Growing Without Schooling 62

GROWII\G WITHOUT SCHOOLI N G 62

Mothers discuss breastfeedtng; at a La kche League meeung, Breastfeedlrrg is one of the social moverncrrts discussed in tJris issue's

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: NEWS&REPORTS p.3-5 NEA Opposes Homeschooling, School Entry Pollry, Homeschoolers Aren't Chtld Abusers AS GUINEAPIGS p.5 RESOURCES &

RECOMMENDATIONS p.6 CFIALLENGES &CONCERNS p. 7-8

Blind Parents, When Kids Are lgnored, TV, Sex Roles ARRANGEMENTS - WITH SCHOOI.S. WIITI HOMESCHOOL ERS p.e-lO

WArcHING CHILDREN LEARN p.

ll-14

Self-Educators, When Peers Help, Flnding Teachers, Children's Comments, Studying History

Together FOCUS: EFFECTME SOCIAL CFIANGE p.le-23 A look at the breastfeeding and homeblrth movements and a discusslon of schoolteachlng as a way of making change INSID E STANDARDIZED TESTS

p.24-25 LEARMNG IN THE WORLD p.26-27 CHILDREN IN THE WORKPI-ACE p.2a-29

'Important and lastlng social change,'John Holt wrote ln the flrst lssue of Growing WitFrr.n ehmling,'always comes slowly, and only when people change their lives, notJust thelr polltical bellefs or parfles. It ls a process that takes place over a pâ‚Źrid of time.'For this lssue of GWS, weVe trled to catch this process in acflon, to grab a small part of the change that ls happenlng all around us so that we can hold it up for a brief moment and try to understand it.

WeVe asked two people involved ln movements similar to ours to reflect on how thls "nlckel and dlme theory,' as John called lt, has worked for them.

Much ln the historles and ecperiences of these two movements - breastfeedlng and homebtrth - will be interestlng and useft-rl to homeschoolers, but we don't hold them up as absolute models that the homeschoollng movement should set ttself against. Rather, we hope that tlese other movements wlll showJust how broad the application of the nlckel and dlme theory can be, and how effecUve. Mary I-ofton of La Leche Irague International tells us that La kche League began with seven women ln a livingroom - seven women who were breastfeeding at a time when only about fifteen percent of the mothers tn ttris country did so. Thirt5ryears later, the percentage hasJust about quadrupled.

It's safe to say that real change has occurred here, but the change isn't finished There's no one moment at which we can say, about any socid movement, 'Nour we've really made some change.' Real change doesn't happen all at once, tn a revolution that topples all the edsttng structures. But at any glven point lt's posstble to look at how things used to be and at how they are now and say, "Hey, somettring slgnlficant has gone on." And ls still going on.

Something that comes through very clear\r tn the accounts of the breastfeeding and homeblrth movements - and ln our own accounts of the homeschooling movement thus far - ts that rather than belng a group of people saying, Tou should,'successful movements are made up of people saying, Tou can,'to others who are interested or curlous orJust at the beginning of wanting to go in a particular directlon. People call up La l-eche League or Informed Homebirth or Grotning Wtttlott Schooling and say, "I want to do this. Can you tell me hovf'The next thing these people know, someone else is asking them how to begin.

To the ldea that social change ls never flnlshed, John Holt added tn GWS #l that lt's imposslble to tell when a particular change @an" "except perhaps to say that any given soclal change begrns the ffrst tlme one peron thinks of lt.'The nlce thing about this ls that it remlnds us that what one person does with one life can be slgnificant. We don't have to walt for a million people to agree with us before we can move toward the world we want; rather, we can startwith our own llves, right away.

Yet John knew, and would later say elsewhere, that one person thlnking of or even making change is not enough. There have to be ways for people who are trying somethlng different to talk to each other, and to let others know that a particular alternative is available. GWS #l contalns the rather cautious predictlon, "In time lthis newsletter] may lead to many tnformal and personal networks of mutual help and support.'The predictton seems cautious because we know how qulckly GWS did lead to informal and personal networks - one look at our Dlrectory and Resource Llst conflrms thls, and we cerialnly don't know about all such groups that edst. Because of thts, we were lnterested to hear how people in the other movements we look at ln thls lssue communicate, both with those who are dolng what they're dotng and those who mlght like to.

"Change is slow, but steady,'wrote Jud Jerome tn his memorial poem to John Holt. It's also fasclnatlng to watch and to take part ln - and, now and then, to think about and examine, as we do tn this issue of GWS. Take a few minutes, then, to think about lt with us, before you go back to making tt happenl Susannah Sheffer

-

2

OFFICE NEWS

specljic topics of geraraL interest (math

for weryone, for example, rather than homeschooling in general or ln one par-

aoooaaaaaaaaaoaoaoaoa As we go to press, George McGovern has just agreed to write the introduction to

Ucular state), and that we'll have to be just as enthusiastic about your booklet as we are about all the other books we sell. We usually prefer it, too, if you are able to

the new edition of John Holt's Hotr.r Child.ren Fail that Dell will bring out in the fall. John and McGovern corresponded during the 1972 campaign, and McGovem was a great admirer of Hotu Child"ren Fo,il, so when the publishers asked us for suggestlons about who might write an introduction, he came immediately to our minds. We're excited about the possibility of reaching a new audience through

handle the printing and duplication of the

booklet yourself.

Since we announced that our mailing lists were available for rent (for one-time use), we've had requests from Dlscovery Toys (for our local list only), I-earning At Home, and the Creative I-earning Association, bringing us a total of over $IOOO. If you know ofany small businesses that

McGovern's words.

Instead oJ Mucation which has been

out ofprint for severalyears, should be available from us soon. We're having our printer make copies of the book which will look somewhat like the copies of Escape Ftom Childhd that we now sell more like a traditionally-published book, in other words, than our editions of Freedom and Begond. and Neuer Too Late.

We're glad that it will again be possible for people to read this very important book.

Check with us about price and availabil-

ity.

would benefit from access to one of our

sent a letter to I-a Leche kague leaders around the country, telling them about what we have available for people interested in homeschooling and in children's learning, and mentioning that we are available to speak at conferences and meetings. If you're involved with k kche kague on a local level, you might remind them of what we offer.

Several coordinators of homeschooling fairs scheduled for the spring and summer have requested our materials for display. We always appreciate this, because we'll never be able to be at all such events and displaying our literature is a good way to let people know what we do.

We're in the preliminary stages of reviewing books for inclusion in our fall 1988 catalog (our spring catalog will introduce only a couple ofnewbooks, as well as the most current information we have about prices and availability). We Iind that small booklets put out by our readers on specific topics - such as Kate Kerman's Should I Teach Mg Kid.s At

Home? and Malcolm Plent's Famous Unschoolers - sell very well, probably because they're ofdirect interest to our readers and are available at low orices. If any of you have put out similar booklets, please do send them to us sowe can consider including them in our catalog.

Keep in mind that we're more interested, at this point, in booklets that address

the invitation that he periodically extends to young GWS readers to write for that

column. Pat ls interested ln articles bvchildren and teenagers descrtbing a project that shows lnltiative and resourcefulness. Look at past issues ofTMEN to get a sense ofwhat gets published, and write Pat a query describtng the sort of article you'd like to write. TMEN pays $lOO for publication of a Mother's Children column. Write to: Pat Stone, Assistant Editor, Tlrc Motler turth News, PO Box 7O, Hendersonville NC 2a793.

NEWS & REPORTS NEA OPPOSES HOME. SCHOOLING A reader sentus tlvJannry lssue oJ NEA Now, anewsl.etter

18, rcaa

oJtle

Naticnal Educqtion Assocratrbrl tle Jront

page oJ which is dernted to the concern that "tte lwmescttrcLhg movement is

undennining elforts to impmn edrrca-

In the olfice, weVe been enjoying the very welcome help of Ada Kerman, who is volunteering here during her month-long intersession from The Meeting School in New Hampshire. Many of you-will recognize Ada's name; her mother Kate Kerman's booklets are arnong the most popular in our catalog. Ada writes about the transition from homeschooling to boarding school elsewhere in thls issue.

By the time you receive this issue, Pat Farengawill have spoken to a group of local homeschoolers on Cape Cod, at the [.a I-eche l-eague New England Regional Conference, and at the National Coalition of Alternative Communit5r Schools conference atThe Farm inTennessee. We

available lists, please refer them to us.

Pat Stone, who created the Mother's Children column in the magazine The Mother Earth Neu.rs, has asked us to repeat

tion-" Some

esccerpts:

This country seems to be suffering from a split personality on the lssue of how best to educate our children. On the one hand, many states are raising graduation requirements, revamping teacher training programs, and upgrading the curriculum. On the other hand, some of these very sarne states are consciously undermining their own efforts to raise standards - by enacting laws that give a virtual blank check to advocates of homeschooling... In effect, these new laws are saying that children taught in schools need to reach for higher standards - but children taught at home don't need to meet any standards at all. ...Where does NEA stand on homeschooling? Our Association believes that a child's educational needs and social dwelopment are best addressed in a school setting. But NEA policy also recognizes that some students are being taught at home. 'It's up to each state to make sure that children who are taught at home are receiving a quality education,' says NEA President Mary Hatwood

Futrell.

To ensure that quality, the NEA Board ofDirectors in 1984 adopted guidelines on homeschooling that address issues such as assessing student achievement, curriculum, time spent on instruction, recordkeeping, and the cost ofeducating chlldren at home. For a copy ofthese NEA guidelines, contact your state Association or NEA regional olhce.

I

/SS./

In a letter to the NEA Now edrtor,

wrote:

I was disappointed to see that the NEA takes the view that homeschooling is undermining efforts to improve education, because so mzrny of the people who are actively involved with home education in this country take quite the oppposite

position.

According to your newsletter, the NEA 'believes that a child's educational needs

and social development are best addressed ln a school setting.' Is this true of all children? How then does the NEA account for the thousands of children who are flourishing, both academically and socially, as home educated students? You

might bâ‚Ź interested in the current research, both systematic and anecdotal, that attests to the success ofhome education. The Home School Researcher, c/o Brian Ray, Sclence Education Department, Oregon State Universit5r, Cowallis OR97331, acts as a clearinghouse for the home education research reports currently available.

Beyond this, may I suggest that rather than undermining educational reform, home education activelv contributes to it by conducting educadonal experiments from which everyone in the educafional cornmunity can benelit and learn. I enclose an article that the late John Holt wrote for the Phi Dr:lta Kappantlrrat explores this point. I also enclose a copy of the testimony that I presented during the

Pennsylvanla House Education Committee's hearings on the state's proposed home education bill, which makes the sarne point, drawing on the reports ofhundreds ofreaders of Crotoing

WXlaut

*hnlfu

magazine.

Homeschoolers keep abreast ofwhat is going on in schools, believlng that such awareness and information can be useful to them in their own work. I would like to see the NEA and others ln education look to homeschooling with the same interest and openness. If we only do things one way, we have no way of knowing what else is possible, what else works. In this country of many alternatives, we all have much to learn from one another.

Like the National Association of Elementaqr School Prlncipals described in GWS #58, the NEA is not in a posiflon to make actual decislons about homeschooling, so their gutdelines, while representing their position, serve merely as suggesilons. Our attenflon and energ/ should still be focused on those leg;islators and school superintendents who are opposed to homeschooling. But because the NEA can lobby these groupsjust as we can, it's worth making some effort to encourage greater sympathy and understanding on their part. The NEAs address

in Washington ts l2Ol l6th St, NW Washlngton DC 20036. If you know that

GROIWING WITFIOUT SCHOOLING #62

3 the NEA is actively opposlng state bills or policies, it would mahe more sense to contact the local rather than nafional offIce, however.

RES

EARCH IN WAS HINGTON ula lnsJor some time

JonWartes,

ben the lead.er oJ tle Washington Homeschnt Reseorch ProjecL urltes abut tIve gtoup's latest shtdg: We tabulated the scores of 873 home-

schoolers who used any one of six testing senrices within Washingf,on state durtng 1987, and found that median scorres werle

tn the 65th percentile range. The strongest scores were i:e science and in ltstening, vocabulaql and word reading. The lowest scores were in math computation.

In a second report based on 47O homeschoolers, a number of other flndings were presented. We found aweak relationship between student scores and parent education lerrel - too weak to JustiS policy decisions that might lirntt access to homeschooling based on the education level of the parents. There was no relatlonshdp bewteen the level of structure or hours per week of formal schooling and student performance. Ttrere was no reladonshlp between gpade lerrel and test scores - concern that older students might be at an educational disadvantage $ras not supported (due to small sample slze ln grades IO-12, t}ls conclusion was llrnited to K-9). Scores of thosewho had been homeschoollng for a long time were neither better nor worse than those who were new to homeschooling. No relaflonship was found between the degree of religlous mntent in the homeschooltng and the test scores ln general or in social science or sclence scores ln pardcular.

Copies of the two reports are avallable fromJonWartes, 16109 NE 169 Pl, Woodinville WA 98072. The llrst, Reprt F)lom the 1987 Washirgton Homesclwl Testirg, is tl6 pages and costs $7. Ttre second, Tle Retaltonsltp oJ Selected Input

Variodes to Acodemic Achiewnertt

Anorg Wasl&gton Homeschders, is 78 pages and costs $ lO.

SCHOOL ENTRY POLICY Tom llledlanrder oJ Wisconsin rorftes: When our local school board most generously sent us a copy ofthe proposed policles for the readmittanc.e of homeschoolers into schools, I read them hrdce.

The llrst time around, the pollcles seemed pretty fair, but the second time, there were certatn things that raised questlons ln my mtnd. The proposals were obvlously

discrlminatory, and included crlterla for g;ra.de placement that were based on nebulous and./ or subJectlve Judgments regarding not only academlc but soclal adaptation. (I leamed later that it is not unusual for readmlttance pollcles to lnclude a nlnet5r day probafion period where the former homeschooler's 'social rnaturlty" ls to be evaluated by school authorities.) The student,' the policy wrote, 'shall be expected to demonstrate approprlate social iirteraction with tris/

her peers." What in the world does that mean?

I immedtately typed my obJections out, and after a revision of my thoughts sent a copy to the Wisconstr Parents Associadon along with five dollars and a call for help. The board had also sent us a list of school board members, each of whom I ended up talktng to, and I tmmediately set up appotntments with each one of them. I went to the library to study the current statutes concernlng admlssion of private transfer students (and thus homeschoolers) to Wisconstn public schools, and called up our local admissions oltce to see if there were any wrltten policies or procedures for the admission of transfer students. As I suspected, there were none, About this time I got a call from Larry Kaseman, the lawyer for the Wisconsin Parents Association. He agreed with my obJections to the proposed policy and sent me some useful information, including

favorable policies from other diskicts.

After I reviewed what he had sent me, I revised my wrltten objectlons a ffnal dme and put together an informational packet wtrich I subsequently handed out to each member of the school board at thetr February meeting.

When I met with the Superlntendent of Public Schools, I came armed to the teeth urith facts and llgures ofall conceivable pertinent informaUon. Needless to say, I was neryous, for I had heard conIlicting reports about this man. I decided to ask what he thought of the informattonal packet right ofr, and he said that he had decided to ask the board not to have any policy at all for transfer students, rather than take on a dilficult, cumbersome, and possibly discriminatory policy.

He lndicated that there might possibly be some sort of gener:al admissions policy for transfer students, but I don't thtnk this would amount to much at all.

HOMESCHOOLERS AREN'T CHILD ABUSERS

According to the Janua4r lssue of the WISCONSIN PARENTS ASSCTATION newsletter, several public olficials, tncludtng the State Superintendent of Public Instrucdon, have used a recent case of alleged child abuse to argue that the state's homeschoollng law needs to be changed. Laws such as Wisconsln's, whlch

require homeschoollng families to notify oflIclals rather than seek their approval, and whtch don't require much of what the schools call accountabtltty, are often subJect to thts kind of crldcism erren when no child abuse has actually been alleged.

When gSoups are lobbying for legfslaflon that is modeled on t}lls lidnd of laq the "What about parents who abuse their children?' question ls often lirst ln their leglslators' mtnds. For thls reason, we are

lnterested ln the arguments against thts crltlcism that homeschoolers in Wisconsln have dweloped, hlry Kaseman's response to an edttorial titled "Homeschooltng Law Much Too Lax," fnthel/6/ 88 Miluaukee Joumal makes these arguments well:

Wsconsln has a good homeschooling law whlch baliances the rights of the state

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

(to see that children do not grow up to be a burden on the state), the rights ofparents (to choose for ttreir children an education conslstent with their principles and beliefs), and the rights of the child (to a quality education suited to his/her needs and abilities, which means that a variety of alternatives should be available).

However, your editorial contained misleading statements and the erroneous conclusion that the homeschooling Law should be changed.

Althouglr the editorial cited an

ofchild abuse, homeschooling and child abuse are completely separate issues, Attending a public or private school does not protect a chlld from the tragdy of child abuse, and no homeschooling law based on "some combination of pupil testing, teacher cerfffication and curriculum oversiglef will eittrer.

An old legal madm states, "Hard cases make bad law.' In other words, a law desig5red to take care oftheworst possible hypothettcal case is almost certain to be long, difficult to enforce, and more likely to prevent good people from doing good than bad people from doing bad.

The lpresentl homeschooling Iaw holds homeschoolers accountable. Each year they must submit a signed form to the alleged case

Departrnent of Public Instruction, attesfing that they are in compliance with the law and including the statement that, -Ihe [home-based private educationall prcgram is not operated or instituted for tJre purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compulsory attendance requirement."

Homeschoolers are covered by the truanry law and may be prosecuted for truancy if they fail to comply.

Neither lay people nor experts can agree on how educadon is accomplished or how one knows when a child is educated.

The U.S. Supreme Court has mled that the state may not have a monopoly on educaflon. The compulsory school attendance law requires attendance, but it does not prescribe a specific program or dictate the outcome.

The phnase in the editorial, "But if the state is golng to entrust parents with

educating their children...' is backu;ords.

Rights and responsibilities of parents for the education of their children spring from a variety of sources, tncluding the U.S. Constitution. Parents may decide to entrust a public school with educating their children, but the responsibility remains the parents'.

Homeschoolers work hard and are proud of their accomplishments. They do not Gar scmflny from people who are olrn to alternatlves ln education and who support choices in addition to those offered by traditional schools. Homeschoolers do obJect to unnecessary scmtiny by an organizadon like the

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62, Vol. I I No. 2. ISSN #0745-5305. Rrblished bi-monthly

by Holt Associates, T29 Bofston St, Boston MA O2f f 6. $2olyr. Date oflssue, Aprtl I, 1988.

Sccond-class postage paid at Boston M,{POSTMAS'TER: Send addrcss changes to GWS, 729 Boylston St. Boston MA 02116.

ADVERTISERS: Deadltnes arc the lSth ofoddnumbercd months. Contact Patdck Farenga for

rates.

4 Departrnent of Public Instmctlon whlch has treated homeschoolers arbitrarllv and unreasonably ln the past (before ihe current lawwas enacted in 1984) and which ls committed to lncreasLng standardization (standardlzed tests, curriculurrq etc.) at a time when we need to explore other alternatives.

The bottom line is, no societ5r based on laws can exist unless the vast maJority of its cltizens freely and willingly abide by the spirit ofits laws and are cooperadve, responsible people. The vast majority of parents want what is best for their children. Homeschooling is hard work

that requires a substandal commitment

of time and energr by the parents. These

realities, rather than any homeschooling law, are what make home schools strong and viable educadonal alternatives.

Constdering the need to balance indivtduals'and state's rights and recogniztng that one cannot legtslate educadon but can only requir,e compulsory school attendance, homeschoolers are now betng held as accountable to tlre state as is reasonable and necessary. Greater state scmtiny would cost the taxpayers money, *ould do nothing about the tragic problem of chtld abuse, and would undoubtedly ltmit and threaten homeschool effectivlness.

TEST OF MISSOURI

LAW The Februaqr newsletter of

Missouri's FAMILIES FOR HOME EDUCATION reports that a homeschooltng family was tried in circuit court for failure to comply with the provisions of the state's homeschool law on the grounds that the family's daily log did not meet state standards and had included Bible lnstmction as core curriculum. Associate Clrcuit Judge Rtchard Parker sentenced the parents to five days in Jall, and then suspended the sentence on the provislon

that the famtly enroll the chtldren in school or come into compliance with the

homeschool Law withfur three days.

The family subsequently provided the Judge with the addttional documents that had been requested for the daily log, including lesson plans and portfolios of the children's work. The Judge accepted this erridence but placed the family on probation, requiring monthly progress reports to be submttted to the courl FHE comments: '[This casel should send a clear message to the leg[slature t]rat this law has been put to the test and found to be suflicient to protect the limited interests of the state. lAlsol, the posiflon of .Judge Parker that the datly log does not satis& the standard ofthe law should send

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a clear message to Missourl homeschoolers that our position on record keeping may be tn Jeopardy.' Accordtrg to FHE, homeschoolers and the legislators who drafted the law thought that the dally log would meet the standards of the law, but this judge's ruling that it does not may mean that other Missouri courts will require more extenslve records.

corrunents, -The very fact of this invitation cannot be underesflmated in terms of the Deparhnent of Education's effort to lead the way in reduclng battle-line tenslons between home educators and superlntendents,' and reports that most directors at the meeting seemed willing to moperate with homeschoolers but were frustrated by those who don't turn in the required notiffcation forms and evalu-

ations.

trlinois: In GWS #61, we reported

LOCAL NEWS For addresses oJ lrcal organlzations, see GWS #6O or our homeschalirg resource list, availabb Jor $2.

Alabana: The Senate Education Committee held public hearings on SB 273 (which had been simultaneouslv intro-

duced into the House as HB 69) on Febrrary 24, but the absence of a quomm prevented the Commlttee from voting that day, according to James Hart ofALABAMA HOME EDUCATORS. Six hundred homeschoolers attended the hearings tn support of the bill, which added "home lnstrucdon" to the educadonal options avallable to parents, and requtred parents

to file an annual 'declaradon of lntent' form with their local superintendent, as

well as gtving them a choice of methods of evaluation.

When the Committee met again on March 2, a senator lntroduced a substitute bill which the legislative branch of the Departrnent ofEducatlon had drawn up, and which required homeschooling parents to have college degrees, to seek approval of thetr local superlntendents, and to agree to mandatory testlng. Again, the committee did not vote that day, and on March 7 members of AHE met with members of the DeparLment of Educaflon to tqr to draw up legfslatton that urould be mutually agreeable. James Hart told us that because the groups could not come to an agreement at that meeting, he asked the House and Senate Educaflon Committee chalrmen to table any homeschooling leglslation for the time being. Homeschmlers wlll now lobby their leglslators in support of the orlglnal bill and explain their opposition to the substitute bill, hoptng to get enough legislative support so that they can feel ready to introduce the

that Cook County Regional Superintendent Richard Martq/ick had sent a memo to school districts and homeschoolers declaring all homeschoolers truant and giving them the choice of putting thetr children in school or being served with a court summons. Charges were dropped against the one family that has so far been brought to trial, but several new families have been getting notices from their school districts, according to homeschooler Mary Friedl, because Superintendent Marhvick has not told school

districts anything to countermand hls original memo. Homeschoolers are putting together packets of infiormadon

for regional superintendents to help them understand what the Law actually requires.

Kangas: HB 2713, which would regulate private schools in the state by requiring them to give Kansas mftrimum competency tests, was lntroduced into the legislature ln late January, according to the February newsletter of KANSANS FOR ALTERNATwE EDUCATION. The bill does not dircctly allect home schools, but the newsletter urged homeschoolers to write

CIATION newsletter and the Colorado Sprlngs Homeschoollng Telephone

letters opposing the bill, as many homeschoolers are agalnst any kind ofunnecessary regulatlon of educadon.

Malne: The MAINE HOMESCHOOL ASSOCIATION newsletter reports that public hearings are expected this legislative session, but no delinite date has been set. Some of the expected topics up for discussion arer a proposal to eliminate the requirement that horneschoolers in grades 4, 8, and I I take the Maine Educational Assessment test; a proposal that if a school board's guldelines on homeschoolfng address all the areas ln the state guidellnes, the school board will be 'consistent with..,and,..tn conformitv with' state guidelines. In other words, says the MFIA, a local school board could require something speciflc - like standardized testing - on the grounds that it addtâ‚Źsses the'area' of assessment, erren though the state guidelines do not make the same requirement. Maine homeschoolers are prepared to oppose this latter proposal.

and requires testlng in grades 2, 5, 8 and lO but specilles that the test results are for parents'use only.

took effect in July (see GWS #58), require a review of homeschooling families at the end of each semester. Thewinter lssue of the newsletter of the MARYLAND HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION reports that some districts made requlrements of

origlnal

bill

agafn.

Colorado: Senate Bill 56 passed out of the Senate Educatlon Committee (4-2) onJanuar5r 14, and the House Educadon Commlttee (7-3) on March 8, and ts going to the House floor for avote at GWS's press ttme (mid-March), according to the

COI'RADO HOME EDUCATION ASSO-

Hotllne. The bill, like similar bills elsewhere, requines parents to nod$ school distrlcts of thelr intent to homeschool, rather than to seek permission,

Maryland: The new bylaws, whlch

Florida: The Department of Educatlon tnvited homeschoolers Craig Dickinson and Don Dunlap to attend the annual meeting of the Directors of Student SeMces to discuss home education, according to the Janua5r issue ofthe

FIORIDA PARENT-EDUCATORS ASSOCLATION Neurs. The FPEA Neurs

families at the Febmarv mid-term revlew whlch are inconsistent *ith *h"t the bvliaws allow Harford county required onl family to "teach four hours a day'; Ann Arundel county has insisted that all families submit their portfolio of work for review (though the bylaws state that there should be a meedng between the school

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

ofticials and the family tnstead); Howard count5r made comparlsons among home-

DISCUSSION: SEEING CHILDREN AS GUINEA

schooling famllies. Accorda4 to MHEA, several other dlstrlcts have been coopera-

Jeon Rezac (MN wrcte recendg:

ttve. The next reyiew is scheduled for

spring.

New

Yorl: The Board of Regents

voted 13-2 onJanuar5r 2O to require thlrd and fifth gpade homeschoolers to take Pupil Evaluation Program (PEP) tests, and slxth grade homeschoolers to take Preliminary Competency Tests @C{1, according to the newsletter of the NEW YORK SIATE HOMESCHOOLER.S ASSOCLATION. These regulations had been

adopted temporarily h September and then tabled in response to letters from homeschoolers. The Januar5r 2oth vote reinstltutes them.

At GWS's press dme, the Regents are i:r the process of formulating more extensive regulations concerning homeschoolers. Accordlng to homeschooler Katharine Houk, these erpanded

regulaflons could allow for altemaflve methods of evaluation, but the Regents' plans are not clear. In the meanflme, the IIYSHA newsletter reports that several homeschoolers plan to boycott the first administration of PEP tests this Mav.

I am I I years old. Every once in a while I see GWS lying on the hassock and I ptck it up and read it. Some of the people who write in I feel are analyzing kids.

They're watching them closely and writlng irr what their behavior ls. I feel like GWS is half lab report. It makes me feel like a guinea pig. It's like lf kids analyzed grownups and whether or not they went to work, and analyzed their behavior and wrote lt down and sent it lr to a newsletter. I think it's even worse than that because the parents have power over the lidds.

I don't like the way lt makes me feel.

It especially seems wrong for parents to write things about their kids without the ldds knowing or realizing what they're

ISS:I

CALENDAR June 1988: (exact date unconllnned) New Jersey Homeschoolers Summer Picnic. Games, dlscusslon groups. For lnformation: Dlane Robertson, I I Bates Rd, Jackson 08527 or Kathey Shoshin, 89O N Concourse, Chlfurood Beach O7735.

June 17-18: Washington Homeschool Organtzatton Convendon at the Sea-Tac Red Lion, Seattle. Susannah Sheffer will be one ofthe ke5mote speakers. For

tnformation: Carolyn Kunard, loO29-48th Ave W, Everett 982O4.

June 17-18: 'Breakfng Down the Barrlers,' a natlonal conference sponsored by the National Center for Falr and Open Testlng, tn Washtngton, D.C.

Cong;resswoman Patricia Schroeder will

be one ofthe kqmote speakers. For information: FailTest, PO Box 1272,

Cambridge MA 02238.

June 22: Lecture by Pat Montgomery, founder and Dlrector of Clonlara HomeBased Educatlon Program, 'Home Educadon: Still Going and Still Growlng," sponsored by Portland (Oregon) Tfi-County Homeschoolers. For informatlon: Laura, fi3-657 -ffi7 | or Alllson, m3-233-5976.

June2z!-25: Farnily Leamfng Organizadon of Washington's Famlly l-earrrlng Falr at Spokane Falls Communit5r College. Susannah Shelfer wlll be one of the kqrnote speakers. For lnformadon: Clnthia Davis, 5O9-466-@94.

We are happry to run announcements of maJor homeschooling and related errents, butwe need plenty of notlce. Deadllne for GWS #63 (events tn July or later) is May lO. Deadltne for GWS #81 (events ln September or later) fs July lO. [Plcarc notc: Our calendar ls only a list of those errents whose organlzers have specillcally asked to be listed here. To IInd out about other local events, call orrvrlte the g5oups lnyour area. To ffnd out about any Holt Associates speaklng engagements not on tlds calendar, call our offfce.l

things.

My main point, I guess, is that I can't agree with you about the parents' motrues.

I don't think

anyone is deliberately setting out to do the things you describe.

But the fact that some of GWS makes vou Jeel a cerfaln way is important, so we-do have to pay attendon to what the effect of some of the *Tg:.

it

I reswnde&

good Job.

You might want to look at the chapter called 'Learnfng About Children," ln John Holt's Hou Chldren l*am, the reylsed edition. In this chapter John talks about the dilferent ways that adults can look at children - as gulnea plgs whom they can do somethirg to (and I understand how you would hate this: I would too) or from the point ofview of loving, concerned parents, interested tn havlng better times wlth their ctrildren and ln understanding

in

general.

The thing is, parents have a lot to learn about how to be better parents which really means how to live more happtly and c.omfortably with their chrildren - and GWS helps people with this.

I agree very strongly that parents shouldn t wrtte things that would embarrass their lidds, or that the lidds wouldn't want prlnted for any reason. Many

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

times a parent will lrrite about something and then a child will add his or her thoughts about the same thing.

When you invite children to send you

doing a good job - at being kids or anything else. But I agree thatwe should hear more from kids about how they feel about

I'm very interested in the things you say, though I don't agree with all of them.

You say some of the people who write to GWS are analyztng kids, watching them closely and writing in what their behavior ts. I agree that this is what many of the parents who write to us are doing. The quesdon is, is this always bad? I think much depends on the spirit in which the parents do tL I get the sense that you feel that the writers tn GWS are critictztttg klds, or looking at them wittr some ldnd of sclentlffc detachment, as though ldds are another species entirely rather than young human beings.

My feeling ls diflerent; I think that on the whole GWS parents are writing about thea chfldren in order to better understand how learnlng happens, what they do that helps or prwents it, and so on. In other words, most of the time th.y'r. writing in order to flgure out whether theg're doing a good Job, rather than to determlne whether the lidds are doing a

people

parents seem to check with their kids before writing to us, and others write in anonSrmously or use an initial for the child's narne, whlch is just fine. Some-

an analysis of whether thelr parents are doing a good job, I think you are being a little unfair to the parents, who are not, as I said, discussing whettrer thelr kids are

wriflng. Ifs like talktng about someone behtnd thelr back.

I hereby lrrvite any children to send

me an analysis of their parents and whether or not they're dotng a good Job. I don't want to be nasty, but that's the way makes me feel.

*,",

Jeonwrcte back:

I lsallz6d after reading your letter that none of us really knows what the motives of the people who write into GWS are, or if they get permisslon from their kids beforehand to write about them. What I was really angry about is that my mother has written into GWS things about our family without any of us knowing about it.

I only found out when I read it in the magazine. When I read it I felt like I was a gpinea pig, and that my mother was always secretly watching me to see if I was making progress or learntng something she really wanted me to learn. I don't like the way it makes me feel. I don't feel free to do things I want to do because I think she mtgfrt be watching and recording what my interests and actlvities are.

I guess I wanted to express this and to let other parents know that their kids might feel the same way. I would just like to say to parents that if you are watching your kids with an evaluatlng attitude, or are writing things about them without their knowledge, please STOP. It really isn't falr. You wouldn't want vour friends talking about you behfnd youi back, so please don't talk about your ldds behind their backs.

Thank you for your letter. It helped me to see that my real arrger was toward my own mother.

I'm $ad to hear that my letter helped you clari$ some of what you'd been feeling. I think this is why rrany parents wrlte to GWS - to better understand what they're thinldng and feeling, both from the act of writing things down, and from getting responses from others.

In thls recent letter, you begin to get into a very lnteresting issue that I think is even broader than the question of parents wrtting to GWS. The distinction between belng watched secretly "to see lf I was malUng progress or learning something she really uranted me to learn' and the

6

kind ofgenuine furterest and attenfion that I think kids uant from their parents

A lot has changed in our family, and I _ know that

a mother should not use anvone or an5rthing for prideful ambitions, bui should be honest and patient with her

is a line one, and I wonder how we can be clearer about it.

One example is the issue of recommending a book to someone else. Sometimes, when my parents recommended a book to me, I felt that they were doing it out of their own real love for the book and

children. I know that the children have within themselves the resources to grow,

out of some feeling that I ougfu to read the book, that perhaps the stulf I was choosing to read on my own wasn't as good, and the dl{ference between these two approaches made all the difference in the world. Yet often it's so hard to tell what makes them different. Often the parent is saying the same thing - 'Here's a book you might like" - and what matters is the oveiall spirit in it's being done, something -which that is affected by so many things.

reading Frank Smith's .Essays Into I)terocg lavail. here, l2.OO + postl last winter. In it Smith outlines three steps of leaming. The first is demonstration,^ or exposure to the slidll and how it is accomplished, and the second is enga4;ement, or an interaction of the brain with the demonstration. He questions why engagement did not always occur, and

their interest in sharing that with me.

Other times, I felt that they were doing it

ISSJ

I srgges

*a ,no,

cleck ulilh

her mother bJore we usent""on ahead. ard.

published this conespondence (this

seemed consistent wXhJean's plea tlwt adults not go fuhlnd. children's backs).

Jean wrote sagng

btters

ail&

roas

t|nt puilishhg

our

fine with ler natfe1 atd.

!n your letter you said that e:<amples

are always good, so I arn giving one. One day a couple of months ago I was fooling

around with Juggling. My mother saw that

I was interested in it and went and got me a

book on it that she had. All ofa sudden it wasn't fun any more. I wish I could explain it more but that's all I understand.

F\nallg, Jeon's natfer, Wanda" wrote:

My inconsideration in sending letters to GWS w'ithout reading them to my children beforehand is one symptom of some larger problems we have had. I know Jean finds it dfficult to put her Ilnger on exactly the thing that is bothering her.

What she is talking about is nebulous, but because it has happened to me tn the past, and because IVe been inllicting tt on her as she's growr up, I feel I knowwhat she is takfng about. It is a subtle awareness that someone else ls taking an inordlnate

pleasure ln what you are doing. It is a feeling that you are being used rather than loved.

I have undergone a personal evolution in the last seven years or so. When Jean was smaller I was very motivated to be a good mother. I really tried my best to be loving, encouraging, providing of a supportive environment, etc. I often recognize the same drive in mothers I see especially in museums, for some reason.

There is a smlling, excited encouragement on the part of the mother, and a subtle pulltng the child ln the dinection tlre mother has in mind, rather than a patient

followlng ln the direcdon the child moves.

I have painfully come to see that the tme motive behind my mothering was to turn out kids I could be proud of, and thereby authenticate that I was a good mother. My kids, having trre awareness, could sense the hidden ambitions ln my actions, and resented and resisted belng used.

given t}rls environment. The rest of what a parent provldes ts minlmal and natural patientJy answering quesflons and helping the child to move in his or her own direcfion.

I was profoundly affected while

comes up with a third element necâ&#x201A;Źssary

for learning. This third element is what he calls sensitivity, which he delines as, "the absence ofany expectation that learning will not take place or that it will be

difficult.'

This really blew my mind. I saw that while I held strongly to the belief that children would leam when thev were ready to, I was holding to that Leti.f itt desperation and ln defiance of another part of me that was full of doubt. I was afraid that I might be urrong, and that the children might be truly lazy at heart, not wanting to learn the necessitles of Me without my pushing. This was the doubt that I encountered myself all through my schooling and at home, and that I resented

so much. Thls is the same doubt thatJean sensed and resented in me when I was too

pleased at her every new accomplishment.

Seeing ttris doubt has been wonderful for me, It is now gone, and I have real faith in

the inner resources of my children. I truly don't need to watch them for my own c.onlirmation of faith anv more.

When I have to complete our reports for the school board, I sense this old kind of doubdul watching. I see that the school board, in requiring these reports, is implyrng this doubt - that learning will not take place or that it will be diflicult.

When I do my reports it feels like I am

playing into a system that is abhorrent and counterproductive, and I resent h"r.ing to do so. I'd really like to know how other parents feel about this.

I suspect that to an outside observer it might be hard to differentiate between a clear interaction between parent and child and one that is muddied bv some of the things I have talked about. There may be no dillerence ln what is actuallv said and done, but I do know that underiying motlvations and subtleties are real and do c.olor each e:rperience. Children are very qulck to pick up on these nuances.

I wish this whole area wasn't so nebulous and subJective, but I know that parents and children who have these problems and want to get beyond them will recognize what I am describing.

Recognition, regret (repentence), and honest openness seem to be the best cures.

You have to want to see that perhaps you, the parent, are the source ofthe problem before you can get to the bottom of it.

RESOURCES & RECOMMENDATIONS describes over 2OO programs LATIN PROGRAM Flom Nancy Lobar

(N:

I've found a great Latin program for upper elementary-age kids called Ecce Romani published by Longman, Inc, 95 Church St, White Plains NY lO6Ol. The emphasls of the program is on readlng l-atin, with granunar assimilated by gradual exposure to the various forms. One thing I really like ls that the ffrst year is divided into three separate books, so you are only working with a small book and not overwhelmed by a massive volume.

The translations are based on the adventures of four l-a.tin-spea.klng kids.

Between every few chapters are readings about ancient Roman culture, dress,

farnily, etc. I stronglly recommend that you also get the Student Language Acdvity Book. This provides additional practice with translation and help with vocabulary. I'd also get the Teacher Handbook because it helps explain the grammar and gfves additional background on the culture. Most lmportant is that my son Jonathan (lO) likes thls program. He loves being able to read Latin passages.

suitable for teaching and learning at home... it covers software for Apple, Atari, Commodore, IBM, and Tandy/Radio Shack computers, as well as systems compatible with these...

All ofthe programs have been evaluated postdvely by several reviewing agencies, all are available from commercial sources, and all sell for reasonable prices." We haven't seen this guide yet, so please let us know lf you find it useful,

GOOD BOOK CLUB Rose Yorekura (NE) torites:

I don't think I've ever sâ&#x201A;Źen Ernyone menflon Trumpet Book Club in GWS. It's like Scholastic, etc. but has one catalog only. I like it because each month you get a free book ofyour choosing. They say they require a minlmum of ten books, but I've ordered less. Be prepared to give the name of your school and its enrollment. I gave them the number of those in our small home school group, but I order alone. The address is TRUMPET BOOK CLUB, PO Box 6O4, Holmes PA 19043.

FOR YOUNG WRITERS ld ltke to offer to read and comment

SOFTWARE GUIDE We reccived a press release announc-

tng the Mini-Gutde to Htgtrlg Rated SoJh:uare Jor Home Ed:trcatio4 wtrich is avalable for $4.95 + $l shipping and handling from EPIE Instltute, PO Box 839, Water Mill NY I1976; 516-283-4922. The release says, -This 26-page booklet

on the writing ofyoung GWS readers. This could be a one-dme thtng or an ongoing arrangiement, depending on what you're looking for. My only rule is that you already enJoy wrtting - I don t want to try to "motlvate" someone who isn't genuinely lnterested ln u/rtting right now - SS

GROWING WITTIOUT SCHOOLING #62

CHALLENGES & CONCERNS BLIND PARENTS Ilnda

h.terson o;f Mbnesota urltes:

My husband and I are both bltnd and the parents of one fully sighted 7-year-old son whom we ar€ homeschoollng. I have heard rumors that there are other bllnd parents homeschooLng, but to date have not been able to substantlate that fact.

However, there are many bllnd teachers ln

thls countqr teachfurg at all lerrels and tn all llelds. I feel ftat if bhnd teachers can teach many chlldren, I can handle one.

We live ire an area where there are no services for the blfurd that amount to much. I have always been amused by the

fact that states will asslst blind clients to receive high school, college and techntcal tralning, but will not conffnue the atd when the person gets iinto the real world.

As you can imagfne, my btggest obstacle has been havlng materlals read or bratlled. It ls suggested that homeschoolers be prepared from one year to the next. I really have to do thls stece I must think of what curriculum I will use and how I will get it put into brallle or on cassette. There are many htgh tech pieces

of equipment available wtrtch would help us, but wtrlch we cannot allord. There ls a machlne on the market that actually reads prlnt ustng synthetic speech, Less expensive and very helpful would be a computer,

Itls possible to purchasespeech

boxes for computers so that a blind user

wlll have read to hlm exactly what ls on the screen. Since one sheet of print equals about two and a halfsheets ofbraille, you can imagine that braille ls very bullry.

There ls a deylce available that stores brallle on computer dtsk, but lt is also very erq)enslve.

I have heard there ane grants from groups to help purchase thtngs like thts, but I don't know ofany. And, ofcourse, I can't go the route of the libraql to research

such grants because I can't read prlnt. If you lmow of any sources that might help in the purchase of thls equlpment, please let us know. Other ltems I could use are cassettes, gld refer,ence books, picture books and magaztres and other teaching tools tlrat others may not want. I ask this not looldng for s5rmpathy for us as bllnd parents, but as one homeschool farnfly fn need of somethlng, I would b" gl"d to share rrry e:gerlences wlttr other bllnd parents, or wtth

sighted parents homeschoollng a blfnd

chtld.

[SS:l When I talked to L;lnda, rlle came up wtth a fenr specllic ways that G\{tS readers could help her family: (t) By doing the necessa4r research tnto sources of fundtng for the equipment Lturda descrlbes; (2) By readtng GWS and other homeschoollng publicatlons on cassettes.

Ltnda stressed that thls is abtgJob, and that she prefers to have the whole publlcadon read - ads and all - so that she can browse througlr tt as a stghted person can, wlthout som@ne else havtng ahready decided what urould be useful or tnterestlng to her; (3) By readlng aloud chlldren's

books on tape to Linda's son, so that he can follow along. Ltnda suggests that you check wtth her flrst about whlch books would be most helpful.

It seems to me that some families might enJoy these activldes, and might be able to lncorporate them lnto their own homeschoollng. Li.nda can be reached at l3l4 lTth St S. Moorhead MN 5656O; 218233-8226.

WHEN KIDS ARE IGNORED Ftom Cheryt Just (CN: IVe Just linished readtng what Erin Dodd wrote about being small and young in an adultworld [-Ioo YoungTo Go,'GWS #611. One pardcular part caught my attention. She said a cashier overlooked herwhen it was her turn to order a pizza.

My sonTrevor (7) has had the same problem when he needs something. If ifs bad for teenagers, lt's almost tmposslble for younger children. An example: we were at our local McDonald's, had gotten our order and sat down, when Trevor wanted some catsup. I told hlm to go up and get some. He's not shy about tlrls. He went up to the counter and stood, waited his turn and was overlooked. He sald excuse me and was ignored, so stood padently untll he was ffnally nottced. I hate toJump up and make a sc€ne or even calmly do it for hdm when he's totally capable himself.

IVe instructed hkn to speak louder, and sometimes this has worked. It's worse when myyounger son Brett (6) gets his ner:r/e up to do somethlng like this on hls own and then ls ignorcd. It takes htm months to try again. How do other folks

handle thls?

BREAKING TIES WITH SCHOOL Ftom Susan Wetnbob 0N): I have read much ln GWS about chlldren who were not at the rtght stage for learning what the school program was teaching. Ttris was true for my dauglrter Elizabeth, now 6. I have always known she was brtght, but I didn't reallze how hostile many teachers are to the ldea that small ctrlldren may have ldeas and abilltles that

are not on traditional klndergarten level.

El9abeth started Ldndergarten h.ppily, but by the middle of the year had morntng stomach aches, and by May was unwllllng

to go anywhere without me.

We talked to all the "e:gerts': the prlnctpal, the teachers, the Dlrector of the Gifted Program. They all told me that schml programs do not meet the needs of the highly glfted. One told me that by htgh school things are usually better. I'm glad we didn't wait that long.

Marry GWS stories have talked about the negatlve results of testlng. Whtle I agree that lt's not good to check on shrdents thatway as a r€gular part ofa program, ln our case it was qulte useful. After testlng our daughter, a local untverstt5r psychologflst became very sympathetic to our situaflon and offered much help durlng theyear, even supportlng our decislon to homeschool.

GRO\ilING WITHOTJT SCHOOUNG #62

Mv husband and I are both certiffed This made it hard for us to challenge a systemwe had always been part of' My husband is on the artist faculf of a universit5l's school of music, and as such, had no c.oursework in education. He also went to a music conservatory when he was 12, and never did think much of the regular school system. I had taught English at the higlr school and college levels. I was always a maverick, changing grading systems or curriculum, but fighting for change within a system is quite different from giving up on it. I begin to understand what John Holt went through when he moved from wanting to reform the school system to advocating homeschooling. I was teaching part-time at a local universit5r when we withdrew El?abeth from school. It became harder and harder for me to gpade papers, penalize absences, fail students. When I was offered a cc:rtract for the following year, I turned it down, not only because I needed to be at homewith the children, but because I hadn't reconciled hour I could teach in a school with my teache-rs.

new philosophy. I'm still working on that.

As last year went on, we were drawn closer and closer to homeschooling. But I still wondered what kind of nuts out there did this. Many homeschoolers in Indiana were rellglous fundangnfalists, and because we don't describe ourselves that way, I wondered what we would have in @rnmon. Then I attended a lleld trip sponsored by our local homeschoolers' group.

There are about eight5r families in our area. My children were immediately accepted by the others without a question about their ages. The other mothers were friendly and supportive, relating stories that made me feel as ilmy family was not odd for obJecting to schooling. Those who were religfous were as friendly and open as those who were not. So I have come to see that all homeschoolers are independent thfu:rkers. All of us are le the minority, and thls seems to bring us together.

We started homeschooling with many patterns left over from school. We would sit down at the kitchen table with textbooks and lesson plans, working on certain subjects on certain days. That fell away as I began to let my children lead me, We have very little formal schoollng now, but what wonderful times we have. Ellzabeth had stopped reading lastyear, with the pressures of lidndergarten. Now she consumes two or three books a day, browses through science books to find experiments, types letters to grandparents.

I've been surprised at how much Teddy ( ) has learned from her. He has nerrer been tn a regplar school program, so he does not have the many negative ldeas about school that Elizabeth still has. She used to pale when we drove past her old school. The other day she told me, "I didn't Ilke school last year' (which I knew).

'What dtdn't you like about it?" I asked her. -The teachers, whatwe studied, and being there dl day." "Is there anything you dtd like?" I continued.

She thought for a while. 'Meeting new chlldren and reccss. I didn't even like

lunch.'

I had wondered if she would mlss

8 COOPERAIIVE GAMES nature, ecolos/, adventur,e. lar4lragc, , math, spass. \ r6dd problerns & more. /TLL AGES. ALL SITUATIONS Neur. cxpanded catalog $l Pasflmes, Perth, Ont. Canada KTIISCB

meeting new children and mind being home all day, but to rny surprtse, not only does she love it but her schooled friends

are quite envlous, often begglng their parents to keep them home.

Many fi:iends tell me how self-sacrificing I am to stay home with the chlldren all day, how much work I have to do to teach them at home. One friend told me she couldn't do it. 'How could I force my child to learn?' she sald. This is what i have learned not to do, of course. Whlle our family came to homeschooling as an escape from the conllicts of Elizabeth's kindergarten year, we have come to see homeschooling as our philosophy, one that has freed us, made our llves easier, more pleasant. Thls doesn't mean that Elizabeth doesn't argue about brushing her teeth, orTeddy about his bed dme. We have, howwer, become a closer, more caring farnily. And we tend to Judge others' dilferences more gently.

I enJoy reading GWS more than I ever thought I would - arn^gaz|,lrrc wtth few pictures and no $oss. I learn so much from others'experiences, or am reassured that we are not the only ones urtth a certatn

problem.

COPING WITH CHILDREN'S FRUSTRATIONS A reader writes: r recent\r recerved cws #60, the i9s-ug I'v9 seep in qulte a while. I was

fatled because she was like thls and it caused us both a lot ofanguish, After readtng your arHcle, I see that ktds in the same famtly can have such unlque leamtng styles, I am leamlng to be more patient, trying to step back when she feels frustrated, and be more understanding and supportive. My tendency has beento frultryted.and angry with her for being $* IruStrated ancl angry.

She does seem to be outgSowlng this

fmstration as time

goes

by - it certainly

happens far less frequently now. These eplsodes are also very connected to her just being tired out. Sometimes I need to take her away from the sltuaflon if her

behavlor is tnterfering with other people's cpncâ&#x201A;Źntration. I wonder how this would be handled in schooll

TV, SEX ROLES Ftom Maty Van Doren ME): Marie Winn [The Effects of Television," GWS #6U said some things I haven't heard expressed anywhere else. Her comment about some people perhaps being more susceptlble to telerrlslon addiction was great. Thafs me. I'm the susceptible one i:e this farnily, though I thtnk Helen ( ) could be too. Whenever I've mentloned thts to people who watch very little TV and who say, 'But there are some good shows," they seem shocked at the idea that an adult doesn't have enough self-control to deal wlth it well, as though all one needs is the conubtion that a lot of TV ls unhealthy. For some of us the bestway is not to have a TV at all.

We've been without a set for over a

ffrst tff,,':yr#.\i/H#::;j,ll;tL:"L

really

sionally, though I flnd that the anticipa-

delighted with ttl I think the organization tion of-the treit is better than the treat is.doing a wonderful Job,-and I really itself. It pleases me to llnd that when I do ^find admir- e and- appreciate all y_our work. see'ry I lt to be so urrong, plasdc, unI found the article on frustradons ln real and Just not as fun as I'dhoped. But at learning especially helpful. My daughter the samd time, I know if we had one I'd be (now 7) will often get hysterical - crying, drawn ln. sobbtng, etc. - because her abilities do not, Fttglrt now I'm trytng to break my at tlrnes, keeq up with- hey mental asptra- addic6ie readtng ha6it. -ftris ls even hartions. It ls only recrntly that she 9an lve der to get suppoit for than TV. Luclidly my with maktng mlstakes in her work. When husband Uaik feets the same way - more she was 3 l/2, she declded to wrlte out stron$y, even. Reading can be too much of numbers up to lQO. Sh6 rcallzed she made an escipe, a tranquilizlr. I don't read to a mistake somewhere in the 8Os, and had the ctrildren as mfch as I did. We do read t9 siart from I agaln {tJris was her own together almost errery day, and Helen has decision). an-lncredible attendon ipan, lengthened, I always felt that somehow I had no doubt, by the fact that she ts hlterested

c[onLo.rzcr

l2t9 Jcwcil Ann Arbor. Mlchlgen

ftl0tl

(313) 769-f515

Sesarne

StreeL She can listen longer tharr I can read. She still likes to see the pictures, but we also read long books now with few pictures. I read all nine of the LiTtb House

books to her last surnrner, and they sank in. She still likes to discuss details of Laura's life.

About sex-role stereotyptng IGWS #6ll - my basic feellng about this is that children uzant to be what we (parents) are, and to a certain extent do become that, or at any rate tecorporate a lot ofour lives into theirs, Certainly we're all a little difierent, too - our children love to paint and do it for hours at a time some diys, even though neither Mark nor I do it (and I don't feel any guilt about not wantlng to do somethlng ln order to be an example). But they see me do laundry. Mark never does, whlch ls fine rvith me because I enjoy it (luckily). They also see me fixing and hammering and worldng with tools. Thry see Mark cook. Right now they see Mark go to work and me stay home, but that could change, They see both ofus change diapers, wash dishes, dig in the garden, etc. I think we're giving them a fairly equal picture of things without trying.

I llke the variety of toplcs and the variet5r of people whose responses are used in GWS's Focuses. This one ["Do Adults Take Young People SeriousllrT' cWS #6ll really got me thinking about how we teteract vrith our children. Sometimes ifs easier to see when we see other families when we see how other parents talk to their children. I'm always surprised when otlrer people ignore chlldren who obviously have something irnportant to say.

Helen is used to being a real part ofour Me; she is included in our conversatons, not because we're letting the cute little girl say something that we'll ignore, but as a person with somethlng to say.

THANKS FOR ADVICE ABOUT SPEECH DIFFI. CULTY More

from CheryI Just:

I want to thank you for printing responses to my letter about Brett's speech dtfficulty [cWS #59, 60, 6fl. IVe read them

all and taken from them verv sound

advlce. We have left Brett alone, not trying

to corrâ&#x201A;Źct htm, and also convinced hls brother not to speak for him. We've made a point of listening more intently to him so he feels we want to hear him, and we have noticed a great lmprovement. [a,st week he was at the doctor's, and she said she muld understand him much better than she could the last time we were in. He's less

Home Based Education Program Create yorlr ()wtr hortre school curriculunr witll the help of Clorrlara School Horne Based Education Progranr, tlre well-balarrced lrome school program offering flexible or standard approach.

Our graduates receive our private school diploma and full transcripts.

in the books and doesn't watch

frustrated, we're more relaxed and all much more h"ppy.

Prt Monlgomcry, Ph.D. Dlrccior

The major difference between the good student and the poor student is that the poor one forgets right away while the good one is careful to wait until after the exam.

-John

Holt, Hou.r ChihrenFaiI

GROWING \ryITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

ARRANGEMENTS

-

WITH SCHOOLS, WITH HOMESCHOOLERS

PART.TIME SCHOOL Judg

Gilligara

of Callfomia utrcte in

Nouember: Tack (V really wanted to go to kindergarten when we moved to this town, so we let him start school. In first grade we switched hirn to a small (sixty students) countrlt public school with a magnificently liind and loving teacher. This year, with a new teacher, he is not so happy with school. It takes too much time away from his projects at home (making spaceships from good junk, writtng stories, playing,

and the piano).

We arranged for bim to have a day each week off from school to ease the pressure on his playtime. The reason he gives for going to school is to be friends

with a boy there who shares his interests.

He talks about full-ttme homeschooling nextyear, or maybe a day ofschool and the rest home.

The school authorities are verbally supportive of our current plan. It was quite easy to arrange. We discussed it with his teacher and principal, who checked with the higher-ups. Mainly, I think, they realize that we are not kooks, do lots of creative things at home, and are sincerely seeking the best program for our child.

I want to maintain good relations with the school. My ideal would be to homeschool but have free access to school equipment and kids. We are taking it year by year.

lnJanuarg, we askedJudy lf the parttime arrartgement uras strll succesgful. She u)rote:

I have been amazed at the positive reactions ofother parents when I tell them about our arrangement. About 75% of them say, "I'd love to do something like thatl" Most can't believe school officials could be so flexible.

We worked out another deal with Zack's teacher this winter. He complained of being bored in his reading group. I told him to tell his teacher and talk it over with her. She now lets him visit the two more advanced reading groups, follow along, read if he wants to, and participate in discussions - no "Skill Pak" (workbook) which he loathes. He really likes reading with the older children and is happier and learning a lot more about reading berause of it.

Another area of flexibility is with

homework. The teacher hands out a "homework menu' with various acUvities listed, and the kids are supposed to do five each week. What we do is write down whatever he's done at home that seems

educationally valuable (almost everything, in my opinion). He gets credit for all of it.

But despite working out these compromises with the school, our situation is not completely ideal. School still takes up a lot of time, and 7-ack likes to be more in charge of his time than he can really be at school. It does, however, feel very good to ask for what we want and get positive responses from the school. This may only

be the beginningl

FROM HOMES CHOOLING TO BOARDING SCHOOL Adr: Kerman Jorrner Pennsylvania homeschrcter now at Tte Meethg *Fool ur Netr.r Hampshire, writes: I have been a homeschooler all my life, except when I attended third and

fourth grades part-time. Homeschooling was awonderful olperience - I enJoyed havlng the freedom to do anything I want, and I have a great family. But I decided to go to high school.

The Meeting School is a small alternative Quaker boarding school in New Hampshire. I flrst heard of it a several years ago at Friends. General Conference, an annual Quaker gathering.

A former Meeting School teacher was telling me interesting anecdotes about school trips. This caught my attention, and though I was too young to go there at the time, I knew I would investigate.

About a year later, I talked to a family who had Just quit teaching at The Meeting School. It sounded like a really fasclnating place - for instance the houslng an:angements: each faculty couple are houseparents for four to seven students, and werybody shares the chores (cooking, dishwashing, cleanin$. Also, I was interested to learn that a basic premise of the school, equality, is reflected in the decision-making process, consensus. To change a communit5r agreement, unanimous consent of all communitv members is required.

In late Jarruary of 1986, I went to look at the school with my family, exccpt my father, who had to work. After I was shown around, I decided to apply to attend in the fall, as a freshman.

I was accepted, and when I got the list of thtngs I'd need to take with me, I became frantic, running around and saying things like, "I'll need an alarm clockl Where's a sleeping bag?' and so forth,

When I arrived at school. one of the

Iirst things I noticed was that breakfast was at 7:OO. 'Oh nol I'll have to wake up at thought. But I got used to the schedule. I like getting up earlier now, because I am a morning person - when I wake upl I think I get more done with a schedule, because when I have committed myself to doing something at a speclfic time, I'm more likely to do it.

There were seventeen students when school started my ffrst year. With such a small community, I got to know everyone very quickly, and made several good friends. But if anybody has problems with someone else, they have to be dealt with, or they will be the source of constant irritation. To help with that, there is a process called a'clearness committee,' where the people with the problem meet, with a mediator and support people. This will, usually, help peopie to hive-a clearer view of the problem, and possibly come up with a good solution.

One of tJle reasons I like The Meetlng School is that the educatlon is more 6:3O1" I

GROWING WITHOL]T SCHOOLING #62

balanced than I could have gotten, had I chosen to go to public school - not that I would have. Besides having academic classes, there is workstudy - four hours a week of learning some practlcal, necessary skill, whlch is also vital to the communit5r's functioning. I am the student editor of the school's newsletter, and I think the position was establlshed so that the newsletter can be a student operation after the shrdents know how to put it out. For workstudy there's also

childcare during faculty meetings, distributing food, and li:dng school vehicles.

Then, everyyear at the end ofthe winter when we're all getting tired of being with the same people every day, we have Intersession, lasting a month. Students plan something of inter€st to themselves, to do full tlme for a month. In recent years, this has included weaving, traveling, working at a soup kitchen, getung chicken pox, writing, teachlng on an Indian reservation, obsenring child development (child care), being part of a stage crew, selling de-dyes, and many

other things. This year I'm volunteering at

Holt

Associates.

I think that The Me€ting School is the

closest you could get to homeschooling, at

a school.

TRYING SCHOOL Patti Mwphy oJ Massachtsetts wrote

in fuptemfur:

A little over a year ago my eldest son Shawn, I I, let it be known that he was interested in going to school. This had actually come up the year before but I put it off, thinktng this phase would pass te a short time. He began to think that he wasn't leaming anything at home despite my pointing out the numerous proJects he was doing and the learning I thougfit was taking place. At the same time he was also interested in trying out living with his father. We are divorced and have both rernarrld and continued our lives and families. Shawn has a close relationship with both his families but had never lived with his father on a full-time basis.

After giving it much thought I dectded it was tirne to let Shawn make these decisions for hlmself. It has been dilficult and condnues to refirain difrcult to trust myself and my child's capabilities tur this area. It's such uncharted ground, and it is easy to quaver once the decision is made.

But we gave Shawn the optlon of going to school and Lvlng with hds father, staying with me and going to school, or continuing to homeschool with me. We would support whatever decision he made.

Shawn decided to tve rylth his father in Vermont and go to school there. He was immediately tested, and I was a little out ofcontrol ofthe situation because ofthe distance lrrvolved. Shawn's stepmother took care of the testing arrangements.

Shawn had no time to prepar€ for the test and had not e:gerienced anything like tt ln qulte a whlle. He tested below his grade level for the most part.

I wanted him to go to summer school

l0 so he could get used to the school environ-

ment ir: a more low key way. Also I thought (hoped) that it would be enough school for hlm and that he would change his mind. But he remained enthusiastic and is still enjoying school and still learning. He had wanted to see what itwas like and belng the very social beturg that he is he is thriving on the social Me. It is dillicult for me to have him gone so much of the time. He ls not part of our day-to-day life as a farnfly, which is hard on the other children. We went up to visit hima fewweeks ago and as hard as lt was to leave him, I could see that he is happy and feels that he is doing the best thing for his growth at this time. I have to support him in that. The other children are s"ll learning at home and thrivlng, too.

SCHOOL WOULD SEEM REGRESSIVE Flom Lgrute Norns

o3[

hdiana:

My particr'lar school superlntendent has ahvays been very cooperative. This year he called me in to have me begin to think about whether Daniel should go to high school. We ahvays try to keep an open mind on thls issue. Daniel is 13 and high school here begtes at tenth g1ra.de. However, Daniel is so much in the world at thls poi:nt - counter to the old accusation that homeschooled ldds are sheltered - that school would seem prett5r regpessive. He

can manage his own time and discipline his own studies - or not - as he chooses. I remakr computer-illiterate. This condltion did not rub off. He saved money and bought his own computer parts, which he continues to mess with and learn more about. Daniel can work with lidds and adults, and is used to input from all kinds of levels. Why would he want to talk only to other 15-17 year olds?

I could not have done the work I do lf we were not homeschoolers. I arn a single parent in a second shiftbusiness. I do not make enough to pay for after school care.

Now Daniel is getting big enougfr that he can be on his own some at home, as well as bike to the library. He just seems too adult, and has been exposed to too much real Me, to go back into an artiffcal environment that represents adolescence as adults would have liked tt to be. I think childhood and adolescence have been created by adults who want it to be dillerent fr,om how it was for them. They create an unreal world for children to live in that reflects what they wish could have happened.

Unfortunately, nobody asks kids what thelr world is like, perhaps because we don t want to hear the truth.

HOMESCHOOLERS' CO.OP Jo Hirsdnle (MI) urltes: Robin (8) is lrrvolved in a cooperative of homeschoolers this year, twelve hours a week. It's called childlight, and began as a For lease. Good, large. 3BR, 2BA, large

living rm, large lidtchen, family rm, hdwd Ilrs, decks, clean, well insul. on l59AC in MO, Ozarks. Woods, flds, ponds, wildMe, horses, dog, etc. tt35o mo. avail. open 417-

day care home of 6-8 ctrildren. Most of the lidds have been together slnce they were very little. One mother from the original group was already planning to homeschool, and the others drlfted along after her. They enjoyed the security and emotional support of their small, ttght group, and did not want to send their kids to a large schoolroom before they were ready.

Some of them then began to question whether they would use the schools at all,

tf kids might learn better elsewhere.

So, Childlight grew into a homeschool group almost by default - no one wanted to stop doing what ttrey werâ&#x201A;Ź doing just because the lidds were of school age. TWo children did enter the schools, one last year and one tleis year, This made room for Robin and another child to pardcipate.

Now there is a base group ofeight ldds, aged 6-8, who meet Monday, T\resday and Wednesday from lO-2. A ntnth child mmes Monday and Wednesday, younger siblings plug in occasionally, and Thursday is open to those who need child care.

I call Childlight a cooperadve because parents help on a rotating basis, like they do in a cooperative preschool. It has a fixed physical plant in a home, rvith a portable classroom next door. For Denise, tlre wontan who started it as a day care home, rumjng Child[ght is a Job for which she is patd. I don't think you could keep such a group together for so long lfyou did not have the place and the person as a foundation. But I do think lt could be copied if you have a person who wants to run such a group as trls or her work. Rooms rnight be available h a church or other communit5r building. [SS: What about parents as rotating leaders? Has anyone tried this?l childlght is kid-dlrected for the most part. We ask them what they want to learn about in any given month. They choose a new theme every 4-6 weeks, and the adults work together on a schedule to fill the kids' needs. Lately, they have been talking

with the dillerent Childlight adults about

their work, and taking trips to visit the various workplac.es. We do a lot of field trlps toge0rer in conJunction with the theme ortlre season - museuns, a play, an ice sculpture contest, orchards and maple sugaring are some examples, They usually have music once aweck, and Denise does a lot of crafts with them, too. Although they do request academlc work together, such as writtng storles, pracuctng reading, or telltng time, that is not the group's main funcdon. Parents are still responsible for thetr kids' educaflon.

Our family uses Childlight for the social and emodonal support it gives lidds and grownups of homeschooling families.

Soclal problems do not get out ofhand because of the small size of the group. Klds get a chance to learn how to work things out without stepping on each other's toes too much. I know there are many homeschoolers who do Just fine ln their families and don't even need a small group like this, but Robin is a social butterfly, and needed more contact wtth liids than I was able to gfve her last year. Academics, as I satd, ts secondary, but it is nlce for the ktds to see what other homeschoolers are able to do, and to learn from each other.

The shartng of knowledge lrr a noncompetldve envlronment ls very inPortant to

WHEN THEY SAY THEY WANT SCHOOL [SS:l Parents often write to ask us for advice about children who say they want to go to school. As the stories above show, many dilIerent ldnds of arrangements can

work for different families at dlfferent

times. In GWS weVe always said that children who choose to go to school and who are able to get something important there are in school on very dillerent terms from those who feel they liave no choice.

Sometimes, though, it's hard to tell

whether homeschooled children reallv feel that thqr do have the choice to go 6r

not to go. A child who says, 'I'll be weird if go to kindergarten urith everyone else," or'At school they get to go on trips to the park, and we don't do that," is speaking more out of a feeling of timited choice, I think, than out ofawareness of the full range of what is possible. So we ought to do all we can to help children

I don't

realize that full range.

I once spoke with a father who told me about all the research he'd been doing to get himself used to the idea of homeschooling - reading, talking to people, going to meedngs and mnferences. His csncern was that his live-year-old daughter was still saying things like, "Everyone goes to kindergarten." I asked him, "Have you ever given her any reason to think otherwise?" In other words, have you let her in on some of that research vou're doing and support you're gathering? If you need to feel, for your own sense of assurance, that lots ofother people are already homeschooling, isn't it reasonable to expect thatyour daughter does too? I suggested that thls father, ina casualway, let hls child know about the things he was leaming. I said he could tell her about other kids he'd read about in homeschooling publications, invite her to gettogethers of homeschoolers so she could see for herself that plenty of kids don't go to school, and so on. To a live year old in a typicd American neighborhood, it sure looks as though everyone goes to kindergarten. If we want a child like this man's daughter to feel that school isn't compulsory, we have to give her something concrete to put in its place.

Something else. A child may say, 'I want to go to school," when she really means, -I want to meet more people,'or'I want to work with some adults who are not my parents" or any one of a number of thtegs that she thlnks are only available in school. She may not know where else you can get these things. It's helpful to think in terms of ports, to say, for example, 'What part of school are you interested ln?' If the child's answer is like the ones IJust quoted, we can let her know that there are all sorts of ways to meet that need, and that we're willing to put our minds to how to do iL Maybe school will seem like the best way. Maybe it won'L A homeschooling mother told me recently that getting a part in a community play saflsffed her daughter's need for collaborative effort, for being part ofa group that

was larger than her farnily. This child, in fact, would not have wanted to take school's whole package just to get that one ptece of it. But she had to know that she didn't have to, that there were other ways

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

ll to get what she was looking for.

Meeting people, Iinding the right people to work with, giving ourselves more or less ofcertain things - these are questions we oll struggle with. But when we adults say to ourselves, "I want to meet more people who share my interests,' we

don't automatically enroll ourselves in

school. Sometimes we do. But we don't look at school as the answer to all these sorts ofquestions, as this society exPects children to do. It might be helpful, there-

fore, when talking with children about something they feel they need or want, to think in terms of what ute might do in such a situation. The answer won't always be appropriate to their situation, of course, but it may help us to think more broadly. People were meeting each other, after all, getting together to work, talk, collaborate, and so on, long before we had universal compulsory schooling. We do have the imagination necessa4l to do these things; it's just a question of

allowing that imagination to work.

GLOSSARY OF EDSPEAK Tlase oJ gou wla ho::e dealirqs l.llith people in schools may sometirnes hsve

diIlicdtA understanding what

theg' re

sauing. Letckilg, Florence Miller defned mang oJ the crucial terms oJ MSpeak in The New York Times Education Supplement, 1/3/87:

Attention Deficit. Your daughter

is a world-class pain who draws hearts and arrows on her notebook cover while I'm up there reviewing the Articles of Confederation. By the way, if D.D. is who I think he is, you've redlg got a problem.

Controlled Language Tcrtg.

Quasi-stories written neither to instruct nor delight but to 'introduce words of increasing difficulty' and "reinforce leaming by repetition.' Some children are so numbed by plowing through tlrese simulacra that they never read real books unless threatened.

Gifted cbild. A nice kid who came to school already reading, catches on quickly and looks alert when adults talk.

A gifted child often brings pretty shells from Sanibel for the science corner. tmmatutc. An all-purpose fallback used to describe any child who isn't succeeding.

Nccds lmprovemcnt. Report card terminologr similar to the numerical grad.e 70 or the letter grade C. Favored by schools that have gerbil cages in classrooms and teach "the whole child." Backto-basics schools feed no gerbils and favor 7O

or C.

Special-nccds

child.

Basically, your child doesn't lit lnto our program here. He's too fast, too slow, tor: clumsy, too annoying, too angry, too different. No, I didn't say he's not normal, but he'll be much happier somewhere else.

Word-attack stills. A synonyrn for decoding; what your grandmother called "sounding out the words.'A chtld may rate high in word-attack skills yet fail reading comprehension" By the time she has changed the written code business to the spoken code "buh-uh-ss-uh-ene-uhss,' she's so tired of hulling, puffing and hissing that she's forgotten what she was reading about.

WATCHING CHILDREN LEARN SELF.EDUCATORS

Katherte McAlpUE (TM

urrites:

These days about half of Nathaniel's allowance is spent on bird seed. Some-

times it seems like the entire wildlife population of Middle Tennessee has taken up residence in our yard. Now he wants to install a bat box, having convinced me that bats are clean, cute, helpful to the environment, and do not make a habit of biting people or getting tangled in their

hair. (Since reading Jarrell's Tle Bat Pet I've been positively in love wtth them.)

Another current project here at McAlpine U is learnlng Latin. It's been so long since I've studied it that I have only a slight edge on Nathaniel and have to work hard to stay a lesson ahead of him. I'm amazed how quickly he's absorbed dillicult (and for him, totally new) concepts like declensions, conjugadons, syntactic dillerences, etc. We have several textbooks, but our favorite ls the Doubleday cheapie, Iatin Made Simple, which starts you right out reading myths, poetry, Bible selections - much more fun than the Gallic warsl All this came about through Nathaniel's interest in classical mytholory. Now I can hardly wait till I'm able to read Catullus in the original. And I'll bet

Nathaniel's learning more about En$ish grammar, ln the process, than kids whoVe spent years diagramming sentences - in Latin you lnue to know what a direct obJect is.

It's hard to explain our Me to people who think that raising kids is something you do to them. I do very little teaching â&#x201A;Źrnymore; increasingly, Nathaniel and I Just wander in and out of each other's learning process, participate in each others interests. I learn about wildlife from being around him: he learns about poetry from being around me; other things, like music, history, Iatin, are mutual endeavors. And that feels so right, so natural, so totally unlike the artificial process of school, that I wonder if I should even refer to us as homeschoolers. It's a handy term, but as Nathaniel himself has pointed out, doesn't really describe what we do. When I asked him to come up with a better term, he suggested "self-educators.'

So I guess that's whatwe are now.

From

a later Letter:

Nathaniel and I both loved reading the letters from kids in the last issue of GWS ["Do Adults Take Young People

Serious$" cWS

#611, and hope you'll

make this a regular feature. ISS: We'll make lt as regular as the mail we get on the subjectll The kids'comments sparked a conversation that lasted all wening. N's conclusion on the driving issue: 'Anyone who can pass the test ought to be given a license, regardless of age." On R-rated

movies:'Unconstitutlonal, And besides,

they don't tell you rohy it's rated R - as lf swearing and sex and violence are all equally bad.' On voting: -That's a tough one, because where do you draw the line? I think lO year olds should be able to vot6.'

(He's lO.) 'But then won't 6 year olds want

GROWINC WITHOUT rcHOOLING #62

to vote too? And if 6 year olds can vote, why not 2 year olds? It seems there's got to be some lOnd of limit, so I guess I don't

mtnd waidng."

Re television ['The Effects of TV: Interview wtth Marie Winn,' GWS #6U: until very recently we werre TV-less for more than a year. It was the classic case of the set breaking down and not bothering to get it fixed. (Actually, I refused on principle to pay the repalr shop's estlmate of $3O, when all the set needed was a new plug. I may be an electronics iElnoramus, but even I know that a plug can't cost more than a few dollars or take more than a few minutes to attach.)

We hadn't been heavy TV watchers before then: mostly we'd watched educaUonal prograrnming, and seldom more than an hour or two a day. Yet I'd seen Nathanlel fall into a kind of $assy-eyed catatonia in front of the same old Electlc Conpany reruns. And like Marle Winn, I confess to having used the tube as ababysitter from time to time. Like her, I would rationalize, "It's educational so ifs OI(" The change in our lives rvithout TV has been subtle and hard to pinpoint. We'd Just moved at the time and were orienting ourselves to a new environment, so maybe that's why we experienced no withdrawal symptoms. The only programs we truly missed were the opera broadcasts.

We've always betn avid readers, so I'm not sure if we began reading more than we did before. I have nodced, though, that over the past year Nathaniel's become much more creative in hts play. He makes and builds things more often, ls more physically active, and seems to spend more tine outdoors. It's hard to say whether this is a direct result of being without a TV, whether it's due to nondtrected learntng, or to some complex mmbination of different factors.

Rereading this letter, I'm struck by a sudden, astonishing, and rather ironic reallzation, Here I'm talking about providing kids with choices and options and about the self-image they'll acqutre. Then a little later I refer to mysef as an 'electronics lgnoramus" - as, indeed, I've always perceived myself. Not because I'm a woman but because I'm awriter, a former singer, and because I absorbed the idea (from familf teachers? at some point very early on) that being "artistic" is incompaflble with being good at technoloS/. But here's the btg trony: ln actual fact, the commerctal wriung I do is often of a

highly techntcal nature. Currently I'm writing an lnstruction manual on how to program computerlzed equlpment that manufacturer concedes is hideously complex. And I'm having no trouble at all with theJob. But lsn't it strange until this moment, IVe persisted in seeing myself as hopelessly balned by technologrl Clearly one never stops learning and it's never too late.

erren the

SETTING tJP WORK EXPERI. ENCES

Flrom Snscn Shilr,rck (PN: I wanted to add something to Aman-

das and Emily's comments about being

t2 taken seriously in GWS #61, to let others know how our ctrildren have been able to flnd such positive lnvolvements with adults in the work that they do. I think somedmes when adults are asked to come up with aJob that a chtld might be able to do - as the director of the Watershed Associaflon had to do when Amanda and Emily began volunteerlng there - they don't have a job rtght off the top of thetr heads that they would think of olTering to a child. It has taken us some time to help the people whom Amanda and Emily work with see where the glrls might llt in. We talk with them about things that they do in their organization, and things the children do in their lives, to see if we can find some overlap, and then we e4peri-

ment with that.

Often, adults take children seriously almost by accident, I think. For er<ample, in the case of Amanda's and Emily's home-based bakery, adults often patrcnize it initially because they want to be suppordve of Arnanda and Emtly or supportive of our children. But ln the prooess, they ffnd that they have some need that they want fflled - ltke the teacher Amanda and Emtly described who neededabatch of coolides - and suddenly the children become dillerent in their eyes. The adults may not have previously thought that Ldds could be trr.ly helpful to them, but now they have a reason to see them this wav. Around the holidav season, seve;l of our friends felt irrshed about all the gift buyint, and then thought oforderingbaked goods fromAand Es Bakery as a solution. So they were able to see Amanda and Emily as making a genuine difference to them.

You can't, in other words, force adults to take children seriously, but often ln the process of betng merely kind and thoughtful, adults reallze that theyVe run lnto capable arrd responsible chlldren. A lot of the connections Amanda and Emllv have with adults are at thls second level-now, which we conslder a good fortune, but we also give ourselves credit for havlng set up some of those sltuations, giving the glrls a chance to inter:act with other adults ln a Posiflve way.

FINDING TEACHERS Ftom Michelle Wdraff o;f Texas: GWS #60 has been one of the most insptrlng lssues for me. The subject of findtng our teachers was especially so. I have reached a potnt with my 6-year-old son Jordan where we are experiencing more and more conllict.

On the other hand, whenever my husband sits down to work with hlm, he readily llstens and usually responds much better and wlth a lot less frustration, A week ago, they sat at the computer and

worked on math problems and then he sat on his own and did a serles of twent5r-four addition problems. For about a week he was a very insptred person. He kept htmselfbusy doing all sorts ofproJects and studying. In that sin$e day, he patnted, cut and glued, worked on more math, and much more that I hadn't seen him inspired to do in some flme.

As I reflected on all ofthls, and tn light of the relaflonshlp that Jordan and I have rtght now, I suddenly reallzed that I

was no longer his teacher. It wasn't really dtsappointnrg to me - rather, a relief that I

wasn't failireg at unschooling. I know that I had a lot to offer him during hls early years, and that he has learned a lot so far.

Just ln our partlcular situatlon, I am not a member of his faculty right now. I look forward to being one again at some later flme. Actually, it ts perfect timlng for me because my two younger daugfrters need all of my time, for I am still high on their list of favorite teachers. I know ttat.Jordan wil nnd who he needs, even at the early age of6.

WHEN PEERS ARE HELPFTJL urcte abul her daughter Vlta's recertt eryerlences ulth leaning Jrom otlrcrs her ow'r age, I responded uritlr some tlaughfs abut when leannl fum people our dge can

b

apprcprlate, usbtg exanples oJ

otlvr chdrcn I lsrr;w,

hearlng a piece for two ptanos that Mendelssohn wrote when he was onlv 14, and I almost jumped up and down wi-th excitement and wonder. Ishmael was impatient with me for making such a big deal about "nothing." For him, only the music mattered.

In their own lives, Vlta and Ishmael have always bristled at well-intentloned suggesdons from music teachers that they go out and play chamber music with their 'age-peers," if only for the social experience. With music and art and much of their other work, Vita and Ishmael have always looked to other colleagues (invariably other adults) for inspiration and shared experiences, To do otherwise would have seemed absurd to them. Because of their attitude toward their serious work, and because they found so much of their serious work so early on, I think I always failed to recoggrize the extent to which their reladonshlp with each other has been a peer rather than a c,olleague

Nour Nancy

relationship.

cont{nues:

Your polnt that lt sometlmes does help for children to be able to identi& with other children of about the same age makes real sense (wen to one llke me, who has been opposed to or threatened by the whole notion for years), and Vita and

Amanda certainly illustrate the point well. I guess IVe always resisted the ldea that children have a lot to learn from each other as children because IVe alwavs connected it with the artiffcial social s-tructure that schools impose on the lives of children. I squtrm every tlme I hear the phrase'age-peers." Vita and [her brother] Ishmael, by way of contrast with almost all other chlldren, have grown up in an environment where age has played almost no role. For years, tn fact, Ishmael turned to me quesUoningly when people asked how old he was. It never occurred to me that gfven their upbringing Vlta or Ishmael would ever, of thelr own accond, need to look to other children, speclff-

cally, to flnd lnsplratlon, or "comfort," as

you put lt.

To me, the surprising thing about Vita's relationships with .Jamte, Amanda anci Heather is that they happened at all, or rather, that they seem to be very much connected wtth age (and possibly sex). All these years, after all, Vita and Ishmael never notic.ed other children as chldren Either the chlldren they met werâ&#x201A;Ź nlce, interestlng people, or they weren't.

Vtta and Ishmael showed absolutely no lnterest in muslcal prodtgfes, for example. When they heard about them, they felt neither encouragd nor discouraged by the fact of thelr ages relatlve to thetr ac.compllshments. Once John Holt gave Vlta some recprdhgs of the young German vlollntst, Anne Sophie-Mutter, and as they listened together he kept

exclaiming, 'Astontshingl And to think

she's only l4l' or'Imagfne belng able to play Beethoven llke that at l5l I c,ouldn't make a sound like that tn a mllllon years.'John was lmpressed by what

chlldren like thls young vlollnist could do because it said so much about the capabtl-

tty of all children, but Vita remained unlmpressed - at least by Anne SophleMutter's age. The sound and vlrhroslt5r of the playlng was another Odngl I remember

You used the word 'accessible" to describe the way Vtta might view Amandas wrlting, as opposed to the way she mtght view that of an adult. looking back, I can seeJust how accessible Vita and Ishmael have made certain ideas, skills and projects seem to each other in a way that no adult, as a role model, could have.

Ishmael, for example, has seen me make banana bread a hundred tlmes (my

cooHng repertoire ts, admittedly, lim-

itedD, and yet it was only when he saw Vita

mashing the bananas that he said, "I'd like to help too.' Only after Vlta walked to the bagel shop by herselfand arrlved home safely, a bag of fresh bagels securely ln hand, did he realze that he could go out on his own to buy bagels too.

As you implied, sometimes the adult world seems so tmpossibly distant to

children that it takes children themselves to show other children what ls really posslble - to help them see that 'if she can do lt, so can I.' I was thlnking, though, after readirrg our exchange in GWS, that one reason peer inspiration, as opposed to peer pressure, is so rare in school is that chlldren are so seldom allowed to go bgond posstbility. Children in school try thlngs out and experiment - inspired, lniHally, much the way Vita has been tnsptred by her three friends - and yet the p(rcâ&#x201A;Źss becomes magnilied to the point of distortion because it is forced to stagnate.

Chlldren must content themselves, from year to year, with only experiencing the lntflal stagles of discovery and experimentation, because the school environment dlscourages them from settling dovrn to the serlous and sustalned work t}lat cpmes with a clear focus and the determinatlon to follow our ourn pursults ln our own way and on our own flme - work that quite naturally follows once children do discover, for themselves and among themselves, what is possible.

Jamle's drawing showed Vita what she herself was capable of, but after a summer of intense work, she was able to go beyond that Lritial discovery. Jamie's age was no longer a factor for Vita in their relationshlp because drawing, for her, had moved lnto the realm of serious work.

Jamle, like the adults in Vita's drawtng class and erren her drawlng teacher, is now

GROItrING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

l3 simply one of Vita's colleag;ues. Once discover their woik and set about "hildien doing it, they no longer need 'age-peers.'

Practically from the beginning, that was trre for Vita and Ishmael with music. Vita thought of Anne Sophie-Mutter as a musician, never as a chlld. And yet at 12, Vita must be branching out from the work that she and Ishmael naturally developed together. In the search for new kinds of work (new things to try out) tt has been these three girls (partly bcause of their ages, I am now forced to admit), that have been so necessary to her experimentation.

TEACHING THEMSELVES More Jrom Michetle Wdnd:: The other day Jordan (6) had thirteen dollars and was thinking of giving some away to a friend who is going on a mission to South America. He didn't want to give it all away so proceeded to divide it. He made two piles of two, and then on his other side made two more piles of two. He then saw that he c,ould make one more pile of two on each side and did so, and then had one left in his hand. He put thls on one side, making seven, and then picked up the remaining six and said,-I will give this much away.' I thought it was very clever of htm, and it was so exciting to see hlm Iigure something like that out for himself.

l\omPeggg Webb (NY: Out of the blue, no fanfare, no Iireworks, and Just three months short of her lifth birthday, kna began to read. I was sitting in my chair one night, my husband was sitting in his, we were both reading and I thought kna was drawing.

Then out of the corner of my eye I saw my husband wavlng his arm at me, and when I looked up he was pointlng at kna. There she was with her copy of Uttle Bear, moving her llnger along the lines, her mouth moving too. I was so excited, but I kept quiet, didn't even move, and Just snuck a look every few seconds to see how long she'd keep at it. She made tt through four pages, closed the book, walked over to my chair and said, "Listen to tJlisl" and proceeded to read the whole first chapter, non-stop. It was real reading, too, not memorization, because I hadn't read the book to her in over six months, She has since completed the whole bmk. I see that she had been leading up to reading in her own way, asking what

various interesting words said, picking out words she recognized during story time at nigfrt, writing little letters after asking me how to spell half the words, etc. But how she put it all together and then had the courage to "showoff - she usually likes to have things totally right before she goes public - is something of a mystery. One thing I now recall is that when she became tnterested in the alphabet several years ago, it wasn't to learn the song or to recite the letters. She wanted to learn the sounds of the letters as she was learning the letters sequentially. Her reading, more than any other single achievement, has been a truly solitary endeavor, which is why I can't be more informadve about her methods.

nta:

And Jrom Denise Ersklne oJ CahJor

Our children have taught themselves

so many things. Jeremy (lO) takes three or four enryclopedias on hts bed during our

'quiet or nap tlme" (for my sanity we have quiet time every day from I to 3 pm). He and pursues it on his own. eniovs " -e. history ctUa I aia not enJoY arts and " I hated cleantng up. I stlll crafts because have trouble folding or cuttlngi anythlng straight. Steysi (8) nranages to make many interesting things without any encouraâ&#x201A;Źiement from me. She has put together her own book of rtddles (some original) and has made a math chart to reward herself for doing math wery day (her idea - I don't requlre math to be done every day). Kellen wanted to learn to read when he was 3 so we started a phonics program. He didn't (5)

seem to grasp it so we put it away, TVro

weeks later he brought me the phonics book and said, "I'm ready to read now." I didn't believe him, but we tried it anyway and he did it. Kellen is a child who needs to know what the sun is made of, if it's made of flre then where is the smoke, which way is north and those lCnds of thlngs. He asks questions that need looking up and that is flne with me. Joshua (3) has a wild imagination and plays a lot by himself. I think I'd die before I'd send him to a nursery school to 'learn' things - he's so great at figuring them out by himself. Last week when I was hurriedly helping him take off hls sweatshirt he satd to me, 'Mom, sometimes you have to let people do things by themselves. I can do this myself. I can't do it fast, but I can do it slow.' I am being homeschooled by my children and I wouldn't trade places with anyonel

WATCHING A BABY EXPLORE Flom Sue Radostr

fSDJ:

Ever sirec.e she was quite tiny, my dauglrter Adrianna has been a'people person." Visitors or a trip to a shopping mall have always perked her up on grumpy days, and she's usually very friendly with new acquaintances. Occasionally, of course, a situation will arise that's too much for her to handle gracefully. At Christmas, we went to visit her grandparents, and they whisked her out of the car and into a large room full of extended family, most of whom she'd never seen before. before her father and I could even get out of the car ourselves. By the time I had gotten out of my coat and boots, she was sltting on the floor with a wrapped package ln her lap and a clrcle of adults around her, waiting for her to open her present. She burst into tearswhen I walked in the room, Everyone laughed, and someone said, 'She was just ffne untll her mother came in.'

I've heard variations of that statement many times, and before I was a mother I puzzled about why it seemed tme in so many instances. Now lt seems absurdly obvious. I know that lf I were thrust into a group of strangers and left to fend for myself, I would be extremely uncomfortable, and when a famillar face finally appeared, I would almost certainly say, "l'm so glad to see youl I've been so

GROWING WITFIOIJT SCHOOLING #62

newous betng watched by all these strange peoplel' Adrtanna was doing the same dlscreetly as her one-year-old ihttig, "s would allow. soclal gpaces People seem to be generally unfair to babies, beginning with that all-tooconunon llrst quesdon, "Is she a good babv?" IVe come to the conclusion that whit most people mean by good is totally passive and unresponsive. I've had complete strangers tell me how rotten thet own klds were as babies, usually because they dtdn't sleep through the night undl such-and-such an age (Adrianna sull doesn't), or maybe because they couldn't leave them with a sltter (we seldom do, and then only with a reladve familtar to Adrianna), or perhaps because they were so unruly when they took them out shopptng hy th" polnt in the c.onversation, Adrlanna ls usually archlng her back and straining at the straps ire her stroller, lmpatient to be moving again). So why do these people think their children were rotten, while Adrianna is my pride and jof Do they really believe what they're say'rng, or ls that Just the way we're supposed to talk about our children?

Mavbe a little of both? I'm often told that trn lucky to have such a happy baby, but

somefimes I suspect that really we're luclry to be happy parentsl People's attitudes and expectations color their perccptions so strongly.

We didn't use a stroller wlth Adrianna unfll she was 3 or 4 months old, because I've seen so many uny llttle babies crying

their hearts out ln strollers and then quieting down the moment they're picked up. I expected to be using a pouch-style

baby carrier for months, but Adrianna never did like the confinement of tt, and undl she learned to walk a couple of months ago, she preferred the stroller. The Ilrst time I took her to the mall without it was quite an experlence for both ofus. I set her down ln order to take our coats offand get organlzed for shopptng, and she strode right offwithout me. I know thafs a rather adult-sounding verb to use when describing a tipsy toddler, but I don't know how else to convey the purposefulness in her walk. I decided I wasn't on such a fight schedule that I couldn'tJust let her be, so I followed her, and followed her, and followed herl She wandered that mall for over an hour, looking over her shoulder every nowand then to make sure Iwas cornlng along. I felt ltke I was seelng her, and her separateness from me as a person, for the flrst flme as she approached the world by her own choosing, with her eyes brlght and a llttle pout of concentratlon on her face. I had to lntervene to save some breakable merchandlse a couple of times, but otherwlse I stayed back far enougfr that an occasional shopper would look worrled over her apparent aloneness. I felt so glad that shewas secure enough to venture forth with such confldence.

I can't believe how often the subject of school arises, even though Adrlanna is barely a year old. She was gven bunches of educational toys for Chrlstmas by wellmeanlng relatives, one of whom commented, 'She'll be so smart with all these educational toys, she won't even need to go to school.'That was almost too good an opportuntty to Fass up, but I btt my tongue and chose to delay the confrontation.

t4 Meanwhile, Adrlanna ls proceedtng wlth her education on her own terms. S[e

really noticed her hand movlng down through her sleeve as I put her paJamas on her a few nlgfrts aâ&#x201A;Źlo, and when her ffngers

emergd she smiled with such surprise and deliglrt. Imagine ltfe belng that fresh and newl How absurd to think that any "educational" toy or book could compare with the discoveries she is maHng day by day,

CHILDREN'S COMMENTS From Shannon Stoneg oJ Ternessee: About chlldren's strange comments ["Listening to What Children Say," GWS #6O]: When my sonWillwas 6, he said, "I heard God talking to me." I said, "Oh, what did he saf" Will said, "He said, 'Hi, WtUl'' I laughed with delight. But thenWtll got a funny look on his face and said, 'Sometimes when you laugfr at things I say, I thirek you think they're stupld or some-

thing." I felt real bad and trted to ex-plaln that adults sometimes laugh at thtngs chlldren say because they're so per-ceptive and true - a sort of laugh of recog-nidon.

He bought that and seemed satis-fied, and no longer had hurt Gelings about it.

Sometlmes I wtsh I carrted a notebook in whlch I could record the delightful things Will says and asks to share wtth other people later. A lot of them lrrvolve perceptions - sometimes cwfuslons about words, that yteld a kind of poetry.

He told me once he'd seen on television a program about what it is that makes a person have, say, brown hair and blue eyes: these llttle lines t:slde of circles in your body that are called "pants.'We talked around and around about this until I finally reelizsd he meant genes, Yes, he said. that was indecd the word the TV program had used. Now we have a running Joke about the fact that his hair and eyes are so prett5r because ofhis pants.

Another friend told me that her son had a urinary tract problem, and in explaining it to him she told htm that it had to do with his lddneys, and that she had liddneys too. He asked herwhy she didn't have g;rown-up knees.

Sometimes I am suddenly made awane of how confusing our speech must often seem to chlldren, but how acceptlng they are of it. They assume that what we're saylng must make sense and be true somehow. Somedmes lfs sort of horri&lng to realize the impresslons chlldren are left with. One time the matlman asked me several tlmes to move our mailbox so that he could get to it more easlly. I put off this Job for weeks and Ilnally one day, thinklng about tt, I satd out loud to myself, "The nurilman's golng to kill me for not moving the mailbox yet.' Wtll said, "I don't thlrak he has a knife, though, do you?" He was totally serlous, and spoke ln the same matter-of-fact tone that I had, as if lt were perfectly normal to be wondering out loud f onewas going to be stabbed to death at the mallbox that afternoon.

Wlll often wonders about why it is that when you're driving along on a trighway at night, tt looks like the moon is ractng along beslde you, sort of followtng you. Wtll, of course, thtnks tt is followlng us, orchooses to believe thls as he chooses to bellerre ln Santa Claus (something IVe never lled to hdm about). I remember won-

dering about the moon myself as a child, and I guess at some point I knew it wasn't racing us or following us, but I s'rll can't quite explain how lt keeps up with us somethlng to do wtth how far away from us it is?

When Will was playing with Cuisenaine rods there was a wonderful moment when he discovered commutaflve law that 2 x 3 = 3 x2 and so on. I thought, "I should orplain why thls is so," but I couldn't. He saw me stumbling around saying, "kt's see, why does this always happen,'etc., and suddenlywe both had this weird feeling of knowing for certaln in fact, seekrg before our eyes - a physical fact about numbers, but being completely unable to explaln it or why it always

works. Wtll started laughing and saying, "You know, I know something ln my mtnd, but my mind can't say why I know It's true." He kept trying to articulate that feeling of being up against a blank wall in the universe that we know our limited minds cannot leap. (I know there is a mathematlcal proof of the commutatlve law, but I've long since forgotten it. I don't know how helpful such proofs are, anyway, tn gatning a real grasp ofthe reasons or workings behlnd inscrutable number facts.) Will rrras not disturbed by his tnability to liathom the commutative law.

He seemed a little delighted and in awe of the fact that he could know something, the total tmpllcations of which were profound and mysterious and as yet unfathomable.

IDR Actually, commutabilit5r ls a property that mathematicians stmply know to be true but can't explain -Just like Shannon's experience.l

HOW TEACHERS CAN LEARN [SS:l A professor frlend of rnlne sent me a paper that a frtend of hts, Fay

wrttten about teachlng in an inner clty Chicago school. In lt the author writes: SawSder, had

I had leamed that young Black chtldrcn are often unfarnilfar wfth their city, with dourntown Chicago in this case.,.

I thought we might c.omply wtth the orpressed lnterest not only of one boy but ofothers and vislt a court. There was an alarrning amount of olflctal suspiclon and

checklng as we went ln, butwe were llnally permitted at least to slt ln the Circuit Courtroom of Cook Count5r. There the students took overl One appotnted hlmself Judge, others counsel and so on.

Into the midst of thts exclted confusion carne a balltlf, with stern exprâ&#x201A;Źsslon, But what he said was, 'Judge kighton would be happy to vlslt with your students for a while." Then the Judge himself came in, saw that his bench was taken, and went quietly to the center of the courtroom, where he said a few words of welcome and asked lf there were any quesdons.

Although the quesdons began in a show-off and shock-effect style, Judge l-eighton wursi so steadfastly courteous and respectful of them

that they began really to follow up on his responses and to reflect a new capacity for the give and take ofgenuine conversation. I

hope thatJudge kighton remains aware of how significant a contribution he made that dav to the lives of those children.

We shouldn't underestimate just how significant this contribution probably

was. All young people need to feel welcome in adult society, but when their race and class encourage tJ-rem to suspect - as no doubt they did these students - that even when they are older they will not be much more welcome than they are now, they need that feeling of belonging all the more.

I would not be surprlsed ilthese teenagers

heard their parents and others in their communit5r speak with cynicism or frustration about the legal system. By taking over the courtroom that day, acting the parts of those with power, they were in an important sense experlmenting with what it might feel like to have that power, to think that they deserved it, that they might someday use that courtroom for their own purposes. Thejudge could so easily have mocked this, reminded them by his attthrde toward them of the futility ofsuch an experiment. Instead, he responded with respect, wtrich, as Fay Sawyier recogrrizes, is no small thing.

Later, Sawyier describes her efforts to set up an early-morning Philosophy Club

in another high school:

On the first day there must have been twenty or thirty children there and I, much gratified, commenced to "lecture" (in a manner of speaking) quite

philosophically. Alasl on Thursday of that first week and for three weeks more, not one single child errer came. Fortunately the library, where I was installed at a mund table, had doors the upper parts of which were glass, so the children could at least see that I condnued to come. Some did tndeed retum (not all thirtyl) and I began to learn from my mistakes of the

Ilrst

day.

Cmcial point here - because attendance in the Philosophy Club was not compulsory, this teacher was allowedto leam from her mlstakes. The students told her very clearly that what she had done during the first session was not what they wanted or needed, but because she made it equally clear that she was willing to change (and tt ts to her credit that she didn't let the initial lack of attendance discourage her), the students came back, voluntarlly, and made the Club into something that was truly useful and important to them.

Most teachers in school are denled thls cmcial feedback, and without it, figuring out what works and what doesn't is almost impossible. If yo. uVe got a literally captive audienc.e, you don't have to be interestlng or good. Ifyour students are free to leave, you can learn how to make them want to stay. ('WatchW Chlldren Leann" cortL on p. 23) GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

JOHN HOLT'S BOOK AI\ID MUSIC STORE GRASS ROOTS FUNDRAISING THE GRASS

ROCTTS

FUNDRAISING BOOK byJoan Flanagan #314 $11.95 This book is about the thousands of ways you can tactfully raise for money and create an orgurization that doesn't become a self-perpeuating bureaucracy. In light of recent tax changes that have made it more difficult to deduct charitable donations, nonprofit groups and groups thinking about becoming non-profit need more books like this to raise their own money. The author uses concrete examples ft,om her own fundraising expe.riences and from hundreds of other existing organizations.

What makes this book especially good is Ms. Flanagan's sense of humor and perspective. She emphasizes the fun and adventure of commmity fundraising, noting how o avoid the pidall of burn-out that often affects smdl community groups. "Plan the fun just like you plan the worlg" she advises.

Special film strowings, champagne picrrics, and celebration hurcheons ale but some of the ideas she puts forth for frm. I like her stories that emphasize her points, such as this little footnote about making a good first impression by observing good mamers and geuing people's names right the fint time:

I went into a pub named Brian Boru's ard arrogantly insisted on speaking to Mr. Boru. The barterder said, 'That will be a little difricult, ddin'. BrisrBqu was theking of keland who defeated the Vikings u tlre Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Would you perhaps rather see 0re manager.

who is still alive?"

Itls. Flanagan's advice on choosing

rd

and running benefits special events is alone worth the price of the book, Her clear and lengthy explanations about organizing these events in one's home or a rented hall

cover everything from running potlucks and auctions to dances and dinners with ad books, to how to estimate income and do the shopping. Let's look at the latter issue, how to shop for an evenL She recommends having one person be the shopper whose job is '1o

get ev€rything needed for the event at the lowest possible price." Some of her basic rules for the shot{rer are:

...get at least three bids for any for rty

asset you buy or

purchase over $25, Record other advantages besides price guarantees, repair or mainte-

-

nance serrrice, delivery, or payment plans... Don't be shy.

Always ask for special consideration... Always ask for a

contributior\ then a discorm! or a bulk rate, u deferred payment" or at the v€ry least a door prize contribution... Patronize local tnrsinesses. Especially

ifyou

are

aneighbuhmd community group, they have the most to gain from your successes, so they have the best reason to give you a deal... Thmk everyone who gives you a contributiqr or a special deal. Be srre they are introduced if tlrcy atrcnd the errent. Send them copies

ofthe

program with theirnrnes in it.

Be grateful urd they will be glad to help you again next time.

She also makes an interesting point that tlrose actively fundraising for the group should themselves have contributed money to the cause. It should be whatever is a significant gift for you, whether it is $10 or $10fl), becarse "Money is powerful, srdyou carmot expectpeople to do something foryou that you ue not prepaed o do yourself."

Homeschoolers who are involved in local suport groups and want to raise funds for various things, such as fain ard large meetings, or better yet, to pay fu organizing apprenticeship ptograms with local merchants ard creating places for children to meet and play in their community, can benefit a great deal from this book. This book is meant to empoweryou, notmake you beholden to a paid fundraising corsultant, ard it does its job a&nirably. The emphasis throughout this book is learning by doing, and the examples and ideas in it should help anyone get starrcd urd impove their fi rdraising.

You don't have to be a non-profit

goup to benefit from this book. We have already used Ms. Flmagan's ideas for a Speakers Bureau, picnics, srd direct mail solicitations o spread the word about our wort and raise money. We continue to keep this book as an inspiration and a reference for our work.

-Patrick

Farenga

IMMUNIZATIONS Edited by Peggr O'Mara McMahon #373$7.OO

prtof

Vaccinations se€fir to be as much a growing up in America as going to

school, and ifyou don'tparticipate in these activities rnque,stioningly rnost people will tell you that there must be, or will be, something very wrong withyou. The growing market for homeschooling materials makes it easy to find resources and support for not sending yow child to school, but the movement that questions immrmizations is still in its nascent stages.

Why question mass immunizations, a miracle of modern medicine? First itis doubdrl that vaccines are the primary cause of infectious diseases disappeaing in our world- Improved sanitation" dieg and housing have as much a claim to diminishing infectious disease as vaccines. A quote from Ivan \\ch's MedicalNqesis thatis cited in this book says it quite well: Cholera, dysentery and typhoid

(similarly) p€akd and dwindled outside the physician's control.

The combined death rate from scdet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough and measles among childrenup to fifteen shows thatnearly 9O7oof he

total decline in morality benreen 1860 and 1965 had occurred befce the introduction of antibiotics urd widespread

immunization, Secon4 even if the vaccine works, when do we stop using it? How do we know (Please

turn to P.l8)

IyIA

1YEW

way - following directions, perservering, making deductions, distinguishing major facs from irrelevant details, etc. Some puzzles teach you about the process of

eliminatio4 important for

truly satisfying because even adults are loo apt to give up. Also, the amount of reading required to do these is minimal, so late readers can still have fun with them.

I was not surprised to find that I disagreed with a few answers in the back of the book; r"riting and designing puzdes rhar truly have only one ctrrect answer is quite

666 6 A

DANIEUS DUCK

by Ctyde Bulla #236 $2.95 Here is abook for new readers that has a good stary as well as large print and simple sentences. Each member of Daniel's family is busy making something to exhibit at the spring fair, and Daniel, the yotmgest, decides to make something too. Daniel's quiet stre,ngth and confidence immediately catch ow attention. When his brother says,

"You haven't done urything with your block of wood. What are you going to make?" Daniel answetrs, have to

does stike me as containing do-ablc przdes for "middle-age" children, Some collections of b'rain-teasers are so tedious and difficult 0rar although they're interesting to read and think about a little, they are not

Which face is next?

multiple-choice test-taking. John Holt used to love puzzles and recommended tlnt teachers especially provide kinds in which it was obvious when you had solved it correctly. "Nobody has to ash "Did I do this jigsaw przde right?," he pointed our We learned of this Usborne collection from a GWS prent and it

"I

l6

BOOKS FOR YOT'NG READERS

byJennyT$er & Graham Round #556 $2.9S This is a colorful and cheap collection of puzzles for children that will qpeal to a wide range of ages. As the title implies, all re based on picnres, but there is such a wide vriety: mazes, logic p,roblems, jigsaw-types, "What's wrong with this pichue," spotting similarities differences, optical illusions, symmetry, and map-making.

As I have said in GWS before, doing puzzles for fun is a great way to pick up the kind of skills that schools try to teach in tlreir dreary

02r

think"

...Days went by. Then he began to carve.

"What are you making?" Jeff asked.

"You'll see," said Daniel.

One night Jefflooked at what Daniel was carving...

"Now I see," he said. "It's a bird."

"It's a duck," said Daniel.

"You're not doing it right," said Jeff. 'Its head is on backward."

"I want it that way," said Daniel. "My duck is looking back."

Jeff tells Daniel, "That's no way to do it " and when the drrck is exhibited at the fair and people laugh at it, Daniel thinks that Jeffmay have been righL How he changes his mind urd comes to trust himself again is the subject of this very appealing story.

- Susaruratr Sheffer

BLUEBIRRIES FOR SAL

by Robert McCloskey #166 $3.5O Picking berries has been one of my favorite pastimes in the last few years - blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are abundant here, even close to the ciry. There's something n satisfying about filling up containers of free, tasty, nourishing food, being out in the fresh air, companionably chaning or keeping silent as the spirit moves you.

I believe it was the noise blueberries make as you drop them in the

difficult. (fhe same is true for writing multiple choice questions, as one can learn by analyzing any schml test.) A couple of problems arise because this book is Brirish you're not supposed to cdl it a mistake

when you see a steering wheel on the passenger side of a car! And a few others seem D C to be caused by some sloppiness in the drawing and printing. But this is all part of one's education; I can imagine these puzzles provoking a few healthy family discussions about right and wrong.

-Donna

Richoux

pail - "kuplink, kuplark, kuplunk" - ttrat reminded me of this picure book from my childhood" I found Orat it was still in print, and that I srill erlFyed reading ir I tried it out on Helen Van Doren, who was 21/2 or so at the time and who de.ided as a result that she would like to go berry picking too.

Many of you have bought Orc Mornhg In Mairu frorntrs - this is the same author, and in fact Licle Sal is the sarne character, though yormger. Hete, as a tousle-haired, wordless toddler in overalls, she goes berry-picking with her mother, and as it happens she gets lost and runs

ino a berry-mrurching ber who got separated from her

cub. The astonished look on the face of Mother Bear when she nrms around and se.es this scruf$ little person instead of her own child is a picture I have never forgotten. And what a joy to read nanral, flowing, colloquial English in a picnre book instead of the chopy sentences ttnt "readabil_DR ity formulas" so often impose on us now.

READ

IT

YOURSELF SERIES

by Ladybtrd Books. Level I (4 vols.), #610 $1O.OO. I,ettel 2 (8 vols.), #6 r 24 $2O.OO. Level 3 (8 vols. ), #6 I 4 $2O.OO. Sold tn sets only.

We added these series to our catalog in rcsponse to a specific need. Sometimes, parents tell us, at a point in the process of leaming to read, their children need short, interesting books with a very simple vocabulay so that the child can actually decipher the entire book on his/her own. That's what these Ladybird books were designed for, and for some children they work great. Most of the stories are familiar folk tales @illy Goat Gruff, Hansel ant Gretel) and all of them are generously urd colorfully illustrated, so the struggling reder will have plenty of clues. And the writers do the best they can with a small, controlled vocabulary (Was it John Holt or someone else who pointed

oo aaooaooooaoooooaoaoaaoaooaoaaa a Il'S BII\IDER TIMEI Order a new blnder for the o a comlng lssues of GWS. Holds lS lssues. $9.5O ao aaaaooaaoaoaaoaoaoaoaaaaaaaaa.

o a o

a a

John Holfr 729 Boylston Street

out that most traditional fairy tales start with that awful wmd, phoneti-

cally speaking,'Once'?)

I wondered whether

late readers, say age 11

or 12, would find

babyish and as our friend Anita Giesy, a late reader herself, happened to be in own, I asked her to look through some of the lzvel? and 3 books. She felt that they would indeed have been appropriate for these too

her at that age sd that slre would not have been bothered by the age level desigrations printed on the back covers - "I lerned to ignore that sort of thing" slre said. later that aftemoon I noticed that slre was reading more of the Irvel 3 books, apprently just for 0re fun of it.

In case you child can read some already and you'd like b know the differences among the various sets: . l.evel I books have about six words per page, with much repetition. For example, one page says "Old MacDonald had some cows," and another says, "Old MacDonatd had some she€p." . Level 2 books have about 6 to 15 words per page. The 'The Town Mouse and The Corurtry Mouse" begins, 'This is Corurtry Mouse.

Country Mouse lives in the country." Later there are such lxssages as: "'Come and stay in the town, Cormtry Mousg' says Town Mouse." . l.evel 3 boolc have about two dozen words p€r page. Here's a page from the middle of "Dick Whittington": "The bells say to Diclq 'Co back Diclq go back. You can be Mayor of London.' Dick walks back to the rich msr's house."

I make no claims that tlrese books will work for everyone, or that no household is complere without the full ser But they are nice licle books for a specific purpose, and it will do no hrm to have them

aroundthehouse.

-DR

CHEI,IISTRY EXPTRIMENTS FOR CHILDRTN byVirginia Mulltn. #2O2 $2.75 Homeschoolers often jokingly advise each other to list cooking or messing around in the sandbox unCer "chemistry" in theh formal cnrriculum. The nice thing abnut Chctnisry Eryainwtts for Children is that it remirds us that combining different ingedients to see what happens is chemistry, or, to put it another way, that chemistry is the language we use to talk about how substances behave and what happens when we mix Orcrn, I cm imagine families using this book in serreral ways over time - maybe doing some of the experiments first just to see

a

Eloston. MAO2l16

BooL end Mudc Stolc

what h4pens, and then reading some of the fuller explanations of why the exper'iment worked out that way later.

The language of the book tre*s the reader as a serious young scientist, which is probably especially apeealing to chil&en who alre.dy think of themselves that way. A chapter is devoted to "setting up your laboratory," which might seem forbidding to the child who just wdrts to dip in ad try the occasional experiment or two. I think that it would be possible, thougb to do just about any one of the experiments by carefully following the specific directions and yet without having set tp a whole laboratory. Some of them - observing osmosis, for example, or measuring the proportion of oxygen in air - don't require much that you wouldn't already have in the house. Other experirnents require more complicated materials and prepration.

It's worth nothg that in many of the exper'iments, children are acbally making happen what the author has already told them will lnppat In other words, slowhg that fire needs aA is different from asking yourself, "I wonder wheth€f, firc needs air," and then figuring out a way to find out. Some children might find it just as much fun to demonstrate for themselves ximething that Orey have already heard is true as to conduct an experiment whose outcome they don't know, but I think it would be wise to malre sure that children get to do enough openended messing rormd, too, doing things to sec rather than to siaw, As long as children have that bdarrce in their [ves, I imagine they will find Clrenistry Eryerinentsfor Children an interesting and rueful resource.

-SS

SAVING

fiIT

PEREGRINE FAI.CON

by Caroline Arnold #686 $12.95

The peregrine falcon is dying as a direct re,sult of a man-made problern - the insecticide DDT. DDT is carried into small birds'bodies W grains and insects they eat ud in nrrn it is carried into the peregrines' systems by these small birds Orat the peregdnes eat, such as pngeons, starlings, and sprrows, As the peregrines get older and store more DDT in their bodies, their egg shells become dangerously thin and incapable of potecting the baby frclons inside them.

This book is wrinen for childrerL but aduls will enjoy it every time they read it too. Through gorg€ous colu photos and a very easy to rea4 but nerrer condescending, text we are given a fascinating insider's view of how scientists discovered what is harming the birds and how fPlease turn to next page)

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they are improvhg the chances of peregrines' eggs hatching. By carefully observing where peregrines nest, most oftein on high ledges on rocky cliffs, scientiss decide which eggs re unlikely ro hatch withour help, and then "borow" the eggs to be hatched in a laborarory. This excerpt tells how tlrey do it, and dso sen es as an example of the reading level and the clean exposito'ry writing style of this book: Because the cliffs where peregrines nest are so steep, only a mowrtain climber can reach a nqst. Whenhe aproaches thenest, the angry parents screech and swoop at him. The mountain climber quickly and carefully puts each speckled egg into a padded box. He then replaces the eggs he has taken with plaster eggs which look just like the real peregrine eggs. These fake eggs will fool the prent birds. After the mountain climber leaves, the parents will retwn to the nest and sit on the plaster eggs as if they were their own.

It is important to keep the parent birds

From Blueberr{es For Sal (see p.16)

It

interested in the nest. After the eggs have hatched, the mountain climber will bring babies back so that the parents can take care of them.

One interesting way the peregrines ue being kept alive is by being released in cities where they make theirnests on tall buildings' ledges. They seem to adapt well to city life (there ale certainly enough pigeons for them!), and peregrines have been released in london, New

York, and Nairobi.

Every page has at least onâ&#x201A;Ź large color ploto illustrating the text and the photos are easily on pr with those of. National Geographic.

There are no more than about 225 words spread over any two pages; the quote above ir pr"tty typical of the amormt of text per page. There is also a glossary in the back to explain all of the scientific words. These words are highlighted in the text with bold type throughout the book.

This is a beautifully made hardcover book that will give you and your family many openings for exploring and discussing scientific, envilonmental, conservatiorl and animal issues, not to mention just plain old

readingpleasure.

IMMI]NIZI\TIONS

-PF (continued from

P.

starts with an interview with Robert Mendelsohn, M.D., that

isn't specifically about immrmizations but rather about his wonderful

15)

it has finally done its job? Dr. Jonas Salk is on the record and in this book as saying that two-thirds of polio cases during this decade have been caused by the vaccine itself. Third, are vaccines really effective?

Dr. Mendohlson points out in his bn,ok Ha t To Raise A Healthy Child...In Spite OfYour Doctor (available from us for $8.95), "Study after study has demonstrated that many women immmized against rubella as children lack evidence of immunig in blood tests given during their adolescentyers... [Is] vaccine-induced immunity as effective and longJasting as immunity from the nahral disease of rubella?" Are vaccines like those other wonder cures that were so enthusiastically endorsed by our govenunent and the medical establishment but that eventually became nighunares, cures such as the drug thalidomide (which causes birth defects), oxygen therapy forpremature infants (which causes blindness and retardation), and most recently, the deadly swine flu vaccine?

Gening detailed tmswers to these questions is difficult. Finding pro-immrmization literahue is easy md free from your doctor or health clinic; finding anti-immtmization literahre is hrd and costs money. If you're looking for the latter, this very useful collection of articles, resoutrces, srd letters that have appeareA m Motlerlng magazhe over the last six yers is the best summry and overrriew about the issues surrormding immunizations we formd.

metaphor for modem medicine being a religion. The last question in the interrriew is, "Why do people believe in fallacious systems, such as you say modern medicine is?" Mendelsohn rcplies, "All religions, even i&lauous ones, have their miracles. You know the contest in the Bible between Moses md the Egyptian magicians who could also perform wonders. Penicillin is a miracle. But the real question finally is ethical.

Modem medicine has its miracles like other idolatrous religions, but the price in human sacrifice has now become tm great."

This interview sets the tone for the rest of the book, which can bâ&#x201A;Źst be described as "Caveat emptor!" Four M.D.s pesent their cases fc and against compulsory vaccines, (two pro, two con; but the "con' doctors have more articles); the rest of the articles are from people who researched the issue while deciding what to do for their children. As you often find out when you approach your pediatrician on the issue, there hardly seerns tro be any freedom of choice on the vaccine issue.

The medical and drug interests feel that the occassional toxic vaccine reaction (Mendelsohn's "human sacrifices") is the price we pay for keeping infectious diseases at bay. However, as one article by Dr. Harold Buttram points out, such peer pressure to immunize everyone keeps doctors and vaccine manufacturers complacent about the status quo. He writes: parents are allowed free choice in accepting or rejecting the vaccines for their children, research will be compelled to move ahead to the ultimate benefit and welfare of our children. In zupport of this position, we sinply point out that vaccines remain voluntary and noncompulsory in England, Irelan4 W. Germany, Austriq Spain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland... In a free society such as America" there should be inherent checks and balances in order to allow free choice to the individual in matters which concem his or her penonal welfare.

If

Several of the articles point out how physiciaru around the world are obsening rapldly increasing allergic and immmologic

disorders in younger and younger children and some wonder if there is a relationship between them and immmizations. All the articles are wrinen in a highly readable marmer, though their tone varies from the passionate (those wrinen by parents), to the scientilic (Brose written by the doctors). Several books and organizations for further shrdy on immunizations are also listed and described. As the editor Peggy O'Mara McMahon writes in her introduction, "...the emphasis [in this bookl is on informed choice. One must look at all health care as a matter of choice in srdâ&#x201A;Ź,r not to live later with regrets that resulted from i grorance or misinformation. "

Edtted & Destgned by Pat Farenga

-PF

t9

FOCUS: EFFECTIVE SOCIAL CHANGE For thls lssue's Focus, we asked leaders in the breastfeeding and homebirth movements to reflect on thetr movement's growth, with particular regard to how those who were lirst involved in the activity spread the word, how communication both inside and outside the movement is achieved, and what obstacles they face as movements for change. The following are edited transcripts of recorded comments.

BREASTFEEDING Ftom Marg LoJton oJ La. Leche Icogue lrternational: l^a kche league began when two mothers met at a picnic in Illinois tn 1956. They were both breastfeeding their babies and thorougfrly enjoying it, and a number of people at the picnic came up to tJ em and asked them about it. At that time breastfeeding was unusual. One study shows thatin 19ffi28Pz6 of mothers were breastfeeding, and we consider that a very high estimate - it's probably closer to 15 or 2OVo. Today, the flgure is Just under 6o0z6.

These two women reallzed that there was a great need for breastfeeding informadon and support, and they decided to form a group in which they and their friends who had had success with breastfeeding could meet with others who had questions about it.

Five other mothers Joined them, and very soon afterwards there were so many people coming to that one meeting that they had to start another group. It's througfr this mulUplication of groups that La Ieche kague has grown.

At the beginning, the founders publicized themselves through word of mouth and an occasional pamphlet. They didn't get much help from the media because newspapers wouldn't print the wond breast - which ls why they chose the name La. kche League instead of Breastfeeding Mothers or something like that.

The women who were actually breastfeeding inspired those who were Just thinking about lt. Many of the mothers in the early days had not breasfu their lirst or second chtld, but through listening to the other mothers descrlbe their experiences they would come to wish they had nursed, and would decide to do it with the next child. The early meetings also helped those mothers who had been breastfeeding, but had been doing it surreptitiously, without support from family or friends. Then there were new mothers at the meeUngs who had not even thought of breastfeeding until they heard of this. I was one of these - sqlne people from

HOMEBIRTH F}om Rahlntu. Balduin tle Jourder Irdorned Birt]r and Parentittg:

oJ l4fomted Homebtrth/

core of mothers who were very irrvolved in making the meeting happen, and the Leader always met with those mothers at another time during the month to evaluate the previous meeting, talk about how problems had been handled, and then plan the next meeting. The group that I started with ended up as live groups, which shows how much weVe grown.

In the early days, the structure of I-eague as a whole was very

Homebirth came to public attention in the early seventies through a group called the Santa Cruz midwives, who published a book about it. Then other books came out, meeting the needs of people who were looking for alternative ways of giving birth. For a while, the movement grew rapidly, and now I think there's been a kind of leveling off, for two reasons. First, there are more birth centers available, as well as alternatives in tradtdonal hospitals, so more people can get what they're loolidng for without havlng a home birth. Yet this is in large part because the homebirth movement has allected rnainstream birthing.

Second. the midwives - those of us who were self-tralned in the late seventies - zrre now pressing for legislation, wantlng to be recognizd, so the home birth movement has become more professional. In one sense, you can see tl.is as the establishment co-opting the vital forces of the movement and the movement gi\dng in to the professionalism of society, but in another sense it's a posldve thlng because all women should have midwtfery carâ&#x201A;Ź as an opdon, and if they're legally recognized they're more available.

In the early days, homebirth was an funperadve for some people - they had to do it because of circumstances ln thelr lives and then they found out that other people were doing it, through the publication of books, through meetings. Just recent\r there was a very exciting meeting in London called the First International Conference on Homebirth, and twenty-four hundred people attended from twenty countries, so I think there's a resurgence of interest. It was in many ways a signilicant event, because now we can say homebirth is legitimate, and that's something new. It makes me hopeful, because for a while I thought we were Just doing maintenance, keeping things at the level that they we1e, and novr' I see that there's some impulse toward further growth.

I founded Informed Homebirth ln L977, and at the time there was one other organlzation, the Association for Childbirth at Home, Before that, if you wanted informatlon about homeblrth you had to find someone who had done lt or knew about it. We made it visible. Originally, people asked us basic quesflons - 'I'm having a home birth. What do I need to knov/?" Now, people wzrnt to know how to be midwives, and how to be birlh asslstants. WeVe also expanded what we do, so that we're now taking what we know to hospital couples too.

We don't much try to convert people. Birth is so important that you really have to know what you're doing and what you want. You can't have anyone try to convince you of anything. But we talk about options, and about taldng responsibility, so that women will either be prepared for homebirth, or will make more demands on their physicians - whatever they choose, they now know what's available to them and what they should be aware of.

Midurives contiriue to face a great deal of opposition. They get arrested for practicing medtcine wtthout a license Just for assisting at a birth, or lf somethlng goes wrong, lt's not mentioned that the same thing would have happened ln the hospital, and the midwives get the legal pressure. Ifs very rare that parents get pressured, although the head of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology has said, "Homebtrth ts child abuse.'

We haven't actually launched any poliflcal campa.lgns against this kind of thing, but we put out a lot of counterinformation. I don't thdnk weVe fully ftgured out yet how to be big, how to

(contbtued next page)

(arXinued next page)

the kague came to speak at my college, and I wasn't even engaged at the time, but I was so entranced by the idea that I went to hear the talk. There couldn't have been more than {ive or six of us tn the audience. I wrote down all the information and kept the phone number in my purse for four years, and then when I was expecting my ffrst child I somehow found that phone number and used it.

To combat the social pressure against breastfeeding, the

founders researched everything they could lind about the subject, which was very, very little at the time. They did have two physicians who were a great support to them, and a couple of other health professionaJs, and they combined that support with documentation of thelr own experiences - what they had learned, what techniques seemed to work in one situation or another. So Itttle by ltttle they began to recreate an understanding of breastfeedlng.

The mother-to-mother sharing of informafion and experience is still the chief way that we communicate, through the monthly meetings. Every meeting is dillerent because it's shaped by who is there. When I was a Leader, I found that one of the things that made the meetings successful was that there was always a

GROWING WITHOLTT SCHOOLING #62

20 Breastfeeding, continued simple. Once there were a few groups in a state, we'd appoint someone to be in charge of all of them. Then when there were enough groups in a larger area, we'd create a region of neighboring states with a reglonal coordinator to take care of them, even though each state continued to have its own state coordinator. At a certain point we had to divide the countr5r into an eastern and westem dirrision, and then we added a Canadian division, and an Around-the-World division, What keeps the cohesiveness in all of this, I think, is the kader application and training procedure, which is the same for leaders all over the world, though I think we're sensidve to cultural dilferences. The Directors of the dilferent divisions do have the freedom to do things a little bit differently, as necessa4/ - if the Canadian leader sees that Canada has some unique needs, she is able to address those, and so on.

In some ways weVe come almost a full circle. We started out very local, then grew so that we were international and very centralized, and now that we've grown even more weVe gone back to some decentralization again. Switzerland, for example, has become our first afliliate, which means that they're not under the Around-the-World division zrny more. They have much more independence. We see this as inevitable, but it's trr.e that after you build a big centralized strucfure that you're proud of, there's some hesitation about losing some of the similarities, the camaraderie, the things that are worth keeping the same everJrwhere. We've been working on this during the past few years, and I think we've come to a point where we see that we can keep the sameness that's needed while allowing for the freedom that's also needed.

In the beginning, we spent most of our time helping those who came to us. We had to devote our energf to this because essentially, if you dtdn't get information about breastfeeding from us you didn't get it anywhere, and unless you knew someone who was breastfeeding you were unlikely to have a good experience with it yourself because there was so much misinformation around. This has changed. Now there are many mothers who are breastfeeding and have never even heard of us, or have read other literature that says what we've been saying. Women are getting support now from their physicians, who in the past would not have given it to them, from other women, who in the past would probably not have been breastfeeding, and from husbands, who in the past would have thought it was nonsense. So more and more in recent years we've been called upon to do active promotion of the idea, to educate the public, even those who have no plans to have children. We speak in high schools, to schools of nursing, at physcians' seminars - we're one of the few lay organizadons that is accredited to give continuing medical education credit to

physicians.

In the early 8Os, I worked in the area that we call legal rights of breastfeeding mothers, and we had to deal with issues such as breastfeeding in public, on jury duty, in the oflice. We were also asked to help divorced mothers who were working out custody arrangements. The kind of arrangement in which a child spends a weekend with the father, or two weeks during the summer, may work well for a ten year old, but is not compatible with the needs ofa nursing baby.

I think there are three stages that organlzations or movements such as yours and ours go through. First you're ignored, then you're ridiculed, and finally it gets to a Point at which people realize you're not going to go away so they have to deal with you.

When we were ignored, no one who didn't agree with us was interested in listening to us. Then, when we were ridiculed, when people would say, "These La kche kague people are crary, babies have to have solids at two weeks,'we couldn't let that go by, and we began to work more actively at convincing others. The best

convincers were those mothers who had definitely decided that this was what they wanted to do. They would have their physf cians determine that the baby was healthy on the initial visit, and then on subsequent visits, when the physlcians would say, "You have to introduce solids now, breastfeeding isn't enough," the mothers would be able to say, 'Didn't you say that this baby was healthy?- Many physicians have come to us and said, 'I had

to see it with my own eyes.'They had been taught, as we all had been taught, that you had to do things a certain way.

For a while, in fact, breasdeeding was kind of the darling of

the medical profession - it was 'in,' and nobody could say anything against it. We knew this wouldn't last, and lndeed before long there was a whole series of anfl-breastfeeding artlcles in the newspapers again. The media looks at everything as a fad, I think, so after breastfeeding has been popular for a fewyears they run an article saying, "Many mothers are golng back to bottlefeeding." Recently we saw a 'Dear Doctor" column ln a newspaper in which a mother asked about fibrocystic breasts, and the doctor replied that these were scars caused by breasdecdlng. We thought we'd heard every old doctor's tale, but this was a new one.

Our medical librarian wrote a letter to the doctor saSdng that we like to keep our referencâ&#x201A;Ź library up to date, and we don't have the research study that concludes that cysts are caused by breastfecding, so could he send it to us. He wrote back sa5dng, 'I'm sorry, I don't know of any research that supports the clalm that ffbrocys' tic breasts are caused by breasfeeding.'Whether he will go the next step and retract his original statement in his column rernains to be seen, but the point is you have to stay on top of this kind of rnisinformation or misinterpretation.

It's very important, I think, in these ldnds of movements, to keep calm, to refrain from being hostile - which is hard, when you're so vulnerable. But you have to be very patient during the period in which you're being ridtculed, and rernaln tolerant of those who disagree with you. This is one of the hardest things to do when you're something of a revolutiona4l movement, but I think in the long run it's very important.

Homebirth. continued make that information reach the same people that the other information reaches. We do plan to hold the Second International Homebirth Conference in this country in 1989, and I think that's something that the establishment will sec.

To let people who want to lind us know we're here, we advertise in alternative publications, which brings in a lot of response. Also, when we train childbirth educators, we give them a lot of advice about how to do publicit5r in their area, and they often get on panels or television shows about homebirth and childbirth education. We try to help people spread the word in their own communities, rather than doing it on a national scale.

B5r the time people come to us with an inquiry, they tend to know something about the subJect already, because you have to have put some thought into lt to have come to any interest in homebirth in the flrst place. Otherwlse, you'll just go the standard route.

I think the biggest obstacle we face ts the medlcal community's view of birth. We're operating from totally different premises - they think birth is an emergenry, an illness. TheyVe got the power and the money to influence consciousness, and women go to them like sheep, without thinking. So in a way another obstacle is women not waking up enough. I think if women really woke up about this, the whole system would change.

A danger within the movement is that midwives themselves become patriarchal, they become concerned with certrllcadon, professionalism. It happens because our society is so much this way to begin with. Also, and I understand this, they get tired of working without recognition. They get tired of being put in Jail, of having to work in secret. They want to say, 'I know as much as or more than the doctors, why can't I be recognized?' We're aware of these issues, and when we train midwives we try to help them keep all this in perspective.

I would be happy if we got to a point where women really had freedom of choice about where they gave birth, and with whom, which would mean that midwifery and homeblrth were recognized as viable options, without having to be a countercultural movement. What we've done that's been right, so far, is gone dlrectly to the parents. I think change comes when women let doctors and hospitals know what they want, so weVe worked on this individual level, and I think it's been effective.

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

2l

CONVERSATION: MAKING CHANGE BY TEACHING IN SCHOOL I'aSJ Wlren

I was ln Margland lost

June Jor the MARYIAND HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION a4fererre, Ma4fred Smrth, a junior high schd teacher and.

I talked a great deal obut tle issues and corgfllrcts tltrrt ofise tohen one fs unktg irr a school ard at tle same time In mang uags

betng able to reach some students there. In some w:rys I feel that hope erten more strongly today than I did years ago because I've been able to adapt what we do at home to the classroom. But I admit I have an

tanscript oJ that

ment. To a large degree I created my

tameschmling parerrt ard

opposed to schrcL Watting to brttg tlese lssues bJore tle GWS audience, I suggested to Ma$red tlvt ue ertgage in another such discussbn, t]ris time with the tape recorder on- WhatJollotas is an edited corusersation:

Sugannah Shcffer: Do you experience a conllict in your own Me between working in a school and being a homeschooler?

Manfred Smlth: Well,

tt

really

goes

back to why I went into teaching in the Iirst place. I went lnto it out of a commitment to change the system, and it took me a long dme to realize that that wasn't possible SS: How dfd you realize it?

SlSl: One of the things John Holt realized was that lt's not Just immutable because it's a mountain, but because people actually don't want it to change - lt

seryes certain social funcflons.

MS: There's no question that

it

does.

I guess I was one of the people who was going to go in with a lever and try to move

it. as a lot of us were at the time. I kept trying to seek the one way to make a dilference, make things work. I haven't found that. But when I first read Growirtg

in

1978, even as I realized that homeschooling was what I would do with my children, I knew that I WXhout Sr'l:.orll@

unusual situation. I have more freedom in my classroom than most teachers have. If I dtdn't have this, I think I would have looked for a way out long ago, tried to find some other way of expressing my commitsituation, too. It didn't Just fall into my lap. I fought the administration for years and years to be left alone, at least, and the present administration happens to be more supportlve.

SS: That closing your door and saying, "I'm going to make the best environment I can in my own classroom without trying to change the system as a whole," is sort of what James Herndon, for example, and others who began teaching whenyou did, have ended up doing, and I can see how it's possible to get real

satisfaction from it.

MS: I came to see that when you're dealing with the institution of schooling you're dealing with a mountain, a pretty immutable thing, rather than a flowing river that you can modi! as you go along.

still had a commitment to creailng

D

MS: We talk about tt, and they understand that this is myJob, and that I haven't given up the hope, the dream, of

alternatives within the system. I began to redefine my thinklng, so that I was no longer trying to persuade everyone to change the system, Instead I focused on the students ln my classroom, on creating an alternative environment for them.

SSI: Wasn't it a struggle, though, coming to believe in homeschooling and realizing that the school system was unchangeable?

MS: It wasn't, because my commitment was still to stlclltng it out, and as long as I saw results, saw that I was able to reach students even though we all knew that it was a compulsory, coerclve envlronment, I had something to keep me going.

SlSl: But you're worldng in a system that you wouldn't put your own kids in. I would think your children would ask you about that, would say, "If it's so important, why aren't we there?"

MS: I try to create as open an environment as possible. We talk about all kinds of things, and I'm very sensltlve to the interests and desires of my students. If someone says, "Couldn't we do something like this?' I'll pick up on that immedtately, think about lt overntght, and then come back with a suggestlon the next day. I think I'm very good at respondireg to what they initiate, and I really see myself as a facilitator. The obstacle, of course, is the grading system. My students are very grade-conscious, while I'm constantly saying howbad grades are. I try to say,

look, they're not important in this class.

That's fine as far as tt goes, but I remember teachers in hiCh school and college saying to us, "Why are you so concemed about g5ades?" or "Grades aren't the maln lssue ln thts class,' and I would want to say, 'But we're part of a larger system here ln whlch grades are

genutreely reflect on how well youVe done

something, and gtvtng yourself your own grade in school somehow seems to have nothlng to do with that.

MS: No, tfs true. It's not like when [my daughter] Jamie slts wlth a story she's wrltten and says, 'This isn t so good, I need more here." She would nerrer thhk to glve herself a grade - that's not what the prooess ls about. One ofthe saddest thlngs in my professional life is the dillerence between Jamie (and other homeschmlers) and the ldds ln school. In school lfs never a feeling of bekrg able to say, "IVe done thls, but I could have developed this part of It more.'Ifs, "OK IVe done thls and now I'm going to turn tt tn,'and thafs it. It's a

crtppling

mentallt5r.

SSI: You're up against so much. It's hard to say to etghth graders, who have been glven grades foryears, 'Now go and erraluate yourself.' I wonder lf they really trust it when you give them permission to

do it.

MS: I tlrtnk they come to. I accept the grade they g[ve, except in certaln cases

where I think they've been too hard on themselves, glven themselves a lower grade than I would have. Once in a great while they give themselves As that I think are undeserved, and lll ask them toJustif it to me.

SlSl: What if they Jusfify it to you by sayfng, ttris ls in effect a protest ofthe grading system. A student could say to you, "If you're really telling me that I can give myself whaterrer gFade I want, I'm gotng to make a mockery of the system by gvlng myself the htghest possible grade."

If all the students in the class gave themselves As, would you let that go

through?

SSi:

important. You can't deny that.'

MS: I don't deny tL WeVe spent days discussing that entire issue. I tell them that because grades are lnportant to you, I'm not going to give you a grade - rather, we'll llgure out a way for you to give yourself a grade, we'll figure out a standard by which you will decide what the grade should be.

SIS: The good thing about that is you're not denlnng the stmctural reality, you're not pretendlng that the school doesn't put you ln a position of power through giving you the right to grade students. But I remember ccrtain situadons in school in which we'd be told to g;rade ourselves - not on the broad scale that you do it, but with regard to tndividual assignments - and there was always the feeling that this wasn't real. It never seemed to me to be actual self-evaluation, There are occasions tn llfe in which vou

GROWING WTHOLN SCHOOLING #62

MS: If each one felt he or she deserved it, yes. See, the understanding in the class ls that we have developed very gener:al crlterla whlch they use to Judge themsefues - are you supportive ofother people,

for

o<ample.

SS: So you are asklng them to erraluate themselves by certain standards.

I'm saylng, though, that I thtnk tt would be perfectly legittmate for students to say that they want to glve weryone an A as a uray of rendering the gradfng system meanlngless. It's like wanttng to lnllate the currency so that lfs worthless. Grades :rre currency fur school, after all, as degrees become later, and students could well say, what we really want to do ls strtp tbls curency of lts value.

MS: You know what would happen if they did that? The politics of the situadon are such that lf I supported them on that on somethlng which, by the uray, probably loes agatnsl the policy of the coun$r - I would get ln trcuble. They wouldnt sulfer any dlnect conseiluences, but I would, and they know that.

SSI:

Yes, Gachers who try to give their

22 students all As get in trouble. John Holt made the argument, and others have made

it too, that giying

aU

his students As could

be construed as meaning that he'd done his job. His job, after all, was to teach them, and by giving them As he would be

saying, "I did myJob. They leamed what I set out to teach them." And yet that doesn't

work. It's interesting that it doesn't, that you're supposed to have a distribution of good and bad grades.

MS: Yes, no one questions it when you have that distribution.

SS: When you talk about the interesting things you do in your classroom, it seems to me you make an argument, and one that is to me very compelling, that since these kids are essentially trapped tn the classroom, you're going to be one of those really memorable teachers in their lives. and that's worth it. it's worth it to do that for these kids because if they don't have you, they have someone else who is probably worse. I can really see that. But I think of the story elsewhere in this issue of the magazine [p. l4l which makes the point that when a class is compulsory, teachers can't get any real feedback about

whether what they're doing is working.

I've been in noncompulsory sifuations with kids, workshops, individual arrangements, and so on, where I have to be good, so to speak, or they leave, and this forces me to learn from what I'm doing. In your situation, you could go in every day and do terrible, or maybe Just boring, things to the kids, and they would still have to stay there. Don't you miss the feedback you would get if it were a different kind of

situation?

MS: It's true that the kids have to be there. But then you have a choice. I choose to learn from my students. I explore to see how far I can go, and I don't think I've reached the limit yet. Maybe next year I uill give everybody A's.

SS: So you are listening to the kids, you are accepting their feedback to the extent thatyou can, even though nothing structurally requires you to be responsive in that way.

MS: Yes, I think that's the difference between me and many other teachers. I'm still a learner, while most of them have ceased trying to learn and are in there doing all kinds of other things to the kids.

SS: Again, you're doing more than the system requires you to do, which is wonderful and makes your students very luclry. But I do think it's important to recognize that the system desn't require its teachers to do the kind of thinking and responding that you do. It's OK, in school, to do the bare minimum, to follow the text book or whatever.

MS: Many teachers are ln very difficult situations, and sec it kind of as life tn the trenches, where Friday becomes

holy day.

SSI:

And rnany more have things that

they must do in the classroom, by the end of the week or the month. In my high

school, ifwe spent one class session on the

kinds ofdiscussions you have, the teacher would then be hurrying the next day to keep us on schedule. Ofcourse, some

or not. This is one ofthe big reasons he stopped teaching ln schools. The mlssion

of the lnstltutlon has more ultimate signillcance than tlle goals of one person

homeschoolers are in that posidon too, even if they wouldn't choose to be, because

within it.

of the local school district's requirements of them.

MS: I'm not sure you can make that analogr. I don't thtnk you could get anyone to say that the mlsslon of school is to harm kids.

MS: I think you have to creaflvely resist those restrictions. If we don't, who

will?

SSi: Something else. YouVe been

talktng about being the kids' ally, learning with them and so on. I can't help thinking that even if that's true to a large extent, there are some important ways ln which you're still on one slde of a line and they're on the other, just because you're working for the school. They must see that.

MS: I try to be honest. I don't pretend that we're all equal. I tell them, -There's no question about it. By virtue of the whole structure. I am the one who is responsible for what goes on ln thls classroom." I don't say, "I'm your friend, I'm here to help you," and all of that which they know isn't tme. I say, "I'm the one ln charge, but let's try to work it out so that you get as much power as possible, lefs try to even out the balance as much as we

can."

SSi: Well, there's something very appealing about that. Itwas the dishonest5r that I always hated. I think a problem with a lot of alternative schools, particularly, is that everyone says, 'We're all equal, we're all doing the same thing here," and then the kids spend a lot of time Iiguring out how far that goes. Nanry Wallace wrote in GWS #52 about preferring a rigid school to an alternative school, when she was a teenager, forjust that reason - the rigid school was more honest. I thinkyoung people crave that honesty.

MS: I'm very conscious of that. I tell the students I'm their friendly enemy.

When we talk about conflict, I use the example of my own conllict tn being in that position, I say, 'This is a compromise of my values, because I don't believe in compulsion, I don't believe you can make people learn, but here I am to some degree dolng that." We talk about those compromises. I think this is one of the reasons my class is so effective. They don't have to spend any of that dme testing me.

SS: To take this somewhat further, John Holt used the analogr of the pacifist soldier to illustrate what happens when people claim to be doing one thing while the institution is doing another. He said, 'You can say, 'I believe in peace' all you want, but tf you're working for an instltutlon that believes tn killing people, thafs

much more signilicant than an5rthing you say.' He meant, wlth respect to school, that you can say dl krnds of thlngs as a teacher, but lf you're dotng certatn thtngs to kids - testing, grading - and in a larger sense working for an institution that believes in doing those and other thlngs, you are doing harm whetheryou mean to

SS: No, of course not, no one wlll say tt. ButJohn deflned the trre purposes of schools as ttrose things whJch you would get ln trouble for failtng to do, those thlngs without which the school would not really be a school. And those thlngs - ranldng and gradtng students, for example - are ln fact thtngs schools will not gtve up. So lf you beteve those things are harmful, you have to see that there's a conlllct there.

You say you don't believe in compulsory leamlng, Isn't there an ethical dilemma inherent in working for an lnstitution that does believe in it?

MS: I still think that what I do personally and what the instltution does are different, and can be dilferent. And my pulling out ls not going to change the system, but it urtll make a personal dilference to me and to ttre lrdds in my

classroom.

SS: Yes, and since I think real change happens on an individual lerrel, you czul argu.e that the personal diflerence ls most important. But I'm also asking about personal conslstency, about your own

teternal Geling of conllict.

MS: I don't feel myself to be dolng anythtng manifestly harmful. $9: You're not, but it is, and you're

working for it.

MS: Yes, and I don't think that can be resolved. One important thing is that I do think I have an effect on other teachers who see what I'm doing.

SSI:

That's interesting, because, as we

said earlier, a lot of people who went into the schools when you did wanted not only to make a good ltfe for a few ldds, but to actually change the way things worked in the school as a whole. But if you're affecting the other teachers, maybe you're making broader change. The question is, are you listened to in any serious way?

Does anyone else copy what you do?

MS: I think lt happens ln my own department, because what I do has a

demonstrably positive effect.

SS: Do they come to you and say, 'Manfred, how canwe get our lidds as excited as yours are?'

MS: It doesn't happen that way, because people are generally too afrald, too lnsecure. But I talk to them about what

I'm dolng.

SlnS: When I was thnrking brtefly of visiting the Friskole in Denmark instead of worklng for a homeschooling orgarrd?a-

tion, John Holt said to me that the

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

23 Friskole ls not a model for social change in Denmark because lt has never been duplicated in any signillcant way,

whereas if you begin with one home-

schooling family, and that family convinces another to homeschool, youVe got a 1000/6 increase rigfrt there. So homeschooling is duplicable, and I think that's what makes it such an effective force for change. Thafs why I ask, has any teacher adopted your practices, and

beyond that, has arrything youVe done ever been made into pohcy by the school?

MS: It happens that the philosophy of my present adminlstration is quite sympathedc to what I'm doing. And I think that because of my example, some teachers feel freer to do certain things.

But it's never gone so far as to be policy.

No one has ever done what I've done aboutgrades.

SS: I think any kind of following your example is important, and yet from the political standpoint the really significant thing would be if policy were made, since that would make it independent of you, would make it last beyond your tenure there.

MS: If you go in believing you can't make any change, though, it's selfdefeating, and much less satisffing for you.

SSi: Yes, I don't think people should go tn with a terrible attltude. But I feel I

have to emphasize a certain reality, that school is arr institution which discourages rather than encourages change. I think we have to see this, some of us have to see it anyway, so that we can look to other things.

MS: OK, I agree with you that my in the institution, benign as it is, is indeed a de facto nod in the direction of the institution. If you push that point, that's clearly the way it comes out. But I could argue thatyou too participate even in small ways in lots of other instlfuUons you disagree wtth.

participation

SS: Yes, I do.

MS: So I admit the ireconsistencv of it. But trying for that kind of purity can be an oppression in itself - ifyou start feeling guilty for everything you do -

SSI: Guilt is a bad reason to do things. I think you have to ask yourself how you define your work, decide which compromises you will make and which you simply cannot live with, and then go on from there as well as you can.

of the toplcs dlsc ln thls lssue of GWS - such as effecuve social change

and children in the workplace are also discussed in our back issues. See page 32 forthe cost of back issues and indexes.

WATCHING CHILDREN LEARN. STI]DYING HISTORY TOGETHER

Suson Richrnan (PN turcte last gear

Our studies of htstory and social studies have always grown organically, spiralling out from one core interest to weave into all our understandings. And so it's been with our study of the Civil War tlmes. When I think of the pallid bare bones information a school textbook gfves, I shudder. WeVe ranged far, Itndfng resources evegrwhere.

We always start out a study with the very simplest material we can ffnd, tn thts case the Really Truly series biography of Llncoln (a delightful series wrltten in the l93os). We then read three other biographies of Lincoln, and all through this we compared and contrasted the books, noting where basic information was different arrd how the authors chose for themselves to focus on some parts of

Lincoln's life and leave other parts alone.

Biography involves lots of decisions, it involves an author, notJust a subJect, and Jesse and Jacob really understand this. We understood more of Lincoln's life with each book, and by the end had a fair gr:asp of the course of the Civil War, too, and its strands ofcauses.

But we weren't done. The boys had known little prevtously of slavery (surely a seamy, unsavory side of our history, one I hadn't been overly eager to bring up with them). So now we went on to biographles of black Arnericans of the time - Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver. We saw how marry of these lives were twined in wtth ones we'd heard of in our Lincoln books. We went on then to Amos Fort'tne, Flee Man" arrd a biography of the black poet Phyllis Wheatley, arrd gained a view of slavery ln

rtortllrln cities in RwoluUonaql War

times. Quite a dillerent plcture from the south with its sprawling tobacco farms and overseers. The reali$r of slave voyages, the practiced cruelqr of the 'pits," the determination to separate captured Africans from their tribesrnen, were all brought before us and discussed. We were gajning a background, a peopled backdrop for the Civil War issues.

We went on to the facsimile copies of Civil War newspapersi I'd bought years ago (from a homeschooling mother who had found them in a public school dumpsterl) I've almost always found it pays to pick up interesting resources ireexpensively when I come across them, even if we aren't about the use them any time soon - almost werything eventually finds its time. The newspapers were astonishing, really givtng us the feel of being present in those times. We even looked over the want ads in the 1863 New York Tlnres and laughed over how many were for 'reputable wet nurses.'We realized that in the South there would not have been such ads, as slave mothers would have been used.

We also began ranging beyond ollicial children's resources, finding that our growing background made us ready for more adult books. We began lealing through a stack of old Amerdcan Heritage magazines we'd picked up for a song at

GROWING WITHOLN SCHOOLING #62

continued

library book sales. With Bruce Catton, well-known Civtl War wrlter, as editor, the old copies we had were full of incredible Civil War ardcles: a ffrst person account ofthe hanging ofJohn Brown, a newspaper correspondent's report of his three years following General Grant (lidds' htstory books never went into such detail about Granfs severe drinking problem), tJle story of how Booker T. Washinggon vras able to rise above the condltions of slavery, the grlpptng saga of a slave shrip rebellion, the memoirs of privates who'd fought tn the flrst Battle of Bull Run. Our vlew of these flmes was betng fleshed out, peopled with unforgettable characters. No quesdon here of memorizlngl lnformadon - we werâ&#x201A;Ź corning to knou these times, and every new dlscovery could be hlnged rtght on to our growing framework.

Howard, the boys' father, got involved in thts study too. He has sometlmes been a btt left out of ln depth work llke this in the past, because we'd do all this whlle he was away at work. That changed with ttris study. He began checking out Ctvll War books that he was lnterested in reading, and sharing them with the kids. He found some lntrigtrring ones I never would have come across, lncluding one wlth words to almost all the Ctvtl War songs you can

imagine.

We found a grâ&#x201A;Źat musical history resource that ded h with this shrdy. It's TIE UFE Hlstory oJ tlw United States, published byTIME/LIFE tn 1963, a 12record set probably available in most public libraries. One side of each record has a sampling of music from each time period in our country's history, and the flip side has recordings of important documents and speeches ofthe day, including snatches from diaries, letters, and famous books and poems. The boys loved these records, and played them endlessly. They actually loved them before we began reading about Ctvil War times, but they found that once they had more background and irrformadon they could appreciate them so much more. Often as I'd be readireg aloud to the boys, theyd stop me and say, 'Hey, isn't that on our record?' and wed get it out, play it, and listen wlth new understandtreg and interest.

After we felt we had about fulfilled our Civil War interest. I did happen to llnd

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24 that we owned a llfth grade Scott Fores-

man 1979 Social Studies textbook, which had a big unit on the Civil War. The book looked attractive enouglr, rather classy and colorful, and I thought it might have some further information for us. What a stunning disappointment - it was just the usual school tripe, in a mor€ pleasing format. Names were bandied about nonstop with no real description of the people behind the names, and then tlle

kids were of course quizzd on the names. I

just cannot imagine any child using this

textbook and coming to love learning about these tlmes, feeling a part of that life or feelireg any reason to integrate and remember arry of it. There was never a suggestion that the child reader might want to look in other places for more

information and insight - perhaps the authors suspected that lt would be enough of a chore for teachers ire school to get kids "through" this one book. So I felt doubly good about our organically grown, unplanned-in-advance work, after comparing it to the official school stuff expected of kids two to five years older than mine (Jesse and Jacob were officially third grade and kindergarten then).

INS

TREATED UNEQUALLY Ftom JilI

Bmre (CN:

When I discussed the subJect of belng

taken seriously with my kids, Cristie

(9)

c-ouldn't get the idea of not being treated as an equal. She does a lot of community theatre and mg perception is that the

adults are often surprised at her talent because she is a kid, but after the audition,

they already respect her, so she feels that she is treated the same as everybody else.

She is also respected when we volunteer at the library. We shelve books and the librarian really appreciates the contribuflon she makes - and she often works faster than the paid pages.

The part that really fascinated me, though, was how often Ifeel like I'm treated as a kid or an unequal. The week we discussed the issue, I had applled for an interdistrict transfer to enable us to participate in a homeschooling program ln a neighboring area. The school personnel (vrith the exception of the secretary) acted as if I was a strange alien and maybe a bit stupid. The attendance offfcer even slowed her speech and spoke with obvious patience so I would finally get that they

couldn't approve my request because they were perfectly capable of teachlng my ldds. Well, I thought, tf the head offlce tr€ats me with this ltttle respect, tmagtne how they treat our lddsl (I dld. get approrral by going to the superlntendent.)

I've felt the same way dealtng with other professlonals, lke doctors and sometimes salespeople. I don't give up undl I find someone who takes me seriously. I don't think the problem ends when you turn 18, so we might as well help our lidds learn to deal with itl On the other hand, I watched my father (7O) deal with my ldds wtrile visiting thts year. He ts ordinarily very ktnd wtth them, but feels that kids have their place. Paul (4 finally got him to use our computer by playtng golf wtth hlm. It was interesflng how much respect my father had for Paul's abtlity and how he let Paul teach him. After Paul had won, my father threw down the mouse and crashed the program. Paul's face was amazed.

Imagine not respecfing a computer or having a fft about not winningl So I guess bascially it doesn't matter what your age is - you can be an adult or a ldd with your

behavior.

IDE STANDARDIZED TESTING

INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENT

?

We'w leard oJ aJeu cases oJjudges or school olfrrcials requiring lameschoolers to b ghnnIQ as well as achievement tests, to see lf agap exists fuhteenachild's

actual ttLteU$etrce (which tle IQ test is tlaught to measure) and. his or her achiernmenL Family

karning

maga-

zhe,which is apparenilg ra bnger pub' Listed, put together a supplement on stardardizcd testittg in 1984 whbh included tte Jotlotuing intorrnatitse critique oJ IQ tests by Susan Hannan (see GWS #57 Jor ffDre oratte same topic): Intelligence tests purport to measure

the innate intellectual ability within each person - notwhat one has learned so far,

but what one curn learn. They purport to describe a child's state not at a unique, fleeting moment ln tlme, but as an unchanging characteristlc over time.

Intelllgence tests purport to pin down "smartness" as something lmmutable, like fingerprints: try as a person might to change the pattern, the idea goes, one can't, because it ls flxed forever.

Since intelligence tests PurPort to measure inborn potential rather than what one has actually learned and achieved, the natural assumption most people make is that lntelligence tests are different from achievement tests. The more you learn, the more you know, the better vou should do on an achievement test, s6 the logic goes - whereas how much you actually know should have no effect on a test designed to reveal your potential for learning. In light of these assumPtions, one would expect the questions on intelligence tests to differ from those on achievement tests. Irt's see. Can you tell which of the following questions come from which kind of test? What do ue call a babg cotu? Inloha:tu:ag are apiatw onda guttar alilce? What's tlle differerce

futu;een a slipper and a fut? Whlch month has one exta dag durhg leap year?

IJ3 pieces oJbubbb gumcost 50, uhnt taill

b tlv

cost oJ 24 pieces?

You needn't worry if you discerned no difference among the questions - they all come from intelligence tests. Intelligence tests difGr little fiom achievement tests, and any claim that they measure innate ability and not learned knowledge is

inaccurate.

What is involved in taking an individual intelligence test? One test, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised, asks children to put together puzzles, arrange three-dimensional colored blocks to match pictures of block patterns, and to solve nrazes. Another, the Stanford-Binet, asks children to describe the peculiarities ln presented stories and pictures, draw geometrlc llgures and thtnk of rh5rmes. Most intelligence tests pose questions similar to those asked above for the child to answer. A completely nonverbal test called the Raven asks the subject to choose which of the various sample pattern pieces was cut from the larger pattern shown. Other tests test vocabularlr.

Not all the skills that betelligence

tests measure are directly taught, but they are aJl leamed - erperience plays a crucial role. For example, your child's familiarity with puzzles is surely an advantage on a puzzle test, wen though he has never seen the particular pvzzles before. Clearly all the tests that rely on language really test your child's experienc€ with language. In fact, lfs dillicult to imagine a test item that doesn't rely on learning and experience.

There are four aspects of the test-

taking procedure that parents should be aware of: l. A test is an adversarlal procedure.

The materials are constructed so that your child sits opposite the tester, with a table between them. This physical arrangement

delines - if the child had any doubt - the

nature of their relationship.

2. Children are allected by the procedure itself. A familiar test adminlstrator may help to relieve a child's testing arudedes, but most children are not tested by a familiar person ln a familiar settlng. Most kids go to a testing center that is cool and buslnesslike with few distractions on the walls. The tester, despite betng trained to establlsh rapport with children, ls a stranger. If the child is

black, Asian American, Hispanlc or Native American, there is [ttle ln the testing situation to amellor:ate or dilute the prwailing power relationstdp between the minority child and the professional tester, who is likely to be white, Chlldren's emotional responses to the testlng procedure var5r according to their personalitles. Some ctrlldren treat the test as a game, enJoy the tasks and are disappolnted when it's over. Some, on the other

hand, are arudous to know after errery item how they did. Since the standardlzed testing procedure for establistrlng the ceiling of a child's ability is to ask two to five more questions alter the last right answer, all children will necessarily get some ltems rilrong. Since these failed Items are the last ln each series of increastngly dillicult questions, children are repeatedly left wtth the taste of failure.

Less accomplished children are used to failure and llle thls test away as one more painful instance of their lnadequacy. They are not eager to take the chances that mtght lead to success on some items; they hate guesstng. Imaglnative children have perhaps the worst experlence taking an lntelligence test.

Ingenious soludons to problems are unacceptable, slnce Ore answers ar€ standardized and have to be compared with those of other test takers, The eager, adventurous, unusual chlld who lrrvents an unusual solution nray charm the test

GROWING WITHOLTT SCHOOLING #62

25 administrator, but he wtll get a low score.

3. Speed is avirtue. All the ostensibly nonverbal items are timed, and the fastest performance is awarded the highest score.

The contemplative child, the dreamer, the child who considers all the possible soludons to a problerrl the calm youngster who stmply is not to be hurried - these children are all penalized by the unwarranted assumption that faster is better.

Florerte Miller, slauld, telp us put tfese scores in perspectfise: Most parents and educators believe

that a grade-equivalent score, the GE, lndicates a precisely measured level of rcading [SS: Or other subJect - this article focuses on readingl achievement. For example, they believe that a fifth grade child whose reading-test score is 5.7 has met some established consensus of how well the "average" fifth grader should read. (The 5.7 means lifth grade, seventh month.) ... This is not the case at all. Do you want to knowwhat numbers in those scores really mean?

You are a test maker developing a standardized readlng test for fifth graders.

OneApril, you try lt out on a sample group of lifth g;raders. You collect the right-answer totals - the raw scores - and list them from lowest to trighest: 2L 25 34 39

4. The goal ofan IQ test ls to assign a

number to a child's tntellectual abilitv.

Unlike an achievement-test score, this score reflects a child's lntelligence, a child's very capacity to cope with life. This number carries enorrnous weight and importance, and whoever knows it holds inordinate weight over your child.

Although the uses to whlch IQ tests are put seem to be varied, tn fact they all do one thing: sort chlldren. Whether an Ie test is used to qualify a child for private school, to diagnose a learning disability or to determine placement in a class for the gifted or the slow, its purpose is to distinguish among children and to distribute them in classrooms according to the number of questions they answei correctly.

Using Ig tests in these ways is not the result ofan educational decision: there is nothing in the information itself that

40444a49545764.

Notice that 44 is smack in the middle.

It thus becomes what the test maker calls the norm for fifth graders who take this

reading test. Forty-four also becomes gyade-equivalent 5.7. When the test is published, all children who take it and get a raw score of 44 will have a GE score of 5.7.

In this way, a grade equivalent represents a statistical norm, which parents must be wary of mistaking for the noflon of "normal" - average or middle-range school achievement. Grade equivalents are assigned to raw scores according to a

calls for this particular organizational response. There is no evidence that

children learn or behave better when thev are grouped according to their scores on I! tests. In fact, there is data to show that low-funcdoning children grouped together are unchallenged by the other children and that, like prisoners teaching one another how to be better criminals, thev instead learn how to behave dullv. There is also evidence that high-functi,oning children suffer from the strain of conltant high-powered competition. ...An Ig score is a sumrnary of a child's perform:rnce on the testl a single piece of handy information, but it trades accurzrcy for handiness. It is an average, a smoothed-out number that eliminatei dilferences and dsrails. It is as if we insisted on describing a zebra as gray because we averaged out its black and white stripes. When a child has scored ln

the superlor range on puttlng pttzzles together and in the low range on a vocabulary test, it is profoundly deceptive to summarize that child's performance as being in the average range, and infinitely more deceptive to describe that child's ability as average. But this, ofcourse, is exactly what IQ tests do, ...Unlike Antarctica, which was a real body ofland waiting to be discovered and named, IQ is not a real human characteristic, waiting to be measured. Instead, like

the mythical island Atlantis, IQ is an illusion - only the average of your child's

performance on a serles of little achlevement tests, nothing more.

WHAT GRADE-EQTIIVALENT SCORES MEAN

statlsflcal formula unrelated to children's

achievements.

Consider the following grade-equivalency chart: [SS: In the chart, the raw score 39 corresponds to the grade-equivalency score 5.2;4O corresponds toZ.2.lTt.rc child whose raw score is 39 is called a lifth grade reader. One more right answer makes the child a seventh grade reader, one more wrong answer and the child is a fourth grade reader. How can one right arlswer represent one or two years of school achievement? What sense do anv of those numbers make when this test wai not correlated with the actual schoolwork of fourth, fffth or seventh grade children?

Grade-equivalent scores are faulty ln another way. They are subJect to what is

called statistical measurement error. All standardized tests have a butlt-in margin of error. Had a child taken the test some other day, made luckier guesses or taken another form ofthe test, the raw score and thlls the grade equivalent might have been different. How different? Depending on the measurement error, as much

or lO percent ofthe score given.

Eur a

year,

Grade-equivalent scores make possible what is probably the most grossly unfalr aspect of standardized achievement

tests. By delinition almost half of all children who take this test must fall below grade lwel. This 'dtstrlbudon' of chil-

dren is built tnto the scoringl mechanism.

Standardized tests are designed to include items that children cannot know. This is

done to guarantee wrong answers, Does

The grodeequbalent scores that standardized tests gireld oJten sound. Uke useJul ltlformntion- But what do they really meon? The Jollawing eseerpts Jrom

that make sense? Yes, it does, because this kind of test is designed to yield a ranking order, and that is what standardlzed tests are all about. There is no w:ry for children

supplement, WhatDo ?he ?ests Sag?" by

to study hard enougfi to beat a test rlgged so that some wlll win and some will lose.

anotler article in the Family karning

LEARNING IN THE WORLD

GRO1VING WITHOLTT SCHOOLING #62

COMMUNITY SPACES Jonathan Roue ('Remembr@ One Teacher," GWS #60) rprites:

I spent some tlme in Calgary several weeks before the Ol5rmplcs. I found that tn what is typically Canadian fashlon, the corporate-domlnated culture ls tempered with a clvlc-mindedness that is refreshfurg to a visitor from the States. A case in potnt is the Llndsay Park Sports Center, which sits across the highway from the Olympic Saddledome. If ABC - which telerrised the Olynpics - had wanted to showAmericans the spirit of amateur sports lnstead, Lindsay Park is where lt would have gone.

Under the expanslve roof, Llndsay Park has llve swimmtng pools, thr:ee iull basketball courts, a runrdng track with a nifgr foam surface, a welgfit room and squash courts, along with places to sit and talk orJust watch the proceedtngs. Ifs open to anyone from 5:3O AM to I l:OO PM, for a modest prlc-e.

As a vtstting Journalisl Lindsay Park was a place where I could experience to some degree the normal Me of the conununfty. This meant strlking up conversaUons ln the wetght room and on the track. I could listen to the banter in the locker room and sauna for clues as to what the city ts like. (An older man sat in the government-subsldlzed sauna holdtng forth, to no one in particular, on the dangers of government.)

The experience got me to thtnking about my local YMCA, and the role tt plays in my continuing educadon. I'm not much for classes and extenslon courses and

things llke that. Hypothetically, maybe.

But I'm always worried that I'll be out of towrr on the night ofa class, or factng an

urgent deadline the next day. Plus, there's a stubbom streak in me that says that anythfng I c-ould learn ln a class, I could learn better by golng to the library or Just asldng someone.

Athledcally, the Y has provided me with Just such opportunitles for selfeducation. It's an old-fashioned, lnner ctty Y, and draws every age, social and ethnic grouping you can think of, Durtng the last fewyears, IVe gone through a basketball revival, and I can almost always lind someone in the gm to help me with my game. Just thls evening, a fellow who attended basketball camps in lls youth was showing me proper shooting form, and how to get the sptn that ciauses the ball to swirl downward through tlle hoop. I like thts ldea: he learned from the experts, then I learned from him.

It sometlmes anrazes me how civil people can be, even in a crowded inner ci$r sâ&#x201A;Źtttng, Because the grm ts srnall, câ&#x201A;Źrtain ground rules are requlred. Games are four to a side, and the flrst team to reach eleven wins. Any newcomer can call fuinnersand assemble the team that plays the next game. Generally, the good players are tolerant of and even tndulgent toward the p@rer ones llke me. These rules of the g5rm are enflrely self-enforced. There are practically never any supervlsors around.

26 Slowly, my basketball skills are improving. I like to think this ts how kids - and everyone else, for that matter leamed back ln the days when the business of the world was open to their eyes. Watching the blacksmith, or the printer, or fishermen mending their nets, listening to their stories and banter,

picking up all sorts of information.

Often, I wonder why there aren't more places today where people can go to share

their knowledge of literature, or writing skills, or what have you, the way they can teach jump shots at the Y. And why aren't newspaper:i like my own, and businesses and institutions of all kinds, required perhaps in lieu of some taxes - to serve as learning centers for young people interested in that kind of work? Kids hate to be told what to do, but love to watch people do things.

I feel grateful for the help I have gotten on the basketball court, I would leap at the chance to teach some ofthose kids how to put a spin on a sentence, hour to make a story score.

*e John Holt's Instead of Education Jor more on the reed Jor accessihle convnwlaty spaces.

In hls op-ed column "Consequences of a weak science education," Jean Mayer, president of Tufts Universit5r, ls right on target. There can be no cavil with the need to improve the training of our teachers...

[Butl informative and timely as it is, Mayer's article falls into the trap of equating schooling with education and education with schooling. They are not the same. The National Science Foundation is charged with responsibility for overseeing the education of the public in science and

mathematics from kindergarten thmugh the universities and beyond. The NSF has this to say about the myth of equating schooling with education: 'Most people, most of the time, learn most of what they know about science and technologr outside of school." (Emphasis added.) ... Clearly how our children (and adults for that matter) spend their

TESTING?! materials and scoring 'Testing *No minimum shipment order 'Two week scoring service

Call ^/Aotitude\ Free / Interest \

[SS:l All the more reason to support museurns, nature centers, and other educational centers besides schools. Ifyou Iind yourselfhaving to reassure a school olficlal who questions whether you are adequately providing for your child's education ln science and technolog, you might refer to statements such as the one from the NSF, and describe your family's use of "informal science educational

institutions.'

tional resources,

Rqer L. Nichols, President and.

Director oJ the Boston Museum oJ Science, u;rote in a btter to the editor of The Eloston Globe,lO/ 12/87:

lor

churches, synagogues and mosques. We cannot depend on schools alone for the education of our young.

For more about museums as educasee GWS #59.

SCIENCE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL

Write or

dlscretiona4r time away from school and TV is extremely important, for it constitutes the preponderance of their experience. Huge numbers of adults and children are choosing to attend lnformal science educational lnstitutions such as science museums, aquariums, zoos, nature centers and the like. ... Strengthen our schools? Certainlyl Assume that the schools, and the schools alone, can accomplish the task? Certainly notl Education, as Mayer knows better than most, is a societal task which begins in the home and requires many elements parents, teachers, schools, cultural institutions, universities, industqr,

lmmediate Dellvery

Diagnostic Personality Achievement Mental Ability Subject Specilic

Bureau of Educatlonsl Measuremenis Emporia State UniversitY

Emporia, Kansas 66801-5087 (316) 343-1200, Ext. 5298

WORK WITHOUT CREDENTIALS Flom Jan FletcLer, ulw edXs Ne'.r.l Familtes Magazlne, The Home Busmess Advisor Newsletter, and StepJamlly Bulletin (NextStep Publications, PO Box 41108, Fagetteville NC 283O9):

I read with great lnterest Pat Farengas review of Your Htdden Credentials in CWS #60. I am one of those individuals long on life experience and short on college degrees^ My own history with school was probably shared by most sensitive children who llnd themselves in a public school system that ls underfunded and understalfed. In eleventh grade I decided to drcp out and get a cED, thereby forgoing the last and most tedious year as a senior.

My guidanc.e counselor was shocked. I had a rcspectable grade point average, because I've always been good at taking tests. I wasn't pregnant, an addict, a delinquent or a failing student, and I wanted to drop outl That must have been a Iirst. So I dropped out against her advice, got a Job as a secreta4l for a flying school and finished my high school degree in six weeks at an adult school. In effect, I graduated nine months earlier than my fellow classmates.

Shortly thereafter, I started college at 17, At first, I was pleased that I could take any subject I wanted, but then I ran into more bureaucratic hassles. I ended up 'clepping" (taldng two semesters of credit

through College level Examination Programs) and graduated with a two year degree in general studies. Thus ended my

formal education, How did I pass so many CLEP tests?

I've always liked to read and bemoaned the amount of wasted time ln school that I could not spend reading what I wanted to

read. I generally read all my textbooks in the llrst six weeks of cla,ss out of boredom, and then spent the rest ofthe school year doing the old "book propptng' routlne gou know - where you prop your textbook on your desk and put your own book in the mtddle like a sandwich, and read on). I've always Just gone after the knowledge I've wanted and taug;ht myself through books and inquiries. My curiosity has been the primary fuel that has Bred my personal educatlon.

People rarely questlon my credentials in my present llfe situatlon. When they do, thry are usually surprised to lind that I have only two years of college. Though it is true, as Pat Farenga points out, that'there are so nrany lnstances in which our society demands credentials for acc'ess to its fruits," there are rvays to navlgate around that qulte successfully. Often by acc.ess we mean emplo5rment, or more to

the point, lerrel of lncome. Some lntelligent and creative people have resorted to forgery or lytng about thelr level of schooling. There have even been cases of doctors and surgeons who never went to medical school and lawyers who never passed the bar exam, but \rlng can be a dilficult way to get by.

A more direct method ls to take on the

mantle of entrepreneurship. Our societ5r has a long history of high school dropouts who have become quite successful tn the business world. A friend of mfure from Israel who was a sabra, or native Israeli, started his own patnting company within one year of arrivlng here, barely able to speak English. He struck me as someone who was too busy doing what he wanted to do to worry about credentials.

In the other direction, I think of another friend who sulfers from a rather conunon addicuon: a yearning for more and more formal training. This mindset can make you feel that you're never qualilied to do whatever it is you think you want to do.

I started New Fanllles Magazine last year without a degree ln Journalism, or even any experience in writhg, editing, or runntng a buslness. (I go where fools fear to treadl) My husband had some knowledge oflournaltsm, which helped. I had never been published before, but I jumped tn and learned by dolng. Access to society's fruits may be denied those without proper credendals, but maybe it's

tlme to gro\ r our o\rrn gardens. After all, there's nothlng sweeter than the frutt of your own mallng.

WE NEED TO HEAR college-age people (homeor otherwise) who have ided not to go to college. Tell u

Why college doesn't interest you What yourre dotng arctead Howyou came to be dotng tt Whetheryou plan to go to time tn the future

GROWING WITTIOUT SCHOOLING #62

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CHILDREI{ IN THE WORKPLACE In GWS #61, we asked to hear about children who spend some part of their time at a parent's workplace outslde the home.

Thanks to all ofyou who wrote so quickly, we are able to turclude several responses in this issue. We are alwags lnterested in these stories, so please keep writing.

IN AN ORCHARD F-tomJerutg Wfuht oJ Neu Hampshire, uhose Janilg spend,s a part oJ ewry year pntnbtg ln Neto England orchatds: The boys, David (3) and Willis (2 L/2) are with us in the orchard this year and are doing so well. Each morning we drag a sled with the two of them on it, a bag of food and diapers, toys and tools, a small piece of rug with waterproof backing, warm blankets. It's a lot of work to get all

this together and then out to the orchard (plus our tools) but it's so worth it.

The boys find so rnany things to explore and do. They climb a little in the smaller trees, bounce on the end of big branches, wander around, squash rotten apples, dig in the snow or mud, investigate frozen puddles. There are lots ofcut-off branches to pretend are heavy machinery.

The other day Davey spent an hour making a snow mobile out of them. There are woods next to most places we work, and I go for short walks with the boys.

Sometimes they go on their own, finding rabbit tracks, acorns, sumac berries, pussy willows, a hollow oak tree that a porcupine lives in and a bush you can get

inside of.

Some of the time they demand a lot of us, but there are also long periods of time when they're perfectly happy "parallel" to us $ou know the phrase'parallel play," usually used to describe several children).

They're busy and we're busy. I believe it's good for them to see us involved in sometling besides entertaining them, good to see us busy, interested, sharing

work with other adults arul including them. We're always there if they need something.

So every year when it's time to leave home and pmne, I can't imagine how it will work out, but once we start I am amazed by what the boys come up with. A friend of mine suggested some fun outside

activities like bubble blowing or painting snow with tempera paints and big brushes.

Those were fun, but mostly the boys just come up with their own ideas, playing with a few toys and mud and snow and sticksl I love to see them busily working away at a dlstance from me.

IN A THEATER DEPARTMENT Ftom Lyrne Nornb

oi Indiana:

Mv son Daniel went to work with me for three years at the Universlty of I-ouisville's Theater Arts Department. I did not tell them when I applied for the job that we were homeschoolers. I ligured I would wait for them to be interested enough in me to hire me. When I had signed the contract I told them we were homeschoolers and my son would be around. Danielwas 9 then. I knewthatl would be sharing an ollice with a parttime colleague on another shift, meaning essentially I had my own space.

For three years nobody cared, Daniel stayed in my olllce and did his work, or took a ball or skateboard to suitable campus areas to play.'the c.ollege students treated him pretty much as an equal often to my dismay. My adult colleagues tgnored him, which was prâ&#x201A;Źtty much what I had hoped. I heard no compliaints. If my ollice was needed for something conlidential, there were other building areas where he would not bother anyone. I realDe that a universit5r has some amenifies not found elsewhere. It is a less formal atmosphere, with more actual spacc ln which to move.

Theater is a flexible type of skill and practitioners are generally open to new ideas. If I had worked as a clerk in an

insurance oflice, I don't think this would have been practical. But one of the foundations of homeschooling is that the family life is planned to include everyone.

I wouldn't have applied for work in an insurance oflice unless the same condi-

tions applied.

When we lived in New York City, Daniel helped me when I was teaching arts to preschoolers. Often this amounted to catchlng them before they went out the door, but it also included serving snack or helping out with general props. He was younger then. Now that I work from home, running an experimental theatre company, Daniel is our chief video cameraman, having taught himsef to connect appropriate electronic equipment and film performances. This is highly agreeable, since the rest of the company likes to be filmed but are generally bored by electronics. Like the rest of us, he produces props and loads/unloads the car for performances. Theatre is an apprenticeship operation anyway.

Daniel also has his own Job, which is volunteering two days a week in the

children's department of the public library. He is responsible and well-trained

enough to hold a payin$Job; unfortunately, the law doesn't see it that way. But the library is very happy with him, and they will be a recommendation for him when he applies for a paying 1ob.

WORKING OUT A BALANCE Jo Hinsdale

not only because she can come wlth me but because there are a number ofthlngs she

might do there, tncludlng play ln the yard.

It's not perfect for her, though. If nothing is going on in which she can partlctpate, it can be very dull for her. At these tmes, I oftenJust do research ln the ffles as quickly as possible, and go home to do the writing. Happily, thls ls an opflon for us when Jenny gets to grumbly. We're stlll out a good balance for the two of

glrkine

HELPS IN PHARMACY F}om Barbara NVe NT): Jeremy (12) works wlth me in the small pharmacy I bought ln September of 1987. He works one eig;ht hour day a week.

His main duty ts keeplng the store clean,

which tnvolves talidng the merchandise off the shelves, washtng the shelves and dusdng the merchandise and then putting it back in plac.e.

He has proved to be so elllclent that it is hard to keep him busy. To resolve thls, I make a list of chores so he knows what's expected of him. When he's through with the list, and after seeing ifthere's anything else to do, he's free to read magazines or do whatever he wants, Because he'll mlss two upcoming Saturdays of work, he's going to come fur hvlce durlng the week, and lll help him learn how to be a cashier. Tlee clerk he works with on Saturdays conslders him Just a Ldd" and resents him trytng any ofher duties, so he'll come in when she's olf.

When Jeremy started worktng, his dad helped him make a budget. Jeremy determined how much of hds paycheck went to hobbies, how much to savings, etc.

Recently he had me put $fOO h his savlngs account. He hates to miss work because of the paycheck. I think when he's a cashier he'll be lnteractlng more with people and so maybe wtll enjoy that more. He's very quiet and handles people better on a oneto-one basis, so lt will be lnterestlng to see how he reacts to thls work. If he's not ready, it can walt. He's not really comfortable with math, so I thfnk this will be good

for him.

(MD writes:

I've started to work at Clonlara lsee our Resource Listl, answering mail. The klds come with me offand on. Robin is often at Childltght when I go [see p. lO, this lssuel; Jenny (5) usually needs to come with me. I haven't yet hit upon a way to make it enJoyable for her every time. What I do (sit and wrtte) is not something that she can be part of, and that frustrates me.

Jenny has loved it when she has been able to help Theresa, the htgh schooler who does filing, copying, and related tasks. If this isn't possible, we bring games and food to keep her h"ppy. Because Clonlara ls also a campus school, she has also

visited the kindergarten room there from time to time. It is an unusual workplace

BABY ON THE JOB Ftom Pattt Murphg qf Massachusefts: When I had a four-month-old baby I found aJob that allowed me to brlng her with me, qutte by accident. I was a shgle mother at that point, and had heard ofthe Woman's Work ProJect, whose focus was a model Job shartng program. When I applied for theJob I thought I vrould be

able to work at home, Durlng the interview, when I reallzed thls was not a possibiltty, I told them I would have to bring the baby wtth me. They htred me with a baby at the breast, I worked tlventy hours a week as a bookkeeper-in-training/recepttonist. All ln all lt was a

GROWING WITHOLN SCHOOLING #62

29 positive experience. Some of the other women were skeptical at first but found the baby to be a welcome change from regular ollice procedure. When she died of crib death a few months later, it was a

tragic loss for me but the entire Project felt

that loss with me.

I did day care work for about five years after that, and then got a job weaving at home. For the past year I have been working day care again at the local YMCA I bring four children with me, and they help some with the other children.

The rest of the stalf doesn't seem to mind having my children there. There are others on the staff who also bring their children with them. Some of the plusses of this situation are: the children can take classes at the Y for free, they get plenty of social contact with other kids, we are a homeschool family in the public eye, we

htm happy to see how much Jacob loves it there. He is very enthusiastic about letting Jacob trv his hand at some work as soon as Jaco6 is able. Jay loves his work, and it is natural that he would want to share it

with his son.

I don't get anything 'accomplished'

while I'm watching Jacob at the shop, but I also like being included. It ls nice just to be there, where people are worldng, instead ofcooped up at home all day. I am grateful for the circumstances which allow me to bring Jacob to work. I'm aware that most people don't own their own business. If Jay were not self-employed, I probably would have assumed that Jacob and I were not welcome at his work. But maybe it's wrong to assume this.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER

feel useful. Some of the minuses are: the children can't be as spontaneous on work

An Ohio reader writes:

days, there is no slack time, they are tired easily, tJley can't get outdoors easily while we are working.

One exciting thing has come of this: I have been ofGred a job working at the new after school program with older children.

It would be a good raise in pay but double the hours. They are willing to take my experience as a homeschooler as equivalent to the BA they usually require. If they allow me to continue having the children with me during the work day I will most likely do it. I don't like the idea of such organized programs but in conjunction with homeschooling, and gfven the fact that I have to work, I think it will work for

Our son G., 17, has been working with his dad in construction since he was 15. He does school sfudies in the off season, though K.'s business is nwer what I'd call "off.' It only slou.rs during the winter months. G. opted to llnish his academic studies later in order to work with his dad.

I ^styear they were too busy - G. running a roofing crew alone, K. going around to all the job sites, keeping things in line. That was not K.'s original plan. So in November he dropped most of the builders he sewiced, let go many of his men, and got back to where he and G. could work together.

G. wants to be avet, so we have arranged for him to ride with a largeanimal vet on Saturdays, for hands-on experience. He loves it. In about a month, we will head for a church in New Jersev where K. and both our sons have done

us.

VISITS HIS FATHER F-rom

Jean Bqgs oJ fuuth Dakota:

volunteer construction proJects for about a month each winter for the last live years. We take school work along, and use the mornings for sfudy, the afternoons for

Our l7-month-old son gets to visit his

father atwork every day. My husband owrrs a machine shop. It's in a very large

old building, with hardwood lloors soaked

construction work.

black with grease. There are lots of big machines, and seven employees busily workingl. Sometimes Jay carries Jacob around in his arms while he talks to the employees and customers. But I am always available to take Jacob ilJay needs to help carry in a heavy piece of machinery or if he needs to be busy with paperwork, or some other task which takes all his concentration and both hands, which is most of the time.

So most of the time, I am following after Jacob, watching him, putting things back in their places after he has played

Our younger son,

A,

13, goes

with me

to the public library every Thursday afternoon for a few hours to volunteer our help.

He will begin working with K. and G. this suruner in the construction business. K.'s feeling (and mine too) is that this experience will be valuable to the bovs whether they - decide to use it vocationally or not.

The other men on the cons-truction sites have been interested in our homeschooling, and ask questions, but seem to take G.'s presence rather in stride. So far as we know, there has been no negative response to what we are doing. In my opinion, the arrangement is wonderful.

We have homeschooled for seven years, and most of that time the boys were with me. I longed to see themwith K., not only learning constmction, but absorbing K.'s values and creativity. He is someone who failed in academics but is so talented and full of common sense that I would match him against any other man without fearl To me, having G. Iinish high school a couple of years later is worth it for the time spent with his father.

Both G. and A. have also gone with their grandfather on trrck trips since they were quite young. My father and his brothers own a wholesale pickle business from which he has Just retired. He drove

with them. I never worry about him getting hurt or dirty, but I do have to keep a sharp eye on what he is picking up so I can remember where it belongs and can put it

backwhenJacob drops itand goes on to something else.

Jacob loves the shop and is never bored or unhappy there.-There's just too much good stuff lying around to play with.

I think best ofall he loves being around all the other people. He loves being included.

Often, at lunch time, one of the employees will sit and play with Jacob. They are all very friendly to him and enjoy having him around.

Jay loves having Jacob at the shop (as Iong as I am there to watch himl). It makes

GRO1WING WITTIOLN SCHOOLING #62 .

the tmcks for delivery of pickles to customers, and ptckup of green stock from the grovrers. Both boys loved going along, meetlng his business associates, helping with loading and unloading the trucks, keepireg Grandpa company.

NOT A LWAYS WELCOME F-rom Alan Kcr,h oJ Perur.sgluarirc

When my son Andrew was 7, he spent a few hours a day, twice aweek, ln my office while hls mother was taldng classes at a local college. This arrangement went

on for one semester. After that, his mother decided not to pursue a degree, and stopped taking classes. Andrew ls now 8, and

spends time my ofllce under miscellaneous circumstances from time to time.

I do not conslder the arrangement to be satisfactory. I Ilnd it dtlficult to do my own work when my son is there, because he requires a grcat deal of interaction.

Regardless of the work he ls given to do, I

must direct my attenflon to him quite often. If he is doturg sornething in whtch he is interested, he ls compelled to show me everything he does. If he's doing something he dislikes, he will irrvartably attempt to beg out of it.

Your quesdon about whether the children 'do their own work or help the adults" set me to thtnktng. Due to the nature of my job, there ls very little that Andrew can help me Mth. However, there .re mâ&#x201A;Źrny others whom he could help, and would love to help, given a little trairring and direction. This would require the cooperafion of these people.

This brings me to the other plece of this puzzle, the other people at work. Just like any other group of adults, thls one runs the full range. The averag;e persion flnds Andrew lnteresting and 'brtght," and doesn't mind stopplng to talk wtth him and answering a few hundred questions about theirJob. Of course, they need to get back to work eventually, but most will simply tell him so and send him on his way. There are many others who

simply try to ignore him.

There are also a few who don't want him around, and let me know ln no uncertain terms. Unfortunately, one of these people is the Manager, whose office ls rlght down the hall. After a recent vlslt during whtch Andrew had stopped to talk to his secretar5r, he came to my olffce and told me that my son rrras the reason he had written the 'Children ln the Workplace" poltcy, and asked me to "control'my son as required by that policy.

Andrew usually delights tn playing on the computer when I'm not busy with it.

When I am, he busies himself with maldng things out of the myriad dlllerent kinds of paper, pencilsr pens, markers, paper clips, staples, and other fun stuffin the ollicr.

Given the opporhrnity, Andrew would come to the olffce with me many times a week. I don't allow this because I would never get anythtng done f he dtd, and because I fear repercussions from the powers that be if Andrew became a reg;ular {lxture in my office. I feel that he could be quite useful to many people around here in dotng odd jobs, but I am not sure how I could arrange it without tncurring wrath.

30

ADDITIONS TO DIRBCTORY Here are the addidons and changes to thc Directory that have comc ln since the last lssue, Our complete 1988 Dircctorywas published tn GWS#60.

Our Dkectory ls not a llst of all subscribers, butorrlyof thosc u;hoasktobelisted, so that othcr GWS readers, or other interested people, may get in touch with thern. If you would likc to be included, please send the entry form or a 3x5 card (one famtly per card).

We prtnt birtlgeors of children, not ages. If we made a mistake when converting your child's age to birthyear, please let us know.

Please tell us ifyou would rather have your phone number ald town listed tnstead of your

matlirg address.

If a Directory lisflng; is followcd by an (IIl, the family is willing to host GWS travelers who make advance arrangements in writing.

If a name in a GWS story is followed by an abbreviation in parcntheses, that person ls ln the Directory (check herc and ln #61 and #6O). We are happy to forward mail to those whose addresses are not in the Dircctory. Mark the outside of the envelope with rnmc/description, issue, and page number. If you don t mark the outside, we open Ore cnvelope, see that you want something fiorwarded, and then have to readdress the letter and usc our om postage to mail it.

When you send us an address changc for a subscription, please remlnd us ifyou are in the Directory, so we can change it he!e, too.

AL === AIr{BAIvlrt HOME EDUCATORS, 819 Joryne Dr, Mont4;omery 36109 (change) === Davld & Barbm BRASFIELD, ALABAMAHOME EDUCATORS-TUSCALOOSA AREA. Rt 3 Box 633, Cottondale 35'454 === Phtl & Lcc GONET (Jcssi/8o, Patrick/83) THEVOICE, Rt 3 Box 37B, Tallassee 36O78 (change) AI( === Davld & Annette JANIG (Holly/85) PO Bow rO22, Valdoz 99686 (II) AZ ==- Deborah & Richard OWENS (David/ 75, Russell/77, FJch/79, Peter/81, Lyon/84) l24l W lO St, Tempe 8528I AR === Tcd & Diane BEILBY (Errol/82, Alicia/83) Star Rt Box 1O, Sturkie 2257a @hangel CA' NORTII (ZlPt 9I*OOO & UP) === Glenn & Wendy EARLEY (Andrew/82) APt. l3 1698 Ontarfo Dr, Sunnyvale 94087 (changc) === Kathy & Jim FRANDEEN {Blalr/8a) 2OOl Pau Flana, Soquel 95073 (chaqge) === Cheryl JUST (Trevor/8l, Bre$/a2) 2O8lO Almadcn Rd, San Jose 9512O === SOUffi VALLEY HOMESCHOOLERS ASSN, Box 961, San Martin 95O46 === Xaren TTETJEN (Ertcl79, Aurora /a2,Daxllel/ 85) PO Box 1027,Mt. Shasta 96O67 CA SOUTH (Zlpt to 9'1OOO) === Maurice & Mafillm BEIDLER (Joshua/78l PO Box 3O4, La Ouinta 92253 === Dave & Marie HARTWELL (Stephcn/8o, Shervsood/84) 619-279-7072 (Sar: Diego) === Kenneth & NanTJOSEFOSKY (Ken/ 63, Dan/65, John/66, Chris/69, Fred/73) SAN DIEGO HOMESCHOOLERS, 3581 MtAclare, San Diego 92lll (change) --= Emery & Pat LOCKWOOD (Mclllssa/8o, Melanie/83) r5r85 C Marquette St, Moorpark 93021 === Robcrt & Janct MENSCHEL (Camber/8o) 1O75 Carlsbad Court, San Diego 92f f 4 G{l === Rtck & Vic}d PETERS (Jonathon / 7 6, E,lllot/ 79, Aaron/83, Claire/85) 9826 Hamden St, Plco Rivera 9O66O === Ken & Rita STEEK (Paul/76, Carmen & Cody 178, Slryc/8o) 2753{t Pamplico Dr, Valencia 91355 (change) === Jim & Joni WARE (Alison/ 79,Megan/82, Bridget/86) 6O46 RivertonAv' N Hollywood 916O6

CO === Pavi & Pat LUGIN (Matt/8l, Kate/ 84) PO Box 5291, Woodland Pak 80866

(change) GT ==- Roberta

&Jay FOSTER {Alyssa/78,

Jay/791 2Ol7 Norfolk Rd, Torrlngton O679O =: Fran LITTIN & Chuck TAUCK (Meghan/82, Tler/85) 35 Minute Man Flill, Westport (I4 === Paul & Laurle MASTROPOIO (Lial83, Anna/86) 224 Brewster Rd, Bristol FL ===.1s6.1 g ftiana HUSSEIN (Sarah/80, Mahmoud/a4) l54O Bahama St, Tituwille 3278O

(I{=== C&MSTOUDENMIRE (Tlara/83, Tlana/84) 149-8 Old Hospltal Area, Pensacola 32508-rOOr

Iil

=== lvtr{Ul HOMESCHOOLERS,\SSN,

c/o

Gail Nagasako, 242-a225 ID ==-- Toby & Chrts RHUE (Joshua/85, Caitlin/87) 29O E. 2OO N., Soda Springs 83276 IL === Jim & Mary GORECKI (Amy/83, Lynn/86) 23 BriarLane, Geneva 6O134 === James & Robin TENNANT {Noah/8a) 53O Laurel, Wilmette 6OOgr lHt =- Davtd & Tdsh WAGLER

(Rochelle/76, Vanya/78, Bethany / Al,I[,f,arie./ A3, Peter/87) OS 467 Ethel St, Winffeld 6019o JN === Chailottc DUDLEY (Robert/82, Ann/84) 5O7 S Indlana St, Greencastle 46135 (H) === pag1" & John TTIATCHER (Avery/79, Mika,/83) 7351 windfree, Bloomtu:gton 474o1 === Je6 & Lynn WEISS [Kurt/7g, Cory/83, Xelly/8s) l43OO Browning Rd, Evansville 4771I Kr'=== Mickey & Cindy GREENE (Mindy/ 80, April/83) 322 N Wilson Ave, Morchead 40351 MD =-- Robert & Audrey BANKS (Brendan/79, Alyssa/81) 579 Silver Run Valley Rd, Westminster 2f f 57 (change) (I! === 116s15"t g Pandy BURDIN (Aaron/8o, ChAsten/a2l 7342O Brownwell Rd. Ft Meade 20755 === Tom & Susan HILFERTY (Joshua/76, Elisabeth,/ 78, Isaiah,/84) 98 Morrlson La, Conowingo 21918 Mlt === Norah DOOLEY & Robert FAIRCHILD (Sira/83, Julia/84) 35a Washington St, Cambridge 02139 === Nancy & Michacl FIERO (Mikala / 7 6, Nathan/ 7 a, Marik/82, Nartn/85) 87 Snell Ave, Brockton O24O2 === Adele & David GARLICK (Shayna/85) RFD #1, Southbridge O155O (change) === Shtron & Andreas TORNARITIS (Anthony & Nicholas/84) 8A Porter St, Wobum Ol80l MI === Mur.lel & John PALKO (Simon/76, 7ne/841 4O3 Pleasant St, Ionia 48846 (change)

(H)

Surrey Road, Voorhees O8Oa3 (change) NY -== Llsc & Richard KNOUSE (Jeonlfcr/ 85, Arthur/87) 666 Wcst End Ave 2OR, NewYork ro025 -= ROCHESIER AREA HOME SCHOOLING ASSN, 4Ol Parsclls Av, Rochester 14609 (chanrge) =-=Uir'flaZLIERN, Box 619, 5 f,)cpot Rd, Cataumet 12534 NC =: Keijl & Stefanl OSHIMA tMtho/77, Joji/8o) PO Box 35, Edneryille 28727-NA5${, OH =- Ronald & Nancy DORTON (Rebecca/74, Deborah/76, Davi d / 76,Saxah / 84, Jonathon/87) 6685 Gibler Rd, Hillsboro 45l3il ==- Barbara & Joseph GRAHAM (Charlie/79, Annie/8l, Laura /a2, ?mdrew/a6) I192 Webster Rd, Jefferson 44047 (Ht === Jirn & Rosalee SCHNECK (Peter,/76, Annika/8l, Abie/85) 231 Mohican Av, Orrville 44667 === Gil & Barb SHERMAN (Jerrnifer/83, Colleen/85) 2169 Mars Avenue, Lakewood 44lO7 OR === David & Kim BALDWIN Oonathon/ 82, Michelle/84) 34O26 BachelorFlat Rd, St. Helens 97O51 === Sally SFIUMAKA & Jack PRUITI (Echo/78, Jasper/81, M.ar:cr/ 83) 225 Mather Dr, Port Orford 97465 (charge) := Michael & Candace SYMAN-DEGLER (lsaac/73, Vanessa/76, Luclen/ 79,lnd1a/82) lo9O Brookside Dr, Eugene 974O5 RI === Barbara & Mike SIMPSON (Isaac/74, Abigail,/75, David/8f , Mihe/83) 22 Columbia Ct. Middletown O284O (ID SD -=- Jcan BOGGS & Jay SCHIAGEL (Jacob/86) Rt I Box 146A, Columbla 574S| TN === Joyce DICIGRMAN & Art STEWART (Joelle/79, Aaron/$, Justin/86) Rt 5 Box 219 Specs Rd, Clinton 37716 (change) fX === Jearrte & Tlm OLIVER {Cortna/82) PO Box 1629. Wlrnberley 78676 ya === Larry & Lee FIETHCOX (Rcbecca/8O, Laura/82, Flannah/8s. Ansil/87) Rt. 2 Box 419, Warrcnton 22186 lIJ) === Robert & Peggr Sue TRUETT Uoshua/8 f , lsaac/ail, Hannah /86) 782O Brook Rd.. Richmond 23227 WA =: David & Mary GRAI{AM Uerome/ TT,Douglas/7a, Francesca/8O) I I l7 N3f St, Renton 98056 (I{l =- Paula HARPER-CHRJSTENSEN & Stephen CHRISTENSEN (Paul/78, Amanda/8o, Sam,/85) 23416 SE f Tth Pl, tssaquah 98O27 (change) === Gerry & Dale LINK lJosie/72, Patrick/84) S 4715 Glenrose Rd,

Spokane 9fll223

MN === Nancy GRLJVER & Joe KELLY (Mavis/8o, Antonla/8o) lSol E gth St, Duluth

ttll =-= Eir:er & Natalie

MORTENSEN (Ariel/75, Seraphina / 76, Kellen I 87) 560 E Houston Rd, Coupevillc 98239 -= Patfl PITCIIER & Stwe FIALL (Becca/8l,lar:ral 84) 54oo-2lstAve NE, Scattlc 98fO5 === Sherry

55412 UO === Joseph CIANO lMlchael/72, Christiaan/74) Rt 5 Bo( 63O, Ava 65609 === Gary & Beclqy COLVIN (Jertrf /74, Jessa/76, Julie/78, Joanna/8l) Rt 3 Box 32, Eminence 65466 (I4 === Albcrt & Clnthia HOBART

WIISTON (Xristl/76, Shaun/77, Aaron/8r)

{Robert/69) Rt 3, Box 163, Rolla 654O1 === Jocelyn & Stwe KOPEL (Ktm/74, Burt/75, Sara/ 81, Katie/84) 545O BradburyDr, St. Louis 63129 === David & Sandra MOUNTJOY (Tabitha/75, Amory/78, Kalista/8o) Delos, Rt 3 Box 387, Pleasant Hill 64080 === Tom &Julie O'DAY (Maghann/79, Katherine/8 l, Bridget/84, Ttmothy/87) 3995 Marictta, Florissant 63O33

SOUTHSOUND ASSOC OF HOMESCHOOLING FAI\4ILIES, 4333 S 261st, Kent 98O32 W\I === Ann BOIANO & Daffty VAN LEEUWEN (Simon/76, Ruben/79) Rtl Box 2aOA,

Weston 26452 (t{,

WI === William & Cheryl DAtiIZ n-c,relet/78, Valerie/82) 731 S Balrd St, Green Bay 543O1 (change) === Jlm & Jan ERDMAN {Ma!Un/76,

will/78, Ryland/8l)

Rt 4 Box 298, Tomah 54660 (charrge) === Linda I{UGDAJjIL, ffi27 Sm Valley

(change)

Pkwy, Oregon 53575 (I0

MT === David & Beth BROWN (Jercmy/78, Eleanor/8O, Esther/84, Emily/88) 333 College Ave Sp 29, Kalispell 59901 === FIATFIEAD VALLEY HOMESCHOOLERS ASSN, 257 -5723,

CANADA: BC ==- Catherlree LEBREDT & Mike

4052, 755-2036' (KalisPell) NE === James & Tara SENNETT (Gina/82) l94l L St. Lincoln 6851O

A92-

NV === Gary & Jeanne FIAHN (Taral73, turny/771 1333 Arvllle St., Las Vegas 89102 NH === Mrk & Susm YEAGER (Halina/al, Motgan / 84, Beverly / A7l 12 Steven Way, Litchfield O3O5l (change)

NJ === Barbala IAFFERTY Uohn/64' Steve/65, Mark /

7 O,

Kathy / 7 a,

P

aul / 7 5l I 07

WOODS (Aprtl,/83) Box 483, Toffno VOR 2SO =: Erlc & Carol STEPI{ANSON {Heldl/75, }tdam/77, Peter/aO, Joel/Asl 7721 Garnet Rd, Victoria V8P

3C9 NWT === Robert &Vicki RUSSELL (Jaclde/ So, Maria/84) 989 Gitzel St, Yellow Knfe XIA 2C7

(H) oNT === Sharuron & John GRESI{AM (Sara/82, ElVn/84, Hail€y/86) 35 Ellen StW' Catherine & Rodollio Kitchener N2H 4Kl

-= HENMGS (Aiden/8l, Paulo/ad 7a Bhgeman GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

3l St, Kitchener N2H

2Sl === Mary &Alex

MOLITIAR (Nicholas / 74, E;mtly / 77, F.achel/ao,

Martha/83, Molly/87) 23 Dill St, Kitchener N2G rL2 === Kay & Scott MCOLL (Amy/83, Ilia/86) 334 Peel St, Ncw Flambur;g NOB 2cO === Phil & Mary Lynn SAUNDERS (Joey/8o, Angela/83, Brian/85, Timmy/88) RR I Ia Salettc, NOE f HO (I{) === tlslni & John WIEBE (Aaron/8l.

Samuel/8s) 73 Peel St Apt l, New Hamburg NOB

2GO

OTHER LOCAIIONS === tut & Leslie HICKS (4 children aged 2-8) Flt Ops. hx 8728, Tamuningi, Guam 9691I === Jack & Mary SEAGROVE (Joe / 7 3, Arny / TS,Mtchelle/78, Jeff/ 82, AIIison/8S) 569th PSC, APO Nanr York O9178 fWest Germany) === Rob & Barbara SIIEPPARD (Ellie/8o, Martha/83, Alfie,/87) 65 Oxford St, Rugby, Warwtckshirc, Ensland CV2f gNE (IO -== Ehvan VECELUO & Sttah PARSONS (l-orten / 78, Elia/8O, tanthe/84, Amaya/86) 'Darama'Upper Bulll Crk Rd, B5rabana 2446, Vla Wauchopc NSW. Australia === Dietmar &

Margr WALTER Carrie/8l, llr.go / 84,Steven/86) Ftnkeweg 14,7311 HochdorfWest Germany === Nancy & Burger ZAPF (Vivien/ 7 7, MeTanie / 841 Am Waeldchcn 8, D-624O Ko€nigstein 4 West

Cermanv (H)

ADDITIONS TO RESOURCES Ccrtiffed tcachers willins to help homeschoolere: Rick KEPFIART, I High St, Malvcrn pA 19355 {elementary) === Muricl PALKO, 4O3 Pleasant St, Ionla MI 48846 (change) === Tara SENNETT, 1941 L St, Llncoln NE 6a5lo (math) ===Lir:daZUERN, Box 619, 5 Depot Rd, Cataumet MA 02534 Frtendly School Distrtct: Bill Laplante, Director of Altcrnattue ProgFams, Montcr€y County Ollice of Educatlon, 9Ol Blanco Circle, PO Box 8O851, Salinas CA 93912 Helpful Psychologist: Dr. Susan Ott, HC 81, Box lOA, Pctersham MA O1366 lNotc: Up to now rpe haven't listed psychologists as a separate category, but a fcw rcaders have let us know that a list of psychologists who ar.c sJmpathetic to homeschooling - who won't sce it as a failure of the parent to'separatc- from the child, and viceversa, for example - would be useful. Ifyou know of someone who belongs on thls list (and would likc to be on it), plcase scnd us a card with tJre

information.l Adoption (willing to correspond about): Jenny Wright, Quaker City, Charlestown NH 03603

ptano, geography === Michelle EDWARDS (f 6) 872 Co Rd 92, Maple Plaln MN 54359t buslnegs, cake decoratlrqg. music === Ryan FORD (1Ol 33297 RD 162. Ivanhoe CA 93235; sports, biking, radio control cars === Jesslca SHARRY (f2) 4531O Byrne Dr, Northvllle MI 48167; S/mnasdcs, fashion, music =--= Rcbccca HETTICOX (7) Rt 2 Box 4 I 9 , Warrenton VA 22 I 86; projccts , rcading, hqrs€s === STEPIIANSON, l72l carnet Rd, Victorta BC V8P 3C9, Canada: Heidt (12) horses, clarinet, readingi: Adam (lO) gmnastics, sciencc, skateboarding; Peter (7) tndians, dinosaurs, gmnastics === lsn SENI{ART (lO) 137-05 Franklin Ave.. Flushing, Ny, I l35S; drawlng, plano, comic books === DITTBERNER, Rt. I, Bo:r 43, Parkcrs karlc, MN, 56361: Forest (8) electrtc tratns, Irgos, dinosaure: Selena (5) dolls, plaflng, mustc =- Bryce ROBERTSON (8) I I Bates Rd, Jackson NJ O8527: colns, cars, shells === Alison WARE (8) 6046 Riverton Av. N Hollywood CA 91606: ice skattng, rabbtts, readtqg === Qsthy llt6sllers (15) R 2 Box l9l, Fa]'ette tA 52142: skaUng, sewiry, swimming =: Eric THORNER (712248-44 Thebes Av, Ltttle Neck Ny I1362; m.gtc, coins, stamps === Amb€r CLIFFORD (13) 4205 4oth, Lubbock fi 79413: Star Trek, wridng, music === BURDIN, 7342 Brownell Rd, Ft Meade MD 2OT55: Aaron (Z hockey, legos, science; Chrlsten (S) pets, hockey, skateboards === Emily NEPON (9) RD 2 Box 236, Califon NJ O783O; miniatures, museurns, books

COSI\iiIC CoLC'RING. Colortr4g to make you smile. Star People. Magic Robe. Gingerbread Mooman. $2.95 each. Postage 75c cach Sbooks.

Linda Solomakos, 23 Tahoc, I{alispell MT 59€nf .

Freebrochure.

Home school your childrcn with outstanding eclcctic curiculum, thc classics, reading

comprehension drills, emphatic phonics.

Controllcd papcruork. Sample work, tests malled once p€r quarter. COVENANT HOME CURRICU-

SLruru "g=.-Tkn"'dg53oor.

Lux, 3O5 Briarwood Dr. Watsonvlllc CA 95026.

CHILDHOOD - TIIE WALDORF PER,SPECTTVE. A quarterly Journal with curriculurns for homc study studcnts, a kindergarten/preschool program, phllosophy of child dweloprnent.

Practical acttvltles centcred around thc s€asons and festivals, Resourccs. $2O peryear. Also l98Z back i:ssues $2O a sct. I{ANCY ALDRICH, Rt 2 Box 2675G, Westford VT 05494.

HOME SCHOOL SUPPLY HOUSE. Convenient one-stop source for educational materlals. Books, tcxtbooks, sclence and math tools, art supplies.

Wide selection, fast sen'icet Free catalog: g2S4 E

CLASSIFIED ADS gl word/boldfece, gS mlnimum. Pleas tell thsee folksyou saw the ad inGWS. Rates: 7o0lword,

DAYSTAR is a nondenomenaflonal, basics-

LEARMNG CAN BE FUN| F'ind out more about DISCOVERY TOYS quality toys, books and games. For information call or write: Manr C. Goreckl, 23 Briar In, Geneva IL ffilg*i gl2-2527697.

NEW BIG FREE CATALOGT New: music; math manipulatives, books, supplies for science, social studies, art. Surprises for weryone. K-6 Teaching Guides, Resourcc Units that go far beyond outlin€. Standardized tqst prcparation. K-I2 workbooks. LEARNING AT HOME hx 27O-G62.

Honaunau HI 96726.

APPRENTICESHIP - Room, board, exchange for

help ln organic garden, tofu shop, shoemalring, household, child care. Write Sian Mclean, RR #2 Heathcrton, Nova Scotia, BOH lRO, Canada.

centered, personalizcd corrcspondence school the lFast erp€nsivc and most cficctive. Wrlte Daystar, 733 S Maln #49. Willtts CA 9S49O. PUBLISHERS' CLOSEOUTS of qualit5r books for children, ph-rs our own tttles: HOME SCHOOL MANUAL, BUBBIES, SCIENCE ACTTVITIES, etc.

Scnd SASE for catalog. Gazclle Rrbllcations, SSSO Stanley, Aubum CA 95603.

Home EducaHon Mag^Cne - write for our frec 16 page catalog ofhomeschoollng books and publicatlorrs. Box lo8it, Tonasket WA 988SS.

The 1988 Home School kimer - a complete guide from the editors of Home Educadon M"ga/lne, $6.50 postpaid. Box lo&t, TonaskerWA988S5.

IIIDS NEED SPACE, especrally homc schooled onesl INSTANT DOUE;S catalog $1. SI{ELTER SYSTEMS. Box 67-GW, Aptos CA gSOOl.

PEN-PALS Chlldrcn wantlng pcn-pab should writc to thosc listed. To be listcd, scnd name, age, address, andl-3 words on lnter€sts === fsss2 WAIXER (5) Box 40, Slocan Park, BC VOG 2EO Canada: ballet, piano, wildltfe := II{I{IV, lgg3 Arvillc St, Las Vegas NV 891O2: Tara {14) animals, htstory, drawins Amy (fO) dolls,

cooking === Michah ILOWIT (7) log E. Preston St, Irxington VA 2445O; stamp collecting, drawhg, football cards === BAIIR, 22 Madison Ave, Wakeffeld MA, Ol88O; Michclle (12) mysterics, cats, cooklng: Marle (lO) cats, statlonery, pen-pals === STOUDENMIRE, 149-8 Old Hospital Area, Pensacola FL 325O8-lOOl: Tiara (5) reading, animals, playrng: Tiana (3) dogs, books, crafts === DANZ, Z3l South Baird St, Grcen Bay WI 543O1: lorelei (9) animals, reading, colonial history: Valerie (6) dogs, horses, animals -== Anne BROSI{AN (f U 137 Thc Crcscent. Babylon, NY I l7O2; music, birds, canoeing === Brendan BANKS (9) 5lg Silver Run Valley Rd, Westminster MD 21157; rock h roll,

GRO\44NG WITHOUT SCHOOLING #62

_

EXCEI,LENT UUSIC'AL PROGRAUS. Here are htgh qualigr audio cassettes that teach childrcn sclf-esteem, safc$r sldlls, and charactcr streqgtl. Send $3 for a cassettc ofsong o<cerpts and a brochure or s€nd for a frce brochurc. Fiat

If you would llke to be in the Directory and have not yet told us, send ln this form, or use a postcard or 3x5 card (only one family per card).

Adults (first and last names): Organization (only if address is same as family)

Children (Names/Birthyears) Full Address:

in the 1988 Directory (cWS

No

_

If thts is an address change, what was previous state?

_

Were you

#60)? Yes

_

Are you wllltng to host travellng GWS readers who make advance arxagements

tn

wrlttng?

Yes

_

No

_

32 (ads continud.Jrom preuious lnge)

JIMANDMARYSMITH

TEACH YOIIR CHILD TO READ with Samuel Blumcnfeld's APLPHA-PHOMCS. Guaranteed.

No finer program at any prlcel Free brochure: Elijah Company. Box 124838, Knoxville TN 37912.

27

I6MAINST PIAITiN4LLE

O1

^2

I{Y

OI I11

The rxrmber that is underltned in the example tells the number of thc ffnal lssue for thc subscription. The Smlths'sub explres with l*sue #63. the next issuc. But if we were to receive their renewal before we sent our ffnal accor:nt changes

Helpl We want to homeschool in Japan. Anyone have any lnformation/experlences? Please write us: C)mthia Jackson Makl, l3 Naka-Machl, Nishio-shi, Aichi-Ken. JAPAN 445

HOW TO GET STARTED Here are some mys you can find out the legal situation in your state. t) Look up the law yourself, in a public library or law library {courthouse, law school, etc.) Laws are lndexedl tr5l'school attendance" or 'education, compulsory." 18 states have revised their homc cducation laws since 1982 so check the recent statute changes. We have prlnted or summarized these new laws in ourback issues.

etc.)

I year 2yr3.

6iss. lziss.

3yrs.

$20 $36 $zla $60 $70 $78

$48 $90 $126 $156 $180 $216

to the mailinghguse (earlyJune). theywould quali$ for the free bonus issue.

Renewal rates re the sme as fornew subscriptions: $2O for 6 issues, $36 for 12 issues, $48 for l8 issues.

lx 2X $( rx $( 6)<

SUBSCRIPTIONS

7)(. 8X ctc: $12 pcrp€rson

Subscriptions start with the ncxt issuc published. Our current rates arc $2O for 6 issues, $36 for 12 issues, $48 for lS lssues. GWS is published every other month. A single lssue costs $3.50.

Forclgn paymcntr must be either money orders in US ii:nds or checks drawn on USbarrks.

We can't afford to ac.cept personal checks on Canadlan accounts, wen if t}tcy have 'US fundswritten on them. Outside of North America, add $lO per year for alrmail (othenilise, allow 2-3 months for surface mail).

Bact lesues: We strongly urge you to get the back issues of GWS, especlally if you plan to take your children out of school. Many of the articles are as uscful md lmportant as when *tcy were printed. and we do not plan to repeat the information in them.

Our rates for back lssues: any combination ofback issues. mailed at one tlme to one address, cost $l per issue. plus $2 per order. For e:tample, CWS #l-61 would cost $63. Thesc rates are for subscrtbers onl5r; non-subscribers pay $3.5O per

2l Ask the state department of education for any laws or regulations pcrtaining to homeschoollng and/or starttng a private school. In some states (particularly CA, IL, IN, I(Y) thcre are few regulatlons concerning prlvate schools and so you can call yor:r home a school. Ifyou are concerned about rwealing your name and address to the state, do thl,s througlr a ftend. 3) Contact state or local homeschooling g5oups.

This list was last printed in GWS #6O, and is updated and sold separately for $2 as part of our 'Homeschooling Resource List.' Some grouPs have prepared handbooks or guidelines on legal matters. Often, these groups can tell you more about the legal climate in a state than anyone else can - whether new legislation ls pending, for example, and how thc present law ls being enforced. 4) Contact other families listed ln our Directory. Thls ts padicularly useful if you live tn a state that lcaves homeschoollng rcgulatlons uP to indivldrlal school dlstrtcts. When you contact tlese families, help them by havlng done somc research on your own first. 6) ln gcneral, it is not wlse to start by asking your local school dlstrict: they usually don't know t}le law eithcr. Bettcr to gather the facts first on your own.

notiflcation fee, so wc can't alford to rcplace thcm without charge.

Group Subrcrlptlonr: all coples at€ mailed to one address. Pleasc pay wlth onc chect. Here are thc currcnt group ratcs (lX mearrs you get one copy ofcach lssue, 2X means you get 2 coples 6fssch lqcug, $Xmcarrs 3 copics,

{36 $64 $9O $l 12 $130 $144

l8iss.

Fryear.

Pleasc scnd tn the narnes and addresses of members ofyour group sub, so that wc can keep in touch wlth thern. Thanks.

cWS m. founded ln 1977 by John Holt.

Editor - Susannah Sheffer Managlng Editor - Patrlck Farenga Contributing Edltor - Donna Rlchor:x Editorial Asststant - MaDr Maher Edttorlal Consultant - Nancy Wallacc Book & Subscription Manager - Day Farenga Book Shipper/Receiver - Patrick Gould Bookkeepirlg Assbtant - Jerome Puzo Holt Associatcs Board of Directors: Patrick Farerlga (Corporatc President), Mary Maher, Tom Maher, Donna Richoux, Susannah Shelfcr Advlsors to the Board: Stwe Rupprccht, Ma4rVan Dorcn, Nancy Wallacc

issue.

Indct #4f

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Thesc prlces lnclude postage.

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Addresr Changce: lf you're moving, let us GWS

RENBWALS At the bottom ofthis page is a form you can us€ to rcnew your subscription. Please help us by

F \OlO SIg) 6

I wl-j t 813 "EF

know your new address as soon as possible.

Please enclose a reccnt label (or copy ofone).

renewing early.

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Issucs missed because ofa change in address may be replaced for $2 each. The post offfce dcstroys your missed issues and charges us a

SUBSCRIPTION AND RENEWAI, FORM

g'."lE' -o\!'

l|1

lut

ls lg

-l

0e

fom to subscribc or rmcw to GROWINC WITI{OUT SCHOOUNG. For rencwals, place thc label from a recent issuc bclow, lf possiblc, If not, prlnt thc lnfo. Cllp and scnd with your checkor money order ir: US fi:nds. Or, yciu may now subscribe or rcnew b5r phonc wlth Mastercard or Vlsa: call 617'437' 1583.

Use thls

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Rcnewal

New subscrlptlon

Glft subscrlption to bc setrt to name shown.

Account Numbcr (for rcnewals): Namc:

Exptration Codc (for rencwals): Address {changc? yes/no)

EBE FET

Clty. State, Ztp: 12

6lssues. $2o

GroupSubl

coPtes

of

isues,

$36

lssues. $

evE

18 issucs, S48

-

(scc chart)

It ls OK to sell my rrame and address to othcr organlzatlons.

GROWING WITHOLTT SCHOOLING #62