbor let; John Mark, Shondalae Broderson, for four hours, landscaping his and Danielle Basham recited "One, picture-perfect lawns and gardens and Two, Buckle My Shoe" in German ... doing mai'l,t enance work. When our Theron Hamlen presented his Dinosaur local principal moved, he hired them project; Will Ensley displayed his - wonder why he didn't hire his mice, which he raises; April Ensley pupils? They've earned $72 a day help­ displayed some of her drawings; Annie ing to move ,people. They, too, are Leon presented her ' weather project; apprenticing with the Barkers in and Jason Hughes displayed his plant Millersburg. project.

Our oldest son, Rick (18), has Following the award presenta­ been offered jobs lawn-mowing with a tions, HSU proudly photographed the business concern, scouting fields for first Home School Class of 1985' Con­ an agricultural agent, and working in gratulations to all our home schooled In July, Kitty wrote:

.:·• I r::J L:.::..:J ~ O· • 0·' •• O

own­

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

9

a laundry. He is currently working for a food company, where they make infant formula and soy milk. His two loves are music and biology. A friend discussed the possibility of his apprenticing with a biologist/writer, classifying bones (at which he is very good). He is considering going to the local private college to study music ...

We toured that co llege with a gr oup of homeschoo lers. We have been bombarded by letters from them invit­ ing Rick to sign up this fall. Sever­ al o f their tea c hers are home sc hool­ ing their kids' ...

-mere have been times, I'm sure, that he was sure that we ruined him by nor-sending him t o a school offer­ ing all of the latest equ i pment. And a t times I'd get cold feet and ask myself if-r-was sure I was doing the right thing. Now-ne-come s home from hi s summer job amazed at how poorly many of tho se around him work. People comment to him in every area (he fil ls in for vari ous dep a rtments ) that he works more efficiently than th e people who trained him. Again, he seems surprised' He has learned how to work, but most importantly, to think. ... When we started homes chooling our children I had no idea what to do, so I was very thankful for the ver y structured correspondence pro­ gram we used. They told us exactl~ what to do every day. I shudder w en I look back and think of those poor kids sitting there from 8 AM to 1 PM every day. One year we even went through the summer' Well, our six have t aught me a l ot (besi des math) and they've put up with a lot whil e mother was discover­ ing what real le a rning is.

I started to get fed up with the dumb tests we'd have t o send in every few weeks. They were the kind of th i ngs that caused me to ask, "Who cares anyway?" (Frankl y , I don't ca re what a dangling participle is.) We began t o be really slow a t completing our course s because there were too many better things t o learn than doing-rnerr busywork. I was feeling really-gurrt y and dumb about my lack of enthusiasm for the course.

The climax came for us one day when our o lde s t son, Rick, was work­ ing on a hist o r y project, his own idea. He had a tremendous interest in hi s t o ry and wa s co llecting informa­ ti on left and right to fill in a huge time chart all on hi s own. He was r esearching and learning so much that he didn't have time t o l oo k up al l the little boring things the course wanted him to fill out for their test s . I wrote t o them and explained the hour s he was spending devouring information on hi s tor y. The boy was a walking "fac toid." They replied that I must force him to complete his assignments f~rst and then and ?n~y then could he be a llowed the pr~v~­ lege of working on his pro ject.

At that point, o r shortly there­ after, a light went on in my head that said, "At which activity is he le arni ng more?" Of course ' Real learn­ ing zooms forward when we have-a desire to learn something .

His abilities passed mine when he reached seventh grade level. He has taught h i mself things of interest since then. If we go for a walk with him , he'll pick up bone fragments and identify them correctly. He can tell you about insects , wildlife, plants, etc. How has he learned, having never been taught ? I know I didn't teach it to him, because I didn't know it. . .. We have come to believe in a

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

work/study program. Why a work/study program? Probably the greatest need of the child is that of self-worth, and knowing that he is loved and his existence counts. Self worth includes a picture of himself which is formed as he attempts various tasks. Idle­ ness leads the ch~ld to draw conclu­ sions about himself as incapable of doing anything valuable. He needs to know that he is needed. When left to themselves, children almost always imitate adult work. It would be observed by all thou~htful parents that children will find real self­ fulfillment in being enthusiastically led into the experience of useful work at home.

Notice I said "led," not "sent."

I believe that children work best and learn most when working with a cheer­ ful adult. Try to draw tnem-into work­ ing side by side with you in the many activities of the household. The child working alongside a parent who finds joy in working enjoys a calm sense of usefulness. Outdoor work is great every day of the year' The child is learning basic life attitudes. He is learning that he can find real contentment and joy in doing simple and natural things . He enjoys the companionship of mother and father in normal everyday set­ tings. But most of all, his self­ worth begins to grow . He views him­ self as a capable person. He tastes success in real life experiences. He begins to form a picture of himself as one capable of taking on more chal­ lenging activities . He knows he has made a useful contribution in real life ... [ A later note :] ... Today our old­ est son, Rick, started college .

When he first went to the admissions office they told him he had to have his diploma in hand before he could start college. It was mutually agreed that he'd come back in the spring.

He has been completing his Clon­ lara test but is too busy living to finish it.

Anyway, this same private col­ lege decided to give him an entrance exam. They called him up all excited' He was in the 90th percentile' They invited him to start college the next day' ... Now, I am about as thrilled with college as I am with regular school (which isn't very thrilled at all). But it does reinforce in my mind that what I've believed is true - children will learn more on their own i f not confined to-a-Qesk all day ...

MORE LEITERS ABOUT TEENS

From Lesley Stevens, 4620 Strumme Rd, Bothell WA 98012: . ... We've been homeschooling thr ee weeks now... My 13~-year-old girl is very upset about leaving her peer group. But after going to our "church school" for one month, my sweet, sensitive, responsible daugh­ ter became wild, irresponsible, rebel­ lious, foul-mouthed, and told me pre­ marital sex was OK because it wasn't "adultery," and after all, maybe there really wasn't a God. Now, I expected and warned her the day would come when she would question our values, but I never expected it in this form. Suddenly her father and I became "the enemy," and no longer "consultants." I'm very disappointed the school doesn't maintain the

standards our church, as a rule, teaches ...

I know many fami l ies in ou r ar ea who are homeschooling ... However, I only know one other family with a teenager. It makes my daughter feel like she's being punished, although I've tr ied and tried to explai n. She talks for hou r s to h er " old" frie nds and now wants to go to a differe nt branch of our church so she can be with them. I feel t errible . She even disapp eared one day with her sister and we had police and neighbors searching as i t became dark. We were all t e r rified . She had walked eigh t miles t o her old " church school" to see a movie with her "friends."

I'm really facing a dilemma. I pra y we can soon hit a happy medi ­ um . .. It sure would help to know of other families with teens . ..

From Frank Conley (TN): .. . Right now I'm working on the J OHN HOLT LEARNING CENTER test. I hope t o ha ve it finished soon . How­ ever, I' ve also been quite busy doing a Stanley H. Kaplan course. Stanley H. Kaplan has centers throughout the U. S . that offer courses in prepara­ tion for a number of s t andardized test s . I hope to take the A. C. T. on Oc tober 26th. The only probl em I am having wi th the work is on the math sections. And those aren't really prob le ms . I simply need more work in re cogniz ing what they are looking for in the math pr oblems; which is one thing th a t the Kaplan course does.

The y hel p sor t out jargon.

At firs t I felt uncomfortable taking this class as I ' m on l y 15. I soon found out though, that I was quite on th e le vel of the other two peop le who are sharing the class ( the y are both seniors in high school) . So thi s has given me a boost . I figure that if these school trained people are going to get into col l ege , I s houldn 't have any prob­ lem. Afte r a ll, I HAVE been home­ sc hoo l ed almost my entire life. What bett er train ing can there be? (Not to say anything against the fine train­ ing they provide in schools, of course . ) In GWS #28, you printed an ar ti­ cle I wrote about worki ng at a vet ' s in Loui siana . Well, we ' ve moved sinc e , and I had to quit working there . H owev~r, I hope to find a vet her e in Tennessee soon. The one thing I'm no t goi ng t o be able to do again, though, is to t ake classes at the ve t school like I did in Louisiana. I regret th is greatly. . .. The university here does offer a number of photography class­ es, some of which I hope to audit. I became interes t ed in photography a few years ago a nd s t arted using my dad' s came r a. Recently, I got my own

Even a yo ung child can play this string instrume nt by sliding note s heets under the strings.

...

ta.kPadtd

.".

Lap Harp

EKtrl w nlP.,kclofl2sonptacli - Chflstmu

Tuner

P••

-

[klr,Slnnl

- lOS Famil y Home: E...:nln, Vol. r or 2 Popular Chlldrrn's 50np

. 2501lp Only S44 00 . pd

Favontt C hm,uan Hymns

S350uthpkkct

Order today to be in time for Christmu:

FAMILY DISCOVERY CENTER . 211 Annie, Coeur d'Alene , 1083814

(2Q8) 667-6215

10

and have been using it a great deal.

I've also had the luck of taking a few classes. I took one camera course that was very basic at Vanderbilt (a non credit class), and I also took a darkroom class at a local high school. The latter is very valuable since we hope to set up our own dark­ room shortly.

I'd like to say how much I've enjoyed your "pen pal" list. I've written to a few people with very good results. I've especially enjoyed writing to ones overseas. Homeschool­ ing is very different over there, and it's interesting to hear about it ...

And from Martha Holmes (MI): ... My son, Dale, is now 17 and left school after the 6th grade. Last year, he earned 14 credits at the local junior college. In June of this year, he was given a high school diploma from Clonlara - Pat Montgom­ ery's school in Ann Arbor.

On the basis of his high school records, and his all-A work at the junior college, Dale applied for admission to a nearby four-year col­ lege. He was awarded the "Award for Excellence" which provides $1000 per semester toward his college expenses.

It is guaranteed for his first year, and renewable for four years if he maintains at least a 3.5 grade average.

Dale took all five of the gener­ al C.L . E.P. exams, and made the required scores in every area. On the basis of these test scores, he was given 34 credit hours.

This fall he is taking 16 hours on campus. Not bad for a kid who "dropped out" of the regular educa­ tion system at the age of 12' ...

UNSCHOOLER GRADUATES IN MASS.

The Berkshire, MA Eagle, 6/25/85: UNUSUAL EDUCATION PLAN ENDS UP WITH HIGH HONORS ... Thomas Ingersoll, son of John Ingersoll and his former wife, Dorothy Weaver ... graduated [from the Sheffield high school) with high honors, academic distinctions, two scholarships and letters of accep­ tance from Michigan State, Boston Uni­ versity, Antioch College, and Wesley­ an University.

Not bad for a kid who didn't enter school until 9th grade.

Thomas Ingersoll and his younger brother, Russell, stayed at home on the family farm in Sheffield while their peers went to school The educa­ tional philosophy of their parents was a laissez-faire non-program in which the parents, John said, "pro­ vide an environment in which children might flourish. We really were pretty loose." ... That assessment was initially shared by the uneasy members of the Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee. But they were persuaded by John and Dorothy's sincerity and, in 1975, gave their blessing to the Ingersolls' request to keep Thomas out of school. [DR: They are on our "Friendly School Districts" list, GWS #42.) The school committee stipulated that Thomas, and Russell after him, would have to take standardized tests to make sure they did not fall behind.

John and Dorothy had decided peo­ ple need maybe three or four things to do well in life. People need to be able to organize their own time, they need to be able to pursue their own interests and they need to be self­

approving - to take pride in their work and accomplishments and not wait for someone else to affirm them.

They believed their boys could learn these things, and a lot of other things, by living on the farm ... They didn't want their boys to sit in a classroom in a big build­ ing, their lives ruled by the clock and buzzer. "Why put them in an insti­ tution like a crazy man or a con­ vict?" John asked.

Thomas and Russell did not have lessons at any set time. They could stay up late if they chose, they could sleep late if they wanted; But they participated in the life of the farm and had responsibilities that increased as they grew older and more able.

John Ingersoll said he and Doro­ thy figured that living off the land, growing fruit, chopping wood, tending bees, grinding flour and collecting eggs were events more significant than the experiences of elementary school. "It seemed like there were more real things going on here," he said. The Ingersolls could hardly understand critics who said they were keeping their boys out of the real world. "We didn't want to take them out of the world," he said, "we want­ ed to get them into the world."

The boys learned the names of trees and the nature of pumpkins.

Math was a means of figuring out how many rows of potatoes would fit on a plot that measured such-and-such. Geo­ metry was learned when one of the boys wanted to figure the height on a particular tree. Thomas said that "school seemed like something that would have slowed me down. And I always knew I could ask a question."

Their parents always read to the boys. Russell recalled that his moth­ er read Genesis as a storybook. John and Dorothy also read aloud STUART LITTLE, CHARLOTTE'S WEB, the Pooh books and many others until the boys picked up the books themselves and started reading them. They read com­ ics and baseball cards, classics and J.R.R. Tolkien. "I didn't think about the fact that I was learning to read," Thomas said.

John Ingersoll said he and Doro­ thy believed the boys would teach themselves by following their own desire to learn. Though he is a gradu­ ate of Yale and she a graduate of the University of Chicago, "the learning that we had did not prepare us for today's world," he said ...

A desire for society and an interest in girls inclined both boys to enter a conventional high school.

Russell borrowed an 8th grade math book and studied before he left the farm for 9th grade ... The administra­ tion had offered the boys whatever books or assistance they wanted. A liaison teacher occasionally called on the boys to see how they were doing.

They both did well at Mount Ever­ ett Regional School, with two notable exceptions. Neither of them knew the parts of speech - Russell said he had never even heard of a participle.

Worse, Thomas said he discovered that he was "sort of a nerd."

They learned the names for the words and constructions, overcame nerd-dom and cultivated active social lives. They had both been big in Lit­ tle League while growing up on the farm, so it wasn't as if they had never seen other children before.

Thomas, 17, is on his way to Michigan and Russell, 15, is entering 11th grade with an excellent academic record ...

John said the home-education experiment had nothing to do with the break-up of the marriage. The experi­ ment went very well, in Dorothy's estimation. She said last night that she is pleased with what the boys are doing with their lives. John feels the same. "What they've learned," he said, "they learned themselves. It's theirs." ...

WORKING AT THE LIBRARY

Karen Johnston (CA) writes: · •• My daughter Fawn (11) has been itching to do some real work. As she says, "I don't care about getting paid, I just want to work." We found an activfty this summer-which has been perfect for her.

Our public library's children's librarian organized a '~oung Adult Volunteers and Book Club" for youth, grades six and up. They meet once a week at the library to discuss books they've read, and what they'd like to read, and to work on projects. Their main one is building a puppet stage and creating their own hand puppets which will be donated for permanent use in the young children's section of the library (to be used £y young children, not to give performances to them!)...

During the rest of the week the youth are free to come in any hours they can, and are put to work' We live 20 miles from town, but whenever we are going in for a few hours to do errands, Fawn begs to go to the library to work, even taking the mini­ bus there if I'm not going to that end of town. Some of the work she has done so far this summer includes run­ ning the desk of the children's room (which is quite busy with kids sign­ ing up for their progress in the sum­ mer reading program); helping younger kids find the book they're looking for; reshelving books; organizing magazine racks; doing behind-the­ scenes office work; and assisting in the pre-schoolers' story hour.

There is all too often nothing planned for her age group - too young for actual employment, but too old for "kids' stuff." We hope that Fawn will be able to continue at the library after summer is over. · •. We are hoping the school okays our request for part-time schooling through the Independent Study program. (It's thanks to GWS that I knew to call Dr. Lynn Hartzler and arm myself with brochures and information about the program, as our board and new supervisor/principal knew nothing about this alterna­ tive! ) ...

FAMILY BUILDS A WOFfkSHOP

From Janice Erdman (WI): · .. Early this spring, I was feel­ ing rather guilty about my enthusiasm for our new building project for the summer. We planned a 24x40' workshop to relieve our crowded basement. With all the boys past toddlerhood, I was finally free to get out and do some serious carpentry. Then I thought about how we probably wouldn't have time for a vacation, swimming, and going to many of the events we usual­ ly attend in summer. In general, the boys might feel neglected. I should have known better' Building has become a great fami­ ly project. Our first trips, in early

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

11

spring, took us to the sawmill of our Amish neighbors to buy lumber. The boys loved watching the . teams of work­ ing horses; the quiet of the barn where all the milking is done by hand; the sawmill; and all the Amish children. What a fun way to buy lumber' Then there were trips to vari­ ous lumberyards to choose roofing, nails, and other materials. At one place, the boys were picking up stray nails from the floor. A worker gave them a bucket and they ended up with quite a variety of nails for their very own.

Soon we were into the real build­ ing. With the framing done, Will (7) climbed to the roof peak to measure how far up it was - 18 feet!

We work almost entirely with hand tools. They are quieter, safer and more fun to use than power tools.

The boys have learned the name of each tool, what it does, how to take care of and use it properly . There is lots of time for discussion and questions.

Will and Martin (9) are quite accurate at measuring, making chalk lines, using a level, pounding nails and staining siding. When they get tired of "real" work, they build things with scrap lumber, or just drill holes with hand drills in old boards. Ryland (4) likes to ask the names of the different types of nails in their bucket. It is great to ask for a 16d nail or a finishing nail and be handed the proper one.

In spring we discovered many birds we had never seen before in the wooded, marshy area behind the build­ ing. We even had to leave part of the sheathing off one corner of the build­ ing so a mother robin could raise her babies.

We occasionally take time off and attend an auction or flea market.

Now everyone looks closely at the tools. Sometimes the boys buy planes, saws or drills of their very own.

They are pretty shrewd at choosing useable items and getting the best price, too. Several times people have commented on their good behavior .

No une seems to notice the short­ age of time and money this year - at least not the boys' Now I feel bad that they missed the fun of building the house. We had done most of the house before they were born ...

WORK GLOVES FOR CHILDREN

Toots Weier (WI) writes in response to a query in GWS #46: ... Child-sized work gloves are available in ~ area at the hardware store and dime stores. These are 100% cotton in colors ( blue, brown, red), for age 4-7. When my children were in need of cotton work gloves, but their hands were too small for these, I simply machine-washed and dried them to make them shrink - to the right size' They do become a hit misshapen with this process, but still the fing ­ ers are just right. They just lose a bit of their stretchiness in the otherwise snug cuff.

Another version of child-sized work gloves are also 100% cotton ­ they are brushed cotton with a nap, and come in bright yellow. They are a small version of men's work gloves with the brand name "Handy Hank" or something similar. These might run just a bit larger than the other type, though they do not have the stretch. This type is a heavy-duty style.

My 10-year-old son wears a small

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

woman's size in the soft cotton glove. They are just a smidge big for him, but likewise, shrinking these works well for him.

If you are not able to find the child-size gloves in your area, I'll be happy to mail them to you for cost plus postage. They are le ss than $2 per pair. As for latex gloves, I've never seen them in child size ... [ DR: In my opinion, there's nothing like a pair of work gloves to make a messy or scratchy job faster and easier. If you expect your child­ ren to work outside with you, it makes sense to provide them with the proper equipment.)

USING SCISSORS AT TWO

Patt Bristow (CA) writes: ... Both my kids were using full-sized scissors with nary an injury by their 2nd birthdays, although their push-down-the-handle closure technique was quite different than my own. In fact, Meg (4) would sit patiently with Alane, then about 20 months, helping her put the scissor blades near the desired picture, and balance the handles until she learned to push them closed by herself. By then Meg had learned to hold the scissors in one hand, as we do, but she apparently remembered how she'd made the scissors work when her fingers were smaller.

Als o, there was no hidden ten­ sion or anxiety in Meg's assisting.

She never said, "Watch your fingers' Do you know how sharp those are?

You're too little to cut with those'" Admonitions which I must admit played dutifull y through my mind in spite of the fact that i ntellectually I trust­ ed in her ability to learn safely. I guess whether you let your children do dangerous things depends on your definition of "danger" and the price you're willing to pay to keep them "safe." I guess I'm more wary of emo­ tional or spiritual injury - it's harder t o help a wound heal when you can't see it ...

HOUSEWORK & CHILDREN

Two responses to B.W., who asked in GWS #46 about children and house­ hold chores. First, Linda Mills (TX): ... Will sympathy help ? When my fifth baby was born, the others were 9, 7, 5, and 3. I was tired all the time and my oldest kid was .terribly overworked. You can't expect much when they're so young, and the y 're SO MESSY. At a La Leche League conference in 1974, I heard a mom say, "You won't have a clean house and happy kids on the same day." I took that to heart!

Still, when your surroundings are cluttered, your mind feels clut­ tered. Isn't it realry-the clutter that gets to us? The best adv1ce I ever had was a paragraph in a book called NURSING YOUR BABY, on "top clean~ng." I can remember teaching my little ones to top clean. We'd all go into one room, taking a grocery bag for trash, a laundry hamper, a laun­ dry basket, dust rags, broom, and dustpan. Sometimes I'd set the timer - "I bet we can clean this room in 15 minutes." Then I'd say: "OK, gather all the trash you can find."

"Now put dirty clothes into the hamper."

Into the basket would go any­ thing that didn't belong in that room.

Everyone would choose a piece of furniture or windowsill to dust, I'd sweep, and we'd all stand back and feel right proud of ourselves' As we went to the next room, we'd remove from the basket anything that belonged in that room.

Another idea - a friend once told me that if you get right up in the morning s and make the beds and clean up the kitchen, your house looks a lot tidier.

-----And a thought - I make a point of NEVER getting it spotless, because then I'm mad because someone left a book out or a closet door open. · .. Mainly, just hang on . It grad­ ually gets better and better. My youngest is now 8 . Each kid has his own laundry basket - I just do mine and my husband's. They even do their own sheets and towels - each has his own color. My husband hung a low clothes-rod in the younger boys' closet, and shelves on their walls for toys and trea sures . They all get up and make their beds and cook their breakfast. We take turns loading and unloading the dishwasher, washing table and counters, sweeping . They make their lunch. I do cook dinner ­ isn't that nice of me?

I pay for jobs like cleaning bathroom fixtures ($2), seeing that trash is taken out on collection days (50¢) and the empty trashcans brought back (25¢), weeding flower beds ($3), lawn mowed ($10), and baysitting ( no babies, we call it "kid care . ") If I'm out of money (it's allotted in my household budget), the work doesn't get done. Or more likely, someone will say, "Aw, I'll do it for free."

The only reason I'm going into such detail is to say - and show ­ that IT GET~ BETTER. It's mainly a function of time. · .. 1 a lso, whenever pOSSible, try to get dinner in the crockpot early so I can forget about it. And anyone else who cooks had better clean up or I YELL! . .. My mom always kept one room clean and beautifully decorated. We weren't allowed in there. She'd go sit in there to calm herself. I've never had a room to spare, but isn't that a lovely idea? ..

And from Valerie Vaughan (MA): · .. When my second child arrived this spring, I really needed help and I got it. Gabe (7) is my best little helper. Before son #2 came, I paved the way by talking to Gabe about how he was going to be a Big Brother and Mama's Helper. I think by giving the role a name, Gabe could relate to it.

If therers-one discouraging thing about doing housework, it's that it's such an "invisible" job - not like "baker" or "driver" or "nurse." ...

"Mama's Helper" as a name seems to help define the role, gives it status or worth. · .. 1 make sure that I thank my son for whatever job, however-mTnor. . .. Praise first, then if there's some­ thing not done so well, I'll go back LATER to adjust it or re-do it. Doing a job together also helps - picking up to ys or cleaning together makes it much more pleasant for both of us.

"Hom. Sc;;ooTs:An- - - - - - - - - - - - - Alternatlva, 201 pg.. explores controversies , offers guidelines, $7.95 pPd .

Homa EducatIon R.source GuIde, hundreds ..2f~~~~ses, '10 ppd.

"I DO HAVE A CHOICE'"

Blue Bird Publishing 1428 Wesl8rood Streel ' 202

Columbus. OH 43222

~

12

I also play up to the "superman" role that my son can relate to. When I discover the baby needs a new dia­ per and my hands are full, I yell "Diaper Alert'" and he races off to bring me a new one .. . Children like to be important heroes, and making a house job part of the hero's story makes them a star .. .

Be specific about household tasks - "Clean your room" is NOT specific. But break it down into sep­ arate tasks like, "Put these in this box," "Sweep this corner with a broom," etc. And only give one task at a time, not several at once. Each job gets to be praised and there is a greater feeling of accomplishment to know one has finished eight tasks than one called "Clean your room."

This rs-also true for adults' With children under 4, never expect actual help, but let them play with the-auster, vacuum cleaner, etc.

Years ago I let my son "help" me with the juicing machine while many of my friends thought it was dangerous or he might break it. But NOW whenever I turn the juicer on, Gabe rushes in to really help me, without my asking .

Within reason, children can be allowed to explore all the cleaning and household equipment they are curi­ ous about; the payoff later is worth a few moments of supervision in the early years.

One reality of homeschooling is that kids are in the house many more hours than school kids are . That alone creates more housework. If you don't believe it, just observe how clean your house remains while your family goes out on a trip.

A confusing atmosphere is appar­ ent when the house is a mess. I talk about this with my son, and he agrees wholeheartedly. It's hard to think or relax or start something new when a room is cluttered. It's easy when the room's picked up ... It may seem obvi­ ous to ~, but it helps to think out loud anosay, "I'm edgy and confused and the room is a mess. Now we clean it up ... Now doesn't it FEEL better in here?" - ­ . . . 1 have to comment on your statement about "non-interference" in handling academic and chore work. You must always be guiding and that is interference' Americans typicallY­ equate freedom with total license .

There is something besides being eith­ er purely authoritarian or totally permissive. Parenting is a process of constant guidance, and there is control in that job . . .

By the way, I tried John 's sug­ gestion about NOT telling him to do something for a month, and it didn't work. Pam, in her letter, refer s also to this suggestion, saying that she knows her present 9-year-old (she has 7 kids) would never brush his teeth if she didn't remind him now and then. She goes on to say t hat five of her kids have terrific teeth in spite of years of erratic brushing (which is also reassuring) .

She also says they all (eventual­ ly) go through an overnight metamor­ phosis in regards to cleanliness in their teens . HOORAY' ... My son (now 10) still mostly reads and does Legos and fights with his sister and is difficult and rebel­ lious . We gave up on counselling as I didn't see any change excep t an "I am different" attitude he picked up which seemed to give him the impres­ sion that he had every right to act like a creep! He still fights with neighborhood kids in groups but gets along OK (usually) one to one.

Karate has helped a lot. He's really into it and it's giving him a lot of much-needed confidence. I had to overcome my distaste for that aggressiveness but it seems to be helping him control his ins t ead of encouraging it (as I'd feared) . . .

SUCCESS STORIES Kitty Desmarteau (OR) wrote: ... We started my daughter Heath­ er in preschool at 3 years. By Christ­ mas of her first grade year she was having night terrors, continual head­ aches, stomach aches, and no finger­ nails . We took her out by Christmas and I home-taught in the spring.

Actually, I did only enough teaching to keep everyone else happy. I felt that this little girl needed the pressure taken off of her . She just was herself for months . All symptoms disappeared. In return, I was given a little girl who can entertain herself and wants to learn .

Every day brings new adventures.

Yesterday we dissected a mole that the cat had killed, and learned about organs. I have already used something I learned from you: "If you want your children to learn or do some t hing ­ do it yourself . " I am trying to become the model learner, and my children follow . ..

From an Illinois reader:

UPOATE: HARD TO LIVE WITH From the parent who wrote "Hard to Live With" in GWS #43: ... As of today, I've gotten 10 responses to my letter .. . It's funny - they all start with the same line ­ "He sounds just like our son/daugh­ ter." All the people who responded were talking about their oldest child and all except one were boys:-Almost every letter recommended a natural diet (which my son has been on since birth). Most of the letters didn't give any specific advice - just much-needed support and empathy. One letter I particularly treasure is from Pam Martin in P.E.I., Canada, who wrote that my son sounded like her oldest boy who is now 23 - and he made it just fine through a difficult childhood. Her letter is humorous and empathetic and helps me keep things in perspective with the "THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS" philosophy.

. .. The most tangible benefit of homeschooling has been that my son (now 7) has stopped wetting his bed.

He was waking up dry during his desul­ tory pre-school career, but as his education progressed, he was not.

Before he left formal schooling,- two months into first grade, he was wet­ ting his bed three nights a week. He was also biting his fingernails and chewing on Legos and other building toys. He improved slowly during his structured homeschooling, and dramati­ cally over the summer when he had as much freedom as I will allow . . . The nail-biting is almost completely gone; he has wet his bed twice over the summer ...

And from Barbara Guerin (NY): ... My 12-year-old son h as bee n out of public school for l~ years.

When I took him out in the middle of 5th grade, everyone was shoc k ed . We

had t o answer questions everywhere we went, and everyone thought I was nuts and he must be weird . I was told by the school if he didn't do well on the Iowa Basic tests he would have to go back .

At the end 6 t h grade when he

took the tests, he scored so high,

they asked if he .would like to take

the SAT next year to try for the

Johns Hopkins University summer pro­

gram. What a fantastic change in

attitude!

Now we look forward to another year at home, but still can't under­ stand the usual remarks (to me) at the check-out counter, "1 betyou can't wait for school to start." My son and I agree that it makes kids feel terrible to be talked about like objects to be shoved aside, gotten rid of, because as they say, "Doesn't he drive' you nuts?" .. .

FREE TO QUIT CLASSES From Madalene Murphy (PA): ... Our summer has included a lot more formal classes than I am usually comfortable with, but one series in particular has been very good. I read in our local newspaper about a two­ week science course for 12- to 14­ year-olds given by a nearby college.

It sounded somewhat interesting but was more t h an we could afford. Schol­ arships were available but students had to be nominated by their science teachers in their particular school districts. Emily (12) was interested so I called up, explained that she was learning at home and asked if she ' could be eligible for a scholarship.

After I finally talked with the pro­ fessor in charge of the program and assured him that Emily did have some sense of how to handle herself in a lab (I really don't know what he expected her to do - perhaps go around tasting the chemicals or some such), he said he had no problem nom­ inating her for a scholarship and she should submit a 100-word essay on why she was interested in science. Emily worked hard on the essay (writing with a purpose') and was thrilled when she was told she could start the next Monday . The classes lived up to her expectations, too. Each morning she had classes in behavioral sci­ ences, focusing on learning and mem­ ory, physical sciences, focusing on the make-up of various foods, and bio­ logical sciences, focusing on investi­ gations with e. coli bacteria. The lectures were not watered down, although time was spent on introdu­ cing the kids to some lab techniques like using a Bunsen burner, and the kids were also treated like college students with, for example, the free­ dom to go to the bathroom if they had to, wi~hout having to ask permission.

Christian (9) ~nd Clare (6), who have never been to school, have had a good share of the frustrations of a traditional school situation in their classes at a local science museum.

Christian, who is used to moving at his own pace, complains that his microscope course moves so-o-o-o slowly and that he doesn't like hav­ ing to just sit and listen so much without doing things himself. Clare does like the independence of going to a class all by herself, but has found that so far nothing has been said in the class that she hadn't already discovered for herself here at home. Both are free to stop when­ ever they want and Christian almost CONT t NUED ON PAGE 25

GROW ING WITHOUT SCHOOLING '47

John Holt's

BOOK AND MUSIC STORE

"An innovative slant on the claustrophobic world of child/parent relationships in American society. John Holt, who has con­ tributed several books - and more than a few ripples in the field of education - now proposes that adult rights and duties be made available to children regardless of age."

KIRKUS REVIEW 225 pages. Paperback. $4.95 ISBN: 0-913677-04

BY JOHN HOLT

ON CHILDREN AND LEARNING

HOW CHILDREN FAIL,1964. Revised 1982. The ori­ glnal best-seller about how even the "bright­ est" kids in the "best" schools are made stu­ pid by their fear of humiliation, by school's separation from life, and by the assumption kids will only learn what they're taught PLUS 20-25,000 words of new writing. $5.95 HOW CHILDREN LEARN, (1967) Revised Ed, 1983.

How Ilttle klds flgure thlngs out for thelr own satisfaction with little or no help, be­ fore their intelligence and curiosity is crippled by having to learn under orders, for praise and reward. The original text, plus much important new material. $7.95 THE UNDERACHIEVING SCHOOL, 1969. ~any popular myths of educatlon exposed and exploded, in­ cluding some of Piaget's theories and the idea that poor kids can't learn. $4.50 FREEDOM AND BEYOND, 1972. 1) What freedom means ln dally ilfe, and some of the tensions it creates; and 2) why schools can't cure pov­ erty, and only make it worse. $4.50 ESCAPE FROM CHILDHOOD, 1974. The case for treatlng chlldren Ilke real people, not pets and slaves, and for making available to them adult rights & responsibilities. The original text recently reprinted in paperback. $4.95 NEVER TOO LATE, 1978. #38. How, after a non­ muslcal chlldhood, I came to love music, and began to play the cello at age 50. About music, teaching and learning, and above all, struggling to overcome self-doubt. $4.50 TEACH YOUR OWN, 1981. How and why ~any people have taken their children out of school, and how they have helped them learn at home.

Answers to most common objections. Legal ad­ vice, court rulings. The home-schooling hand­ book. $8.95 -

THE ACORN PEOPLE, Ron Jones. #13. Inspiring and movlng story by a camp counselor who helped severely handicapped children do what was considered impossible. $2.25 THE AFRICAN CHILD, Camara Laye. #29. A young Afrlcan tells the story of his happy childhood in a pre-industrial tribal culture, showing us a very different world from which we have have much to learn. $2.50 THE BOOK OF SMALL, Emily Carr. #19. Well-known palnter, born ln 1871, reminisces about her childhood in Canada. Touching, true-to-life picture of how a child sees the world. $4 .95

This catalog contains our most recent books for the whole family's enjoyment.

Many of our books come from Europe, others from American smal l presses, so most of our books are unavailable in local stores. These books are for everyone concerned with learning and growing in our society.

The number following title and author refers to the issue of our magazine GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING that contains a review of the book. *, newest additions to our catalog.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

By John Holt, On Chlldren &Learning: page 1/ Tests, Homeschooling: p.2/ Facts & Science: p.3 / Math, Economics, For a Changing World, History & Geography: p.4/ Health, Poetry & Humor, Biography, Novels, Plays: p.5/ Foreign Language, Art &Materials, Music Books: p.6/ Instruments, SpeCial Documents, GWS: p.7/ Reprints, Records, Tapes, Short Stories, Science Fiction: p.8/ For Young Children, For Children & Adults: p.9/ Series, Home & Garden, Gadgets: p.10/ Order Form: p.ll

2.

BORN TO LOVE, Joann Grohman. #14. An excellent book about the importance of natural child rearing, especially breast-feeding. $6.50 *CHILDBIRTH WITH INSIGHT, ELizabeth Noble . #47. ThlS reassurlng book will convince you that women know how to give birth if they lis­ ten to themselves, not to conflicting theories' &well-meant interference. Much info. $8.95 DESCHOOLING SOCIETY, Ivan Illich . Why we need a soclety wlthout compulsory learning, and what it might be like. $4.95 EQUAL RIGHTS FOR CHILDREN, Howard Cohen. #24.

A thoughtfu l, carefully-reasoned argument in favor of making available to children the rights and responsibilities of adults. $4.95 THE FACTS OF LIFE, R.D. Laing. #13. A doctor and psychlatrlst makes a powerful attack on the ignorance and cruelty of much modern medi­ cine, especially relating to child-birth. $2.25 THE FAMILY BED, Tine Thevenin. #18. A strong argument ln favor of having babies and young children sleep in the same bed as their parents. Another good book on alternatives to modern child-raising methods. $5.95 GENERALLY SPEAKING, Ronald Macaulay. #32. A short, clear, and perceptive description, by a linguistics professor, of how children discov­ er and master language. A powerful argument for freedom in learning. $9 . 95 GNYS AT WRK, Glenda Bissex . #24, 25. How a chl1d, starting at age 5, became a skilled wri ­ ter by inventing spellings and correcti ng his own mistakes. Opposes conventional view that everything must be taught. Now in paperback! $6.95 THE HEART HAS ITS OWN REASONS: Motherin Wis­ dom for the 1980's, Mary Ann Cahl i l. #4. A supportlve, practlcal book for mothers who choose to stay home with their children. Good advice on how to cut costs at home. $8 . 95 HOW TO SURVIVE IN YOUR NATIVE LAND, James Hern­ don. #1. A very perceptlve and hl1arious account of daily life in a suburban junior high, in which a teacher discovers one of edu­ cation's basic mistaken assumptions. $5.95 KIDS: DAY IN, DAY OUT, Elisabeth Scharlatt. #10. Huge collectlon of imaginative, practical ideas about how to live, work, and play with young children. $12.95 THE LIVES OF CHILDREN, George Dennison. #6. A profound, movlng book about kids - poor, non-white, disturbed, public school rejects ­ growing and learning in a small school that treated them like people, not prob l ems.

Essential! $4.95 MINDSTORMS, Seymour Papert. #24. How children are learnlng programming by teaching a com­ puter to draw pictures; plus many useful ideas on learning, math, and the mind . $6.95 OH BOY! BABIES, Herzig & Mali. #24 . Boys learn to care for real babies in class. Minute-by­ minute account captures all the excitement, tension, and humor. Amusing photos. $6.95 PHILOSOPHY AND THE YOUNG CHILD, Gareth Matthews. #27. A phllosopher shows us, from charming examples, how much important meaning is in children's questions and remarks. $3.95 *READING AND LOVING, Leila Berg. #45. A percep­ tlve Brltlshwoman contrasts the way a child picks up reading amidst a loving family vs. the demoralizing school methods. $8.95 SOCIETY, STATE, AND SCHOOLS, Calvin Ce nter.

The rel1glOus, phllosophlcal, and legal issues raised by compulsory schooling. $9.95 TOTTO CHAN: THE LITTLE GIRL AT THE WINDOW, Tet­ suko kutoyanagl. #3 1. De llghtfu l story of an irrepressible little Japanese girl (the author) in a school run by a wonderful teacher. Best-sel l er in Japan. $4.50 WALLY'S STORIES, Vivian Paley. #39. A brash 5-year-01d lnveigles his kindergarten class into creating and acting out stories. Percep­

t

This carefully and thoroughly researched book is a devastating expose of the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), the Educational Testing Service which makes and sells them, and by extension of the whole idea of standardized multiple-choice tests. It is by far the most revealing and important of all the many books on testing that I have seen during the past fifteen or more years, and is and will be for some time an absolutely essential piece of information and ammunition for all home schooling families and organizations. It is of the utmost importance that until standardized tests have been general ly discredited, or at least lose their present mo nopoly over ways of keeping track of learning, we make sure this book stays in print, and becomes known to as many as possible of the public, to educators, to the media, and above all, to legislators.

MyUl As I will say elsewhere, one of our chief education­ al and political tasks for the next ten years or so will be to wean legislators away from the idea, which most of How the:: Educational Testing &rvice contJOls the ga~es to hi~r education and success in them now probably hold, that children's (or anyAmencan soc _ ".. " _ ....._ _ one's) learning can be accurately reduced to a number, and that standardized multiple-choice tests are the best or even the only way to do it. It looks more and more as if most legislatures, and perhaps before too long all of them, may be ready to say that parents should have the right to teach their own chi l dren; the danger is that they may then insist that all such parents must use the teaching and testing methods of the schools. To persuade them to change their minds on this point will take much time and patience, and to help us do 'this, Owen's book will be an invaluable resource . ... The mailing address of the Educational Testing Service is and for some time has been Princeton, N.J.; in news stories it is often referred to as "the Educational Testing Service of Princeton N.J." But the institution itself is not located in Princeton at all, but in a town call ed Lawrence. One can only ask why ETS should go to the troub l e of maintaining what is in effect a talse address. The obvious answer is that, without ever actually saying so (which would get them in a lot of trouble), they want to encourage people to believe what many do believe, that there is some connection between ETS and Princeton University. In fact there is no connection whatever. As Owen clearly shows, most of ETS's dealings with the public are on this ethical level. ..

I wish that Owen had said explicitly what his book strongly implies ... that it is not and never will be possible to reduce all the complexities of a human being's knowledge, understanding, and skill in learning to a single number. The first step to change this assumption is for as many of us as possible to read, and get others to read, this splendid and indignant book. - John Holt (See "Testing" for price.)

NON OF THE

AB~

Behind the of Scholastic Aptitude

---Gj'mnl"WkI+__

t i ve, charming, and revealing. Hardcover. $15.00 THE WAY IT SPOZED TO BE, James Herndon. #5 & 6. Used coples of thlS out - of-print classic about a teacher's struggles in a difficult school. Funny and important. $3.00 *YOUNG CHILDREN LEARNING, Tizard & Hughes. #44, 47. Important Br l tlsh study concludes 4-year-olds learn much more at home in daily life than in artificial nursery school activi­ ties. For fighting the trend to institutional­ ize the very young. Hardcover, $15.00 YOUNG CHILDREN, NATURAL ~EARNERS. Our first GWS supplement contalns letters from parents of children (from birth to 6) and various articles about how learning goes on before school. $2.00 TESTS

COMPLETE GUIDE TO TAKING TESTS, Bernard Feder. #10. Best book around on I) why standardized tests don't measure anything important about learning; 2) how to do well on tests if you have to take them. $4.95 HOW TO BEAT THE S.A.T., Michael Donner. #34.

Cl ever tactlcs to outwit the S.A .T. and other standardized tests. $3.95 HOW TO TAKE THE S.A.T., Marcia Lawrence. #20.

Learn how wrlters of the college board exam think when they make up questions. Many sample tests and answers, with good advice. $6.95 NONE OF THE ABOVE, David Owen. #45 . A bnlilant examlnation of the myt hs, prob l ems, and stupidities surrounding the SAT and other standardized tests. Hardcover. $16.95 TEN SATs, The College Board. #45. Actual and

complete sample tests plus advice on how to prepare for them. $8.95

HOM E SCHOOLING AND THE CHILDREN PLAYED, Pat Joudry. Back in prlnt, the V1Vld and beautiful story of how an off -beat family did without school. $8.95 ANYTHING SCHOOL CAN DO, YOU CAN DO BETTER, Malre Mullarney. #40. An Irlsh homeschooler writes about teaching her eleven children un­ til they were eight or nine (and later wished she had done so longer). $5.95 BETTER THAN SCHOOL, Nancy Wallace. #35. The best book we have had about how home schooling has worked and what it been like in one family. Their story is a textbook case of how to deal with difficult school boards.

Hardcover. $10.95 THE COMPLETE HOME EDUCATOR, Mario Pagnoni. #42. Explalns how computers work and how fami­ lies can use them at home. Also how and why the Pagnonis homeschool. Mario is a public school teacher. Clear, helpful, funny. $10.95 THE FIRST HOME SCHOOLING CATALOG, Donn Reed. #31. A huge 11St of books, materials, and re­ sources, put together by homeschoolers. $10.00 HOME EDUCATION AND CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES, Whltehead &Blrd. #40. One of the most valu­ able legal resources, tools, or weapons for home schoolers to have appeared in some time.

It sums up and argues the historical and legal case for homeschooling. $5.95 PETERSON'S INDEPENDENT STUDY CATALOG, 1983-85. #20. Where to flnd hundreds of academlc courses-by-mai 1 (high school, college, or grad level). With general info on home study. $5.95

3.

Better

Than School

BETTER THAN SCHOOL is "not only the most current work on home schooling, but may also may be the most thorough description of the problems as well as the joys ... describes the difficulties in obtaining bureaucratic approval, the development of specific curricula ... Thi s important book is recom­ mended highly for public and academic libraries."

LI BRARY JOURNAL

Nancy Wallace Introduction by John Holt

THE COMPLETE HOME EDUCATOR is a "clear, helpful, encouraging, and often very funny book. It is in fact two books. One is a book about computers - how they work, hpw parents and children can use them at home ... The other and main part is about home schooling ... lt is one of the very best of the growing list of books that have been written about this increasingly important subject ... As good a condensed argument for home-schooling as one can find anywhere, and his list of ways in which parent s can decide whether or not they are well-suited to do this is every bit as helpful."

John Holt.

One family's declaration of independencpSHOULD I TEACH MY KIDS AT HOME? A Workbook For Parents. Kate Kerman. #38. Th1S book should make many new friends for homeschooling, persuade many people to undertake it, and help many of those who do undertake it, to do it better. $4.50 SURVEY OF WASHINGTON STATE HOMESCHOOLERS, Jon &Wendy Wartes. #41. These 1984 survey re­ sults, made for the use of legislators, are splendid and perhaps the best portrait of home­ schoolers available. 66 pages. $7.00 WE LEARN AT HOME, Katharine Houk. H45. Picture booklet made by a homeschooler about her 6­ and 3-year-old. Give your kids someone to iden­ tify with! For read-aloud & coloring. $2.00 WHO DOES WHAT WHEN, Kerman. An excellent guide to curr1culum planning and record keeping in the home school. $2.50 FACTS AND SCIENCE

ALL NEW DINOSAURS, R. Long & S. Welles. H31. A hundred or more dinosaur pictures to color in, with much information about their lives . $2.95 THE AMATEUR NATURALIST'S HANDBOOK, Vinson Brown. #33. An expanded and rev1sed classic.

Make the outdoors your classroom! $9.95 ASIMOV ON PHYSICS, Isaac Asimov. #20. Delight­ ful essays on many aspects of physics by this famous popularizer of science, who shares his wonder and excitement - and knowledge. $3.95 BEGINNING DICTIONARY, Scott-Foresman. H15. By far the best ch1ldren's dictionary I have seen: clear, sensibly organized, handsomely printed, richly illustrated. A pleasure to look at and to use. Hardbound. $17.95 BLOOD AND GUTS, Linda Allison. H21 . Same ser­ ies as I HATE MATH! Lots of suggested activi­ ties to get acquainted with your own body: muscles, lungs, heart, eyes, brain, etc. $7.95 CASTLE, David Macaulay. H14. A beautifully TTTUStrated book about how medieval castles were built, lived in, and defended. $6.95 CONCEPTUAL PHYSICS, Paul Hewitt. #40. Written for college students who want or need to know something about physics but don't plan to be scientists, and good enough for anyone who wants to understand physics. $23.95

See "HOME SCHOOLING" for price and order information.

A FIELD GUIDE TO DINOSAURS, David Lambert. #35. More 1nformat10n than you would believe possible about hundreds of dinosaurs. THE book to turn to. Many drawings. $8.95 --KON-TIKI, Thor Heyerdahl. H16. Exciting, fasci­ nat1ng, and funny story of how (and why) six men sailed across the Pacific on a small balsa raft. A great true adventure. $2.95 LIVES OF A CELL, Lewis Thomas. H14. Short, W1tty, and surprising essays about the mystery of life and the strange ways of living creatures. $3.95 *MR. HALLEY'S COMET, Sky & Telescope. H44.

Everyth1ng you need to know about seeing the comet, including what not to expect. Attrac­ tive, readable, packed-wTth info. $2.00 OXFORD PICTURE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN ENGLISH, Parnwell. #17. P1ctures of 2000 everyday objects with their names printed below them.

Designed for people learning English as a new language, but very useful and exciting for any beginning reader. $3.95 PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS FOR CHILDREN, Muriel Man­ dell. #15. Many slmple exper1ments about air, water, heat, light, sound, etc, using common household objects. $2.50 POWERS OF TEN - On The Relative Sizes of Th1ngs 1n the On1verse, Ph11 &Phyl1s Mor­ r1son. #37. The most 1nteresting, imaginative, far-reaching, mind-stretching book on science we have seen. Great color photos. $19.95 REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS: A Golden Nature GU1de, Howard Zlm. #44. P1ctures, text and range maps all on the same page. Its illustra­ tions have natural backgrounds, providing valu­ able info. Pocket size. $2.95 A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC, A1do Leopold. #32. A natural 1St'S d1ary - a plea to cherish the wildlife around us, on which we all depend. A classic of ecology. $2.75 SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS YOU CAN EAT, Vicki Cobb. #26. Learn about crystals, colloids, microbes, and more, by cooking real food. Easy directions, common ingredients. $4.95 SPOTTER'S HANDBOOK : Flowers, Trees & Birds of North Amer1ca, M1chael Rugger10. #33. Ident1fy the w11dl1fe in your neighborhood and on trips with this colorful pocket-size guide - a natur­ al introduction to science. $3.95

THE STARS, H.A. Rey. #38. Publ ished in 1952, 1t has been in print ever since , an d deserves to be. Informative, fri endl y, and very under­ standable, astronomy is made accessib l e to all. $8.95 UNDERGROUND, Macaulay. H14. A be autif ul book about what lies unde r ci t y buildings and streets, and how it 30t there . Ama zi ng pen and ink illustrations . $5.95 USING A LAW LIBRAR Y, publi shed by HALT , a legal reform organ1zati on. #38. Anyone wanting to do legal research on any subject , an d par­ ticularly home scho oler s wh o may face cou rt action, should not be without it. $5.00

REMEMBER! Send yo ur Chri stma s orders ear l y! US Mail recommends by Nov. 29 ; UPS by Dec. 14!

4.

FOR A CHANGING WORLD

MATH

~

DmIlIIllIII

AHA! INSIGHT, Martin Gardner. #19. Dozens of bra1n-teasers with the answers clearly disc­ ussed. Gives you first-hand experience at tre­ ative mathematical thinking. $9.95 ARITHMETIC MADE SIMPLE, Sperling & Levison. #15. The trad1t1onal arithmetic curriculum for Grades 1-8 all in a single book, with exer­ cises and answers. Why pay more? $4.95 ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA, Harold Jacobs. #44. Reader­ fr1endly, th1S textbook defuses algebra terror. You can browse, looking for things that interest you, instead of feeling you must plow grimly along in a straight line, "under­ standing" everything perfectly. $17.95 *FIFTY CARD GAMES FOR CHILDREN, Vernon Quinn. #45. Class1c collect1on of games, solitaire, and magic tricks. Learn about numbers while having fun as a family! $2.00 HOW TO LIE WITH STATISTICS, Darrel Huff. #16.

We are surrounded by m1sleading figures and graphs; this book shows you how to spot them.

Entertaining, easy to read - and vitally im­ portant. $1.95 THE I HATE MATHEMATICS! BOOK, Marilyn Burns. #13. Lots of 1deas relat1ng real math to the real world. Cartoons, jokes, activities. Infor­ mal and fun, for children and adults. $6.95 THE LADY OR THE TIGER? AND OTHER LOGIC pUzzLES, Raymond Smullyan. #35. An enter­ ta1n1ng series of paradoxes, brain twisters and more - all related to important concepts of mathematical theory. $13.95 MATHEMATICIAN'S DELIGHT, W.W. Sawyer. #19.

Readable, sens1ble 1ntroduction to the true spirit of mathematics, as opposed to school drudgery. Includes explanations of such topiCS as calculus and trig. Many diagrams. $4.25 <;tco,nfnIfIO'l

MATI-lEMATICS

-

A Human EnelL',lVOf

~~~-

-

H\R( )jD

-~-~

~

- --

-~

1'( (111"

MATHEMATICS: A HUMAN ENDEAVOR, 2nd Ed . , Harold Jacobs. #31. Our favor1te book about not just the techniques but the spirit and beauty of math, for children or non-expert adults. More than just a superb textbook. $18.95 MATHPLOTS 2, K. Kerman. #38. Written out of her home-schooling experiences, this book is packed with interesting and practical ideas and rare common sense. $3.50 SURVIVAL MATHEMATICS, Williams & Cohen. #42. A math book that shows you, by photographs of different kinds of legal and financial docu­ ments, how numbers are actually used in daily life. It makes arithmetic much more real and helpful. $8.95

SURVIVAL MATHEMATICS BASIC MATH TO HELP YOU COPE

lNrn l\e"'*"sUIs'fOJneedb;:.tlOl....,~ .... ~dw'Ige·bIr*~......:IO"II ....-.-tkJrr9.!IMII... ~' ..........III"C•• ~pev.~ _~.j)lobIIbiIIIy • .......chf'r'O•• Cove<.~nurTC:IIf •. lrlldlCn.~.' ....,""~ E~"'_MG1b ............. ~ ...... Ir'I~

9y(dw.. d............

a.1O'1·,E~SeneI. "'e

MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING, Viktor Frankl. #45. What 3 gr1m years 1n Auschwitz death camp showed the writer, a psychiatrist, about courage, decency, dignity, and hope. $3.95 OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY, Stanley Milgram. #13.

Fr1ghten1ng eV1dence, based on well-known ex­ periments by this Yale professor, of people's willingness to inflict pain under orders. $6.95 SHADOW WORK, Ivan Illich. #22. How the modern 1ndustr1al world has replaced productive work with a kind that produces nothing, not even money - yet is still compulsory. $5.95 WEAPONS AND HOPE, Freeman Dyson. The most orig­ 1nal, real1st1c and helpful book that has been written about the problem of war and nuclear weapons in many years. A must for all con­ cerned with peace. $6.95

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

11116

ECONOMICS

CITIES AND THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, Jane Jacobs. #42, 44. A bold, refresh1ng, and wholly uncon­ ventional book about how cities contribute to economic growth and health. One of the best books about economics. $4.95 ECONOMY OF CITIES, Jane Jacobs. #9. Why cities began, how they work, and why a world without cities would not be desirable or even possible. $3.95 FOOD FIRST, Lappe & Collins. #26. The real reasons why people allover the world are starving; why our aid programs make this worse; and what we could do. $3.95 GOOD WORK, E.F. Schumacher. #11. His last book, about imaginative, practical, small­ scale ways people can work to reduce poverty and suffering in the world. $5.95 IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE: Lessons From Ameri­ ca's Best Run Compan1es, Waterman &Peters. #42. The ma1n thes1s: 1f you treat people humanely, you get better results. A rich mine of arguments against most conventional prac­ tices of schools. $8.95 MUDDLING TOWARDS FRUGALITY, Warren Johnson. #18. How our soc1ety 1S changing to live with­ in its natural means, and why these haphazard changes are the best and only way to go. Con­ vinCing and comforting. $3.95 PAPER MONEY, Adam Smith. #27. A warm, witty, well-wr 1tten explanation of inflation, the energy crisis, and housing market. $3.95 SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, E.F. Schumacher. Why small human enterpr1ses are more efficient and hu­ mane than big ones. $4.95 SMALL IS POSSIBLE, George 'McRobie. #28. How we can and are mak1ng human organizations and societies that work in harmony with nature and with true human needs. $5.95 THEORY Z, William Ouchi. #28. How to bring the best e 1elT,ents of Japanese business management to America. Shows clearly that what we take for granted in an industrial society is not necessarily so. $2.95

------------------

"We purchased a Junior Quadro Kit [see p.

6 J. It is well worth th"e ,nonetary i nvest­ ment. My children, age 5 and 2, spend hours climbing on it, playing inside it. I highly recommend it. It provides a wonderful physical release of energy for inside activity." - Jane Williams (CA)

GEOGRAPHIC JIGSAW PUZZLES. These well-made and accurately-cut wooden puzzles are a pleasure to use. A good way to learn the relative posi­ tions of the continents, countries, and states. All puzzles are 9x12" except the US which is 14x19". Shi~~ed by UPS only. UNITED STATES, 51 pieces, $ . CANADA, 14 pieces, $15. NORTH AMERICA, 13 pc., $14. SOUTH AMER­ ICA, 13 pc., $14. EUROPE, 27 pc., $18. AFRICA, 36 pc., $19. ASIA, 24 pc., $18. SET OF 5 CONTI­ NENTS, $73. THE WORLD, 14 pc., $14.

These puzzles are handcut along political boundaries - by state, province, country or region. A tough polyurethane finish protects the map surface, making it washable.

GIVING UP THE GUN, Noel Perrin. #31. The aston1sh1ng story of how the Japanese, having developed firearms by the year 1600, then gave them up for almost 300 years. $6.95 GOODE'S WORLD ATLAS, Rand McNally. #22. Over 200 pages of beaut1fully colored maps showing towns, roads, mountains, climates, population, etc. Wonderful to browse through. $16.95 HIROSHIMA, John Hersey. #18. Matter-of-fact re­ port of the devastation and horror following the bombing of Hiroshima, and the survivors' courage. This important book makes you grasp the real tragedy of nuclear warfare. $2.75 MYTHS & LEGENDS OF THE INDIANS OF THE SOUTH­ WEST, Dutton &Olln. #38. Many fasc1nat1ng stories and plenty of Indian art for children to color in. $2.95 OUR VANISHING LANDSCAPE, Eric Sloane. #27. The author of DIARY OF AN EARLY AMERICAN BOY and REVERENCE FOR WOOD takes a loving look at the buildings, tools, and land of earlier days. $4.95

5.

PENGUIN ATLAS OF MEDIEVAL HISTORY, Colin McEvedy. #27 . 38 maps show shlfts in power, trade, and religion from 372 to 1478 A.D. Un­ usual portraya l of the "Dark Ages." $5.95 REVERENCE FDR WOOD, Eric Sloane. #18. The lmportance of wood and trees in American history back to the early settlers. Tools, techniques, uses of different kinds of wood.

Many detailed and labeled illustrations. $5.95 A SAMPLER OF LIFESTYLES, Mary Bakke. #40. A record of women and men in pre-1800 New England, collected from diaries, documents, newspapers, etc., that bring to light some interesting and surprising things. $7.95 THIS IS THE WAY IT USED TO BE IN THE EARLY 1900's, MarJorle Lawrence . #43. A de llghtfu1 example of a kind of history we like: how ordinary people lived their daily lives. The author writes as if telling her memories to children - ideal for reading aloud. $4 .50 HEALTH

ANATOMY OF AN ILLNESS, Norman Cousins. #13. A 1ayman, dYl ng of an Ii i ncurab 1e" di sease, cha 1­ 1enges the medical establishment's advice and wins. $6.95 CANCER AND VITAMIN C, Linus Pauling. #40. One of the most lnteresting and understandable books ever written on a scientific topic. It should take some of the terror out of the "Black Plague" of our time. $5.95 CONFESSIONS OF A MEDICAL HERETIC, Robert Men­ delsohn. 138. Why you shou ld be extremely skep­ tical of doctors, hospitals, and modern medi­ cine, and what to do instead. By an experi­ enced physician. $3.95 HOW TO RAISE A HEALTHY CHILD ... IN SPITE OF YOUR DOCtOR, R. Mendelsohn, M.D. #41. How to take advantage of necessary available medical care, and mostly how to avoid common practices that can be harmful. $13.95

any other) century. $6.95 THE POCKET BOOK OF OGDEN NASH, #45. A co11ec­ tlon of hlS funnlest and best poems. Far­ fetched rhymes, outrageous rhythms. $3.95

NOVELS

don marquiS!

liveSaDd '. times of . ';\~ arolly & ehitabel ::

I ;i

with pictures ~ . george herriman with an introduction by

g .

':1

e.b.white

ROBERT FROST'S POEMS. #18. Even people who don't llke most poetry will enjoy many of these p1ai~-spoken and powerful poems by one of America's greatest poets. Illustrated with many beautiful wood-cuts. $4.95 THINK GOOD THOUGHTS ABOUT A PUSSYCAT, George Booth. 131. A collectlon of cartoons, most from The New Yorker. The characters and situa­ tions make you laugh no matter how often you read it. $5.95 WELL, THERE'S YOUR PROBLEM, E. Korben. #33.

One of my favorlte cartoonists. Lovely mix of the gently satirical & the absurd. For an older audience. $3.95 A ZOO IN MY LUGGAGE, Gerald Durrell. #15 . True story of a calamltous trip into remote West Africa to collect rare birds and animals.

Funny and .exciting. $3.95 BIOGRAPHY

ANNE FRANK: The Diary of a Young Girl, #20.

Famous Journal of a glrl hldlng wlth her family from the Nazis in World War II, reveal­ ing the strength and patience she developed in the midst of dangers. $2.95 AMERICAN TONGUE AND CHEEK, Quinn. #42. This BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Ingri & Edgar d'Au1aire.

Wltty book lets the hot air out of our #45. the plctures glow with color as you self-styled defenders of "good" English follow Franklin's carrer against a background grammar and lets us know what grammar really of colonial and Revolutionary America. A is. $4.95 series of Poor Richard's sayings add spice to each page. Hardcover. $11.95 BUMPEE GARDENING CATALOG, Ken Lawless. #38. A

rlotous spoof of garden catalogs. Complete

BLACK FOREMOTHERS, Dorothy Sterling . #36 . with order forms, guarantees, discount poli­

Brlngs allve three heroic women whose stories, cies and not a word of it is serious. $4.95

in the words of Margaret Walker, "every woman, man, and child should know." $6.95 I NEVER SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY: Children's Drawln s and Poems from Terezln Concentration DIARY OF AN EARLY AMERICAN BOY, Eric Sloane.

Camp, 942-1944, Hana Volavkova, ed. #43. A #13. True story of a year ln the life of a boy very powerful book that provides a clear and on a small farm in the early 1BOO's. Many beau ' painful look at life in Terezin. We also see tifu1 pen and ink drawings. Good companion to the indomitable spirit, the adaptability, and the Wilder books. $5.95 the will to live of these children. $6.95 HELEN KELLER, the Graffs. #15. Story of a I'M NOBODY, WHO ARE YOU?, Emily Dickinson. woman born deaf and blind, and the teacher who #44. A collectlon of Dlckinson's poems, chosen gave her words to learn about the world. For for young people. Every page of this book is a younger readers. $2.25 beautiful 8x10" drawing in full color with the THE MAN WHO PLANTED HOPE AND GREW HAPPINESS, poems printed right in the pictures. $9.95 Jean Glorno. #30. A slngle shepherd, plantlng THE LIVES AND TIMES OF ARCHY AND MEHITABEL, trees by hand, changes the ecology of an Don Marquls. 16. A cockroach and a tough alley entire region and enriches the lives of hun­ cat take a satirical look at life in the U.S. dreds of people. $2.50 in the 1920's. My favorite of all books of MARTIN LUTHER KING, Ed Clayton. #18. The life light verse, for the poetry as much as the of a great and hlstory-making American, simply laughter. A comic classic. Hardcover. $10.95 and directly told for young readers. With THE OXFORD BOOK OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN, E. B1­ many pencil illustrations. $1.95 lshen, ed. #43. The best co ll ectlon of poetry MY CHILDHOOD, Carl Nielsen. #34 . Imported fron for children we have come across. Illustrated Denmark, thlS is a beautiful memoir of the

by Brian Wi1dsmith, one of the most sought­ great Danish composer. $5.95 after book artists. $9.95 SELF-PORTRAIT: TRINA SCHART HYMAN, T.S. Hymar THE PENGUIN STEPHEN LEACOCK. #41. A wonderful #30. An artlst's story of her llfe, illus­ collectlon of many of the funniest pieces by one of the great comic writers of the 20th (or trated with her own lively paintings. $B.95 POETRY AN D HUMOR

1

WOMEN OF THE WEST, Cathy Luchetti. #32. 11 pio ­ neer women's tales (1830-1910), told through their letters, diaries, and photos. $17.00

A.J. WENTWORTH, B.A., H.F. Ellis. #29. The hi1­ arlOUS mlsadventures of a well-meaning but bumbling British schoolmaster. One of the fun­ niest books I have ever read. $4.25 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN, Ernest Galnes. #13. Llfe of a memorable black woman in Louisiana, from Emancipation to Civil Rights days. History made human. $2.95 BACHELOR OF ARTS, R.K. Narayan. #42. A col­ lege-age Indlan learns about life in colonial India . By India's finest writer. $6.95 THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY, Thornton Wilder.

629. Poetlc, beautlful short novel about the interwoven lives of a group of people in 18th-century Peru. An American classic. $2.95 HERLAND, Charlotte Perkins Gilman. #22. A fan­ ~out a hidden world populated entirely by women. Amusing, interesting utopia. Written in 1915 by a feminist, it is thought-provoking and years ahead of its time. $3.95 A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA, Richard Hughes. #36.

Chlldren captured by pirates - exciting, and one of the great studies of the minds and hearts of young children. $2.95 THE LEOPARD, Giuseppe de Lampedusa. #42. One of the great comic novels of this century, the story of a 19th century Sicilian nobleman, written by a 20th century Sicilian for his own amusement, and only discovered after his death. A classic. $6.95 MANY DIMENSIONS, Charles Williams. #31. A fan­ tasy set ln the 1930's. An ancient relic gives the power to travel through time and space, and profoundly changes many lives. $4.95 SHAWNO, George Dennison. #43. Dogs have Tn$pTred many fine books, but this is the fin­ est and truest. By the author of THE LIVES OF CHILDREN, this short book has the weight and resonance of a large novel. $10.95 SWAMI AND FRIENDS, R.K. Narayan. #37. Funny eplsodes about a child in India during the '30's. Like TOM SAWYER, sure to make you 1augh. $6.95 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Harper Lee. #18. Two chlldren, growlng up with their lawyer father in a small Southern town, encounter prejudice, hatred, and injustice. One of the most moving American novels. $3.50 VERY FAR AWAY FROM ANYWHERE ELSE, Ursula LeGuln. 620. A teen-ager, torn between being "normal" or being himself, falls in love with a talented, self-possessed musician. $2.25 PLAYS

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, Robert Bolt. #15.

Movlng and lnsplrlng modern play about Sir Thomas More, who was executed for obeying his conscience rather than his king. Try reading it together as a family. $2.95 THE MIRACLE WORKER, William Gibson. #20. The brl Illant, unorthodox Annie Sullivan's attempt to reach the deaf and blind young Helen Kel­ ler, then wild and without language . Beautiful and almost unbearably moving. $2.50 OUR TOWN, Thornton Wilder. #19. Life and death of ordlnary people in a small town. Simply told; one of the best American plays. $2.75.

Catalog Layout & Design: P. Farenga Cover Photo: E. Braverman, copyright 1983 Paste-up: W. Baruch, P. Farenga, S. Kendall, S. Rupprecht.

6.

wonderfu l photos of Greece alone are worth the price of the calendar. 5t" W x 11" L. $3 . 50

lection. $11.95 A COLORING BOOK OF COMPOSERS, David Brownell. *A FAMILY, Carl Larsson. #47. Soft, warm por­ #28 . Very lnterestlng and lnformative short tralts of this famous Swedish painter's large biographies of a number of famous composers, BLANCHE NEIGE ET LES SEPT NAINS. #44. Made for & happy family . Two texts, one simple, one de­ each with a black and white sketch. VOL. I, French chlldren by Walt Dlsney, this is a . tailed, tell about hi s life. Peaceful & love­ MONTEVERDI TO MENDELSSOHN, $2 . 95 . VOL. II, cassette and storybook version of "Snow White ly. 15 color plates. Hardcover, $9 .95 BRAHMS TO BARTOK, $3.50. and the 7 Dwarfs," entirely in French. Useful FINE POINT COLOR FELT PENS, #38. Artists call CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF MUSIC, Mi chae l page-turning signal. Listen and learn' $6.98 these the best medla for the unskilled; Kennedy. #33. Thousands of lnteresting facts *By Her~e: #47. The same "Tintin" cartoons as points that stay firm, vivid colors, snug-fit­ about music in one very readable volume. $12.95 our Eng lsh version of THE BLACK ISLAND (see ting caps, a wallet-like holder. These hand­ FOR CHILDREN, Bela Bartok. #41. A collection our "Series" section), but written in foreign some sets will invite much use. Set of 12 of pleces, at first very simple but becoming languages. Plenty of pictorial clues to colors: $6.00 . Set of 24: $12.00 more difficult, written for beginning pianists figure out unknown words. Fun! L'ILE NOIRE (French) $5.95 GOOD IMPRESSIONS CATALOG. #43. A terrific col­ by one of the great 20th century pianists and composers. FaSCinating music. Vol. 1 $4.25 LA ISLA NEGRA (Spa ni sh) $4.95 lectlon of rubber stamps that can be used to $4.95 personalize and embellish correspondence, la­ DIE SCHWARZE INSEL (German) MIKROKOSMOS, Bela Bartok. Advanced studies for bels, memos, etc. or to illustrate work creat­ those who have mastered the FOR CHILDREN reper­

By Hannah Hutchinsop. Simple vers i ons of ed with our Print Kit (see below). $2.00 toire. $4.25 well-known folk tales, told in Spanish: Red THE GRAPHIC WORK OF M.C. ESCHER. #16. Collec ­ Riding Hood, Pied Piper, Five Musicians of MRS. STEWART'S PIANO LESSON: 25 Lessons for Be­ tlon of beautlful and extraordlnary prints, de­ Bremen, Three Bears. The amusing cartoons make glnners. #2 1. The most senslble, loglcal and servedly famous. Impossible buildings, tricks so clear what is going on, and there is so of perspective, interlocking creatures. Intro­ easy lntroduction to piano playing I've seen. much repetition, that you can figure out most Can be usefully combined with Suzuki in­ ductory notes by Escher. $10.95 words; if needed, there's a glossary. struction. Book 1 ("Lessons"): $8.95 Book 2 CAPERUCITA ROJA. #37. $2.95 THE GREAT COMPOSER CALENDAR. A 1986 calendar, ("Reader"): $8.95 *EL FLAUTISTA DE JAMELIN. #46. $2 .95 ln full color. Has a falrly easy musical con­ THE NUTCRACKER, Warren Chappell. #33. Picture LOS CUATRO CANTANTES DE GUADALAJARA. 44. $2.95 test with prizes. $6 .95 book based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffman.

LOS TRES OSOS. #35. $2.95 INDIVIDUAL CHALK BOARD. #37. No frills, kid With themes from the music by Tschaikovsky.

Slze - 9 ~ by 13 , durable, long lasting, excel­ Beautiful illustrations. $5.95 lent for use in math, handwriting, spelling, language, and drawing. $3.50 (includes postage) PETER AND THE WOLF, Warren Chappell. #33 .

Another plcture book, with themes from the MAKING THINGS: The Handbook of Creative Discov­ music by Serge Prokofieff. $5.95 ery. Ann Wlseman. #38. Over 100 craft proJects READ BY EAR - An All-In-One Recorder Book, TOr children, many which can be done with ma­ Rlchard Perry. #39. An excel lent beglnner's terials and tools that are around the house. instruction book for all recorders with a Suzu­ Plenty of drawings and well-written direc­ ki approach. $3.95 tions. $7.95 *THE SINGING BEE, Jane Hart, ed. 125 of the MODERN DISPLAY ALPHABETS, Paul Kennedy. #25. best-known chl ld ren's songs: lullabies, finger Who says there's one correct way to make the plays, circle games, nursery rhymes, you name alphabet? This collection of 100 actual type­ faces, from formal to whimsical, will intrigue it. Easy piano & guitar arrangements. Nice pictures on every page. Hardcover, $16.50 and inspire children of all ages. $4.00 PENTEL WATER COLORS, Box of 12. #37. Colorful, STEWART PRE-SCHOOL PIANO. #31. Stewart piano for the pre-school chlld - with clear and prac­ creatlve, non-toxlC paints in tubes. $3.50 tical advice for teachers.

(Inc. post.)

STUDENT BOOK : $4 .50 OXFORD PICTURE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN ENGLISH, PRINTING KIT, #36. Contains a rubber type TEACHER'S BOOK $4.50 Eng],sh-Spanlsh Edltlon, E. Parnwell. #39. P1C· a lphabet, tweezers and ink-pad. A great way to tures of 2000 everyday objects with their learn spelling and design. $11.00 (Inc. post.) SUZUKI MUSIC BOOKS. #32, 37. The first books ln the world famous Suzuki teaching method. names printed below them in English (in black) Extra-large letters for small hands: $21.00 See "Records" and "Tapes." and Spanish (in blue) . $4.50 SUZUKI VIOLIN, Vol. 1 $5.25 OXFORD PICTURE DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN ENGLISH, MUSIC BOOKS SUZUKI VIOLIN, Vol. 2 $5.00 Eng],sh-Japanese Edltlon, E. Parnwell. #44.

SUZUKI PIANO, Vol. 1 $5.95 Same concept as above, except with Japanese SUZUKI PIANO, Vol. 2 $5.95 characters. Though no explanation is given how SUZUKI CELLO, Vol. 1 $5.95 BEST LOVED SONGS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, Denis to pronounce the Japanese, it is interesting Agay. #30. Nearly 200 famous ballads, spir­ WOMAN COMPOSERS, Carol Plantamura. #3B. From to figure out what the symbols mean. An easy ituals, folk and show tunes, with piano accom­ the Mlddle Ages to today. A coloring book with way to take a peek into the mental life of a paniment and guitar chords.

Wonderful coldelightfully told stories by a renowned culture very different from ours. $6.95 FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ART AND MATERIALS QUADRO CONSTRUCTION SETS

ALPHABET ART, Leonard Fisher. #37. 13 alpha­ bets used ln the world today, beautifully drawn and interestingly described . $10.95 CRAY-PAS. #16. You and your children will love the brliliance and versatility of these pastel crayons. Much more colorful and satisfyi ng than ordinary crayons. Box of 12: $2.50 . Box of 24: $3.50. (These prices include post.)

THE DOLL BOOK, Karin Neushutz. #33. Wonderful lnslghts on children's play and the importance of simp le toys, and how to make a number of dolls. By a child psychologist &mother. $8.95 DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN, Betty Edwards. 617. Why most people flnd lt hard to draw accurately, and how you can quickly learn a better approach. We've tried some of the sug· gestions, and they work! $9.95 FACES OF GREECE: A Permanent Calendar, M. & J. Saddoway. #38. Can be used for thlS year or any year. Many children will love to look up the day of the week they were born, etc. The

Orcin 'ro",: HOLT ASSOCIATES, 71' BOYLSTON ST. BOSTON MA 0111'

All prku I.. dude UI'S detly", 10 1011. door (Mlrr,. no PO bou,'.

QUADRO STARTER SET. A hi Itt qUllU, polypropylene I.rlt-Iule (0"5Iru(lIo" Stl. 74 plecr kit mlku .lIde, pIll lIm and olher conn,unllon!. Sare " durable; asumbl,. For Indoor In4 outdoor Ust. $127.00

u.,

QUADRO JUNIOR SET. Same., above, but IhlJ 110 piece kit mlku more thlnl" like I Itt-51"', junlle 11m "piayhoulf. $179,00

A color Quadro brochure and parts list for each kit will be sent upon request.

QUA ORO UNIVERSAL SET. Same IS tbon, but Ihll IlJ pl«e kit mak" ,lIde, pla7 17m, furnUure, Ihehu, and other dulln.. $239.00 QUA ORO WIIEEL SET. An aul. 1 whull "hardware. $59.00

QUADRO DRIVE SYSTEM. Set Includes all hardware needed 10 make mobile conn.urallon! wllh pedalllni fu ture, or other U~tI luch u $80.00 construe-lion of a helicopter, airplane, or windmill.

QUAnRO PANEL KIT. Four black panels with 16 (onnecllnl black plUI! ror use as utra sui, . Iep, tover or chalkboard. Also a'allable In red, ,reen, blut and 7tllow. $16.00 QUADRO ROLLER SET. Set or four euler. wllh lockl", fea tu re (0 be used 0" furniture crutlons. $J6,OO QUADRO SWIMMER. SO lube InJtrl~ 10 make Quadro lubu noal. USt with Cover Set below 10 mike boals, ran•• elt. $51.00 QUADRO FLOATING COVER. noat up 10 600 lb •. $51.00

Acctuor7 coverj when Innlttd It will

MINI QUADRO. 115 .csle unlverlll kll. Can be uxd ror mode1l1nl. but nol c1lmbln,. $59.00

*QUADRO CONSTRUCTION SETS. #44. Each set con­ talns dlfferent lengths of plastic pipes and a large variety of corner pieces, plus square panels that can be inserted to create walls, floors, slides, seats, etc. The finished models will support up to 220 lbs. The sets come with instructions for building all sorts of structures: houS€s, slides, para 11 e 1 bars, tunnels, Shelves, tables and chairs, beds; all kinds of climbing structures and frames.

7.

soprano. $3 . 50 THE YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO PLAYING THE PIANO, Sidney Harr1son. #35. "The f1rst th1ng 1S to fall in love with the piano ... " Fascinating in­ sights on studyi ng, playing, and performing. $5 .95

GWS T·SHIRTS

INSTRUMENTS

AULOS RECORDER. #33, 38 . Sturdy plastic & easy t o le arn. Comes with its own bag, cleaning rod and fingering chart. (Price includes postage . ) SOPRANINO RECORDER $9

SOPRANO RECORDER $10

$15

ALTO RECORDER KOLSTEINS ROSIN. #40. The best rosin for mak1ng your plaY1ng easier and better sounding.

VIOLIN ROSIN, $6.95. CELLO ROSIN, $6.95 PIANICA. #33 . A combination of a piano and har­ ~ You can control dynamics and intona­ tion with your breath while playing as many notes as your fingers can hit at once or indi­ vidually. Durable, 32 key instrument with case. $49.95 (Includes post.)

Item #1 ~0 / 50

Youth T- shirt Sizes: 2/ 4, 6/8, 10/ 12, 14 /16 Colors: Light Blue, Red, Kelly Green $4.75 Item #2 ~0 /50 Adult T-Shirt Sizes: S, M, L, XL Colors: Light Blue, Red, Kelly Green. $5.25 Item #3 ~OO % Cotton Youth T-Shirt Sizes: 6/ 8, 10/ 12, 14/16 Colors: Light Blue, Yel low. $4.75 Item #4 ~OO % Heavyweight Cotton Adult T- Shirt Sizes: S, M, L, XL Colors: Light Blue, Ye llow. $6.00

---

- ~

t:

~~.~~._~....:_~~

PITCH PIPES. #39. We have three types: the Chromat1c pitch pipe contains all the notes from "C to C," which makes it especially good for sight-singing. The other two are smaller and give the pitches for tuning a violin (A-G-D-E) and Spanish guitar (E-G-A-B-D-E).

CHROMATIC W/NOTE SELECTOR $9.40 VIOLIN $5.00 SPANISH GUITAR $5.50 SEIKO ELECTRONIC METRONOME. #33. This pocket-s1ze dev1ce glves a beep and / or flash of light anywhere from 40 to 208 times per minute. It can also be set to give a different tone or flash for the first beat of two (or 3, 4, 5, or 6). Especially helpful in learning music with tricky rhythms . Comes with 9 v. battery. $69.50 (Inc ludes postage) VIOLINS. #37. These instruments, made in ~don't look very elegant but sound as good as much more expensive instruments. Excel­ lent for beginners, they come with bow, fine tuners, chin-rest, case, and rosin. 4/4 & 3/4 sizes cost $110; 1/ 2 and 1/4 size are $100.00.

(Violin prices inc. post.)

SHOULDER PAD. For our violins above. This is adJustable to fit all sizes . $7.50

Tell us quant ity , item no., design choice ("GWS" or "Child / Sun"), size, co lor .

Send checks to GROWING WITH OUT 5CHOOLING. Prices include postage.

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING is a bi-monthly magazine for people who have taken - or want to take - their chi ldren out of school and have them learn at home . In it we discuss such questions as: - How can I take my children out of school?

- Will I get into trouble with the law?

- How ca n I best help them learn at home?

- How will this affect their social lives? Their future?

- Should we use a correspondence school?

- Can a single parent take his / her children out of school?

- How can I qet in touch with others who feel the same way?

What will you find in GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING? LETTERS ------Varents tell how they took their kids out of school, and what they did next; others write about learning outside of school settings.

ARTICLES BY JOHN HOLT AND OTHERS How people learn and how other people help or hinder them; society's reasons for compulsory education; the myth of "learning disabilities"; and much more.

LEGAL INFORMATION How to f1nd out the laws in your state; reports of important legal decisions; how to minimize trouble when dealing with bureaucrats, lawyers, and judges .

SPECIAL DOCUMENTS

Constitutional Basis of Home Schoolin , by o not. tatement on parents r1g t to con­ trol their children's education. Legal argu­ ments useful when dealing with courts and officials. $2.00 GWS INDEXES. Al l entries give issue, page, and co lumn for locating your information quickly.

INDEX TO GWS 1-30, $2 .50. INDEX TO 31-40, $1.00 Home Schooling Resource List. Up-to-date address 11St of correspondence schoo l s and materials, private schools enrolling home study students, and national and local homeschooling organizations . $1.00 KAHN FAMILY HOME SCHOOL PROPOSAL. An excel­ lent, and success ful, homeschool proposal to a school district. Another useful model for all

parents. $4.00 LEARNING MATERIALS LIST. Addresses of over 150 sources for books, games, magazines, products,

organizations, etc. Most were recommended in GWS. Includes supplies for art, compu ters,

NEW - Item #5 100% C~ren ch Cu t T-Shirt Sizes & Colors: see Item #4 $6.00

LEARNING RESOURCES Ideas on math , reading, music, art, languages, etc; sharing work with children; recommendations for books, magazines, and innovative learning material.

DI RECTORY Hundreds of readers who ask to be listed; most include children. Also, lists of ~r~e~d~y_s:h~o~ ~i~t~i:t~,_a~d_o~h~r _p~s~i~l~ ~l!i~s: ____________ _ INVOICE (circle appropriate items)

Group subscriptions : ,II copies .re led to one address . Here are the current

group rates (1X lItans you get one copy of elCh issue. 2X !!Itan, you get 2 cop i es of tlch issue, )X Iftt.ns 3 copiu , etc.J :

WI.i

I

Please enter my subscription to GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING. I enclose a check (US bank) or money order payable to GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLI NG .

Single Issue, $2.50 Individual subscription 6 issues (1 year), $15 Special offer for 12 issue (2 ye ars), $27 subscribers only: Back Issues #1-46, $36.50 18 issues (3 years), $36 Air Mail outside of North America, $lO/yr. extra

I

NAME._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ADDRESS,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

I

I

I I

1 year

!....!.!!.:.

IX

2' lx

SIS 120

m

2 yrs. ~.

121

) yrs. ~ S16

11'

1'5

\4S

$67.50

130 160 190 Sx \37.50 115 1112 . 50 145 190 1m ]X. ax. etc : S7 . SO per person per yur .

" "

Plene send 1n the names an d addresses of l'II!IIIbers of your group sub, so that we t.n keep 1n touch with th,.. . ThI nk s .

CITY_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _STATE_ _ _ _ZIP_ _ _ _ _ _ __

SEND TO: GWS, Suite 308D, 729 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116

8.

languages, math, music, science, writing. Up­ dated regularly . $2.00 Letter to Schools. A family's successfu l home sc hoollng proposa l. Quoted in Issue #12 of GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING as a good model: In­ c ludes legal references. $1.00 Mass. Memo. Written by the legal counsel for the Massachusetts Dept. of Education, for school officials. Discusses what procedures and standards must be used in consideri ng home ed ucati on. $1.00 MOTHER EARTH NEWS, Issue 64, 1980. The com­ plete lssue containing "Teach Your Own Child­ ren ... At Home," a six page interview with John Holt. Color photos. The 185-page magazine also lncludes many articles on raising food, build­ lng shelters, etc. $3.00 MOTHER EARTH NEWS, Issue 85, 1984. H40 . Con­ talns John Holt's artic le, "So You Want To Home School" and excerpts from Nancy Wallace's BETTER THAN SCHOOL. The complete issue. $3.00 Perchemlides v. Frizzle. Photocopy of Judge Greaney ' s declslon ln Massachusetts Superior Court favoring home education. Has been called "the most thorough and well-reasoned decision on this issue to date in MA or any other state." $2.00 SPEAKERS BUR EAU. A listing of people willing to travel and address audiences regarding all aspects of homeschooling. Brief biographical descriptions, fees, and areas of expertise are noted. Include a SASE to receive this for FREE. Statement to Minnesota Le~islature. John Holt's testlmony before t e leglslative commit­ tee considering changing the home education laws. $2.00 REPRINTS

A set of all 17 reprints is $1.50.

10¢ EACH (1-2 pages) : * "Why Teachers Fai 1," by John Holt; The Progressive, 4/ 84. * "Home-Schooler at Harvard," on Grant Colfax; articles from GWS #35 & 36. * "How Children Learn - Revised Ed.," a review

by Susannah Sheffer in P.E.N.C.I.L. * "Same 'cure' won't help schools" and "Home Schooling let s a child's mind grow." 2 articles by John Holt in USA Today, 12 /83. * "Unschooling - A Learn-As-You-Go Experiment"

by Nancy Mullin, Christian Science Monitor. * "More Parents SaYlng 'No' to School" by John Holt in Newsday; and "Growing Without School­ ing - Anot:ner"Viewpoint," by Donna Richoux in Education Network News. * "First Boston Famlly" and "Successful Curric­ ulum" by Lynn Kapplow, GWS #2 7. * "Legislative Proposal" by John Holt, GWS #30. * "John Holt on GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING" from Radcliffe Quarterly; and "Children And Ourselves," reVlew of Holt's FREEDOM AND BEYOND, in Manas Magazine. * "Imagining the Future - The Learning Soci­ ety" by John Holt in Christian Science Moni­ tor; and "Holt Replies," a letter on pUnlsh­ ment in British schoo ls. * "Thoughts on Cou nting" by John Holt. * "Sensible Phonics," GWS #7, and "Spelling Self Test," GWS #13. By John Holt. * "Excerpts from INSTEAD OF EDUCATION" by John Ho lt .

15¢ EACH (4 pages):

* "Schools & Home-Schoolers - A Fruitful Part­ nership" by John Holt. Phi Delta Kappan.

* "To the Rescue," review by John Holt of George Dennison's LIVES OF CHILDREN.

* "Big Bird Meet Dick and Jane," by John Holt.

A cri tique of Sesame Street . * "The Cuteness Syndrome," excerpt from ESCAPE FROM CHILDHOOD by John Holt.

ALSO AVAILABLE IN QUANTITY: * "John Holt's Book and Music Store Catalog," 5/$ 1, 100/ $10 * "What is GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING?" 20/$1 .

RECORDS

FOR CHILDREN, Bela Bartok. #43. The songs are performed by the famous Hungarian pianist Zol­ tan Kocsis, an expert on Bartok's music, in the same order in which they appear in the music book. 2 record set, $19.96 THE JOHN PAYNE MUSIC CENTER STUDENT SAXOPHONE CHOIR. #43. A studlo-recorded 45, featurlng over 30 student sax players backed by John Payne's professional quartet. Big Band & origi­ nal tunes. Inspiring proof that anyone, of whatever age, is capable of making music. $3.00 KOKKONEN 4th SYMPHONY, performed by the Fin­ nlsh Radlo arch. under Okko Kamu. #43. A beau­ tiful and original work by Finland's greatest living composer. Also includes his interesting 2nd Symphony. $11.98 NEW MORNING FOR THE WORLD, Schwantner. Per­ formed by the Eastman phllharmonia under David Effron. #45. A powerful new piece for orches­ tra and speaker, based on te xLs by Martin Luth­ er King. On side 2, Copland's "Lincoln Por­ trait" and Walker's "Eastman Overture." $8.98 PLATERO AND I. #39. The story of a little Span­ lsh boy and his pet burro, senSitively told by Ray Sealey, accompanied by two very talented teenage guitarists. $11.50 RESPIGHI/MAHLER/BIZET, performed by the Great­ er Boston youth Symphony Orchestra, under Eiji Oue. H43. The GBYSO, one of our finest youth orchestras, here plays fine performances of "Pines of Rome" by Respighi, "Symphony #1" by Mahler, and "Carmen Suite HI" by Bizet . A two record set. $15.00 SUZUKI CELLO SCHOOL. The music that goes with Vol. I of the cello lessons. $12.00 TAPIOLA CHILDREN'S CHOIR. #30, 31. Almost un­ bellevably beautlful slnging by one of the greatest choruses (child or adult) in the world. $9.95 SOUNDS OF FINLAND CHRISTMAS MUSIC $9 .95

JOHN HOLT TALKS TO SWEDISH TEACHERS. #28 . A speech ln Gothenburg, plus answer s to questions, about how children really learn and how we can best help them. 60 min. cassette, $6.

JUKE STRING BAND. H41. An exciting and beauti­ ful collectlon of blues, country , and jazz music, made in the 60's by some astonishingly talented high school students whom I had the good luck to be teaching. Marvelous music! 60 min. cassette, $6 .

ROSS CAMPBELL PLAYS SWEDISH FOLK VIOLIN, #44.

Ihe mUS1C ltself lS fasclnatlng, more somber or mournful in feeling than most of our fiddle music, and expertly played by our former col league . 60 min. cassette, $6 SUZUKI TAPES. The music that goes with the lessons. SUZUKI PIANO SCHOOL, Vols. 1&2 combined, $15.98. SUZUKI VIOLIN SC HOOL, Vols.

1&2 combined, $15 .98 UNIVERSAL MUSICAL FAMILY. #28. Darlene and Steve Lester and thelr boys Nathan (10), Eli (7), and Damien (3), play and sing a delightI ful and beautiful collection of original songs, including Damien's unforgettable version of "Home on The Range." 60 min. cassette, $6.

WALLACE FAMILY CONCERT. #29. Nancy and Bob Wal­ lace and thelr chlldren Ishmael (10) and Vita (7) play piano, cello, viola, violin, and sing ln a concert of classical music , at all levels from skillful (Ishmael) to just beginning (Bob). A delightful family portrait. 60 min. cassette, $6.

SPECIAL OFFER! Buy any three tapes for $5.00

each!

SHORT STORIES

FAMOUS GHOST STORIES, Ed. Bennett Cerf. #18.

Some of the best ever, whether light-hearted,

eerie, or terrifying. Includes "The Monkey 's

Paw" and "August Heat." $3.95

FIVE STORIES , Willa Cather. #18. Gentle, beau­ tlful storles about farmers and other ordinary people, living and working in the Nebraska plains and the Southwest desert. $4.95 GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY, M.R. James. #16 . By the greatest of all ghost story TAPES writers; a must for those who like truly scary stories. Don't read them alone at night ­ these are not friendly ghosts ! $3.50 HOME SCHOOL ING AT THE HOMESTEADER'S GET­ O. HENRY STORIES. #18. A collection of clever, TOGETHER. #29. Oellghtfully lnformal and wlde-ranging discussions at the home schooling sometlmes sentlmental stories about life in New York City and elsewhere. Includes "The workshops of the 1982 Homesteader's News Good Gift of the Magi," "The Cop and the Anthem," Life Get-Together. You will feel you are there. Vol. 1-3, $6 per cassette, 60 min. each. "MuniCipal Report," and more. $3.50 ORSINIAN TALES, Ursula LeGuin. #28 . Poignant JOHN HOLT'S 1983 INTERVIEW. #44. Covers much storles of courage, love, and loyalty, set in ground, lncludlng: how JH came to his ideas an imaginary East European country, from medie­ about children and learning; why was the free val times to the present. $2.95 school movement not more successful; what about homeschoolers & socialization; how A POCKET BOOK OF SHORT STORIES, Ed. by Edmund can schools cooperate with homeschoolers; etc. Speare. #18. Every story a classic - great to 60 min. cassette, $6. read aloud. Includes some speCial favorites: "The Procurator of Judea," "Disorder and Early JOHN HOLT AND CELLO AT HOME. John invites us Sorrow," and "A Lodging for the Night." $3.95 to JOln hlm for an evenlng's practice, during which he plays the cello and talks abo~t it THE SNOW WALKER, Farley Mowat. #25. Strange,

and the music he is playing. 60 min. cassette, absorblng storles about the Eskimos who live

$6. in the snow and ice of the Arctic. $3.50

JOHN HOLT'S INTERVIEW IN ENGLAND. #28. John Holt dlscusses a wlde varlety of subjects SCIENCE FICTION relating to children, learning, schools and their problems, education and its true social purposes, youth violence, and home schooling.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION STORIES OF H. G. WELLS.

Vols. 1-3, $6 per cassette, 60 min. each. #16. Superb storles showlng how ordlnary

JOHN HOLT'S WRITERS WORKSHOP. #29. John Holt people would react in extraordinary situa­

talks wlth a group at the 1982 Homesteader's tions. Includes "The Invisible Man." $4.95

Get-Together about writing and how to do it A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, Walter Miller. HI S. better. Vols. 1 & 2, 60 min. casset~e, $6 each.

9.

Can future generations, after our civilization is destroyed by nuclear war, learn from our mistakes ? $3.50 THE DI SPOSSESSED, Ursula LeGuin. #28. A scien­ tlSt trles slngle-handedly to reconcile two planets. Transcends the label "sci-fi." $2 .95 OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET, C.S. Lewis. #22 . A human meets lntelllgent beings on another plan­ et . FaSCinating story . $3.95 ROCANNON'S WORLD, LeGuin. #31. Invaders with superlor technology attack a peaceful planet.

Rocannon, an anthropologist, rallies the natives to fight back. $2.25 THE TIME MACHINE, H.G. Wells. #16. A great classlc of SClence fiction, about a man who travels millions of years in time to look at the future of the human race. $1.50 THE WORD FOR WORLD IS FOREST, LeGuin . #18.

Ruthless explorers try to enslave the simple forest people on a planet. A powerful and mean­ ingful story for older readers. $2.75 FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

ANNO'S COUNTING BOOK, Mitsumasa Anno. #35.

Look at thlS book and look again . Each time you do so, you will see more and more that you hadn't noticed before. Beautifully illus­ trated. Hardbound. $11.95 AS I WAS CROSSING BOSTON COMMON, Norma Faber . #40. A rhythmlc poem wlth marvellous pen and ink drawings. A whimsical bestiary and alpha­ bet book. $3.95 BEATRIX POTTER, #13. Famous little books with charmlng lliustrations of animal characters.

PETER RABBIT, MR. JEREMY FISHER, BENJAMIN BUNNY, MRS. TIGGYWINKLE, THE PIE AND THE PATTY PAN, SQUIRREL NUTKIN, TAILOR OF GLOUCESTER, TWO BAD MICE. Set of 8 Books, $10.95. Individ­ ual titles, $1.50 each. (Postage: coun~s I ordlnary book; separately, 20¢ ea.)

THE BEAR THAT WASN'T, Frank Tashlin. #30.

Wasn't sure he was rea ll y a bear, that is. A lively philosophical story. $2.00 THE BEAR'S TOOTHACHE, David McPhail. #17. A chlld wakes up to flnd a huge bear with a ter­ rible toothache outside his window. What does he do? Funny illustrations. $3.95 BEFORE YOU WERE THREE, Harris & Levy. #2 & #14. How bables develop, from birth through toddler stages. Written for young chi ldren, with lot~ of photos. Wonderful to read aloud, especially if there is (or soon will be) a new baby in the family. $7.95 CHICKEN SOUP WITH RICE, Maurice Sendak. #41.

Every month has a short, humorous, seasonal poem with the common thread being - chicken soup with rice. $1.95 ELLEN'S LION, Crockett Johnson. #46. Wry and appeallng fantasies of a 5-year-old and her faithful toy lion. Charming pictures. $4.95.

EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT A DRAGON LOOKS LIKE, Jay Wllllams. #27. Breath-taklng Orlental-style paintings highlight this tale. Simply told with subtle humor. $5.95 HENRY BEAR'S PARK, McPhail. #44. Henry's fath­ er buys a park and leaves it to young Henry to manage while he goes on a trip. By author of BEAR'S TOOTHACHE and THE TRAIN. $2.50

By Russell Hoban, #14, #17, #21. A charming Ilttle glrl-badger copes with problems like sleeping in the dark, jealousy of a baby sister, etc. Touching and funny .

A BABY SISTER FOR FRANCES $2.95 $2.95 BEDTIME FOR FRANCES $2.95 A BIRTHDAY FOR FRANCES $2.95 BREAD AND JAM FOR FRANCES A HOUSE IS A HOUSE FOR ME, Mary Ann Hoberman. #40. A long rhymlng poem, first about li ving creatures and the various places they live in, and then about inanimate objects and the other kinds of objects they can be found in. $3.95

LIFETIMES, Bryan Mellonie. #39 . First pub­ Il shed ln Australia . Simple and poetiC text coup led with beautiful watercolors, to read when it's time to talk about death. $6.95 .

The LITTLE BEAR books, Else Minarik. All about the thlngs chlldren love - clothes, birthdays, trying to fly, loving relatives, new friends.

Simple enough for beginning readers.

LITTLE BEAR. #41 . $2.95 *LITTLE BEAR'S VISIT. #47. $2.95 *LITTLE BEAR'S FRIEND. #47. $2.95 A LITTLE SCHUBERT, M.B. Goffstein. #45. A simp­ ly told tale about Franz Schubert compOSing his music. Includes six easy arrangements of his "Noble Waltzes." $6 . 95 MADELINE, Ludwig Bemelmans. #17. Rhyming story of a glrl in a Paris orphanage run by a nice old nun. By one of the best writers and illus­ trators of the 1930's. $3.95 THE MAGGIE B, Irene Haas. #45. Margaret wlshes for a ship, "Named after me / To sail for a day / Alone and free / With someone nice / For company." Luminous color illustrations show her wish come true. $3.95 MANY MOONS, James Thurber. #40. A King's daugh­ ter ,falls ill and says she 'will only get well if she can have the moon. Perfect for ch ildren up to 8, though older children can enjoy it for its Thurberish wit and irony . $6.95 NOW ONE FOOT, NOW THE OTHER, Tomie de Paola. #41 . A touchlng story about how a boy and his grandfather came to be best friends, and how, at different times in their lives, each one helped the other to learn, or re-learn to walk. $4.95 ONE MORNING IN MAINE, Robert McCloskey. A l ove­ ly, busy summer day in the life of a girl on a Maine island. Especially appealing if you know and love that country, as I do. $3.50 RICHARD SCARRY'S BEST FIRST BOOK EVER, #13.

Hundreds of amuslng, detalled plctures of life at home and in the world, with objects named.

Add more labels of your own. Ideal for even the very young. Hardbound. $6.95 THE STORY OF FERDINAND, Munro Leaf. #33 . The classlc story of the littl e Spanish bull who didn ' t want to fight. Wonderful black & white illustrations. $3.95 THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY, Judith Vlorst. #42. A touchlng and, f or many chi ld­ ren, helpful story about a boy trying to come to terms with his favorite cat's death. $2.95 THE TRAIN, McPhail. #17. A littl e boy who loves trains more than anything in the world, has a wonderful dream about them. Another charming and funny book by the author of THE BEAR'S TOOTHACHE & HENRY BEAR'S PARK. $3.95 THE UGLY DUCKLING, Lorinda Cauley. #28. Beauti­ fully co lored drawings accompany this re­ telling of the classic story. '$5 .95 THE VILAGE TREE, Taro Yashima. #43. The tree lS a chlldren's tree - to climb in, play under, jump in the water, to meet friends. The color illustrations also give us a glimpse of Japanese village life in the not-so-distant past. $2.95 WALK WHEN THE MOON IS FULL, Frances Hamer­ strom. #20. A mother takes her two children for a moonlit walk each month, sharing her joy and respect for nature with them. Some of the best pencil drawings I've ever seen. $5.95 WHAT DO PEOPLE DO ALL DAY?, Richard Scarry. #17. Charmlng book about the different kinds of work of many people (in the book, people­ type animals). Answers many questions and sug­ gests many others. Hardbound. $6.95

ALL-OF-A-KIND FAMILY, Sydney Taylor. #37. Set ln New York's Lower East Side during the turn of the century, this wonderfully atmospheri C and tOUChing story about a poor family of five girls is marvellous. $2.50 ALL SAIL SET, Armstrong Sperry. #47. A young boy helps build and rig the great clipper ship "Flying Cloud," and finally sails on her record-breaking maiden voyage . $8 .95.

THE BAT POET, Jarrell . #10. A young bat dis­ covers what happens in the world of daylight, and writes poems about it. $2.95 BEARS, PIRATES AND SILVER LACE, Anne Fi sher. #42. Oellghtful storles and legend s , tol d for younger readers and taken from the earlie st days of California history . A fascinatin g l ook at a little-known part of American life. $2.95 THE BLACK ARROW, Robert Louis Steven son. #14 .

Great adventure set in England during the Wars of the Roses, about a young man who es capes and later overcomes his sworn enemie s , and res­ cues his true love. $1.50 CADDIE WOODLAWN, Carol Brink. True adventures of a bold, red-haired pion~er girl in 1864 Wis­ consin - some funny, some dangerous, some touching. $3.95 CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, Rudyard Kipl ing. #21. A spolled boy learns on a small fishing schooner how satisfying it is to join adults doing hard, dangerous, useful, skilled work. $1.25 CARS AND HOW THEY GO, Joanna Cole. #40. One of the flnest pleces of explaining we have seen.

The light-hearted color illustration s perfect­ ly match the text. This book will probably tell you more about cars than is known by most people driving them! Hardcover. $10.95 CHARLOTTE'S WEB, E.B. White. #14. Amusing and touchlng story of how a girl and a spider save a pet pig'~ life. A great favorite; charming illustrations. $2.50 A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES, Dylan Thomas. #46. Flne 11 lustratlons complement Thomas's memories of his boyhood. $6.95 CHINESE WORD FOR HORSE AND OTHER STORIE S, John Lewls. #36. Wonderful storles and plctures telling how the letters of the Chinese alpha­ bet came to be. $5.95 THE COMPLETE FATHER BROWN, G. K. Chesterton. #35. All the Fr. Brown stories, the famous Englisn-detective/ priest, under one cover.

Exciting, amUSing, and instructive mysteries for children and adults. $8.95 EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES, Erich Kastner. #20. A country boy goes after an adult thief, and is helped by city kids. Clever, light-hearted story written in Germany in 1929. $2.50 NEW AND COMPLETE FAIRY TALE S BY HANS ANDERSON, #17. Blg collectlon of the falry tales by thlS gifted Danish writer, including "The Emperor ' s New Clothes" and "The Snow Queen." Hardbound, with color plates by Arthur Rackham. $6.95 A GATHERING OF DAYS, Joan BIos. #47. Diary of an 1830 New England girl who keeps house for her father and sister . Realist~c fiction por­ traying the people and life of that era. $3 . 95 GNOMES, Poortvliet / Huygen. #13. A "scientific" sruay-of gnomes, with a wealth of beautiful watercolor paintings. A delight for all ages, already a classic. $9.95 GREENLEAF, Constance Bernhardt. #6. The story of a Chlld's growing up from the ages of 4-13, as the child might have told it. Unique and lovely. $5 . 00 GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES, #19 . Fifty-five tradition­ al folk tales, lncluding "Hansel and Gretel," "Rumpelstiltskin," and "The Goose-girl." $2.95

FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS

HARRIET THE SPY, Louise Fitzhugh. #13. En­ gaglng story of an inquisitive child who grows ALEUTIAN BOY, Ethel Ross Oliver. #41. Two boys, one a native Aleut (Eski mo), the other a up in a modern big city and writes down every­ thing she sees. $2.95 visitor from the US, are shipwrecked on a de­ serted is land. How they survive, build a boat, HEIDI, Johanna Spyri. #16. The heartwarming and get home make this an exciting story. $4.50 story of a girl in the high Swiss Alps, her

10. gra ndf ather, and her friends. Long a favorite, and as good as ever. $2.25 THE HOBBIT, J.R.R. Tolkien. #13. A reluctant Bl lbo Baggins sets out after a dragon's trea­ sure. Encha nting introduction to Tolkien's Middle Ear th . $2. 95 THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY, Shei la Burnford.' #2B. A cat, a you ng Labrador retriever, and an old bull terrier travel hundreds of miles to join human frie nds. The dangerous trip is not only exciting but comp letely believable. $2.50 JUST SO STORIES , Rudyard Kip ling. #lB. "How the Elephant Got His Trunk," "How the Leopard Got His Spot s," and many other fables set in the desert, sea, and jungle. Wonderful read-aloud book. 95¢ KIDNAPPED , Stevenson. #16. Another great tale of adven tu re, flight, and escape, this one set in Scot land in 1750. $2 .25 THE LITTLE BOOKROOM, Eleanor Farjeon. #45. 27 orlglna l , gen tle fair y tales by a writer who is never condescending. One of John's special favorites. $5.95 .

THE MAN WHO KEPT CIGARS IN HIS CAP, Jim Heyne n. #33. Beautlful, almost mythic down-on-the-farm tale s of life and death. $5.00 MASQUERAD E, Ki t Williams. #27. A real treasure hunt wlth cryptic clues. Also, find the hidden rabbit on each page of fanciful artwork. Now in paperback with the complete story of how the puzzle was solved. $3.95 THE MERRY ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, Howard Pyle. #15. The best account of the famous legends, from Robin Hood turning outlaw to his gallant death in Little John's arms. Pyle's own il lu strati ons . $5.00 NATIONAL VELVET, Enid Bagnold. #15. Beautiful

story about a family in a small English vil­

l age, and their youngest daughter who risks

her life to ride in a big race. A great novel

for peop le of all ages, and not just those who

love horses. $2.50

OTTO OF THE SILV ER HAND, Pyle. #14. A gentle

boy gr ows up among warring robber barons in

this great Middle Ages adventure. $4.50

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH, Norton Juster. #30 . A

boy flnds hlmself ln a magic world of words,

puns and double meanings, and meets the

Whether Man , Faintly Macabre, Short Shrift,

and many others . A modern "Alice . " $2.95

PIPPI LONGSTOCK ING, Astrid Lindgren. #15. A nlne-year -old Swedish super-girl lives alone in a house with a pet horse and monkey and does exactly what she likes. $2.95 *ROBINSON CRUSO E, Daniel Defoe. #45. Everyone knows of thlS book but how many have read it?

Surpris ingl y beautiful story of courage and advent ure . Marvellous color paintings by N.C. Wye th . Hardcover, $l B.95.

ROOTABAGA STORIES, By Carl Sandburg. #10. Two vo lumes of dellghtful fairy tales set in the American prairie. Great word-magic for bedtime read ing. Part I, $3.95; Part II, $2.50 THE SECRET GARDEN, Frances Burnett. #14. A lonely Ilttle glrl in Yorkshire comes out of her shell as she makes a few good friends and helps revive a neglected garden. $3.50 THE SECRET OF NI MH, Robert O'Brien. #36. Mrs. Frlsby, a mouse, seeks the help of super­ inte lligent rats to save her children. $1.95 STALKY & CO., Rudyard Kipling. #35. A great comlC novel about three independent, smart, and resourceful boys making endless trouble in a rigid British military school. $4.25 STICKEEN, John Muir. #42. True story of the TTTe-and-death adventure of a man (Muir him­ self) and a small dog caught in a blizzard on the top of a great glacier . $3.95 TREASURE ISLAND, Stevenson. #13, #45. Classic advent ure of plrates and buried treasure. This specia l edition features full-color plates by N. C. Wyeth. Hardco ver. $18.95

UNDERSTOOD BETSY, Dorothy Fisher. #12. Charm­ lng story of a shy 9-year-old growing brave and happy on a Vermont farm, where the adults treat her seriously and value her help. $1.75 WINNIE-THE-POOH, A.A. Milne. #15. The author put hls son Christopher Robin and his toy ani­ mals (Pooh, Piglet, etc . ) in these funny ad­ ventures. Good for reading aloud. $2.50 THE YEARLING, Marjorie Rawlings. #21. Lyrical story of a boy in the Florida backwoods, play­ ing, hunting, working; his family & friends; and the fawn he tries to keep as a pet. $3.95 SERIES

By L.M. Boston. #15, 19, 26, 28, 30. A boy comes to llve in his great-grandmother's old house, meets the ghosts of children who lived there long ago, and has many weird adventures.

THE CHILDREN OF GREEN KNOWE $3.95

AN ENEMY AT GREEN KNOWE $3.95

THE RIVER AT GREEN KNOWE $2.95

THE TREASURE OF GREEN KNOWE $1.95

A STRANGER AT GREEN KNOWE $3.95

By Lewis Carroll. #14. Famous travels of a lit­ tle glrl ln a land of impossible creatures, nonsense poetry, and outrageous puns. With the original illustrations by Tenniel. $2.25

ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND $2.25

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

By Herge, "The Adventures of TinTin." #25, 33, 37, 43. Popular cartoon adventures of a re­ sourceful boy detective. Great mixture of slap­ stick and suspense. More actual readtng than many children's books. See "Forelgn anguage."

BLACK ISLAND $5.95

THE BROKEN EAR $5.25

THE CALCULUS AFFAIR $5.25

THE CASTAFIORE EMERALD $5.95

CIGARS OF THE PHAROAHS $5.25

THE CRAB WITH THE GOLDEN CLAWS $5.25

DESTINATION MOON $5.25

EXPLORERS ON THE MOON $5.95

FLIGHT 714 $5.25

KING OTTOKAR'S SCEPTRE $5.25

PRISONERS OF THE SUN $5.25

RED RACKHAM'S TREASURE $5.95

THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN $5.25

THE SEVEN CRYSTAL BALLS $5.95

SHOOTING STAR $5 . 25

TIMTIN IN TIBET $5.95

By Ursula LeGuin. The "Earthsea Trilogy." #18, 19, 22. Three adventures of a powerful young wizard in a marvellous world where magic is a central part of reality. $2.95

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA $2.95

THE TOMBS OF ATUAN $2.95

THE FARTHEST SHORE

By C.S. Lewis, "The Narnia Chronicles." #15, 16, 18, 24. Popular fantasy series. English children slip into the magical world of Narnia and have adventures with princes, witches, ani­ mals, and more.

THE LION, THE WITCH, & THE WARDROBE $2.95

$2.95

THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW $2.95

PRINCE CASPIAN $2.95

VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER $2.95

THE SILVER CHAIR $2.95

THE HORSE AND HIS BOY $2.95

THE LAST BATTLE

By E. Nesbit. #19. Five children in Edwardian England have many strange and funny adventures with magic and time travel. $2.95

FIVE CHILDREN AND IT $2.95

THE PHOENIX AND THE CARPET $2.95

THE STORY OF THE AMULET

By Mary Norton. #16, 31, 44. The story of a tlny famlly, six inches high, and how they face and solve the many problems that a giant world can pose for little people. Delightful.

THE BORROWERS $3.95

THE BORROWERS AFIELD $3.95

THE BORROWERS AFLOAT $3.95

THE BORROWERS ALOFT $4.95

*THE BORROWERS AVENGED $5.95

By Arthur Ransome. #29,31 . Captivating series about the self-created adventures , some in sail boats, some on shore, of a resourceful and imaginative group of English children.

SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS $3.95

SWALLOWDALE $4.50

WINTER HOLIDAY $3. 95

WE DIDN'T MEAN TO GO TO SEA $3. 95

By Laura Ingalls Wilder. #13, 19, 27 . Beloved

serles about chlldhood in pioneer times , the

difficulties and dangers as well as the plea­

sures and joys.

LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS $2.95

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE $2.50

FARMER BOY

$2. 95 ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK $2.95

BY THE SHORES OF SILVER LAKE $2.95

THE LONG WINTER

$2.95 THE LITTLE TOWN ON THE PRAIRIE $2.95 HOME AND GARDEN

DRIVE IT TILL IT DROPS, Joe Troise. #39.

Ihat's one plece of advice this me chani c gives. How to own and run a car with th e least possible trouble and expense . $4.95 FOUR SEASON GARDENING,Back in Print. Sherr ie

&Norm Lee. #44. The shortest, simplest, most

practical manual about inten sive raised-bed

gardening we've seen. You can harvest 2 dozen

crops in January, even in the north. $2.00

GARRETT WADE TOOL CATALOG. #22. The lovely il­ lustratlons &photos ln this fat catalog are like those in expensive art books. A pleasure to look through, besides having much good info on using tools. $3.00 GUIDE TO HOME ENERGY, Mother Earth News. #18.

Valuable artlcles on bio-gas plants, wood­

stoves, trees, solar & wind energy, etc. In­

credible bargain. $3.95

NOMADIC FURNITURE, J. Hennessey & V. Papanek. #30. Plctures and plans of many kinds of furn­ iture that are easy and cheap to build, and easy to take apart and take with you if you have to move. $9.95 *SPACES FOR CHILDREN, Peter Bergson. #47. How to bUlld play areas with multiple levels, trap­ doors, ladders & more. You don't have to be a pro - kids will love 'em. $5.00 SQUARE-FOOT GARDENING, Mel Bartholomew. #4 1.

By followlng thlS very simple method, anyone with a 4'x4' space, even in the house (under lights) or on a roof or patio, can have a prod­ uctive garden. $11.95 WHOLE FOODS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, Roberta Johnson. #44. 900 reClpes contrlbuted by La Leche League members from allover the world.

Simple and time-saving family meals for anyone interested in whole foods cooking. $10.95 WORMS EAT MY GARBAGE, Mary Appelhof. #40.

-Tells how you can use worms to eat your organic garbage and convert it into the most fertile of all growing mediums. $6.95 GADGETS

HEARING PROTECTORS. #39. These do not give absolute sllence, but cut down noise (by 20 decibels) well enough to take a nap in a noisy house, work with loud groups of children, etc.

Not elegant, airport wor kers wear them, but they are effective. $16.00 (Includes post.)

SLEEP SHADES. #46. Wearing thi s black eye-mask was John's favorite way of napping. Combine with Hearing Protectors for a real escape !

Adjustable elastic strap. $7.00 We'll send you our latest catalog for free with every order you place.

11.

For Christmas delivery we must receive your order by Nov. 29 US Mail, Dec . 13 UPS.

SEND ORDER TO:

To insure delivery we recommend using UPS, especially on large orders. Use the chart below to figure UPS charges.

For Orders Totaling

Include:

Up to $10.00 $10.01-$19.99 $20.00-$29.99 $30.00-$39.99 $40.00-$49.99 $50.00-$74.99 $75.00-$99.99 $100.00 and over

QUANT lTV

OVERSEAS SURFACE MAIL: 1,2, or 3 items, $1.50; 4 or more, J5¢ per item . CANADIAN & FOREIGN CUSTOMERS: Please send money orders in US Funds or checks drawn on a US bank. UPS will deliver only to Ontario.

$1.95 $2.95 $3.95 $4.95 $5.95 $7.50 $8.25 $11. 00

PRI CE EACH

TITLE / DESCRIPTION

Send order to: Book pri ces and Posta 1 rates are subject to change without notice. Orders will be filled at prices in effect at time of shipment.

SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS: Send via U.S. MAIL_ _ _ ( see upper right) for cost.)

UNITED PARCEL SERV ICE (See upper 1eft side for cost. UPS cannot deliver to a PO box.)

POSTAGE CHARGE - For 1, 2, or 3 books or tapes: $1.20. 4 or more: 40¢ per additional item. Postage for Records: $1.00 for 1; add 50¢ for each additTOiiaT"record.

Make check (US bank) or money order for books payable to HOLT ASSOCIATES, INC. (Pay­ ment for subscriptions to GWS should be made out separately to GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING.)

Holt Associates 729 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02116 How did you fi nd out about John Holt's Book & Music Store?

Subscriber Other

AMOUNT

Subtota 1 : MA residents add 5% Sales Tax: *Postage (see info at left): TOTAL - Payment "'tOOe enc 1osed:

I

I

12.

HOLT ASSOCIATES 729 Boyl ston St. Boston, MA 02116

THIS IS THE WAY IT USED TO BE

IN THE EARLY 1900's

by

MARJORIE KAHL LA WRENCE

THIS IS THE WAY IT USED TO BE IN THE EARLy 1900's, by MarJorle Kahl Lawrence (see p, 5 for ordering details. This review by John Holt originally appeared in GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 43.) Here is another and delightful example of a kind of history book that we like here and that we think many children will like, a book about how ordinary people, that is people who were not rich, powerful, or famous, lived their daily lives.

The author, who prepared this book for the Clinton County Museum in Frankfort, Indiana, in 1980, must have been quite old when she wrote it. She writes as if she was telling these true stories to children, and indeed probably did tell them to many children before s he finally wrote them. In her introduc­ ti on she says :

The chapter titles suggest what an amazing amount of fascinating information there is in this little book. The Non-Urban Household; Our House; A Schedule for the Week's Work; Rag Carpet; Those Darn Flies; Something to Eat; Bread and Butter; Making Butter; The Garden; Taking Care of the Chickens; Going to the Store; Grandmothers Were Important; Grandfathers; Baby Clothes (a delightful chapter!); Being Sick; Horse Power; Making Hay; Corn; Jelly and Jam; Quilts; and so on.

What an extraordinary amount of things those country people knew how to do, and do well, and what pride, satisfaction, and happiness they obviously got from doing them.

There are very few of today ' s commercial farms on which families raise and preserve much of their own food, or even know how. But these skills are slowly coming back, often due to people who have moved away from cities. With luck, the skills will not be lost.

Mrs. Lawrence, from the sound of her voice as we hear it in this book, is a wonderful old lady - a little tart, not inclined to stand for much nonsense, but full of knowledge, enthusiasm, and affection. She obviously enjoyed life when she was a child, and she obviously enjoys it now. Lucky are the children who had or have such lively and knowing grandmothers to listen to and learn from . For many, this book, ideal for reading aloud, will have to be the best possible substitute. - JH GIFT CERTIFICATES

We'll send anyone you wish our latest catalog and our handsome gift certificate that identifies you as the gift-giver. We can issue a gift for any amount you wish above the minimum order of $10.00 plus 50¢ postage.

Holt's Best-sellers for 1985: 1) 2) 3) 4)

YOUNG CHILDREN - NATURAL LEARNERS NEVER TOO LATE TEACH YOUR OWN WHO DOES WHAT WHEN: Record Keeping for Homeschoolers 5) ARITHMETIC MADE SIMPLE 6) ESCAPE FROM CHILDHOOD 7) PENTEL - Watercolor paints 8) CRAY-PAS PASTELS 9) GWS INDEX 1 - 30 10) SHOULD I TEACH MY KIDS AT HOME

FIL M

"We Have To Call It School". By Peggy Hughes.

About the Ny Llile Skole (New Little School) in Denmark. A vivid, touching, and true film portrait of children in a meeting, living, and dfin g place. 16mm, B/W, 45 min.

Please write or greater description. Rent: $75.00 per day of use, plus UPS charge-s-.Purchase: $350 plus postage.

"lowe more to my abi 1ity to fantasize, than to any knowledge I've ever acquired."

Albert Einstein "It is good books, not good reading methods, that makes good readers."

John Holt

GIFT CERTIFICRTE A

... This little book is a history . It tells how things were in the early nineteen hundreds. That is not a hundred years ago, but it will be before long, and the people who lived it will not be here any longer to tell you how things were. That is why I have prepared this book; to let you know how it was when I was a little child, so these things will not be forgotten. When you have lived a while, then you can begin telling how things were when you were little .. . So, if you would like to hear about it, I will tell you what it was like to be a child early in the 1900's ...

B1.TTct:JlnntAtt

f1tOn JOtl'" ttoL'J " lOOK A.ND n unc lTok! lISut::D 70

A OV1nwH_________________ DATE or u a U I : . - . - - NUJ'tJID"''-_ _ ,tALJ;I)

''I-"_ _ __

hll«rUlk.wlMr MUWd la_reS

u., purc..... oI.n,.lt. mt'rom

John Holl', Book end Music Stor.

129 Boylston St. Boston Mot. 0211 0

JOHN HOLT 1923-1985

25 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 did twice, but there are only six classes and I think they keep going because they can't believe that all the classes will be equally bad.

This freedom to quit if they want to has given our kids the cour­ age to try several things they would never have attempted if they had felt they would be forced to finish some­ thing that may be beyond their skills or just too scary for one reason or another. It might be anything from trying to read a book to jumping off a diving board. Just last weekend we wanted to attend an outdoor concert that Clare was, for some reason, uncomfortable about and so didn't want to go. Since we couldn't go with­ out her, I told her we would leave whenever she wanted to and explained to the rest of the family that Clare would be in charge of our leaving and that this way we would at least get to see part of the concert. During the course of the evening Clare asked several times if we would really leave when she wanted to and after I reassured her that we would, she hap­ pily turned her attention back to the stage. We stayed for the entire show . ... When we lived in Connecticut we had a small pond in our backyard, where Emily smoothed out the ice skating skills she had learned else­ where, Christian learned how to get around quite well, and Clare, only 3 then, spent most of her time standing up on her skates and then falling down or else laughing at Tom and me as we attempted to look at ease on our skates . In other words, their initial learning experience was very relaxed and Tom and I were involved, not just watching .

Last winter, a park near us offered free ice skating lessons, and our kids all wanted to sign up. At the first lesson, Emily and Christian went off to the advanced class and Clare went off with the beginners' group. Another friend of hers, who had never been on the ice before, was not at all as confident as she was, but was ~illing to give it a try.

(His mother reassured him that he could come off the ice whenever he wanted to . ) At the gate of the rink, a mother had enlisted the aid of an older son to drag a small boy, about 8 years old, onto the ice. The boy, with a look of terror on his face, kept trying to grab any stationary object they passed, while the mother kept grabbing his hands and saying, "This year you are going to learn to skate." She called over one of the teachers and demanded that he take her son out on the ice. The boy, obvi­ ously uncomfortable with the strange teacher, gave up trying to get away and became stonelike.

Meanwhile our young friend had gone out on the ice, keeping an eye on this little group at the gate . He tried out his skates as he held onto che wall and lined up with the rest of the class to s~ate a·t ross the rink. He did this a couple of times and then came back to his mother who was watching at the wall and said, "I want to leave now." His mother con­ gratulated him for trying something difficult and suggested he might like to go skating with his father some­ time. And he left with no really bad feelings about skating. He knew stay­ ing up on those thin blades on that slippery ice was not easy and he had done as much as he wanted that day.

When I was describing this little scenario to my husband, he man­ aged to pop my self-righteous balloon with the comment, "It sure is easy to

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 147

be relaxed about the kids learning something that we don't feel is vital to their education." Obviously if a child never learns to ice skate, her future possibilities will not be restricted at all seriously and that's what makes that poor mother's violent attempts so ridiculous. But how many times have I said to my children by my actions if not in actual words, "This year (or week or day), you are going to learn to read" (or add or do decimals or whatever)' And with results equal to the other child . The kids stonily go through the motions of learning, but it never touches their spirit; the learning is superficial and not very usable . This is, or course, what John has been say­ ing for years, but somehow I need jolts like this to put me back on the right track ...

the process John went through in re­ evaluating his life's goals (GWS #43). I went through a similar pro­ cess two years ago when our newborn daughter died. It suddenly occurred to me that I'd spent most of my life letting other people decide what I should do with my time ... I no longer say ~ automatically to eve ry re­ quest ... I started out by answering unreasonable requests with a gentle, polite, "No, I don't really think I could do that for you just now, I'm sort of busy, and, uh ... " But people couldn't seem to realize that was a refusal . So now I just say, "Are you kidding ? I'd have to be crsz y to ---" ( This method leaves no d o u t in their minds' ) . ..

WHEN A HUSBAND DISAGREES From Pennsylvania:

AT HOME IN INDIANA From Leslie Westrum (IN): . .. We have registered as a not-for-profit organization with the state, for the purpose of teaching children (no age limit). So we're now ZION FREE SCHOOL, INC . My parents and brother are on our board of directors - they're very pro-homeschool.

Incorporating seems to have been a good idea . Someone out there thinks we're a school, 'cause the Highway Dept. has sent us safety information (about traffic, seatbelts, etc.) ...

Madeline is 4~, so we've got 2~ years before she's "school age ." We're plan­ ning to be well established by then.

Found a good (great') source of school supplies, BECKLEY-CARDY (7500 Old Oak Blvd, Cleveland OH 44130).

They carry everything from desks, lockers, and office furniture, to pen­ cils, paper, and chalk. The furniture and most of the big equipment wouldn't suit homeschoolers' needs ­ but the supplies cost about half of retail here, and for those of us out in the sticks it's great to have it delivered to your door. I'm enclosing a sample of their construction paper - the colors are nice and bright and the paper is very flexible and easy to work with.

James (3~) has always wanted to have lessons like Ming, but didn't want to learn anything new - he just wanted the time and attention (very frustrating for me, at first). My solution was to get him workbooks about colors, animals, shapes ­ things he already knew - and to have him work at those. It has helped a lot' ... Now, six months later, he's starting to feel ready to learn new things ...

When people ask the "secret" to our schooling "success," I tell them my secret is total inconsistenc We don't have "lessons " somet~mesor days at a time - we read a lot, because we like to, but we only work when the mood strikes us. So Min-g--­ never learned to think of reading as some terrible hard thing she must do to please someone or to be accepted.

It's just a fun thing that we all like to do .

We've been writing a lot of books lately. The kids draw pictures, then James tells me what words he wants and I print them for him. Ming tells me what she wants to write, and I spell the words for her so she can write them herself. It's lots of fun.

The kids like to surprise their fath­ er with new bedtime stories they've written themselves ...

I was especially interested in

t

'

April 13: ... My husband doesn't agree w~th me about schools. He thinks I have given myself a bad atti­ tude toward them by reading John's books. I told him what really gave me a bad attitude toward schools was the stories friends told me. Onc e I said to my husband, "I know you don't agree that we could do a better job teaching Adam at home." He surprised me by saying, "Yes, I do agree. But I know I don't have the time to teach him and neither will you next year."

My husband believes that students need schools to make them learn things they otherwise would neglect .

He told me that he never would have learned geometry if he hadn't had to take the course . I answered that he would, too, have learned geometry because he wanted to go to college, and geometry was a requi=ement. He remains unconvinced that Adam would learn what he needs to know without school in spite of all the learning Adam has already done . . . [ DR:] In my reply, I said: . .. I've heard so many stories by now of husbands changing their minds, I don't think you have to worry too much . People need time to get used to the idea, mull it over, bring up their past memories, start observing their children in a new light. If your husband is not willing to read any of John's books or GWS, you can at least read parts out loud to him, or retell them in your own words.

Have patience; I'm sure your husband wants what is best for Adam, and if he sees problems and changes occuring after Adam starts school, he may well agree that home would be better ...

In May, the mother wrote: .. . In the few weeks since I last wrote, my husband has changed his ideas about school (as you predicted he might). I was amazed . One day I blurted out, "I wish Adam would never go to school'" and he said, "Really?"

LDJID]C01~ Much More Than Toys Aselection of the world's finest educational toys, games and books for infants through teens. Child tested for durability and educational play value. Write for free catalog.

Dept.'l447, 564 W. Shepperd Ave., Littleton, CO 80120

26 I don't think that he believed I was serious until that moment. After that he seemed more open to the idea. A few days later he was telling me about a conversation he had with a very discouraged high school English teacher who has decided that the only hope he has of teaching any of his students anything is to work with them one-on-one. Then my husband said, "I'm beginning to agree with . you that Adam would be better off at ' home." ...

talked "teacher" to the class. She was freaked. ... She has learned what things to ignore, what things to rollover on and what things to battle. When she complains about some injustice I say, "Do you want my help?" and she refuses. She calmly informed the band instructor that she thought it irre­ sponsible for him to leave in the evenings after practice if there were girls still there. He said he wouldn't do it anymore!

It's so lovely to have a 14­ year-old daughter who is a friend ...

ANOTHER FATHER CHANGES MIND

From Terry Schultz (KY): ... When we started homeschooling three years ago, my husband felt it was a bit too much - too much risk, too much work. I set it up and got things going and did it all myself for the first year or so. Then I went to work and we split it pretty even­ ly. Now my schedule has changed again, and since April he has been doing all the "formal" schooling. The other day he commented that when we started this he wasn't convinced that it was a sane thing to do but now he can see how good it has been for the kids and for us as a family. He could see how differently our kids respond to new situations, adults, and life, because we've never put them in public schools or any school ...

RETURN TO SCHOOL

From Janet Williams (PA): .. . Jen went back to to school full-time last September, ninth grade. She had no major problems adjusting.

Over the summer she had taught herself Algebra I so could take Algeb­ ra II with her friends. In a class with students who had Algebra I for nine months (not two months like Jen did - and she only did four or five chapters of the book) she is in the top of her class - because she knows how to THINK and apply logic and see relationships. When she was younger she detested math and we avoided it as much as posible. Just enough doses so she could manage testing at school once a year. Now she's having fun with it.

Art, her real gift, was hard because the class is number oriented: produce six projects in six weeks.

The perfectionist gentle artist had some real problems adapting but she has developed a system of spending four weeks doing what she wants well, then slap-dash other projects for the teacher. In the process she has learned to organize and streamline techniques but to continue to do what is important to her.

Phys. Ed. was rough. She has never been a physical person. Even as a baby she sat and studied the world - didn't walk until lS months. But she was determined to do better and PRACTICED certain sports at home.

She commented several weeks ago that teachers talk differently to her than they do to other students. In the beginning of the year she said they looked at her funny because she spoke to them as if they were equals - both adults. Over the course of the school year, her teachers have come to talk to her like that. She told me about one day-when her history teach­ er was giving her an extra special assignment. One minute he talked nor­ mally to her, the next minute he

Her daughter Jenni wrote in che final PA UNSCHOOLERS NETWORK news­ letter: ... Going back to school held things in store I'd never thought about. There were the advantages I went back for: friends, male compan­ ionship, and an escape from boredom through a planned routine. There were also disadvantages, most of which I never expected.

I figured I would find a problem with not being challenged enough, and in one or two classes that is true, but in most of my classes I've learned plenty and have a lot of fun.

One problem I had no idea I was to face was people picking on me and calling me a "brownie." For some reason, people in school (mostly girls in my case) have something against people smarter than them­ selves. After a while I faded into the crowds, and wasn't picked on any more - at least not in a derogatory sense .

Something that never even crossed my mind was the great pres­ sure put upon me by teachers. It seems that they thought since I'm somewhat above average mentally, I should perform WAY above average aca­ demically. Once in health class, my teacher asked if I had done an extra-credit project ... since only had a 93% in her class.

The last problem I've faced is people trying to get answers from me.

If a friend of mine hasn't studied for a test or hasn't done their home­ work, they say, "Oh, Jenni will have it." For a while I was in a jam about this, but I've decided that my friends are important, but what I think is right comes first. My friends accept that too, and if they didn't, they would not be very good friends.

I've achieved everything I went back to school for, and I've overcome the problems that have drifted my way so far (though the problems aren't as easy to get over as mine sound like they were). I'm happy, but going back to school and being happy depends on what you expect and what kind of person you are ...

LEAVING THEM HOME ALONE

From Carolyn Hardy (CA): 9/83: .•. Boy did I need to read your article Learning On Her Own (GWS #34). Due to circumstances beyond my control, it looked as though I would have to put Lisa back in school. I had nowhere for her to stay while I was in school. It was a horrible sum­ mer for me because the fall looked so bleak. I kept putting off enrolling her, but I did call the school to find out what we needed. That's as far as we ever got. She stayed home by herself and I worried I was doing

something wrong. (In the eyes of the law, I am.)

Her attitude didn't help any either. Last year she knew her mother was bats because I took her out of school; until I showed her a copy of GWS and she saw she wasn't the only one and it was OK. But this year she thought I was completely certifiable because now she ~as also home alone.

Her face lit up when I told her about this month's article. I guess mine did, too. It's nice not to be alone •..

7/8S: ... Donna asked how it went when r-Teft the two girls alone. Some days it went all right and some days it didn't. I think their ages, then 7 and 3, were just too young to have that much time by themselves (about 3-S hours a day). On the whole, they did as well as most older children do; better than some daycare centers I've se~n. They still stay by them­ selves on occasion, and I feel very comfortable with it. They know how to screen phone calls, take messages, what to do in an emergency, etc.

We've added a guard dog to our family of critters around here, so I feel even safer leaving the girls.

They don't stay by themselves too often anymore, because I work at home now. I'm doing daycare and any office jobs (typing, stuffing envel­ opes, bookkeeping) I can do at home ... But I know they really enjoy their feeling of responsibility and being grown-up when I leave them in charge.

The feeling of independence has really changed Lisa. She started a dog walking service last year, and this year revamped her prices and ser­ vices. She also has a paper route she's been doing for about three months. It has to be delivered in the middle of the night, and I'm the one who stays up to drive her. I'm not getting much sleep but I'm very proud of her and the job she's doing. She's the youngest carrier they have; 12 is the regular minimum age and she's 9.

Every week she gets bonus points because she doesn't get any complaints ...

MANY "LATCHKEY KIDS" ARE HAPPY

From the Washington Post, 2/1/84: Working Mother magazine ... pub­ lished the results of a nationwide survey on who takes care of children after school that offers a little good news to parents of children who take care of themselves. Most of the 709 children surveyed showed little or none of the fears, loneliness and boredom that have been reported in previous studies. Instead, the experi­ ence appears to help them develop their sense of self-reliance and responsibility.

The survey included children 6 to 14 years of age, and it is signifi­ cant to note that most of them lived in suburban and rural areas, rather than cities. While most of the 6 and 7-year-olds surveyed were under some form of adult supervision, about a third of the 8- and 9- year-olds took care of themselves and more than half of the 10-year-olds did. Nearly 20% of the 8-year-olds were also taken care of by an older brother or sister.

Most of the younger latchkey children spent only an hour or less alone. Of those in day-care arrange­ ments, a sizeable number said they would rather be home by themselves.

Some 40% of the children responded that they never minded being alone,

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

27 and a quarter said they only minded it sometimes.

Most of the children spent their time watching television, doing chores and homework and playing out­ doors. Some came home to prepared snacks. Some as young as 8 found that the quiet in the house provided an ideal time to read. All were in con­ tact with an adult and many routinely called their parents at work to check in. The survey detected a lot of antagonism between brothers and sis­ ters who babysat younger children, and a number of children wished they could have friends over to play in the afternoons more often .

Estimates on the number of latch­ key children vary enormously. Rep. Patricia Schroeder ( D.-Col.), co­ chairwoman of the Congressional Cau­ cus for Women's Issues, used the fig­ ure of six million when she intro­ duced the School Facilities Child Care Act in September, 1983. The act, which was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Claiborne Pell (D.-R.I . ) and Sen. Donald Riegle (D .-Mi ch . ) in June, 1983, would provide $15 million a year for three years to the . secre­ tary of Health and Human Services to give grants to public agencies and private nonprofit community groups to set up child-care programs in the pub­ lic school s ...

INDEPENDENT SCHOLARS

Ron Gross, author of THE LIFE­ LONG LEARNER, THE INDEPENDENT SCHOL­ AR'S HANDB OOK, and THE GREAT SCHOOL DEBATE, is advocating an idea that may be of interest to GWS readers. As he sums up in one of his brochures: ... Are you interested in using your mind outside the university - as do leading non-affiliated research­ ers, thinkers and writers like I.F. Stone, Buckminster Fuller, Betty Friedan, Barbara Tuchman, and Ivan Illich?

You can pursue your own intel­ lectual projects and make significant contributions to your field without being a professor or a student. Schol­ arship can be your joy, though not your job. Or you can join those who have found ways to make money with their minds - in their own think­ tanks, in institutes or organiza­ tions, in business or government, or as free-lance writers and researchers ...

[DR:] Several appealing things about this notion. Ron Gross encour­ ages you to see that you could lead a professional life of intellectual pur­ suit, if that is your desire, without taking part in the college charade of teaching, testing, grading, and so on. How many faculty members of uni­ versities and colleges .love the theor­ etical side of their jobs, and find the requirement of teaching undergrad­ uate courses to be an unpleasant bur­ den?

Second, I can imagine that some young GWS readers, those who love to get deeply involved in a subject, to explore, to create, may very well find more like-minded fellowship througn-Ehe roundtables, support groups, and networks that Ron Gross is fostering than they ever would at a college. I'm sure I was not the only bookish teenager who was bitter­ ly disappointed to find that college was just more of the same old stuff, students trying to please the teach­ er, rather than the ha~owed halls of

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING '47

serious learning that it had been held out to be. True, we are always happy to run stories in GWS about homeschoolers entering college, because so many people worry about whether that is even possible. But we should never forget that those who choose to avoid elementary and high school may have good reason for stay­ ing away from college as well.

So no matter from which side of the question you are looking, student or teacher, you may find some very valuable information and encourage­ ment in the work of the INDEPENDENT SCHOLARSHIP PROJECT. Ron publishes a list of 40 support groups for "inde­ pendent scholars," some groups orient­ ed towards a particular topic (e.g. history, Asia), others local or regional ( Independent Scholars of Sacramento, Princeton Research Forum .. . ) . To get a copy.of this list, as well as information on their newsletter and books, send a SASE to Ron and Bea Gross, THE INDEPENDENT SCHOLARSHIP PROJECT, 17 Myrtle Dr, Great Neck NY 11021; phone 516-487­ 0235.

Here are some more excerpts from the organization's literature: · . . To Mr. Gross, independent scholars provide the forward thrusts of thought. They're self-motivated, driven by the necessity to know, work­ ing when and how and as they can with­ out benefit of institutional prestige or facilities. "Having found what turns them on, they can come to the cutting edge of a discipline without being a professor," he insists. · .. The Independent Scholarship Project, which Ron Gross founded, is a clearinghouse for independent schol­ ars . It issues a regular newsletter, announcing fellowships (often obtained at his urging), study, and employment opportunities . The project holds conferences and helps scholars find or start support groups, which provide a forum for sharing informa­ tion and resources and critiquing each other's work. Gross estimates there are "thousands" of serious scholars working "outside the walls" of universities and research institu­ tions. · .. Some independent scholars pub­ lish, some don't. Some have advanced degrees, others don't. But they are not dilettantes. · Among their accomplishments: - After years of night and week­ end research, Leon Miller recently won the Milton SOCiety Award for best article of the year on Milton.

- Thomas Burke, a retired bank­ er, has pursued studies of diatoms (microscopic marine cells) and made taxonomic findings widely referenced in related scientific literature.

- Dorothy Welker, a communica­ tions consultant by profession, is a long-time scholar at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Her translation of the works of an important l6th­ century Brazilian colonist has been widely used by other scholars ...

Gross said that only since World War II has society been brainwashed into believing that people must be professors to do serious intellectual work and that contributions to cul­ ture once supplied by the work of doc­ tors, lawyers, and clergymen have been "pushed under the umbrella of the university." · .. Nine years ago, Judith Lieb­ man left her position as assistant professor of Germanic literature at Yale, to devote herself to writing fiction and poetry full time. "I found myself divested of the aegis

under which I had been all my life," Mrs. Liebman recalls. "I had really always been at an academic institu­ tion. And here I was suddenly with no salary, no schedule and no prestige of being a 'professor at Yale.' It was a ver y tough time for me."

On the suggestion of a friend, Mrs. Liebman joined the CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY (3193 Yale Sta, New Haven CT 06520) . "I felt that they offered me something I needed very badly. It was a place to reassure me that what I was doing was OK ... that I was not simply thrown out in the wilderness trying to do something crazy."

The center was started almost 10 years ago by a group of scholars who were either unaffiliated or marginal­ ly affiliated with a university ...

Between 40 and 75 members participate each year ... and a special membership is being devised with correspondence as its basis . · .. One valuable function of the CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT STUDY is that it gives credibility t o scholars, wri­ ters, and artists not associated with an academic institution. "For exam­ ple, if you're going to write an arti­ cle based on research, and you send it in on your personal stationery to a journal, no one will look twice.

But under th e aegis of the center, one suddenly becomes respectable," Mrs. Liebman said . · .. "The track record is amazing," she added . "Many people started without ever having published and over the years have published stories, novels, articles and poetry." · .. It was when Gross started in his first job with Simon and Schuster publishers that th e first seed of independent scholarship was planted .

Max Schuster told him, "Beg in at once, not today, or tomorrow, or at some remote indefinite date, but right now at this precise moment, to choose some subject, some concept, some great name or idea or event in history on which you can eventually make yourself the world's supreme expert. Start a crash program immedi­ ately to qualify yourself for this first self-assignment through read­ ing, research, and reflection." ...

SMALL CLASSES Carol Muzzy ( IL) wrote:

· .. Last fall I hired an art teacher to have a small class in our home. At the time, I had two reasons for this. First, the boys were com­ plaining about not going to school. I felt this was because they felt isola­ ted and weird, and a class would give them some companionship and school­ type experience . Secondl y , my olde r son loves to make things, like what you see in craft books for children.

'World CJIistory" reduced to lOOO people ~asy

to learI/, ~asy to teach

S.L.L. ASSOCIATES

P.O. BoxZU

New Hope, Pa.l8938

28 I don't like this sort of stuff and rarely do it with him, so I thought an art teacher might do that - I seem to remember it from elementary school.

We started with seven children ­ three were 6, two were 7, and one 8, one 9. When the weather was nice they played soccer and stuff in the back yard and had a wonderful time. The complain ts about school stopped, so I guess the first need was met. When the weather got so they had to play inside, I couldn't stand the chaos.

The 6-year-olds were obviously not in terested in the art lessons anyway, so we cut back to just the four older children. ... The teacher was a former junior high teacher, and had no inter­ est in craft stuff . She started help­ ing them do the exercises from DRAW­ ING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN [available here, $9 .95 ]. This is part of the reason the 6-year-olds were not interested - they didn't have the fine motor skills to control a pencil well enough. Her goal was to teach the kids to draw what they really see, instead of symbols or what they think they see. My son has caught the idea and has produced what to me are amazing drawings. ... 1 distinctly remember some­ where between the ages of 9 and 12 wanting very much to draw things so they looked real. I never could do it, and concluded, sadly, that I couldn't draw. I tried the formulas I was taught in art in school, but the results were disappointing. Not until I was an adult and read DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN did I realize I could draw if I wanted to take the time to do it . It is obvious to me that Jake will never have to go through this. He may say he doesn't want to draw, but he will never say he can't draw, because he has learned that he can draw whatever he sees ­ everything is lines and shapes ...

Wendy Baruch on our staff writes: ... Several Boston-area home­ schooling families who got to know each other through Jean Tibbils' nature class (GWS #37, #40) now meet once a week in the basement of a rehabbed warehouse for Theater Group.

Warm rugs, high ceilings, and large windows invite us immediately to open up and relax; the walls themselves seem to be asking you to play. Musi­ cal instruments, puppets, capes - I think that every prop imaginable is in that room. When we can't find some­ thing, it simply gets born. Art and craft supplies wait patiently all around the room.

Homeschoolers in and around Cam­ bridge are lucky to have the resour­ ces and talents of Michael Punzak ...

Meeting during the hours when other children are in school is the gen­ tlest reminder of our good fortune.

We are a new-born babe, three tod­ dlers, seven older children, and five moms.

Michael has been in theater for six years. He brings us songs and skits and plays, and we try them out.

When we find one that fits we work on it carefully and plan our perfor­ mance ... Once ready, we caravan the troupe out for the show. A favorite place to perform is one of the elder­ ly centers here in Cambridge .

His goals for our learning are obvious. Fun comes first and seems to reign supreme over all our activi­ ties ... If anyone is interested in this experience, I know Michael has other classes forming all the time .•.

Kathleen Hatley is part of an educational enrichment co-operative, which offers classes and workshops taught by interested people in the community, taking place in churches, the library, schools, private homes, and businesses. The co-op gives child­ ren opportunities to develop their creative talents in fields as varied as drama, ballet, off-loom weaving, gemology, math manipulatives, Span­ ish, herpetology, astronomy, and many others. Kathleen is a homeschooling parent but most of the people in the group are public-schooling families, so the workshops are offered during Christmas, spring and summer holi­ days. She finds that the group offers the opportunity to interact with oth­ er educators in the community, and to build community interest in home edu­ cation.

Kathleen offers a packet enti­ tled "Education Beyond the Classroom" describing how the project runs, and including the co-op by-laws and sam­ ple enrollment forms. The cost is $1.50; send to Kathleen Hatley, PO Box 2543, Stillwater OK 74076. - TG INFORMAL WRITING CLUB

From Ellen Shipley {CAl: ... Something in GWS #45 really took me back to my own childhood . The article was Kim Jeffrey's "Involved in History," and the experience is a shared one, as Kim and I are old high school friends - it was Kim who first introduced us to the concept of home­ schooling when she took her own kids out of school. In high school, we, together with a handful of zany girl friends, kept our sanity by letting our imaginations run wild.

In the fall of '67, when most of us were sophomores, four of us came together through a mutual interest: science fiction. We found we read the same books and liked the same auth­ ors, and soon we found other inter­ ests in common. We all wanted to be writers, and we started right in on ourselves, writing adventures about thinly disguised alter egos. We called ourselves INVENATURE for Inven­ tion and Adventure. Television was a vast wide universe for our personas to explore - THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. was one of our favorites; STAR TREK was another - and if we didn't like a particular character on the tube, we killed him off, or sent him into retirement. We had complete control over the medium. We gave Illya Kurya­ kin a heroic past, and Napoleon Solo a dubious future; and someone was always coming up with romantic inter­ ludes for Mr. Spock.

We were always on the look-out for like-minded individuals, and our ranks swelled. Grade level was no barrier - I think we had about a five-year age range among the doze'l or so of us who came together at one time or another during those years.

At least one of our mothers thought her daughter shouldn't be hanging around with the "little kids" so much, but we wouldn't be dissuaded.

We stuck to each other like glue.

At school, we whiled away the boring hours writing and passing copi­ ous notes, detailing the further adventures of our characters, inter­ mixed with after-school plans and class critiqu~s. I still have many of those notes, still lovingly folded into little square packets that dropped so neatly into our lockers several times a day. Some of them

were even typed! None of this extra­ curricular activity had any effect on our school work - we were all A and B students - and, if anything , probably kept us from falling asleep during classes' Outside of school, we gathered at some one of our houses on many a weekend for "overnights" and then we really cooked. Stories were written, critiqued, rewritten, acted out and trashed. The latest installment of a correspondent member's novel was passed around. A radio pla y was tape recorded by a few and played back for the rest.

Chess games and puzzles were worked on in shifts, and impromptu art classes were held. A few of our number were really fine artists, and in that no~-threatening atmosphere, techniques and tricks were shared with the less artistic. There was com­ petition, but it was never fierce, and it served to spur us on to great­ er achievements, more than to pull anyone down. If one of us wrote a vam­ pire story, the next week we would all have vampire stories, and some of the variations were hilarious.

We had our own Collected Works, our own Literary Magazine, and later, when many of us went off to college and needed to keep in touch, our own Newsletter. We worked our interests into our school assignments, writing book reports on favorite science fic­ tion stories, and turning our own cre­ ative works in for essay credit. (We always considered this a joke, as none of us ever thought of our endeav­ ors as school work.)

To~ome 18 years later, we are literally scattered to the four winds, but many of us still keep in touch - some in letters and Christmas cards, others in regular holiday get-togethers. And we still encourage each other to write stories and novels and songs and all the other creative things that were so much a part of our growing up. r couldn 't have gotten through high school without INVENATURE. It awakened my mind. And it is the only thing that has stuck with me from my whole school experience ...

ANOTHER WRITING CONTEST

In GWS #33, #38, #40, and #43, we mentioned writing contests that homeschoolers might like to enter.

Jane Williams (CA) sends us info on another - the "Freedom Essay Contest" of the FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCA­ TION (Irvington-On-Hudson, NY 10533).

Prizes for the high school division (Grades 9-12) are $1000 and $500; there is also a college undergraduate division with prizes of $2000 and $1000. Entrants choo~e a theme rela­ ted to the "foundations of the free society ." Deadline is January 15, 1986; write them for fur ther details.

A STURDY TYPEWRITER

Edwin Yare (CT) writes: ... In GWS #46, there is an item asking for information about typewri­ ters for children.

Ten years ago, I got my typewri­ ter - a used IBM Selectric, model 72 - which has served me so well that I write· to recommend it. I have used it to write and rewrite two books and for most of my correspondence over the years. When my son, now 6, was old enough to type (about 2), he used the IBM, at first with supervision,

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

29 but soon was left on his own. At first, I worried that he would do some harm , but the ma c h ine is practi­ cally indestructible. The spinning ball makes it impossible to get the letters tangled as used to happen, and this machine is heavy and of very sturdy construction.

This machine is a t least 12 years old - probably 15 - a virtual antique, but it is as good as new and has to be much better than what is being sold for children's use simply because ~t is not for children's use.

Cassidy first used it as a toy - he played with it and tested it - but since it was not built as a toy, it did not break. It se r ves h im, just as it serves me.

I cannot offer any information as to the cost or availability of these machines today, but I assume the y are s till around because mine is doing so well ...

STARTING TO READ AT 10 More from Patti Rowe (IA): .. . I've been meaning to write and add our experie nces with a late reader to the list ... Jason (almost 10) is inquisitive, interested in the world around him, quite a financial wizard (understands business trans­ actions, real estate deals, etc., better th an I do sometimes). He is interested in sports, loves games (especially of the Monopoly variety, but also chess and other strategy games). Basically, he is a very well-rounded child, has a good head on his shoulders, knows what he wants; he' s a fanatic about setting goals and very creative about how to reach them. But reading is another

story. It doesn't quite fit into hi s l ogical world . There are ·so many exceptions that he gets frustrated with most attempts at making sense of the printed page.

By the way, he loves to be read to, and can follow books that chal­ lenge my reading abilities. Last year we read THE HOBBIT, and in the latter part of the book as Bilbo and company are returning to Bag End, Jason could tell what was going to happen next because he could remember the eve nt s of the journey in reverse, whereas I had forgotten what had ha ppened at the beginning of the adventure' It has been my hypothesis that Jason was i nclined to avoid reading since his o lder brother Matthew (almost 12) was such a good reader and he "couldn't compete ." We know this was the case with drawing and coloring. Matthew is our resident art­ ist, though Amy ( 5 ) is following in his footsteps in that area .

Jason also follows the pattern that Raymond Moore talks about as far as Integrated Maturity Level. His coordination is not developed ye t for fine motor skills. Writing is a r eal effort for him - and it quickly deteriorates if he has to write for very long. This would be copying - if he really has to write something, he dictates it to me, then either copies it or types it. He obviously gets tired quickly when close work is required, and that quickly leads t o exasperation .

I do go through times, though, when I wonder if he wouldn't be moti­ vated to learn to read if he didn't have me or his brother to read to him ... I d o try to compromise on th is - to read as much as I can and to encourage Matthew t o share his tal ent by reading to the younger children.

RENEW YOURSELF

Dear Subscriber,

and get this $14.95 hardcover book for

We'd like to extend our thanks for your subscription and make you a special offer,

open only to current subscribers of GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING.

Renew your present subscription, regardless of how long you've been a subscriber, or

give a gift subscription to someone you care for, and get the new revised hardcover

edition of HOW CHILDREN LEARN, usually $14.95, for $2.98. You can renew now

without buying the book, but our supply is limited and we want to give you first crack.

Copies you haven't purchased by January 31, 1986 go on sale to the general public through

our catalog, John Holt's Book and Music Store.

GWS provides you with important educational and legal news, letters from parents

who are teaching their children at home, our constantly up-dated international direct­

ory of homeschoolers, listings of materials, helpful schools, resources, and more.

Renew now so you don't miss any of these features in the coming months.

Renew or give a gift now and use your opportunity to buy one of John Holt's most

important works for a fraction of its original cost. Replace your tattered paperback

copy or buy several for parents or friends you know who work with children. When the

revised edition appeared, LIBRARY JOURNAL wrote, "Holt here expands his comments

to include babies and toddlers, explains mistakes he made in some of his interactions

with kids he described in the first edition (he says the 'devil' teacher made him do

it in most cases), and explores new ideas he has developed over the last 15 years. The

new material increases the book by a third. A necessary purchase for public libraries."

[JYESI I want to save money by renewing my subscription to GWS : [J I want to send a subscription as a gift to my friend below: Name,__________________________________________

But I have had to dr aw the line on some things: I detest reading comic books and Walt Disney comic-type books. We do enjoy the Tintin books, th ough! Choose-Your-Own-Adventure and the like are so inSipid that I've quit on them, too. Basically, I guess, there are so many good, clas ­ sic, readable books available th at I can't waste my time on the garbage children's books that seem to fill the library these days . We have tried the Easy Reader books, a nd various other beginning to read series, but none holds interest for very long .

How can they compare with TOM SAWYER, or the Narnia tales, or WIND IN THE WILLOWS ? The best we've come across for simple phonics reinforcement are the Dr . Seuss-type rhyming books, which are abundantly silly, but seem to have the magic to hold interest long enough to entice the kids to try the words.

Another factor for Jason is that he has a 7-year-old sister who is quickly catching up with him. There is enough competition between them that he wants to keep a step ahead of her. If we do something as mundane as practicing with word cards, the compe­ tition can quickly disintegrate into a cutthroat battle for the most wo rds.

Jason confided in me recently that he knows lots of tricks for get­ ting around really reading - like using logos on restaurants, signs, etc . , as c lues; and just nct saying anything and someone else will do the reading.

I know there was a time that Jason thought he would automatically, painlessly - by osmosis? - learn to read if he went to school. We talked a lot about how it goes in school ­ it helps that I had taught kindergar­ ten and 1st rade. I shared with him

_ _ 3 years : $36.00 _ _ 2 years : $27.00 _ _ 1 year : $15.00

Address,_______________________________________

[J In addition to my sub, send __ copies of HOW CHILDREN LEARN @ $2.98 ea: SubSCriptions do not need postage. Postage needed for book only (see chart): Total enclosed: Tape your mailing label here or write : Account Number___________________-----=-Name Expiration Code,_________ _ Addre'-S-s-------------

$2.98

How ChDdren

'tt=:Learn

JOHN HOLT POSTAGE : For 1 copy send $1 .20.

For each additional copy send .40 per book.

Make checks out to Growing Without School­

ing and send them to: GWS, 729 BOYLSTON

ST. BOSTON MA 02116

30

my conviction that my teaching in school was really only reinfortement of what the students had learned on their own ( or could have), and that the ones who weren't ready yet didn't learn with the rest of the group. In other words, I didn't feel that I c ould take credit for those who did learn to read, nor blame for the ones who didn't ... Jason is now convinced that it will make sense in time ...

CHECK THEIR EYESIGHT

Mary Daly wrote in the South

Dakota Home School Newsletter:

... This year, our eldest son, Jon Pat, wished to enroll in school because he was not happy with the isolation of homeschooling ... To make a long story short, it turns out that one of the major factors in his ten­ sion was - farsightedness' Jon Pat has been able to read for a long time. Before starting "first grade" he had already read his first book. I thought I was home free with a child who would be reading on his own. Not so. He had to be cajoled just about every step of the way. On the one hand, I was well aware of the Moores' work suggesting that children not be pressured to read as they will do it on their own schedule; on the other hand, I was very concerned to see my very capable child falling behind. It was very discouraging.

Had I known what I now know about farsightedness, I would have had Jon Pat tested long ago. Farsight­ edness does not make someone want to hold a book far away (as nearsighted­ ness makes them hold it up close). It simply means that all focusing tasks are difficult - even painful.

After four months in school, Jon Pat began to complain of blurred vision. When we took him to the doc­ tor, he had lost most of the muscle function in his eyes because they had given up on the task of seeing. They had simply gone slack on him. And he told the doctor that his eyes felt tired and sore after reading ... With glasses for the farsightedness, he has gradually regained muscle strength aqd we do have a happier child.

So, if you are having trouble with reading, here's something to con­ sider. If your child always avoids work that requires focused eyes (doesn't like coloring, doesn't spon­ taneously choose to draw, does "messy" work, loses interest in star­ gazing, gets drifty when you give him a page of a workbook) consider having his eyes checked ... lOR: Two months later, Jon Pat returned to homeschooling.l BUYING ENCYCLOPEDIAS

... In GWS #46, p. 17, you asked if anyone has done any shopping around for encyclopedias lately. We have just purchased a set of World Books after talking with a local librarian to see which of their sets she was most likely to turn to when she needed to use one. Also I asked the'advice of my sister-in-law who is an outstanding teacher in the East Peoria school system. She too recom­ mended World Book, but asked her read­ ing resources teacher and once again, World Book got the vote. I was given a price of around $600 from a lady who came to my home. However, when I pointed out to her that we were incor­ porated as a private school here in

Missouri (and many Missouri home­ schoolers are), then she was able to give me the school price of about $450. So now we have a brand new set of World Books which the entire fami­ ly enjoys' - MARY CUNNINGHAM (MO). ... Several months ago I wanted to purchase encyclopedias. I jotted down a few topics my kids were inter­ ested in at the time and went to the library and compared brands on the individual subjects. Every time I liked the World Book best. Encyclo­ pedia Britannica (their #1 competi­ tor) did not even have John Wilkes Booth in their book. I also grew up with the Britannica - it rarely got used because the reading level was above a junior high school reading level. They got resold in perfect condition! ...

World Book makes their articles so interesting that I sit and read their Childcraft (preschool) set, too!

I am now a World Book represen­ tative but that's not why I prefer them. I became a representative to earn a free set. It only costs $10-25 (depending on the sales kit you buy) and two nights of training sessions.

If you sell six sets in six months you get a set free. If you don't, you can still get a discount on the set you buy for yourself (representa­ tive's commission). They have not pressured me in any way to sell any.

To remain a representative you only have to sell one set a year.

I have gotten very discouraged trying to sell them, though. I thought everybody was interested in helping their child's education. Not so when it comes to encyclopedias (and their pocketbooks). And I was asking people who had many luxuries (boats, new cars, vacations, very good clothes, etc.) I have none of these and encyclopedias are #1 on my list' Oh, well. - DIANA MOSKAL. ... Our family is pooa' An all­ new encyclopedia is beyon our means.

At present, our family owns about 1500 books - our sources include "Friends of the Public Library" sales, school district book give­ aways, flea markets, garage sales, and thrift stores ... So for us the best encyclopedia set was the one we got at a garage sale for $15: 20 volumes, New Age (or American Peo­ ple's) Encyclopedia, 1972 revision date. Also a Golden Encyclopedia and Golden American History - 16 and 12 volumes, respectively - $5 each set at rummage sales. My real favorites are ~ Time-Life Boo~n any sub­ ject - geography, wildlife, photo­ graphy, and on and on. ... Try to find the most up-to­ date - dates in front can be mislead­ ing, printing date vs. first copy­ right or revision date. Check some subject you know for currency, such as biography. Go for 10-15 years old maximum ...

My husband sold encyclopedias door to door for a while and con­ siders the whole thing a rip-off. I never had an encyclopedia as a kid and am enjoying ours immensely. We've made a game - think of a subject, look it up, and "stump the parents." ... Encyclopedias also make great weights for flattening things or hold­ ing things until the glue dries' KELLY BRANDEAU {CAl. ... You might suggest to readers

to look for used books at their local

library. We've bought most of a set

of 1979 encyclopedias, about 30 child­

ren's books, and several adult books,

including THE LIVES OF CHILDREN. They are library editions, of course , usually in excellent condition, and cost only 25¢ each. Our library keeps books for sale near the check-out desk, but it would probably be worth­ while to ask what is done with older books. - KRIS HALLBERG (IL).

FROM NAIL POLISH TO HISTORY?

Julie Stiller {CAl writes: ... A short note for the mother who took her daughter out of school only to find that all she wanted to do was play and paint her fingernails (GWS #46). Why not use the nail paint­ ing in an - educational way? I mean, I remember seeing in museums with col­ lections of Egyptian artifacts the cosmetics cases and accessories that people like Cleopatra might have used. The history of self-adornment is long and varied. It could lead the woman's daughter into the tribal rituals of Africa, the theater make­ up used in traditional Japanese or Chinese plays, the use of dyes, jewel­ ry, textiles, etc. These may not be the subjects that the mother had hoped her daughter would pursue, but they are rich, valid, and carry the potential for the study of history, culture, trade, industry, etc ...

SCIENCE SUGGESTIONS

Bonnie Abbs (GA) wrote to recom­ mend SUITCASE SCIENCE KITS. These sci­ ence activity toys utilize properties of basic science such as magnetism, pneumatics, gravity, optics, and elec­ tricity. They are packed in a re­ usable plastic "suitcase," with an instruction booklet including ideas for play after construction. Bonnie says, "We have purchased these at a local retail store for $6 a kit. We have done 'Color Magic,' 'Solar Col­ lector,' and our favorite, the 'Door Bell.'" For more information, write SMALL WORLD TOYS, PO Box 5291, Bever­ ly Hills CA 90210. - TG And from Debbie Byrd {CAl: ... Here's a science resource sug­ gestion that our family found to be fascinating. LIFE STUDIES (PO Box 1173, Hurricane, UT 84737) offers a "Living Fossil Kit" for $2.75. This is a vial of eggs taken from the soil of dry ponds that hatch into two vari­ eties of shrimp. By far, the most interesting type is the Apus longicau­ datus which resembles the anc~ent tr~­ IDETte. In their native habitat these shrimp reach a size of 2 inches. We raised ours in a 5-gallon aquarium outdoors and they grew to be over an inch long. They feed on algae and bac­ teria that grow in the water, so feed­ ing them is no problem. After the shrimp have completed their life cycle you can save the residue from the top of the container and let it dry for a couple of weeks. Then add water to it and the life cycle begins again ...

HIS OWN DISCOVERY

Susan Ohanian, a 3rd-grade teach­ er, wJote in Learning, 9/84: ... 1 once had the privilege of watching Daryll discover that 16 bot­ tle caps on one side of a balance weigh the same as 16 bottle caps on

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

31 the other side . I t took him 3~ hour s of hard work to convince himself of this fact. Th e n and only then did he quickly confirm his suspicion that six wooden cubes would balance six wooden cubes; 12 marbl es, 12 marbles, and so on. I had desperately itchy fingers watching Daryll make his dis­ covery because h e 'd be on the verge of it, and then he'd mess it up by putting the bottle caps and a block on one side and four marbles o n the other side. Scientific method can be as mess y for 6-year-olds as it is for Nobel Prize winners . Teachers can 't provide shortcuts to discovery. What the y can - and must - do is provide time and space for the child who is ready to make his own discoveries ...

WRITING TO COMPOSERS Susan Jaffe r wrote in the Wes­ tern PA Homeschooler s, Spring 'E): ... My Junior Gir l Scout troop worked on their Music Lover badge thi s year, and one of th e requir ed activities was to listen to several different types of music and to write down their feel i ngs about each piece as an imaginary letter t o the compo­ ser. I decided to use this opportuni ­ ty t o expose the girls to some music they might not hav e heard before, even though it would of course be exposure on a very limited basis . I chose part of S hostakovich 's 5th Sym­ phony , Linda Ronstadt's rendition of George Gershwin's "I' ve Go t a Crus h On You," and th e Hoedown dance from Aaron Copland's "Rodeo . " The girls wer e r a ther uncomfortable with the Shostakovich, loved the Gers hwin, and were very e nthu siastic about the Copland.

To be honest, I h adn 't expec t ed much in the way of writing f rom them, so I was touched t o read their let­ ter s to Mr. Cop land, describing how the music made their feet tap, and h ow they could see the dancers in their minds. One fourth - grader wr ote, " . . . Be s t of luck with your future hits'" I was f asc inat ed , and it occur r ed to me that Aaron Copland might feel the same way about the let­ ters, so I made Xerox copies and sent them t o him. To my enormous delight, we received th e most c harming note from the composer .

I th ought some of you might like to adapt this activity to do with your h o meschoo l ers . I have the s tr ong suspicion that the girls were able to write so freely because at the time they (and I ) thought they were writ­ ing imaginary letters ...

THE EFFECT OF ART LESSONS From Marsha Rullman in Flagstaff : ... Nancy Wallace's letter in GWS #44 on Vita ' s art lessons really got me to thinking. We went through a sim­ i l ar th ing with our son Nic holas (12). For several years he took art lessons in a smal l group situation wit h a wonderful teacher. She had introduced him to the joys of clay and scul pt,. " and kiln-fi ri ng. He couldn't wait to go to those lessons each week ... Then suddenly last sum­ mer Nicholas began saying he couldn't think of a n ything neat to do in art class any more. I had already n oticed that his a rt work between sessions was dwindling, too. This had con­ cerned me, and I had even spoken with his teacher abou t it. She seemed to feel i t was the age he was a t.

So last fall we did not sign up for the c lass es . I felt saddened by this a little, especially when I r ecalled his joy wi th it. Even as a preschooler he had painted pi c tures daily with our tempura s, and now it just seemed to be all gone. But, 10 and be hold, after two or three months of doing nothing, Nicholas began draw­ ing again a nd is now at it daily with little stories t o go along with the pictures.

I have come to feel that he had just reached a sa tur a ti on point and had to get away from it for a while.

So it may be that l esso ns of this so rt - and probably all l essons, sc ho o l included - can o nly be absorbed at periods of intense inter­ est, and once that is past, it is best to stop for a period of assimila­ tion. Perhaps, too, one subtly becomes dependent on the teacher to t e ll you how you are doi n g, and so you lose some of your own balanc e .

Do n't get me wrong - I think l essons ca n be great at the right times . But it seems there are danger signals to watch for.

As a former flute teacher, I am wondering if any Suzuki students get into this situation. I can recall many students who just reached a pla­ teau after a time and were just wast­ ing their time and money . If I were to give flute lessons in the future, I would definitely encourage s tudents to do it for s hort spurts and not year after year, as is the case many times ...

NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE HERE LITTLE BEAR'S VISIT and LITTL~ BEAR'S FRIEND, by Else Ho lme luna--­ Min ar~ k (each $2.95 + post). As I wrote i n GWS #38, we had been frustra­ ted trying t o find books that were appropriate for Joshua (t hen 6~) as he entered the world of written words. He was expressing the de si r e to read a "real book" that told a [tory. He had actually been-reaaTng or quite awhile before this time, but not sentences from books; largely just tw o or three wo rd s together from Sig ns, labels, catalogs , etc. and a few s impl e (a nd o ften boring to him) picture/word or rhyming books. To Jos hua this didn't coun t - reading was wh en you read full sentences from a "real book" complete ly and correct­ ly without adult intervention.

The search began - and ended wi th the pleasant discovery' ( th anks to Nancy Wallace) of the Little Bear books. At first Joshua didn't think he could manage them, but after some gentle prodding and encourageme nt , he read the first page all the way through b y himself and that was all it took. He was reading a "real book" and it was official - he knew he could ~ read' Tne-DOOks are nicely illustrated

by Maurice Se nd ak, a lo n g time favor­ ite of ours . Most every page is depicted simply in shades of brown and green, with the bear family represented in a human-like fashion.

The chap t ers are s h ort and pro­ vide quick satisfaction to the begin­ ning reader. Many pages contain only four or five s h ort sentences with an occasion al fu ll page of text. I some ­ times volunt eere d t o read the "long" pages for Joshua, but we soon began taking turns - each of us reading one page. He was surprised and happy to discover that he could read an e nt ire page of "just words." So the Little Bear books were a real confidence builder for him.

I n LITTLE BEAR'S VISIT, Lit tle Bear spends time with his grandpar­ ents. One especially touching chapte r deals wi th a story that L ittle Bear's grandmother t e lls him about his moth ­ er's c h ildhood. We all sighed and sniffed a little at the end of this sho rt yet very meaningful story of how Mother Be a r gives a young robin its freedom .

LITTLE BEAR' S FRIEND contains four short chapters all about Little Bear meeting someo n e new, becoming friends f o r the summer, and having to say goodbye to his new friend at sum­ mer's end. It is a nice story about friendships, caring, and continuing a relationship when apart .

As we re-read these two books fo r the purpose of this review, we were all under the spell of Little Bear once again. We found ourselves chuckling at how cute and comic a l a character he is, and enjoyed these books from the series just as much as we did two years ago and then some' --- KAREN SCHADEL A GAT HERI NG OF DAYS by Joan BIos ($3 .95 + post). thi s beautiful novel, s ubtitled "A New England Girl's Jour­ nal, 1830-32" will appeal to any fami­ lies who enjoy the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, DIARY OF AN EARLY AMERI CAN BOY, CADDIE WOODLAWN, and other realistic historical fiction.

Catherine Hall, age 13, lives on a New Hampshire fa r m and has been responsible for looking after the house and her younger sister since their mother died four years before.

Her journal entries cover both routine daily l ife - th e weather, the crops, new recipes, neighborhood gossip - and the stirring events that break the ordi nary : a runaway slave , long visits from faraway relatives, holiday celebrations, courtship a nd marriage, illness and death.

The writing is sprinkled lightly with quaint words, spellings, and phrases, such as "mayhap," IlIt is, " "tho' , " "cyder," "prolong'd," "t eaze, " "h e bade us consider, " and lots of ampersands. There's just enough of thi s o ld-fa shioned usage to lead you to believe th e diary is genuine, yet not so much of i t as to make it difficult for the modern-day reader t o understand.

A particularly apt turn of events - late in the story, the cruel­ ty of a schoolmaster causes Catherine and her sister to be r emoved from sc hool and taught at home' - DR ALL SAIL SET. by Armstrong Sperry (8.95 + pos t ) . The first para­ graph of any good book is a grabber ­ a hook to catch you into the book and

Ability

Development

through the use of

Records, Cassettes, Books, Music, Accessories, and the Suzuki method.

Standard student repertoire on records and cassettes 1-800·221·9254 (614) 594-3547 Write for free catalog.

in Ohio

Athens Ohio 45701 ·42(10 U.S,A .

32 urge you on. Listen now to the open­ ing of ALL SAIL SET: "If, by the grace of God, I s h o uld liv e three years longer, I will be o n e hundred years old. Aye, a ripe a ge, an y way you look at it.

The r e a re tr e es in California ­ se quo ias, they call them - that have s een a thousand winters; there a , e inse c ts that are born and die befo re a minut e ends. Well - a man's li f e s ails its course between th es e extr e me s. Three-score and ten th e bible s ays. But shucks' That's sca rce a ba be ' s age when you're nine t y-se v en'" We wer e caught' The story becomes th e l ooking back at the nar­ ra t o r's first voyage at sea. At 15, En oc h Tha c her helps to draft and is t he n a ppr e nti ce d to sail on the Fly­ ing Cloud, one o f the fastest of the grea t c lipper s hips of the 1850's. It i s a maiden voy age for both Enoch and t h e Flying Cl oud, a sort o f double rit e of pa ssage . The trip from New Yo rk to San Fr a n c is co a round the tr eac her ou s Cape Horn is full with adve ntur e . You'll f ee l you are there, le a rning the r o pes o f the ship and th e po wer of the sea. Here is Enoch's fi rst storm : "What a s ight greeted my eyes' Th e blackn e ss o f the night pressed down up o n me like a hand. Clouds r ac ed at th e ma s thead. Beyond the bulwarks, mo untains moved in wild flight, pal e on the crests / where the gale t o re off foam and flung it into the valleys. The wind whistled through the straining rigging. A terrible s ight to a landlubber. It was like th e end of a world."

Enoch is told later that that s t o rm was bar e ly a "good blow" - the real thing will come as they round Ca pe Horn off the tip of South Ameri­ ca. Ho ld tight to your seats for that one!

But beyond being a gripping sea a dv e nture full o f burly rough mates, ma rble-strong ca ptains, snivelling mutineers and tattooed ladies dancing on the bulg i ng arm muscles of old sea d o gs, the book is also about love.

En o ch is in love with his ship, and hi s love is i nfectious. He is first e n ra ptured wh e n he sees the Flying Cl o ud as a small model. He helps draf t its thou s ands of parts on huge p ie ces of pape r. He watches the piec­ ing t o gether o f the ship from crude timbers to sleek greyhound beauty. He ca n almost hear the trumpet sound fro m the lips o f the wooden angel mount e d at th e pOinted bows. His life becomes ded i cat e d to the Flying Cl o ud. She fee l s a live to him, and by ex t e n s ion t o u s . In the end Enoch a lmost dies s a ving the ship from ­ but I'll l e t you read about that .

... offering more for home schooling families euery month ...

Subscribe Today 1 Year (12 Issues) $20.00 Current Issue $2.00

If this book is a first voyage for you into sea literature, take heart - you'll gradually figure your way around all the sails and riggings and decks of the sleek ship . If at times the heavy doses of nautical terms make you feel like a baffled landlubber, Enoch tells that that is just how he felt when first on board .

Then too, there is a Nautical Glos­ sary at the back of the book to help out a bit, as well as several dia­ grams of sail patterns, rope lines and masts.

All in all, the book is indeed a "gripping and authentic yarn," deservedly earning Sperry the Newbery Honor award in 1936 when it was first published. This edition is an exact reproduction of the original, inclu­ ding Sperry's dramatic, hold pic­ tures . Jesse (8) and Jacob (5) loved the book - it was a wonderful read­ aloud for us, full with the rich dia­ lects of all the world . Here's hoping you find the book as braCing, and as moving, as we have . --- SUSAN RICHMAN

times of the family, but also tells us a little of what it must have been like for the children to have to pose so long for some of the paintings and how difficult the life of an artist could be at times .

There are actually two sections of text on each page, the larger being for children, the other giving more details of Larsson's life and the times in which he lived.

Anna (4) and Helen (2) both like this book very much . Some of the text is a little long for them, but they love it when we condense the informa­ tion and tell them what's ha ppening in the pictures - and the pictures are all very speCial.

Larsson was long one of John's favorite artists. When John was recuperating at our home fr om his operatiqn in 1984, he felt that look­ ing at the Larsson prints we had on the walls helped him a lot; he got a great sense of peace and restfulness from them. --- MARY VAN DOREN

L'ILE NOIRE (Hardcover, $5 . 95 + post), LA ISLA NEGRA (paper, $4 . 95) and DIE SCHwARZE INSEL (paper, $4 . 95). John long wanted to carry the "Tintin" books in foreign languages, and we beg i n with these three ver­ sions of THE BLACK ISLAND in French, Spanish, or German . Just as many read­ ers have reported that their children learned to read from the Tintin books, so too can students of foreign languages enjoy and almost uncon­ sciously improve their fluency by reading Tintin in those tongues.

In case you have never seen the Tintin books: they are the comic strip adventures of a boy journalist/ detective, and are full of suspense and slapstick humor. The action is so clear and intriguing that you are pulled along to see what happens next, even if you don't read at all ­ though understanding the captions certainly helps you to figure out motiva t ions, clues, etc .

I'm surprised none of our read­ ers have ever complained about the violence in this series - someone (often Tintin) seems to get shot or bonked on the head on every page. And I suspect that some books have racist stereotypes, though the only charac­ ter I object to in THE BLACK ISLAND is a ferocious gorilla - back in the days when these books were written, people thought gorillas were fero­ cious.

Nevertheless, many of you are looking for interesting and entertain­ ing foreign language materials, and these certainly fit the bill . - DR

SINGING BEE, compiled by Jane Hart (Hardcover, $16 . 50 + post). Soon after we added BEST LOVED SONGS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE to our catalog and it proved popular, I wondered if there was a good collection of songs specifically for children that we could carry. Now we have found it.

SINGING BEE is a collection o f 125 of the best known children's songs ­ lullabies, nursery rhymes, finger plays, circle games - in an attrac­ tive and usable format. Practically every children's song you can think of is here, plus a handful of origin­ al songs or settings by the editor. .And there is only an overlap of six songs with our other song book.

Every page has picture s, most with characters in dress o f colonial times. So young kids will have some­ thing to look at while parents or older siblings play the simple piano or guitar arrangements and refer to the words.

As I checked through the tunes, I found very few surprises, which is as it should be. I always thought "A-Hunting We Will Go " had the same tune as "The Farmer in the Dell," but Ms . Hart provides it with one new to me. I think she goofed by failing to acknowledge that the tune of a song she calls "Clap Your Hands" is actual­ ly "Old Joe Clark." But that's a minor matter compared to the very thorough and wide-ranging nature of this selection. Whether th e s e songs are new to you or are reminders of old favorites, you and your young children will get years of pleasure from this book. - DR

A FAMILY, paintings by Carl Larsson, text by Lennart Rudstrom (Hardcover, $9 . 95 + post). One of three books for children of paintings by the well-known Swedish artist Carl Larsson, this one is a collection of beautiful soft, warm paintings of Larsson's family . The others, A HOME and A FARM will probably be available here later.

Most of these paintings were done between 1885 and 1910. They give us a lovely look at the life of this large happy family . There are 15 pages of very well done plates in the book - on some pages there are two, or even three pictures . There are also several sketches on the pages of text which describe each page of plates.

Lennart Rudstrom ' s text is not a story, but a biography and history of the artist, his work, and his family.

Rudstrom describes the good and happy

SPACES FOR CHILDREN, b y Peter Bergson ($5 . 00 + post). Did you ever have a treehouse, or a special fort of your own when you were a kid? It may not have been much - just a few boards wedged in the branches, or an old wooden crate beh i nd th e garage, but still a private sanctum where y ou could play or dream or i nvent o r read with no grown-uts telling you to do someth~ng usefu or clean up your mess. Houses and such are no good for that sort of thing - they're solid, overscaled and disapproving (designed and run for the convenience of adults, not children ) , and so many of the really interesting things you can do with them are "no-no's."

Kids love structures that give them a chance to look down on the world from a different angle, to retreat to a private nook in times of need, to change with the power of their imaginaEion into a castle or

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

33

cave, theatre, store, workshop or whatever suggests itself, and especially, to manipulate and control things, as they are hardl y ever all owed to do wi th adults in charge.

In SPACES FOR CHILDREN, Pennsylvania home schooler a nd Open Connections director Peter A. Bergson tells how to create what he calls "environ­ ment s" for children of all ages, sturdy, indivi dually designed play area s with multiple levels, ladders, doors, gates, wi ndows, l a tches, trap­ doors, pulleys, knobs and cozy hide­ aways, for a satisfying family pro­ ject and indoor or ou tdoor fun.

Now, of course, there are objec ­ tion s - it would take t oo much time, too much ro om, too much money, and besides, you hardly know one end of a saw from another. Peter does h is best to provide encouragement and reassur­ ance on all th ese points (you can even call him if you have questions or run i nt o trouble), and especially to dispel "The Curse of Perfection­ ism" - comparing your own level of skill with glossy photos of commer­ cially-produced work and freezing at the discrepancy. This is needless self-torment; when your children can climb up a ladder and look down (for once ) on you and the room below, can peek through windows and doorways, open and close gates and little trap­ doors, or crawl into a personal hidey­ hole , how much do you think th ey are going to care - assuming they even notice - rr-eve rything isn't perfect­ ly straight and square? Peter says: The type of carpentry we have in mind isn't for one who i ntends to earn a living at this job. Quit e the contrary , it's likely t o be only a short-term hobby. Maybe even a once-in-a -l ifetime experience' Your child's room (or you r class­ room) will, i n all probabilit y, never be featured in a magazine. So what? The e nviro nment will work, it will be enjoyed, it will be some­ thing to be proud of, and that's why you decide to do it in-rne-­ first place. . This is a friendl~ book, not a sl1ck manual for a sem1-professional handyman with a workshop full of expensive t oo l s. The directions and suggestions are entirely open-ended, practical, comprehensive, yet they invite design changes of whim or necessity without sacrificing safety and sturdines s . SPACES FOR CHILDREN is for the kid with the treehouse or pa cking-c rate clubhouse, grown-up, or for anyo ne who ever admired the possi­ bilities of such a thing and wanted one. --- KATHY MINGL CHI LDBIRTH WITH INSIGHT, by Eliz­ abeth Noble ($ 8 .95 + post). This is a very special book on childbirth. It includes basic information that is readil y available, but it also con­ tains informa t i on that is not well­ known, and a very special attitude ­ support for th e natural process of birthing.

Every mother is different, a nd every birth is different; since that is the case, Elizabeth Noble does not attempt to tel l us what is desirable in a birth, but rather, what is undesirable - what should be avoided to allow that na tural process to move along without unnecessary interfer­ ence. For example, the author pro­ vides strong evidence that many of the breathing t echniques taught in Lamaze classes can actually hinder the b ir th process. In this section of the book she discusses medication,

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

environment, labor support, posi­ tions, momentum of labor, pushing, and the birth of the baby.

In other sections of the book, Noble goes into a ph ilosop h ical look at childbearing; the natural flow of labor and birth; childbirth educa­ tion; and preparation for the unknown.

This book is written from a very human perspective: birth is a major event, and Elizabeth Noble deals with it in a very caring way . She seems to really want to help people have the best possible birth experience, and I think that with this book she can help a great deal. It's very cIearly written, very readable. It is also the best source of references I have ever seen to o ther books and mater­ ials pertaining to all aspects of childbearing . Each chapter is fol­ lowed by an extensive, annotated list of materials, including books and articles, films, journals, and o rgani ­ zations.

The last part of the book con­ sists of seven appendices, which cover studies and information on breath-holding, positions, pushing, fe tal head rotation, parents' rights and responsibilities, and a birth plan.

Another nice feature of this book is a series of quotations print­ ed in the margins of the book. All of the quotes are lovely - they all have a connection with the nearby text, but they augment the text wit hout dis­ tracting footnotes. Some of the peo­ ple quoted are: Ivan Illich, R.D. Laing, Grantly Dick-Read, Alexander Lowen, Alan Watts, Ma ril yn Ferguson, Doris Haire, Ashley Montagu, and William Shakespeare.

In the introduction, Elizabeth Noble says: CHILDBIRTH WITH INSIGHT is a philo­ sophical i nquir y and a guide to a variety of resources and approaches for living in the here and now. It is not a manual on giving birth .

Writing about "how to" ac hi eve a goal rather than about understand­ ing the process of liv i ng and being oneself woul d be a contradiction of my purpose. My intent is to find ways to unite and simplify child­ birth preparation so that couples can share their childbearing experi­ ences with more insight and labor­ ing women can act in accordance with their individual needs.

This book has made me feel very confident and comfortable with the c hoices I am making about the birth of our next chi ld. I now know that what we feel are the right things to do, and the right ways for ~s to do them are, indeed, right for us. We have gradually moved far fro m feeling comfortable with "high-t ech " hospital procedures and traditions. I recom­ mend this book t o anyone who is or may be having a baby. - MVD YOUNG CHILDREN LEARNING, by Barbara T1zard & Mart1n Hughes (Ha rd­ cover, $15.00 + po st). Excerpts from th is book appeared in GWS #44 .

Educator Barbara Tizard and psychologist Martin Hughes argue that the home is a far richer educational environment than is the typical nurser y school. The book describes their very important study which com­ pares the quality of education that British children receive at home with what they receive in nursery schools.

The researchers analyzed tape-record­ e~ conversations between 30 girls (abou t 4 years old) and their moth­ ers, and between the children and

their nursery school teachers.

This book gives heart to parents who are the recipients of what can sometimes seem a barrage of never­ ending questions from their children.

What struck me most in the book was that ve ry often the mothers' answers weren't always clear, yet the child took that leap of faith, or in the case of young children, that leap of logic, based on their own experi­ ences, to understand the world . The mothers in the study did not necessar­ ily give what may be considered "clear" or "right" answers . This did not seem to matter to their daughters si nce every little girl seemed t o trust the motive of the answer - to rurtner her knowledge of the world in which she lived.

One of my favorite examples of a child's logic involved a conversation between a child and her mother con­ cerning a window washer and th e need to pay him for washing the windows .

The child assumed that the window washer paid the people who lived in the apartments to wash windows. A reasonable assumption, since she prob­ ably saw her mother paying for ser­ vices or food and getting change in return. And, so it must seem, consid­ ering the vast amount of mone y in a cashier's register, that the cashier gives people money for taking items out of a store' The authors, by citing many exam­ ples, reveal that conversations with the mot hers were longer, more complex and less dominated by the adult than were conversations with teachers. The children also asked more interesting questions at home than they asked at sc hool. This observation is illustra­ ted in the book by comparing the con­ versations Carol, one of the children in the study, had with her teacher, and then later with her mother about an incident at school: During the morning, a strong wind came up and blew the buckets in the sandpit about. Carol was clearly excited by this event. When she we nt inside the school she did not describe it to her teacher, but she did confide her intention to tell her mother about it: CHILD: I'm telling Mummy that the buckets rolled away.

TEACHER: Pardon?

CHILD: I'm telling Mummy that the buckets rolled away when we were not looking .

TEACHER: Are you ?

CHILD: Yeah .

TEACHER: That's nice.

CHILD: A-and the sand went a-all in my eyes .

TEACHER: In your eyes? Were they sore? Are they still sore now? Oh, you poor old thing. Do you think if you had a piece of apple, it would make them feel better?

CHILD: It was in there.

TEACHER: Okay, well let's wash it out. (Teacher and child go to bath­ room. ) In fact, Caro l did not tell her mother about the incident, until her mother brought up the topic herself: MOTHER: It's very windy today, OUR TOWN, EXPLORERS, MOUNTAINEERING

PLUS 50 OTI£R

Cooperative Games that Teach Sharing &: Helping

"PLAY TIXLTI£R r-«lT AGAINST EACH OTI£R"

Illustrated Catalog,25¢ family Pastimes (GS),RR 4, Perth, Ontario, Canada K7HJC6

34 isn 't it? Was the wind blowing the sand a t your nursery?

CHILD: Yea h.

MOTHER: Hm . The sand is all dr y now and when i t' s windy ...

CHILD: And it went right in my eyes, and Mummy, I want to tell you something . And it 's funny, urn, the buckets rolled away a nd ... and, we wasn't looking there . . . and we said .. . and we weren't able to catch the buckets.

MOTHER: Weren't you?

CHILD : No. MOTHER: And what was making the buckets run away?

CHI LD: Rolling.

MOTHER: Were they rolling?

CHILD: Yeah . Yeah. They were roll­ ing ... see, they were s t andi ng up, and we was not looking, 'cause the wind blew hu ff .

MOTHER: Oh gosh. Very strong wi nd, isn't it?

CHILD: Yeah .

Many examples in the book s how how in the nursery school se tting the teacher asks most of the questions.

Also, these questions posed by the teachers often have only one "right" answer and are deductive in nature .

In con t rast, the questions as ked by the mothers are often open-ended, the mothers often repeat what the child said and cont ain the unspoken ques­ tion of "Well, then what happened ?" or "What do you think?" Often in the conversations the mothers encourage the retelling of an incident or the creation of "what if " situations. In most of the conversations at home the child appeared to be the leader in the conversations and the mother the responder . The study revealed that although c h i ld ren average 10 conversa­ tions per hour with an adult at sc hool, the same children averaged 27 conversations per hour wi th their mothers at home.

Although the book is a study of British children from th e working and middle classes, it is applicable to children universally. In the study, class, in i tsel f, did not seem to affect the richness of the conversa­ tions betwee n mothers and daughters.

And, although the primary goal of British nursery school is to pr ovide a play environmen t in which social learning t akes place, it was in this set ting that the working class child­ ren seemed to be less open.

It would be interesting to see a similar study performed for American chi ldren enrol l ed in nurs ery school or Head Start. --- CONN IE BERNHARDT

Postage charge: 1, 2, or 3 i terns except records: $1.20. 4 or more, 40¢ per item.

Postage for records: $1 for 1, add 50¢ for eac h additionar:--Overseas surface mail: 1,2, or 3 items, $1.20; 4 or more, 50¢ per ltem.

Mass. residents, add 5% sales tax.

Make check (US bank) or money order for books, reprints, records, tapes, instruments, and art materials payable to HOLT ASSOCIATES, INC. Payment for subscriptions, ads, T-shirts, the YOUNG CHILDREN supplement, index, and back issues of GWS should be made out separately to GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING. We will pay $2 in credit for used copies (in good condition) of John Holt's WHAT DO I DO MONDAY? On request, we will photocopy and mail the GWS review of any item in our catalog.

Send 50¢ plus a S.A.S.E. for one; add 25¢ for each additional.

~~ ir~

S..L.L. ASSOCIATES P.O. Box 212 New Hope, Pa.18938

SCIENCE Equipment Labs,reasonable cost,grades K-8. Manual of hands-on experiments inc luded, easy to understand. Send for free brochure.

Norris SCIENCE Labs & Kits, 4561 Sacks Drive, Dept .47G, Las Vegas, NV 89122 702-458-6427

WHEN YOU WRITE US

Please - (1) Put separate items of busi­ ness on separate sheets of paper. (2) Put your name and address at the top of each letter .

(3) If you ask questions, enclose a self­ addressed stamped envelope. (4) Tell us if it's OK to publish your letter , and whether t o use your name with the story.

ADDITION TO SPEAKER BUREAU

For more listinfs of people willing to speak about homeschoo lng and related sub­ jects, see GWS #43-46. Or, send a long self­ addressed stamped envelope for a free copy of all "Speaker Bureau" listings.

To arran~e for s~eakers, contact them directly . We s ould rna e clear that being on this list does not constitute a recommenda­ tion. Please write us about any experlences, good or bad, you have with the speakers.

To be listed, send us your name, address, phone, a brief self-description, and any other important information (distance you're willing to travel, fixed fee if any, special programs).

WANT ADS SaFnuAt!El ~~=::='"'-...

Day Care Home Newsletter*business info*sharing* connecting*One year (6 i ss ues)-$lO, sample-$l CARING FOR CHILDREN, Box1302AshlandOR97520-0044

ATTENTION OREGON HOMESCHOOLERS: Exciting field trips specially designed for homeschoolers! I will arrange all the details and lead these local excursions . I will also conduct special workshop s (scie nce experiments, arts, crafts, music, dance) and assist with self-directed projects. Non-competitive environment, flexible Two special items to note in our latest schedule; low rates, barter accepted . Am relo­ catalog (which is in this issue): GNYS AT WRK , cating to Oregon and seek interested families.

D.O. Sontag, PO Box 37 138, Cincinnati, OH 45222 the brilliant study of how a child can learn to read by writing first, is finally available HOW TO BE YOUR CHILD'S BEST TEACHER ­ in paperback for only $6.95. Also, AND THE use TEACHING GUIDES written in everyday CHILDREN PLAYED, the first book we ever language with expa ndable lessons. Matching carried about an unschooling family , is once CURRICULUM GUIDES show the school that you know again available. what to provide. Inexpen si ve testing too (tech­ niques /prac tice /answers).Information $1. LEARN­ ING AT HOME, Box 270-G47, Honaunau, HI 96726

HAL G. JINDRICH 555 WMlddlefie1d S-301, Mountain View CA 94043; 415-969-9981.

M.A. in psychology (learning emphasis, M.S. in engineering (creativity emphasis) ...

Teaching experience in psychology, engineer­ ing, mathematics, statistics. Part-time teach­ ing, substituting, tutoring, counseling, con­ sulting at most grade levels (K-12) for most ORDER INFORMATION subject areas.

Special studies: innovative learning To assure delivery by Christmas, we need technology, teaching effectiveness, cross­ to receive your order no later than Nov. 29 grade student teaching, public-private educa­ for US mail delivery, and Dec. 13 fo~ tion problems, parent & community involvement, delivery. school marketing, management and financing .

Special lectures: science, technology, computers, creativity, conflict resolution, and speaking skills, alternative education and learning enhancement.

Member : American Cybernetics Society, National Speakers Association .

Fee and distance depend on my schedule ­ give me a call! Prefer phone contacts to letters.

CA.(os 9!-

From GWS #31 " . . . promotes the fastest learn­ ing ... most enjoyable." Also excel . Eng. read ­ ing prog available. From International LinguiS­ tics, 401 W89th St, Kansas City MO 64114

Rates for ads: $5 per line (up to 47 spaces).

Please tell these folks you saw the ad in GWS. FOR.LANG.TAPES THE LEARNABLES - Span. Ger. Fr. Eng. & Russian taught by audlo-picture system.

HOMESTEADERS NEWS - How To Live Simply & Sanely In A Troubled World. "Sherrie & Norm are doing extremely important work" - John Holt. Send $10 (6 iss.)or $2 sample to B517-25 Naples NY 14512 LIVING HERITAGE ACADEMY: K-12 Teach your child at home. Diagnostically prescribed, self con­ tained, self instructional, continuous progress curriculum, high achievement results, permanent records kept, diploma issued, low tuition rates LIVING HERITAGE ACADEMY-GWS P.O. Box 1438, Lewisville, Te xas 75067 Books for Home Schoo ling K-1 2. Buy 1 subj or entire curriculum. No enrollment. Christian oriented. Catalog $1. H. S. Glenn Distribu­ tors, 251 Bass Hwy., St. Cloud, FL 32769 Dover coloring books & full color cut/assemble models at 10% below retail - over 40 titles to teach about nature, history, architecture ...

Why not make le arni ng fun? FREE BROCHURE The Timberdoodle E1610 Spencer LkRd, SheltonWA98584 KNIT A HAT KIT incl handspun wool yarn, needles LEARN TO SPIN KIT incl drop spindle, carded wool &lnstr NATURAL DYE KIT incl 4 1.5 oz skeins handspun yarn, dye stuff & instr plus fram loom plans . Each kit $25 Ppd. Instr are thorough & fun. Great learning tools. Quality equip . Write to: A Bit Twisted, 1830 Walnut, Port Townsend, WA 98368 (206)385-3138

&lnstr

CREATIVE LEARNI NG MAGAZINE helps families learn together.Practical hint s, how-to's, info, more.

One year $7.00, sample $1.00. CLM, Box 957-G, Wrightstown , NJ 08562.

"Through the Months": a collection of penta­ tonic songs that capt ure the essence of each month as experienced by children; PLUS a highly detailed manual that inc ludes 100s of activi­ ties for homeschoolers who want to use music to enhance learning & living. SONG, MANUAL, & CASSETTE for only $8.95. Del Songs, 714 Locust Av, Charlottesville VA 22901 . Free Postage.

MUST SEE Homeschooling materials hands-on sci­ ence &math tools logic games cooperative games creative toys CATALOG $1 refunded w/order BRAIN STORMS Box-M 7851 E. Lake Rd, Erie PA 16511 Looking for clean air pleasant climate and com­ munity congenial to home schooling. If your town fits the bill write Ilana Barton 5024 Thunder Rd. Dallas TX 75244 A PARENT'S GUIDE TO BEGINNING READING. Order yr copy from Integrity Books, PO Box 23408, MplsMN 55423. $4.50 ppd. Money-back guarantee.

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

35 ----------------------------------------------HOME PHONICS - A basic reading kit for parents and tutors. Proven effective for all ages. "How to do it" cassette. 18 easy 1essons.RESULTS ARE GUARANTEED! FREE BROCHURE! Teacher Pub1ications Inc. ·PO Box 958, Beaverton OR 97075 ----------------------------------------------10"Wooden DANCING MAN does rhythmic & realistic tap dance on 2' x4" padd1 e. Fun & Easy. $12.00.

Limber Jack PO Box 596 Platteville, CO 80651 ADDITIONS TO RESOURCES

These people have experience with the following subjects and are willing to corres­ pond with others : Adoption: Kerry Ann SAGER, RD #2, N Hill sda 1e Ny 12529 --- Down ' s Syn­ drome: John & Sarah GRACE (Naomi/82, BenJamin / ~202 Clarence Av, Baltimore MD 21213 --­ Trave11in, Family: Spencer & Marilyn BOHREN (DJango/7 , Andre / 79, Corinna / 82) PO Box 158, Pointe A La Hache LA 70082 (change) These people are willing to help home­ schoo1ers : Certified Teachers : Ruth BOTHNE, 17355 Melody ln, los Gatos CA 95030 --- Linda OWENS, 7262 Lakeside Dr, Indianapolis IN 462(8; K-8 --- Mike BENNETT, 400 S State St, Michigan Center MI 49254; 517-764-1441; director of com­ munity ed --- Carol CLAUSS, 5268 19-Mi1e Rd, Barryton MI 49305; K-8 --- Holly KOCHALKA, Rt 2, Johnson VT 05656; 635-7318 --- Kate ROSS, PO Box 211, Underhill VT 05489 --- Scott CHRISTIAN, Rt 5 Box 339-B, Martinsville VA 24112; 703-632-3780 Lawyers: Sus an OSTBERG, The Common, Box 246, Harvara-MA 01451; 617-456-3688 --­ Brendan STOCKLIN-ENRIGHT, 15936 SE Wallace Rd, Milwaukee OR 97222 ; 503-659-8665 (change) --­ Peter W.O. WRIGHT, 2008 Bremo Rd, Suite 101, Richmond VA 23226; 804-270-0250 (change) Professors & Other Allies: Gay EASTMAN, 2122 Kendal l Av #2 , Madlson WI 53705; 608-231­ 1875 --- Steve HALL, M.D., Strong Family Prac­ tice, PO 80x 189, Strong ME 04983 (physician) Friendly School Districts (ask yours if it wants to be I1stedl: Lowell School Dis­ trict , 89 Appleton, Lowell MA 01852; 454-5431.

James McMahon, Asst. Supt. for Curriculum Development.

PEN PALS WANTED

mailing address.

If a name in a GWS story is followed by an abbrevi at ion in parentheses, that person is in the Directory (check here, in #46, #45 and #42). We are happy to forward mail to thos--e-­ whose addresses are not in the Directory; mark the outside of the envelope with name / descrip­ tion~, and page number.

When you send an address change for a subscription, please remind us if you are in the Directory, so we can change it here, too.

AL - Lisa BAILEY (Rebecca / 81, Rachel /83) 221 Payne St, Auburn 36830 AK - Thomas & Penny GREEN (Rebekah/78, Steven~O) Gen Del, Lake Minchumina 99757 AZ - Patrick & Irene MORIN (Kathleen/78) 3116 HOPi, Glendale 85307 --- Cracker & David WILLIAMS (Spencer/80) Box 4082, New River 85029 AR - Ted & Diane BEILBY (Bryan/74, Errol /82, ATlcia /83) Star Rt Box 10, St urkie 72578 --- Eben & Pam BURNS (Greg/75, Andrea / 77, Tif­ fany /80) Gen Del, Russellville 72801 --- Buddy & Agnes ROSS (Robby/79, Sarah/83, Beth / 85) Rt 1 Box 784, Pine Bluff 71603 CA, South (Zips to 94000) - John & Betty BRINGHURST (Sarah / 80, Benjamin / 82, Samuel / 84) 4043-H Miramar St, La Jolla 92037 --- Mary CUNOV (Kendra/78) 97-B Tassajara Rd, Carme l Valley 93924 --- Joe & Joannie LONGORIA (A1isa / 74, Adrienne / 77, Anthony / 80) 13109 Honeybee St, Moorpark 93021 --- Dan & Bonnie O'KEEFE (Rache1/79, Katherine /80, Caro1ine/84) 4213 Fanue1, San Diego 92109 --- Barry & Lorinda SEVENANS (Lues King/71, Joey/78, Katie/79) 9061 Kenwood Dr #28, Spring Valley 92077 CA, North (Zips 94000 & up) - Mark & Susan BAUMAN (lisa / 78, Laurie /80, Kelsey/83) 17800 Cooper Rd, Nevada City 95959 --- Sonny DAY, DAYSTAR EDUCATIONAL EXC HANGE, 21340 Peta­ luma Av, Fort Bragg 95437 --- DONNELSON SCHOOL, 200-92 Burnett Av, Morgan Hill 95037 --- Pat & Gabriel WELLS-CONSTANS (Sarah / 80, Brendon/ 82) 1700 Pine Flat Rd, Santa Cruz 95060 --- Carolyn & Lee HARDY (Lisa/75, Merrow / 79) NEW LEARNING IDEAS, 128 Salada Av, Pacifi­ ca 94044 (change) --- Clearwater & John MILD­ ER, Rosemary WOLTER (Christopher/70, Ben & Tom­ / 72, Amber / 77, Tai /80, E11y / 82, Carrie / 84) PO Box 862, Ukiah 95482 --- Sande & Brown MILLER (Brown / 74) 455 Flood Av, San Francisco 94112 --- Randall & Nicola WALKER (Siddhartha/74, Naomi / 77, Arianna / 81) PO Box 1226, Hayfork 96041 --- Virginia & John YORK (Benjamin/84) PO Box 123, Markleeville 96120 FL - Dr Patricia GRIFFITH (Elizabeth/79) 770 Loggerhead Island Dr, Satellite Beach 32937 --- Russ & Muff RUSSELL (lan / 79, Ky1e / 83) PO Box 22503, Lake Buena Vista 32830 GA - Bonnie & Robert ABBS (Heather / 74,

Hol1y(70) 1416 Lakeshore Circle, Gainesville

30501

HI - Mark & E1ana SHEFRIN (Sam/ 78, Jas­ mine / 81T PO Box 51, Kealia 96751 .!.Q - Greg & Kathy MILLER (Ke,l1yI79, Jill

Children Want ing Pen Pals should send us name, age, address, and 1-3 words on interests - Chris COLTEN (13) 10247 Carreta Dr, Santee CA 92071; sports, r eading, stickers --- SHAKO, RD 2 Box 202, Schoharie NY 12157: Emily (10) horses, cows, 4-H; 8rent (7) rabbits, 3­ wheelers --- Jarrod SOLOMON (11) 27 Rosa's Lane, Scituate MA 02066; computers, reading, karate --- 8randie SOFICH (11) 27497 S Skinner Rd , Estacoda OR 97023; stickers, animals, art --- Jennie CHALK (6) 611 Windermere Circle, Winston-Salem NC 27106; dolls, art, gymnastics --- Rebekah GREEN (7) SR Box 3178, Wasilla AK I 99687; stickers, gardening, horses --- Grace RITTER (4) 6755 G1 en10ch St, Philadelphia PA 19135; Robin Hood, horses

/ 81) 710 Trestle Creek Rd, Hope 83836 IL - Boyd & Chr isty NIELSEN (Karen / 77, Corey~, Ame1ia /85) 734 Walnut St, Batavia 60510 KS - Lona & Kenny FOUST (Josha/79, Che l ­ sea / 82~Rt 2, lola 66749 KY - Susan & Doug HOLMES (Fred / 65, C1ay / 80) 90UT Trentham Ln, Louisville 40222 --- Les & Mary PICKRELL (Andrea/80, Va leri e/ 83) RR3 Box 369, Clear Creek Rd, Vers ailles 40383 --­ Elvin & Dorvena SEIDERS (Dariea / 79, Andrea / 81, Erin /83) 715 Morehead Rd, Bowling Green 42101 MA - Oscar & Jan et BETTENCOURT (Anna / 77, Robert779, Jared / 81) PO Box 6194, 12 Savery Av, Plymouth 02360 --- Lois BRINK, 116 Bear Hill Rd, Merrimac 01860 --- Pat CUNNINGHAM (Christine / 71, Heat her / 75) 1080 Washington St, Abington 02351 --- Don & Sue GRANT (Apri 1/ 81) 24 Trumbull Rd, Northampton 01060 --- Peggy & David ROBERTS (Emma /76) Jewell Hill Rd, Ashby 01431 --- Nancy WATSON & Marty ROSEN (Emily / 82) 313 Linden St, Wellesley 02181 MO - Ann SHRADER (Cei 1ee / 81) Sandhill Farm, ~t1e d ge 6356 3 --- Dan & Ret t a SUTTER­ FIELD (Mandy / 73, Matt / 76) R2 Box 310, Newburg 65550 NJ - Lorene COX & Mitchell DARER (Daniel /8 1) 1~ Johnson Av, Mahwah 07430 - - - Mary & Ron FE INSOD (Rachae1/ 77, Kira / 78, Corey / 82, Luke /8 2) RD 8 Box 868, Newton 07860 (change) --- Lyn HAMILTON (Wi 11iam/ 78, Alice / 82) 249 Mt. Lucas Rd, Prince ton 08540 -- - Gerard & Jacque WA LS H (Robbin / 78, John / 84) Box 213A RD 1, Phillipsburg 08865 NM - Susan & Edward CAMPAU (Mol1y /80, Jeremy776) 1502 Pinon, Alamogordo 88310 NY - Don BUSTIN & Malin PRINGLE (Co11e / 81, Elan/84) RD 2 Box 155B, Sherburne 13468 --- Gary & Florence DAVENPORT (Laurie / 72, Teddyl73, Jodi el78) 169 Van Dorn Rd, Ithaca 14850 --- Joanie & Mark GILLISPIE (Zoe / 78, Jesse /80 , Kellen / 82, Shane / 84) Mathews Mill Rd, Bedford Hill s 10507 --- Peter & Barbara IRVINE (Erica / 79, Philip / 81) 522 Nottingham Rd, Syracuse 13210 --- Maureen & Bob SIMON (Robby / 82) PO Box 331, Springvi lle 14141 --­ Bruce & Mary TROMB LEY (Don / 75 , Matthew/ 82) 710 Jamesville Av, Syracuse 13210 - - - We ndy & Jef­ ferson WESTWOOD, 53 Maple Av, Fredonia 14063 NC - John & Robin CHALK (Jennie / 79, Mi ll ­ er / 81,~organ /83) 611 Windemere Circle, Winston- Sa lem 27106 --- Prisci ll a RICH (Mara / 76, Sara/77, Leah / 81, Rachel / 82) Rt 2 Box 59, Zionville 28698 --- Rolf & Caro l SEELBACH (Jen­ nifer /80, Christoffer / 83, Robin / 85) 1265 Dil­ lingham Rd, Barnard svi lle 28709 --- Anne & David SI LVER (Rosemary / 82) Rt 5 Box 222A, Murphy 28906 OH - Joe & Barbara GRAHAM (Chari l e/ 79, Annie/8T, Laura /82) 1192 Webster Rd, Jefferson 44047 --- Scott & Paula KOWALKE (Pet er / 79, Adam / 82) 5998 Taylor Rd, Painesville 44077 --­ Gary & Lynn PEPPERS (Joshua / 78, Adrian / aO, Gab­ riel /83) 3620 Bellecrest Av, Cincinnati 45208 OR - Jim & Tyra ARRAJ (E lizabet h/ 73,

1---------------ENTRY FORM FOR DIRECTORY

We have been getting many entries for the all-new 1986 Directory, which wi ll appear in GWS #48. If you would like to be included in the Directory but have not yet t old us, send i n this form or use a separate postcard or 3x5 card (onl y one family per card), If your entry is too late for #48, it will go into #49.

ADDITIONS TO DIRECTORY

Here are the new entries and changes that we received by late August. Those re­ ceived after that time (until late October) will appear in our complete 1986 Directory, in GWS #48. Our last complete Directory was in GWS #42. GWS #45 has a summary of additions up to that time.

--Our Directory is not a list of all sub­ scribers, but only of tnose who ask to be 1isted, so that other GWS readers, or other lnter­ ested people, may get in touch with them. If you would like to be included, please send us the information.

From now on we will print only birth­ years of children, not ages. If we maaeamis~when converting your child's age to birth­ year, please let us know.

Please tell us if you would rather have your phone number and town listed instead of a GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47

ADULTS : ORGANIZATION (applies only if address is same as family): CHILDREN, NAMES / BIRTHYEARS: I I

I

ADDRESS: I I I

,

Have been in Directory before: Yes

No

36 Joh n/ 75) PO Box 520, Chiloquin 97624 --- Gary

Pab10 /80) 12 Camerra St, Carrum 3197 Vic Aus­

Paula SULLIVAN (Ke11y / 78, Jamie/81, Phi11ip / 83) 685 WMarquam St, PO Box 1017, Mt Angel 97362 PA - Sharon & Bill DAVIS (Dustin/70, C1inton772, Maritt/75, Adam/76, Brett / 79, Megan /82) RD 2 Box 286, Stoneboro 16153 --­ Frank & Jane DONEGAN (Sean/80, Brendan/83, Conor/84) 2037 Beech Lane, Bensalem 19020 --­ Gene & Linda WERNER (Gene/79, Bi11 /82) 38 He1 1ers Church Rd, Leola 17540 TN - Dave & Suzy DODD (Mike/72, Erin / 75, Amy / 79~Levi /83 ) 116 Richards Dr, Oliver Spgs 37840 --- John & Ci ndy SEWELL (Amity / 79, Jer­ emy/81) 3687 Ric hbriar Ci rcle, Nashville 37211 --- Jane & Tom WILSON (Ethan/77, Hannah /80) 1648 Joe Hinton Rd, Kno xville 37931 TX - Charles & Margaret BLOUNT (Aaron/ 72, Katnryn /7 4, Stephen / 76) PO Box 451, Lock­ hart 78644 --- Robert & Ce1ita BROWN (Randy/ 76) Box 6986, Abilene 79608 --- Vicki DENNIS & Susan CALLAWAY (Matthew/79, Andrew/84) 13807 Maye P1, Austin 78728 (change) UT - Brad & Lee ALLRED (Char1ie/72, Dar­ rin/74~endy/77, Spencer/78, Penn /83) 1037 Oak Dr, Brigham Ci t y 84302 VT - Cindy & Rich LARSON, VERMONT HOME

SCHOOL~ASSOCIATION, RD, Well s 05774

VA - Kit & Mike FINN (Danette/78, Brid­ get/79~Socorro/81) 105 Idaho Circle, Williams­ burg 23 185 (change) --- David & Mary Alice KRATZ (Greta/80, Andrew/84, Joseph / 73) 4711 N First St, Arlington 22203 --- Colleen & Steven REDMAN-COPUS (Josh/79, Dy1an/82) Rt 1 Box 217A, Riner 24149 --- Harris & Harriette ROSEN­ BLATT (Joshua/80, Spr ing /83) PO Box 32, Hood 22723 WA - Judy & Michael BROWN (Tay10r/78, Jessica782) 3415 280th NW, Stanwood 98292 --­ Denise & Jon KLEIN E (Zenith/75) 411 E Main St, Everson 98247 WI - Dale & Ruth MANIOR (Josh/76, Me1­ issa/71T 1403 N Lexington Dr, Janesville 53545 --- Pat & Char lotte RYAN (Sol/79, Evan /81) Rt 1 Box 217 , Springbrook 54875

Heath, Surrey CR4-7RT Eng~agd --- David DEUTSCH, 123 Harefie1ds, xford OX2-8NR 78~laJd --- Kelvin & Noe1ine BARKLA (Elizabeth , ane /83) 17 Meremere Rd, RD 12, Hawera New Zealand

repeat the information in them.

tralia (change) --- Christine & Robert PUFrrTT & Regina KEOWN (S ienna /7 6, Demian/81) 293 Our rates for back issues: any combina­ Cherie Ln, Myrtle Creek 97457 --- Rick & Betsy (Bethany/81, Co1in / 83) 105 Essex St, Epping tion of back issues, mailed at one time to one NSW 2121 Australia --- John & Kim EISENHOWER KRAFT (Jerome/79, Ke 1sey/82) Maple Hill address, cost 75¢ per issue, plus $2. For exam­ (John/81, Joel/B3) 67 Me1fort Rd, Thornton School, 5756 72nd SE, Salem 97301 --- Jim & ple, GWS #1-46 would cost $36.50 . (46 x 75¢ is

$34.50. $34.50 + $2 ; $36.50.) These rates are for subscribers only; non-subscribers pay $2.50 per 1ssue.

Index to GWS #1-30 costs $2.50; to #31­ 40, $l-rtnese prices include postage).

Address chanaes: If you're moving, let us know your new a dress as soon as possible.

Please enclose a recent label (or copy of RENEWALS one). Issues missed because of a change in At the bottom of this page is a form you address may be replaced for $2 each. can use to renew your subscription. Please Group subscriptions: all copies are help us by renewing early. mailed to one address. Here are the current How can you tell when your subscription group rates (lX means you get one copy of each expires? Look at this sample label: issue, 2X means you get 2 copies of each issue, 3X means 3 copies, etc.): 1 year 2 yrs.

3 yrs.

12345 6 iss.

12 iss.

18 iss.

JIM & MARY JONES 27 01 48 1X $15 $27 $36 16 MAIN ST 2X $20 $45 $34 PLAINVILLE NY 01111 3X $25 $45 $67.50 The number that is underlined in the 4X $30 $60 $90 example tells the number of the final issue for the subscription. The Jones' sub exp1res 5X $37.50 $75 $112 . 50 with Issue #48, the next issue. But if we were 6X $45 $90 $135 to receive their renewal before we sent our final account changes to the mailing house 7X, 8X, etc : $7.50 per person per year . (early December), they would qualify for the free bonus issue.

Please send in the names and addresses of members of your group sub, so that we can Renewal rates are the same as for new subscriptions: $15 for 6 issues, $27 for 12 keep in touch with them. Thanks. issues, $36 for 18 issues. If that number in GWS was founded in 1977 by John Holt.

the third line of your label is 47, 48, 49, Editor - Donna Richoux

etc, please renew now - rates will never get any cheaper.

Managing Editor - Patrick Farenga

Subscriptions & Books - Steve Rupprecht,

Sandy Kendall, Wendy Baruch Office Assistant - Mary Van Doren SUBSCRIPTIONS Editorial Assistant - Mary Maher Our current policy starts all subscrip­ tions with the next issue published. Rates Co yri ht Holt Associates, Inc. are: $15 for 6 issues, $27 for 12 issues, $36 for 18 issues. GWS is published every other month. A single issue costs $2.50.

For all subs or orders of GWS (not CANADA

---ALTA - Mike & Lynn SPARKMAN (Tammy-Lynn/ books), please send check or money oraers pay­ able to GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING. 75, RoSS776, Patti Ann / 78, Jackie Sue/80,

Cathy Lou /82 , Remmington/84) 115-9960 Bonaven­

Fore6~n payments must be either money orders 1n funds or checks drawn on US ture Dr SE, Calgary T25 4L4

banks. We can't afford to accept personal MAN - Brian & Irene TODD (Cathi-Lyn/77, checks on Canadian accounts, even if they have Keith~ G1enda/82) 600 Jessie Av, Winnipeg "US funds" written on them. Outside of North R3L OP9 (change) America, add $10 per year for airmail (other­ NB - Edward & Carolyn GEORGE (Christo­ pher/7IT; Jo nathan / 74) RR2 Westfield, Kings Co, wise, allow 2-3 months for surface mail).

Back issues: We strongly urge you to get EOG 350 the back 1ssues of GWS, especially if you plan ONT - Andrew BLAKE, 17 Mohawk Av, Port :z G'> to take your children out of school. Many of CreditL3G ER5 the articles are as useful and important as when they were printed, and we do not plan to OTHER LOCATIONS - Ch ristine GAJZAGO (Ami/76, ---------------.

RENEWAL FORM Use this form to renew or extend your subscription to GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING. Place the label from a recent issue below, if possible. If not, print the info. Thanks.

Account Number:

Name:

Expiration code:

Address (Change? Yes/No):

City , State, Zip :

YES, PLEASE EXTEND MY SU BSCRIPTION FOR:

6 issues, $15 Group sub :

cop ies of

12 issues, $27

18 issues, $36

issues , $_ _ (see chart)

(C lip and send with your check or money order in U.S. funds to: GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING, 729 Boylston Street, Boston MA 02116.)

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #47