Growing Without Schooling 67

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 67

Howpeople make discoverlcs ls the subJect of this lssue's

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: NEWS&REPORTS p.2-4 CFIALLENGES & CONCERNS

p.5-6 Mother Wants Tlme, La.rge Familles, How Worksheets Fail, What If She Wants To Go To School?

WHAT WE CAI.[ LEARN FROM W}IAT HELPS TROTIBLED

CHILDREN o.7 DEALING WTTH OFFICIAI.S

p.8-9 DECIDINGTO HOMESCHOOL p. 10 WATCHING CHILDREN LEARN p. ro-1r,22-23 Writing Workshops, Muslcal Family, Programmlng, Reading, Math, Geography FOCUS: MAKING DISCOVERIES p. 17-19 AUAITITITY

TIME p. 20

CHILDREN IN THE WORKPI-ACE p.2O-2r OLDER HOMESCHOOLERS p. 2 I 22 COMPLETE LISTS of certllled teachers, helpful lawyers, psychologists, and school dlstricts

p.25-27

When I was about seven or etght, I understood that the earth was round, but I thought that we were all standing on the lnside of the ball, rather than on lts surface. I saw the earth as the bottom half of the clrcle, a sort of cup holding everything, and the sky as the domed cetlln$. My mother tried to erplain to me that thls was not an accurate model of the earth and the sky, that in fact we stood on bp of the bdl, wlth the slry everlrwhere around us. The ercplanation dldn't make immediate sense to me. Nothtng ln my own observation or or.perience conflrrned lt. The slry looked to me llke a huge blue dome, a curved ceiltng.

When I put the pleces together, I formed a certaln plcture of thlngs, one that was not easlly shaken.

How frustrattng tt must have been for my mother not to be able to glve me her understandtng of the world, not to be able to take the mental model tn her head and slmply place tt ln mine. When I did - not long alterwards - change my mental model of the earth and the sky so that it agreed wtth hers (and, of course, wtth most people's), lt was not because I was told to, but because, through my oriln observaUon and hypotheslzlng and testtn$, the new model began to make sense, to seem rlght.

Ifs very tempting to think that with a clever explanation, with the right words, we câ‚Źrn stmply transfer understandtng from one person to another. If this were all that teachtng requlred, good teachers would be people who could artlculate good ecplanatlons, and that would be that. But, as John Holt says in the unpubltshed letter we excerpt from tn thls lssue's Focus, stmply putUn$ our own understandlng Into words ls not enough.

John wdtes ln thls letter about what was then, tn 1965, the "new enlightenment' ln educatlon, character2ed by the idea that teachers should teach concepts rather than facts. Later, John often used the metaphor of bottles ln a factory to describe our mistaken assumptions about teachtng and learntn$. We thtnk that teachlng ts like pourlng llqutd lnto bottles as they come down a conveyor belt, he satd. QuesUons about educatlon are questions about what to pour ln the bottles: should we pour in three years of French or four? Thus' the questlon of concepts versus facts, when asked wlthtn the framework of this metaphor, was stmply a questton about what to pour ln, what to administer. It tgnored the lack of correspondence between bottles watting to receive somethtng and actual chlldren at work making sense of the world.

Understandtng the earth and the slry did not happen to be part of my school currlculum at the time that I was trytng to form my own model of it. But suppose tt had been. Suppose I had had to agree that people stood on the surface of the earth, and to wrlte tt on tests, before I actually came to feel that lt was so. One consequence ofhavlng to "repeat, as sense, what makes no sense'to us, John says tn this lssue, ls that we stop trytng to check what people say agalnst reallty. Worse, we forget how to conduct such a test; we forget that learning is a matter of checktng somethtng that someone says, or somethlng that we suspect might be true, agalnst sâ‚Źnse, against reality. Recently a friend and I were trying to flgure out what one percent of a large number would be. In the middle of the arithmetic we stopped and asked ourselves what sort of number we were lookfng for, what size tt would make sense for lt to be. Thts ls exactly what the children ln How ChlldrenFcil dld not do, and what we ourselves seldom did lr school - checked somethlng agalnst our own model of hou' thxrgs worked, and felt conlldent about the result.

People ln educatlon are still debating whether concepts or facts are best (these days, the argument tends to be ln favor of facts). But the discussion in thls lssue of GWS ls not as much about thls debate as lt ls about why this debate ls not the point. John's letter, and the dlscusslons that follow, are about what teachers ccrn do for learners, and what teachers should be careful not to do for learners. Often we recelve letters at GWS whlch ask, 'What do I do when my chtld doesn't understand somethtng? Is there any way to help? When does help become harmful?'The discusslons ln this lssue offer us some ways to think Susannah Sheffer about thts tmportant questlon.

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.U

NEWS & REPORTS

I U)

o o o

a

Norna Rlchoux Ross on the telephonc.

OFFICE NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS Our new ofllcr's location has made us much more accessible, and weVe had many visitors thls fall. Day Farenga

reports that our lncome from walk-in customers has trtpled, which ts good news. We hope readers from around the counby wlll contlnue to drop by - Just call in advance to be surewe're here.

As you'll see in the Book and Muslc Store pages ofthis lssue, we ar€ cutdng several books and rnaterlals from our catalog so that we clrn conffnue to have

room for new items that are important to our philosophy. Many of the ltems we've cut are wonderful, and lt's hard to let them go. On page 16

ofthis lssue, weVe glvenyou

a list of everything that wlU be cut from the Spring catalog, and for whlch we sdll have stock available at press tlme. The deadline for the purchase of these discontinued items is March 31, 1989, so ifyou see something on the list that youVe always meant to order, now ls the time to do it.

We'd like to remlnd you, as we do from time to dme, that one of the lrnportant ways in which you can help our work ls to arrange for us to speak to a group tn your area, Some ofyou have already thought of asldng us to your homeschooling fairs and conferences, which we appreclate. We also suspect that some ofyou may have connections to groups or organlzations - parents' cooperauves, La

kche kague, profes-

sional educators, librarles, children's museums, or somethlng else (useyour imaginatlonl) - that rnight be lnterested. It may help, in thinlidng about thls, to remember that tn addttton to homeschooling we can also speak about how children learn, John Holt's ltfe and work, and lobbying, and can offer workshops in writing (for children, for adults, and for adults about children) and muslc.

We've been enjoytng help ln the olllce from our old friend Elsa Haas, whom some of you wtll remember as our shlpper/ receiver a couple ofyears ago. Elsa ls now

living in Spaln and urorklng on translating GWS into Spanlsh, which we're excited about because such a translation will surely be of use to the Spanishspeaking communit5r here, too. We will let you know when an edition is available.

HOMESCHOOLED TEENS ARENIT ISOLATED *)omthe 11/7/8 Ltncoln (NE) Star,

'Home *lwllrtg Provtdes Teens LearnIrtg, But Not In Isolatirru' bg fub Reerrs:

,.,The students tn Uanl Bretz's class are all chtldren from home schools ln the Ltncoln area, who gather onc€ a week at her home to learn public spealdng. The class is one ofserreral opportunides for teenagers gohg to schooi at home to lnteract with other students.

Contrary to a popular misconc.epflon about homeschooltng, most home school

students aren't golng lt alone. Besldes the speech cl:ss, trerng school teens have weekly phystcal educadon classes at the Northeast YMCA" They also have a band and a swtng cholr. Students get together

for monthly field trtps, and earlier thls fall participated in CPR class€s conducted by the Red Cross. Forelgn-language classes are belng planned... 'l like homeschooltng because it's a better way to me€t frends than tn the public school,' said Nlkkf l-ellerdink, 16, who lives on a farm near Hickman. Ntkld attended Norrts Publlc School through eighth grade, but satd she found the stu-

dents cliquetsh -'everybody had their own [ttle groups that they wanted to be

ln.'

Homeschmlers are eager to make friends and are more acrcepttng of other teenagers' diflerences - possibly because they are ln a less compedtlve envlronment she and other homeschoolers sald...

PARENTS . NEA'S PARTNERS Renremfur tlv aftlcle opposirtg honeschmling In tle Nattornl Hucation Associatircn's wwsletter tlut un reprbXd in CWS #62? Tte Ml has not changed tts positton on honeschalhg, to ow krcwbdgq butuse didcome across thls Item In tle Malden (Mass.J &llrcadort Associatfirn's Memfur 7988 newsbtten

The following new buslness ltem was presented to the NEA Convention te New Orleans tn.Iuly, 1988, by the Massachusefts State DelegaHon. It was supported by a vote of those present and mailings have begun to all state and local alllliates and local school governlng bodtes...

'NEA should cornmunicate with its state and local alBliates and with local governlng school bodles that tt ts the

responsibtltty of the parents/primary

guardians to become lnvolved ln the educadonal process ofeach child - tn homework, achlevement, and behavior. NEA should enoourage more lnteraction between parentsr/prlmary gu.ardlans and the educattonal pnooess ln the classroom, because the parents/prtmary guardians are fundamentally the drtvlng force behind each student's success. This should be accomplished prior to the end of the 1988-89 school year.'

Ratlonale: Emphasls for a large part of the responstbility for student performance must be removed from teachers and put where it belongs - on parents/primary

€Uardlans, our partners ln education.

PHYSICAL CONTACT HELPS LOW BIRTHWEIGHT BABIES Now and, tlen we hear of research that supports a continuum uag oJ raislttg babies, nrith Lots oJ physbal contacL Flom the bcemfur 1988 tssue o/The Brown Untverstgr Chtld Development letter:

Regular sldn-to-sldn contact between very low btrthwetght tnfants and their mothers may help alleviate the distress of separadon for as long as the lnfants remaln hosplrrllzed. In a recent study, 35 hospltallzed lnfants weightng between 7OO and ISOO gr,rms were held naked between the mother s breasts for up to four hours daily durtng the mother's visit to the hospital. The mothers of these t:rfants were able to breastfeed four weeks longer, on the average, than mothers fur a control group. In addluon, babies who had experienced slidn-to-skln contact cried slgnilicantly less at slx months of age. ('Skin to

Skin Contact for Very low Birthweight Infants and Thelr Mothers,' A Whitelaw, G. Heisterkamp, K. Sleath, D. Acolet, M.

Richards, Archlves of Disease in Childhood 63: 1377- 1381, 1988.)

RESEARCHER LOOKING FOR HOME.EDUCATED ADULTS We pt this notlce h tle maiL TV'ro

Unlverslty of Utah researchers

are seeklng home-educated adults for a natlonal survey on homeschooling. The

suwey wlll assess characteristics, views,

and attifudes of adults who were educated at home for the duratlon of at least two years. lf you are interested ln completlng a survey, or lfyou know ofan adult who would be willing to partrctpate, please contact J. Gary Knowles or Jeannie Goodman, Departrnent of Educadonal Studles, Universlgr of Utah, Salt I-a.ke City LrT 84

l 12, or phone

8O l

-58 1 -8 175.

[SS:l I called Gar5r Knowles to Ilnd out how the survey dellned "adult.'At flrst he satd l8 and older, but when I menfloned that I could think of several homeschoolers who were 16 or 17 and already lnvolved ire adult work or in college, he revised this somewhat, and said would Itke to hear from anyone who has bcen homeschooled for at least two years and has now moved on to some kind of adult life beyond the home. So tf you fit this description, you're ellgible for the survey wen if you're not yet 18.

INSTITUTIONAL

S

ETTINGS

In the December i.ssue oJ Chid's Plag, the newsletter of TIIE CANADIAN ALUANCE OF HOME5€.HOOIE,R$ editor Wendg Hesnltz quotes Jrom a paper bg MoxitE WoIJe oJ tle CXy Unioersity oJ New York coJLed "lnsdtutional Seffurgs

ard

Children's llues: An Historical, Deuelopnental and. Ettuironnentol Perspectbse on Edlrcattonal Facilities":

GROWINC WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

3

For twelve years my colleagues and I observed the use of space and educatlonal

studled and reports can be made. This pnooess ts expected to take thls whole

praclices in many schmls whlch were of dillerent vintages and phystcal forms and claimed to have dllferent educatlonal philosophies.,. We found that tn most of these setUngs what oc.curred on a dally basis did not reflect the goals that teachers, admlnistrators, or deslgners sald they were trying to achierre. People talked about the value of indivtduallzed programs yet taught group classes and measured progress using standardlzed tests. Though the fixed desks and seats had been replaced by moveable furntture, ln most rooms and schools no matter what the educational philosophy or the overall use ofthe space, the arangements s€t at the beginning of the school year rematned undl the last day of classes,., One of the clearest yet rnost accepted and unquestioned example of an tnstitutional routine lhked to the exerclse of control and authorlt5r ts 'lfnhg up' ...The primary of order and obedlencc ls clear..

The underlying assumption ts that if authority is not exercised and ifobedience is not requlred, chlldren will behave in ways totally out of control...

Life for chlldren ln school is pubtc.

They have virtually no time or space to which adults can be denled aooess...

Privacy is so antithetlcal to the lnsUtutional goals of order, control, and en-

school year.'

North Dakota. then, ls the only state actually rcqulrtng cerdllcaHon rtght now.

Accordtng to the Fall 1988 lssue of ?he

forced sociabilfty, that chlldren's attempts to seek out prlvagr are delined as their problem... Chtldren who ffnd psychologtcal prtv'acy by daydreamlng are labeled as 'lnattendve' or 'dlslnterested'.,.

NEWS FROM THE ''CERTI. FIED TEACHER'' STATES Of the three states - Mtctrigan, Iowa"

and North Dakota - that have requlred homeschoolers to be (or to use) c.erttfied teachers, tn only one, North Dakota, is

this requirement currently ln effect.

In Michtgan, the prelmlnary inJunction regardtng homeschoolers and crrtlfied teachers ts scheduled to come to trtal soon, to be changed lnto

a

permanent

inJunctlon, accsrdlng to the November issue of ??re lzarnlrg Mge, the newsletter of CIONIARA HOME BASED EDUCATION PROCRAM. Check wtth Clonlara about the exact trial date. The preltmlnary lnJunctlon, which was handed down bv Ctrcult

Court Judge Thomas Brown tn l'987 and has been tn elfect slnc.e then, requlres that homeschoolers have a cerdlled teacher for 'anywhere from two hours a year up to 899 hours a year,' rather than the l8O days a year that the state ortglnally requlred.

The Judge deffned "teacher' broadly, tncluding an audlo orvldeo cassette, a person met at the [brary or Lre church, or someone you speak to on the phone. Clonlara plans to brlng homeschoolers who have been successful wtthout a cerdlled teacher, or who have only us€d one through phone conversatlons, to be witnesses at the trlal.

And, from the same lssue of The I-earnh.g &lge:'[Iounl - one of the three states whlch requlred the use ofa cerdlled teacher by home educators - no longer does. The whole questlon of home education is on hold untll the toplc can be CROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

Hote *lrol

C-autt Reprrft, the newsletter ofTHE HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCTATION, pnosecudons of famllles

contlnue. As of the newsletter's press dme tn late October, three new famllles faced tmancy charges, and several other famllles had been threatened wlth prosecuUon. Several of this state's tmancy convlcflons that we have mendoned ln prevlous lssues of GWS are s.tll on appeal.

NEW LAW IN PENNSYLVANIA The homeschoolrng btll pa.ssed out of the House ln a unanlmous vote on November 22, out of the Senate wtth another unanlrnous vote on November 3O, and was slgned lnto law by the governor on Dec€mber 21, endtng homeschmlers' four-and-ahalf-yearlong elTort to pass a new law ln

Pennsylvania.

Under the new law, as under serreral other state laws, pa.rents must file an annual allidavit with their local superintendent saying that they are teachlng the required subJects for the requlred number of hours (prior to the passage of thls Law, homeschoolers ln Pennsylvanla had to seek approval from thetr local superlntendents).

Three aspects of the new liaw are worth noting: Handlcepped chlldren: Homeschoolers wtth a chtld who has been ldentified as handicapped must have thelr program approved by a certllled special ducadon teacher or a llcens€d c[nical or school psychologfsl The law reads:

"lnstrucdon to chlldren of compulsory school age provlded ln a home education progranr" as pro\rlded for ln Secilon 1327. I of thls act, shall be conslder€d as complyfng wlth the provlslons of this sectlon, exc€pt that any sfudent who has been tdenttlled purstrant to the provlslons of the Educatlon of the Handlcapped Act... as needing spectal educadon servlces, excludlng those studenls ldsntlffgd as glfted or talented, shall be ln compliance with the requlrements of compulsory educatlon by partictpattng ln a home educatlon program... when the program addresses the specific needs of the exceptional student and ls approved by a teacher with a valtd cerdllcate from the Commonwealth to teach speclal education or a llcensed cltntcal or certllled school psychologst, and wrttten nodllcadon of such approval ts subrnltted wtth the notarlzed allidavtt..."

Acc'ording to Howard Richman of PENNSYLVANIA HOMESCHOOLERS, this

part of the blll represents a compromlse, because leglslators had at one potnt proposed that homeschoolers wtth handt€ppd ctrlldren be prevented from homeschoollng at all.

Methodr of Eveftntlon:

Parents

must rnatntatn a portfollo of thetr chlld's work, and at the end of the year must have

the portfolio revlewed by a state cerdlicd teacher, a non-public school teacher, or a llc.ensed psychologlst. Parents may choose thelr enaluator, and PENNSYLVANIA HOMESCHOOLERS plans to kc'ep a file of

sympathedc people who qudiS. After r€vtewlng the portfolto and lnterviewing the chtld, the evaluator must write an erraluatlon certi$rtng that the child ts maktng 'sustained progress in the overall program' and that'aPProPriate educatlon' ls taktng place.

In grades 3, 5, and 8, the portfolto must also lnclude standardlzed test scores, wtrich can be thos'e of the statewide TELIS test (ln which case the child would take the test at the local school), or ofone offlve other standardized tests (which can be admlnlstered by someone the parent chooses, as long as tt ls notthe parent).

Agaln, the erraluation sectlon of the liaw represents several compromlses, according to the homeschooling lobbyists.

Homeschooler Peter Bergson told us that althouglr homeschoolers were originally adamant about opposlng a testing requirement, durlng the later stages of lobbying it became clear that tt would be lmpossible to saHsff the legislators, and thus get the law passed, without maldng some provislon for testlng.

The linal verslon of the law requtes the person who rerrlews the child's portfollo and wrltes the year-end evaluation to have had at least two years of teaching experlence. In an earlier verslon, tlrts had

been'two years ln the past ten,'which would have elimtnated many home-

schooltng parents who were certtlied teachers before becomlng homeschoolers.

Under the law as passed, many homeschooltng parents uill qualiff as evaluators for other families.

Duc Proccsr llearlngr: If a super-

lntendent claims that education ts not taking place for a pardcular child, based on the annual portfolio and evaluation, he must specl$ whlch parts of the documentation ale tnadequate. The family then has twenty days to submit addidonal documentatlon. If they fatl to do thts, they are automatlcally tn violation of the law.

If they submtt the additional documentatlon and the superlntendent determines agatn that lt is inadequate, the disbtt must pay for an lmpartial due process heartng. The law reads:

"If the superlntendent determines that the addittonal documentadon submttted sttll does not demonstrate that ap-

proprlate educadon ts taking place ln the home educatlon program, he shall so nouff the supeMsor of the home educatlon program... and the Board of Directors shall provide for a proper hearing by a duly qualifted and tmpartlal hearing GROWING WTHOTIT SCHoOUNG #67. Vol. 12

No. l. IS.SN #0745-5305. Publlshed bt-monthly

by Holt Assoclates, 2269 Massachusctts Avenue, Cambrtdge MAO2laO.$2O/W. Date of Issue: Fcbrua4r l. 19a9. Sccond-clas pcstage paid at Boeton. MA. POSTMASTER: Scnd addregs changes to GWS, 2269 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA O2l4O.

ADVERISERS: Deadlares arc the l5th of oddnumbcrcd months. Contact Patrtck Farenga for rates.

4 exarniner wtthln ttrtrty days. The examtner shall render a declslon wtthln flfteen days ofthe heartng except that he may requlre the establtshment of a remedial educaUon plan mutually agreed to by the superintendent and supervlsor of the home educadon prog5am which shall continue the home educadon program. The decision of the examiner may be appealed by either the supeMsor of the home education program or the superlntendent to the secretary ofeducatlon or conunon-

wealth court,"

The law goes lnto effect tmmedlately, but does not superccde any agreements between homeschoolers and superlntendents that are ln elTect durlng ttrls school year.

One linal note. In GWS #65, we wrote that as part of the court rullng ln favor of the Jeffrey family, .Iudge Kostk would have declared the old law unconstltutional by Deccmber 31, 1988, tf the legislature had not passed this new law. This would have left the state wlthout anv homeschooling law, and thus open io possibly more restrictlve regUladons from the Department of Education. The homeschoolers' lobbylng ellcrts clearly helped to pass the new law tn time. An ardcle tn the lL/24/8A Philadelphia Inqulrer reports: "[Chatrman of the House Educaflon Committeel Cowell satd the grass-roots lobbying had worked.'[Homeschoolers] delinitely had an tmpa.ct. Thetr lobbying put some of the professtonals to shame.'"

OTHER LOCAL NEWS For addresses oJstate and,leal organlzatlotts, s€e GWS #66 or our Honeschrcllng Resource llst, apailo.He

Jor $2.

Califorala: Tlee Decemberpanuaqr

issue of the NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HOMESCHOOL ASSOCTATION Neurs

reports that although the State Depart-

ment of Education recently reallirmed the legality of homeschoolittg (".. GWS #66), some count5r and district oflicials, who must interpret and enforce the law, have interpreted it narrowly tn "hostile, threatening letters' to homeschoolers.

The NCHA Ner.us quotes letters from various school olllcials saytrg that parents must have a state teachtng credential to qualifr for an exempdon from the compulsory educadon law. (In fact, lnstnrc-

tlon by a tutor wlth a teachtng credentlal ts only one of the law's optlons. The others are lndependent study ln connecdon with the publtc school, or flllng as a prlvate school.)

The editor of the NCHA Neurs adds: 'Fortunately, as of November 8, nothtng has come of elther of these sltuations,

although the famllles lnvolved ln NCHA

wlll condnue to watch them closely.'

Also ln thls lssue of the Neus, Ellzabeth Harntll wrttes that the group

oppos€s the rroucher proposal called -The Educational Fleform Act of 1990." The

proposal ls for a law that would dtstrlbute educatlon vouchers to school-age chlldren ln Caltfornta. Ellzabeth Hamtll wrttes that NCHA opposes thts d!:aft on two gSounds: flrst, tt would dellne private schools as those enrolling ten or more students, thereby ellmlnadng the prlvate school exemptlon for homeschoolers; second, lt requlres that homeschoolers demonstrate academlc progress through standardized tests.

Ncw Hempehlrc: Thouglr the state regulatlons were not scheduled to come up for a review untll 1990, the LttcMeld schml distrlct, whlch ts tnvolved ln a cpurt battle wtth a homeschoollng farnily, asked the Department of Education to revlew the current regulauons sooner, and to constder proposals for new ones. Several groups are represented on the Home School Rules Committee, whlch ls ln the process ofdrafttng new reguladons: the School Boards Assoclatlon, the School Adminlstrators Assoclation, the Princi-

pals Assoclation, the Non-public Schools

Advlsory Council, the State Department of Educatlon, the State Board ofEducaflon, and two homeschoolers from state groups, According to Elatne Rapp of the NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION, the school board that asked for the regulations to be reviewed has suggested that new regulaUons mandate that par€nts be certtffed and chtldren be tested, and allow for home vistts by school olllclals. Elaine says that homeschoolers arc trying to oller more 0e)dble proposals.

New YorL: In GWS #65, we wrote that homeschoolers were worklng to amend the recently-passed homeschooling regulations to allow for alternatlves to tesdng. The Januaqr lssue of the Florne schoolrers' Erchorye now reports that this amendment'was defeated at the Novem-

Lee C,olnet urcte In tle Wtter lssue oJ The Voice, the wwsletter oJ NABAMA

HOME EDUCATORS:

[The Birmingham Area Support Group hasl dweloped a wonderful system of support for their large area- They request parents who have two or more years of homeschooling experience to adopt a newcomer for one year. They then ask the volunteer to phone thelr adoptee every week or so, be available to answer quesdons, direct them to the proper help or resources they mtght need, and meet together periodically.

ISSJ We utelmme ang other ldeas Jrom lrcal grotq)s tlvt would fu useJul to

otlers.

CALENDAR April l. 1989: Massachusetts,/

Vermont Area La kche league Conference, at the Walsh Mtddle School tn Frarningham, Mass. Pat Farenga wlll speak on

'Iramfng Outslde of School.' For lnfor-

rnadon: Mar:sha Salett,

2l

Eaton Rcl,

Needham MA 02 192; 617-4.49-3l4a.

April l5: Alabama Home &lucators home school seminar and curriculum fair. at the First Assembly of God Church in Montgomery. For lnformadon: send SASE to AHE, 819 Joryne Dr, Montgomery

AL36l09.

Aprtl l5: Maryland Home Education Associadon conference, tn Columbia.

Susannah Sheffer wtll lead several workshops, as will long-time homeschoolers Nancy Wallacc, Theo Glesy, Nanry Plent, Howard and Susan Richman, Peter Bergson, and others. For lnformation: Manfred Smith, 3Ol-73O-OO73.

ApdLlE: Wsconsln Parents Associatlon 6th Annual Conference on Home

April 29: Connecdcut Homeschoolers Assocladon Falr. Susannah Sheffer will be spealning. For information: Linda

Create vour ()rvn ltottte sclr()()l ('urriculttrrr witlr

llre lrelp of Clorrlara Sclrool I lonre lJitsctl {lll llducatiorr l)ro1;rarrr, tlre well-tralarrcerl Iiil lronre school t)rograrn offerirrg flexible or starrdard allllroach.

Our graduales receive our l)rivate sclrool diploma and full transcripts.

Ann Arbor, Mlchlgan 48104

SUPPORT GROUP IDEA

tlon: WPA, PO Box 25O2, Madison WI 53701.

Home Based Education Prograrn

Prt Montgomcry. Ph.D.

(3131 769-{515

the 1989 school year.' Homeschoolers have formed the statewide group, FI-OURISH ln l.IY, to r€pres€nt homeschoolers when the reguladon comes up for review.

Educatlon, ln Stevens Point. For lnforma-

cLo';lo.rzo,

t289 Jeuett

ber meeUng of the Board of Regents tn

Albany. However, the amendment was dlscussed for almost an hour. and there was strong support for lt from a few of the Flegents... We have lost thts battle, but it has served to make the Regents aware that there are homeschoolers who do not feel thelr c-oncems were addressed by the regulatlon. The Educatlon Department plans to revtew the regulatlon at the end of

Dlreclor

Schroth, PO Box 25O, Cobalt CT06414.

May 13: Colorado Home Education Associadon State Fair, ln Denver. For lnformadon: Nancy Kipp, 303-973-537 4.

June lO- I l: Clonlara Home Based Educatlon Program Conference ln Plymouth, Michigan. For lnformadon: Clonlara, 313-769-4515.

We are happy to run announc€ments of rnaJor homeschoollng and related wents, but we need plenty of nodc€.

Deadline for GWS #68 (events ln May or later) is March lO. Deadline for GWS #69 (wents tn July or later) ls May lO. GROWING WTIHOI..N SCHOOLING #67

CHALLENGES & CONCERNS MOTHER WANTS TIME FOR HERSELF Poula Hildrcth oJ Permsgltrurdo.

urites: I've spent a lot of ttme lately thtnklng about my own creadvlty. It seems as though everythtng tn my ltfe these days ls geared towards the liids. I try to tnstill creadvigr and a love of leamfng h them, I look for wonderful educatlonal experiences for them, I try to expose them to fascinating people, and above all, I want them to poss€ss both the ability and the desire to be everything thcy are capable of being. But I'm becomtngl mor€ aware every day that my own creattvlty has shriveled and is virtually dead. Ifs certainly not a good model for my children, having a mother who concentrates on the mundane aspects of day-to-day llfe all the ttme.

When I rrras a ctrlld I read constantly. I wrote poetry and essays and short storles.

I remember when I was about lO, settlng up a card table ln the basement and spendtng hours there after school, wrfting my storles. I condnued to wrlte a lot both ln htgh school and college, and the classes I took and the teachers who taught me all encouragd creativlt5r in thought and expression, But after two years of college I qutt school to get married, and I think this is where the change came. After I was married, I stopped u/rtdng, stopped playtng muslc, even stopped readtng anyt}dng exc.ept non-flcdon. Somehow books on child care and nutrl$on were OK, whlle books that were flctlon were not OK. Of course, marrlage, ln and of itself, wasn't responsible for my raptd retreat from creativit5r; this was somethtng I dtd to myself. Somehow my perceptlon must have been that a wife and mother should have no funternal life of her own, so creativity became the enemy, to be destroyed.

Now, over a decade Later, I'm fac.ed with

the problem of hou to reawaken the lmpulses that I put so soundly to sleep.

Maybe IVe killed ft so thoroughly that there's nothing left. I tend to think, though, that f I begtn to spend as much ellort in derreloping an lnner vlslon as I spent ktlling one, I mtght get somewhere.

My problem now ls this: How does one develop creattdtjfl How do I teach myself to stop focuslng constantly on the nlttygritty detatls of Me, and begln lnstead to feel the beauty ofeach day, and even dare to try to describe that beauty, to myself and others?

One way to begtn to open myself up to the creatlve prooess ls to read good literature. I meniloned that my readtng the last few years has been almost excluslvely nonfictlon, and I have learned and grown a lot through that readtng. But for my purposes rlgfrt now I need Dlckens and Tolstoy and Thomas WolG and Anne Tller. IVe begun to read poetqr ^gain, and I'm hoptng to memorlze lt, too, so that I have great chunks of lt at my dtsposal whenever I need tt. I'm llstentng to muslc more often, and I want to begtn to play an

lnstrument agah.

I thtnk another hablt that I need to

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

cultlvate ls that of stoPPtng to thtnk. Wtth three children I tend to run through my Itfe at full ttlt, thtnlcng about laundry and

dtr$ dishes and who locked the cat ln the bathroom. I feel gutlty enough when I stop for a while to read, but lt would be unthtnkable to stop and do nothtng. If I spend an hour cleantng, the product ls a clean house. But tf I go out lnto the woods and slt and look up at the pattern the trees make agatnst the sky, what ls the pmduct?

I may be a happlerwoman, more at Peac€ wtth myself, but that lsn't somethfurg you can see and measure. So lve felt gullty about thds ktnd of 'tlme-wastlng.' But what a dreamer I was as a chlldl I would slt for hours looking out the wlndow as the snow fell, or walking through the woods near our home, feellng the wlnd agalnst my facc and thtnldng. I came away from these ttmes enrlched, strengthened ln an

almost spiritual way. That ts the llnd of enrlchment I need now.

Of course I am a motherand must make supper tontght: of course I homeschool and must think about three separate personallties, But tn the mtdst of taktng care of so many detalls, I must be sure to listen to my own volce, and to nourish it and teach lt to respond lnJoy to what tt llnds around lt.

HOW WORKSHEETS FAIL PeggA Webb (NY urrftes:

When school began tn the fall and Lena dld not go olf to Kindergarten with her frlends, she asked me for'homework." I began making up a few worksheets for her to do. They were dillerent from the standard school lssue h that I made them personal and sometlmes funny, lncluding kna's day-to-day experiences and facts from books we'd read.

Still, many of them were multlple choice or'read the story and draw a picture,'or 'spell what ttlis picture is" - mostly schoollsh tn format. Lena loved them. My only problem was making enough of them.

At the peak, she was banging out about etght a day and asldng for more.

On October 25th, I qult smoldng, and among other thlngs, our worksheet experlence began to deterlorate. They weren't funny an5rmore, I couldn't stt sttll long enough to make more than one or two at a tlme, and, well, we went through a rotten tlme ln general. After two weeks and most of the heebte-Jeebies had passed, I found myself nagging her about these stlly worksheets. No longer was she doing them at the breakfast table. Instead I was asking her two or three tlmes a day lf she d done her schoolwork, and I swear there was a whine tn my volce. Still, we perslsted for another month.

Well, as my husband used to say on

the farm, 'Even a bltnd ptg can snllTout an acom once ln a wtrile.' I realized we were headed down a path I nerrer thought we'd travel. Even before my battle with nlcotine I'd begun to feel I was qutzztng

kna, that shed stop enjoying

bedtime storles once she saw the plot lines on her next worksheet. Also, and perhaps most unsettltng, I was alternately feeltng thls

stlly prtde over her accomplishments and arudety over her llrnitations that was unknown to me before.

The two months of worksheets ended by mutual agreement. We have close to two hundred completed ones to flash before the school ofllcials lf they want to see her 'progress,' and several valuable lessons were learned.

THE CHALLENGES OF A LARGE FAMILY Katlq Pud,y

(NY) wrcte last sumrner:

Luann Claussenwrote tn GWS #63 that she would like to see more on home-

schoolers with large familtes. I also was ralsed in a large family (I'm the oldest of seven) and have a reladvely large family ofmy own - five chlldren ages 8, 6, 5, 3, and l. It {s a handful. But deep down in my heart I know lt ls also worth it.

I had my Bfth child, l,achlan, tn the begtnnhg of last August, after a sweltering sununer ln a trailer. Was I able to spend

that summer preparlng for the fall? Nol

Was tt easy homeschooling a second grader, caring for a young tnfant, and tending to the phystcal and emotlonal needs of all the others? Nol But lnstead ofcongratulattng myself for having gotten through the year wlth my sanity fatrly lntact, I have been struggltng wlth terrible feeltngs of fallure, because there was so much more I could have done (or so I thought). It ls easy to read about or observe homeschoolers wtth fewer or older chlldren and say to yourself, 'Ipok at all they're doingl If I

was really capable/organized/competent I would be able to do all that.'I am finally

getttng to the potnt where I can look back on this year and say, 'Well, under the circumstances, you did the bestyou could."

It slowly dawned on me that nobody has enough fime, nobody does werything theyd like to do. Everyone has to make choiccs and compromises. I saw that the valid question to ask was, 'Dtd I make the rtght choic.es?" And I do feel comfortable wtth the choices I made.

Now, Luann, to the specillcs of your

lnqulry:

TIme schedules: There ls a school of thought that says you should have a daily schedule written down. We could never wrlte ours down, because our schedule was organlzed around the baby's naps, Chaullering: We owrr one car, which my husband takes to work. Any driving around must be done after he gets home, and we have a pretty skimpy gas budget, so not too much drivtng gets done, period.

Housekeeplng: The baby needed quite a bit of care this year, especia.lly in the beginning. I told the lidds that if we were gotng to homeschool this year, they were golng to have to help a lot. My two oldest, then 7 and 6, had a lot to do. On alternate days they were responsible for all of the laundry for the four oldest children. My 6 year old, Rundy, had to do the breakfast dlshes and clear and wipe the table. My 7 year old, Teman, had to empty the dish dratn and sweep the floor. At lunch they tr:aded these twoJobs. My husband did the wenlng dishes, and from time to tlme

6 mopped the lidtchen floor or vacuumed the living room. My 4 year old was responsible for ptcktng up the llvlng room each day before Daddy came home, and halfway through the year my two year old started picklng up the hallway.

This dtd not work like a dream. As the year went on, the quallty of work deterlorated and the amount of nagglng lncreased. I have now taken back part ofthe laundry duties. One of the older chlldren ls now my asslstant tn the ldtchen, and we do all the lltchen work as a team. They are happier about helplng when I am working alongside them.

Many varied lnterests and levels: In general, I try to do as many thlngs as I can with the chlldren as a group. To a Large extent, when their lnterests dlveqge from the family's as a whole, they are e:gected to flnd thelr own w:ry to pursue them. We help with library research and by provldlng materlals ari our llnances allow, but there are only so many hours tre a day, and we can't be all things to all people.

T[me for oneself: I've seen articles that say you have to have so much dme to yourself a day. IVe found lt generally unsatlsfactory to make rules about tt. If I need tlme to myself, I take tt. Sometimes I have to be reduced to tears before I reallze I need it. Often I merely walk lnto my bedroom and shut the door. This ls a clear signal to everyone (tncludtng my husband): Mom ts offdut5r.

Durlng the school year the ldds tend to play among themselves, but we llve ln a trailer park and other ldds are so avallable that they're hard to lgnore. I do thtnk that both homeschooling and comtng from a large family contribute to thetr being more choosy about thelr friends, and tncluding the littler ones ln their

play.

WHAT IF SHE WANTS TO GO TO SCHOOL? Hanst Wlntelaur (NS/

rD"/.tes:.

Your focus on children's rtghts ln GWS #66 has come at a good tlme. My two daughters have been allowed to follow their contlnuum stncc birth. As much as

modern culture will allow, that ts. They are both very creatlve and independent thinkers who are accustomed to making their own decislons. A btg part of their fantasy play ts gotng to school and doing homework. Thls has ne\rer been enoouraged or discouragd, but I have always told them that they would be homeschooled.

However, a new school ts being built, to which many of their frlends will go. The oldest has shown qulte a blt of lnterest ln this new structure, as we pass by tt often.

After hrrnlng 5 ln December she hformed me that she would like to go to a'real school." She ts deflnttely serlous about attendlng, whtle I on the other hand am serious about her not attendtng.

Whose declslon ls thls? Where do you draw the llne? Is this one ofthose rare exceptions?

As parents we llke to think we knou/ what's best for our children. The fact is we don't always know. Children may be more tuned ln to what their needs are than their parents are. We need to encourage

chlldren to trust thetr tnsttncts by letUng them make thelr own declslons. At ttmes tt can be extremely dtlllcult to ltve wlth chtldren's declslons, especlally lf they are contraqr to our own ldeals.

September ls stlll serreral months anray. Maybe my daughter wtll change her

mlnd, maybe I'll change mlne, or possibly we'll come up wlth a compromlse. I would like to hear from people who are or have been ln a slmilar sltuadon. [$S:l We have dlscussed thls lssue in CWS. S€e especially "Ukfng School Is Not Enougfi,' cWS #34, 'When They Say They Want School,' GWS #62 (which ts pardcularly about young children), and the many stories we've prlnted about trJring school - tn GWS #31, #37, #52, #54, #58, to name Just a ferv. several times

get all A s and B's so she can be on the honor roll, and she's done that. She met a

new friend the llrst day at lunch, and now regu.larly chums around wlth a whole group ofldds that eat together. She dislikes the dme schedule and detests the tons of homework (we've already protested the unreasonableness of that - they're

definitely lnterested tn quantigr, not

quality, of work).

The teachers are amazed that she's adJusting so well. I respond to myself that It's because of her experiences outside of school that she's able to succeed so qutckly and well ln school (which ts still as represslve as I remember lt).

BIG PLAYGROUNDS CAN DISCOURAGE COMMUNITY Sue Burkart (MA) tur-ttes:

ADJUSTING TO SCHOOL In Gl4l5 #63, JtIl Brrsdrrrt wtth

tle

concerrr

onlg llru;oh,rd.

in

tlnt

(MD wrcte

lrr'r doughter uas

'tgpicol pre-tee

'

krtrerests Ltke make-up at'td, rcmance norlels. Ktn llopel (MO) rcsponded h CIVS

tlnt lciils should b etrouraged to make thetr ownclafues about such things, Nour JlIl wrltes: #65, sagtlg

I've never been the parent of a teenager before, although I *atned to be a htgh

school teacher and have always related well to ktds that age. But I'm growlng, too, as I continue to llve and learn with my dauglrter, Heather (now l3). My conccrn

last year malnly crnterd around her dolng rct){ng but the 'pre-teen' thtngs I described in GWS #63. But I was too close to the situation, I realize now. I have to remlnd myself of all the other worthwtrlle thtngs she was doing: publlshtng her newspaper and gtvlng regular childcare, to name two,

If I uras arudous about her 'typtcat pre-te€n' lnterests last year, that was nothing compared to my reaction when she lnformed us ln May that she wanted to attend Junior hfgh thfs fail. fd hoped to prepar€ her durtng etghth grade - thls year - for a return to school tn ntnth grade, tf she chose. I thought shed need some pracuce getung usd to schoolhg after her year of lndependent learning. Her reaction to my concerns was that she felt she had falled seventh g;rade because I gu.ess she thought she hadn't done enough book work. Slnce the breakup of our homeschooling gfoup a year ago, her peer social Me has been almost ntl. She felt she needed that soctal liG, too, She knew she would mlss her mother's helper Job and her freedom to r€giulate her own daily schedule. But her dad and I do trust and care about her as a person to allow her to make such cholces.

After all, her declsions to homeschool have been honored as well.

So we compromlsed. She agreed to brush up on baslc En$ish and math sktlls, do a research paper - to learn the form - and learn about South Amerlca and Canada through famlly research and discusslons. We agreed to contact the school and request a schedule ofclasses that would most meet her needs.

And so, she's done lt. Her goal was to

In response to Connle Bemhardt's letter about the butlding of a Big Baclryard playground ln her town ['Building Together,'GWS #65: Havlng two young children, 3 and 4, I am always on the lookout for good parks. Since the city I live ln has falrly ordtnary parks with only the standard swings and slides, I have ventured lnto nearby towns to seek out better parks. Naturally, I look for a park that's clean, pretgr, safe, and that has lnteresting and fun equipment. But, to me, a good park ls also one where lt's easy to meet and chat with other mothers, and where my sons can be around other chlldren, to watch them or play wlth them.

A park ln nearby Iadngton used to be one of my favorites. It was a peaceful, lowkey place. Its main focus was a very large sandbox, where my children would easily strike up conversations with others as

they played ln the sand together or traded sand toys, I would slt on the edge of the sandbox and never lack for other mothers or fathers to talk to.

All this drastlcally changed six months ago when the townspeople built a colossal l-eathers Btg Baclryard, the kind of playground Connle descrlbes. The playground may possibly provide a good meetlng plac.e for people who worked on the project together, but I have found it physically overwhelmlng, and found the structures more of a futrler to meeting others. My ldds llke tt slnce there's so much to do, but the sheer enormtt5r of it means they rarely stop long enough to talk to other ctrildren. I am so busy keeping track of where they are, as are other parents wtth their own kids, that it's very hard to sustaln a cpnversatlon. Needless to say, I seldom go there anymorc, I am conccmed that these colossal playgrounds seem to be springing up errerywhere. At first, my husband and I thought tt might be a fad, ltke wearing Reebok sneakers. But I wonder tf tt's that the kathers playgrounds are lntended to be destgned, funded, and butlt by the communlty. Is tt posstble that we are all so starved for communit5r that we reach out

hungrily for thls particular proJect?

Paradoxically, the resul$ng stnrctures rnay separate us lnstead ofbringing up together, thus maklng the opportunities for community ex/en mone scarce.

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

DISCUSSION: WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM WHAT HELPS

TROUBLED CHILDREN IgS./ When EtsaHaas, ru.:.to u.nrked

roith usJor seueral rrpnths a auple ot yearc ogo, le;ft HoltAssclotes, she usent to Ergland to u:rlk utth Rrchel Pbneg.

Ptuey is lcnoun Jor dewloplry ChIIdren's Hours, an urursual and etlectfin uny oJ telpw autistlc and. otler buruiled chlldren- Tdil<tlg tolth El.sa on her rrcenl uisit to this counfy, I saw that mtch oJ

what she learndJrom undcttg u:ith Rochel Pirvwg un,dd.

b

o;[

Itterest and use

to GWS read.ers, so up datdd. to some oJ our coru:ersation lvrc.

rcprdtrce

SS: How did you hear of Rachel

Pinney and Children's Hours?

EH: I found an old copy of the book

bbby ln the Holt Assoclates library,

inscribed by the author to John. After I read it I thought that there was a lot I could leam from the woman, so I wrote to her and ollered to work for her ln exchange for room and board. She agreed. At the tlme I wrote, I dldn't even know that she had any kind of organiz.atlon ln En$and, because the book uras Just about her work with one boy. But I ltgured that she must be dolng sometlrlng lnteresting.

SS: What uras she dotng?

EH: She was organlztng Chlldren's Hours, whlch are an attempt to glve a chlld who doesn't otherwlse get enough attention complete, one hundred percent attention from an adult durlng an hour. Rachel has made the livlng room of her flat lnto a playrmm for children, and they come two or three tlmes a week to have hours with adult volunteers, They don't have to stay in the playroom: many of them llke to go out on the streel Durlng the hour the chlldren have from one to three adults with them. One adult is known as the'taker,' and she's the one who prevents the chtld from doing somethlng dangerous or something that would upset somebody outside.

SSI: Who falls lnto the category of kids who don't ordtnarlly get enough

attentlon?

EII: One boy was autistlc, and had trouble communlcatlng with people. He was 6 and had never satd anythlng. Hts mother was under a lot of pressure tqdng to help him, and she needed other adults in hts Me. Another gfrl's parents were gotng through a dlvorc.e. Often the ctrildren have family problems, sometimes school problems. There's a whole range.

SSi: I remember you descrlbed, when we talked about this earller, that the children have complete control over what goes on during an hour, they tnltlate werythtng. What happens when there are oonflicts, when they want to do somethlng that the adult doesn't want to let them do?

EH: A good example ts of the auUsdc boy who was used to gotng outstde durlng his hours. His usual taker had a bad back one day, and she didn't feel she could take

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

on the responsibilit5r of following htm

afterwards, and they knew that lt wasn't thelr hour anymorâ&#x201A;Ź, so they didn't tnstst on taking the best pleces ofcake and so on.

They knew that other people had rtghts tm. because ttrls was now normal time,

day. He was really upsâ&#x201A;Źt, We followed the Children's Hours procedure of acknowledglng that he unnted to do something, apologlzlng to hlm for not lettlng do tt, and explalntng why we weren't lettlng htm. We let htm be angry about lt" we dtdn't say, 'Don't cryl Why are you exag-

not thelr special time.

SS: What about a child wanting to do somethtng dangerous outslde, for ex-

SS: This gets lnto something that we often talk about ln GWS - when are ldds acfually asliiing us to be acilve or dinecttve? I think of Madalene Murphy's classlc example of her daughter Emily's saytng, 'I need you to make me sit down and write thls essay." It's funny, because this

around outslde. I was the only other adult there, and I was new and dtdn't know much about Chrildren's Hours. So we declded we would have to keep him lnside that

gerating thlngs?'

ample?

EB: We found that those thlngs don't necessartly have to become conlllcts. We'd say to a child, 'We can go across the street, but I'Il have to take your hand.' If they resisted, we d say. 'l know you want to go across alone, but I'm not golng to let you.'

And of course tf you say somethlng like that, you have to follow through on lt.

SSI: One thtng I've noHced, even lrr dealing with chtldren ln more everyday sltuadons, ts that tt feels more honest to say - when thls ls tnre, whlch ls often that I'm tnslstlng on something because I feel more comfortable that way, that I would be too nervous about letdng a clrtld do a particular thing. I'm saytng, 'Indulge my nervousness, would you,' rather than,

'I don't trrst you.'

EII: There's an example of that tn the book Bobbg. Bobby was a 4 year old who loved to go out on the roof and climb.

Rachel writes that she was usually able to accept that because she belleved that chtldren usually know thelr ourn balancc points and that many accldents occur when adults yell, 'You'll fall' - of course,

chtldren then fall. But one volunteer told Rachel that she c.ouldn't stand watching the boy climb like that. Rachel sald, 'lf you can't stand lt, say thaL Don't say, You'll 6ll,' say, 'l'm sorry, I'm afraid of hetghts, so I won't let you cllmb there because lt makes np uncomfortable.'

SSI:

What ls the role of an adult tn a

Children's Hour?

EI* You have to llmlt your own deslres as much as posslble. One of the hardest tldngs for me walr not to say, 'kt's

play thts way,' or to lntroduce a new character ln a game. That's a dtfferent ldnd of play; in a Chtldren's Hour the child is supposed to have complete control over those thtngs.

You have to see Chtldren's Hours as a very speclal tlme. Ifs a tlme when a chlld gets to make up for thtngs tlrat may be lacldng ln the rest of Me. It's not as lf an adult ought to act this way wlth chlldren all the tlme, but as a speclal tlme lt serves a real purpose for some chtldren. And the ctrlldren know that they can't expect thls klnd of treatment all the flme. There were some klds who came for thetr hours and then went out on a plcnlc with the adults

Chlldren's Hours don't always work' I remember a 12 year old glrl who needed somethlng more from an adult than Children's Hours gave her. More than that kind of freedom, she needed someone to talk to about thtngs, someone who would maybe draw her out a bit.

ls the sort of thtng a mother like Madalene mlght never do herself, but I thturk Emily was sa)dng, 'I know myself well enough to know that tlrls would help me.' Sometlmes I hear people soundtng c.onfused about what they ought to do ln a situation like thts, and my lncllnadon ls to say, if a chtld has ffgured out what she needs from you, by all means go ahead and gfve it.

To change the toptc slightly - I'm curious about whether the way adults tn Chil-

dren's Hours prwent kids from dofurg ccrtain thtngs has any beartng on the way we might deal wtth toddlers, say, on an

ordinary basls.

EI* I think the tmportant thtng ls to realize that chtldren aren't bad, they don't try to make trouble. If we can't let them do somethlng, we Just have to say, 'l'm sorry, I can't let you do that,' and accept that they may be angry about that. Chlldren's Hours helped me learn to be calm ln such sltuations, not to be afraid of a child cryIng or getting angry.

I think tt's also tmportant to ask, 'What part of thls can't happen, and what part can?' So many people go into a panic when thry thtnk of a small child uslng a ptece of machi.nery, for example. They don't reallze that tt ts OK for a chlld to touch typewrlter keys, but tfs not OK to bang on them - that there are dlfferences between those two things, and that you can have one without the other. I nodced the other day fue the ollice that Donna was letting Norna touch the computer keyboard tn the moments when that didn't allect the operations. Then when it would have affected what Donna was worklng on, she would hold Norna's hands back and say, iRrght rour you can't do that."

SSI: Yes, IVe found lt very helpful to thtnk, 'What can happen?' A whlle ago

Lauren wanted to draw on all sorts of thtngs tn the olllce, and lt's ea.sy to look around and sec all the thtngs that lt would be terrtble lf she drew on. But then you traln your eyes to see all the ttrlngs she can drawon - cartons, scrzrp paper. I uranted her to feel that there was an abundance of drawlng surfaces, as well as an abundancc of thtngs lt wasn't approprlate to draw on.

8

DEALING WITH OFFICIALS JOIMNG SCHOOL ACTTVITIES Susan Weinhob (IN) wrote fn Nouem-

band of the local Juntor htgh, whtch I go to for electives and grm. The name of the schml ls Madlson Junlor Htgh, here tn

NapeMlle, and the principal ls uery

ber:

My daughter Ellzabeth (Z may have an opporhrnlt5r to attend the publlc school program for the gtfted and talented whtch meets hvice a week for two hours. I am carefully negodadng ttrts wtth the super-

lntendent's ollce. The Dlrector of Currtculum, who ls ln charge of thls program, was at llrst hesttant, but became sympathetlc when I discussed the many reasons this cooperaflon would be beneficlal to both the public schools and the homeschooling communlt5r. I told htm that as both groups are c,onc.erned wlth the quahty of education, we should be working together, sharing ldeas and programs. He

was concerned with two problems: Would this be percelved as an outslder (i.e. a nonmatriculated student) taking the plac.e of a student in the schools who could beneflt from the program? And, how would thls be paid fcr, as our tax money does not go

directly to our local dlstricf?

A ntrrrth later, Susatl wrote: The Dir,ector of Currlculum called back a few days later and asked when Elizabeth vranted to start, havlng overcome problems at llrst thought lnsoluble. I was both elated and nen/ous, and wanted the experience to be an eariy one for El?.abeth. She hadn't attended school for two years, and her memorles of lt were arrything but pleasant. I spoke to the Dlrector ofthe Extended Learnfng Program (a fancy name for the gifted program), who arrangd for Elizabeth and me to meet the teacher ln the classroom. Ttre teacher was very wann, showtng Ellzabeth what the class had been doturg for the last three months and what shewould be dotng the following day. She showed her the desk she would use, and generally made us all feel at ease. Ellzabeth knew one chtld tn the class, and the teacher arranged for them to slt together.

Ellzabeth has attended the program for four weeks. She was put a year ahead, and had llttle problem adJusttng. She likes the soclal c.ontact and the stknulation ofthe class. She has expressed an interest tn returnlng to school, whlch we have discussed. We have dectded that tf she still wants to go back tn the sprlng, she can attend for a day or two to see what she

thinks, and then we'll make up our mlnds.

Her brother Teddy (5) wants to remaln at home next year, so we wlll contlnue to homeschool hlm, and would allow Ellzabeth to withdraw from school lf she dtsliked lt. I want to allow her to make up her own mind on thls, but tfs very hard.

I would llke to hear about GWS readers who have chlldren partlctpattng ln school programs.

Yaron Coldnlo.n 0U, rDllo spent tu-n last sprlng utorklng tr our otfice, usriles uith one such story:

n-reeks

I am currently llrst chalr clarlnetlst in the concert band, orchestra, and Jazz

cooperadve wlth homeschoolers. We have not been questloned once by hlm, and as soon as 'xre ask for somethtng, we get lt done Just Ure that.

SYMPATHETIC ATTEN. DANCE OFFICER F)nom MarV-Gange Stnonitch oJ CaltJornia:

We have had no trouble wtth the school authorldes, and, ln fact, had a rather pleasant contact with our school dlstrlct thls year. We were called by the dtstrtct Oltcer of Chld Welfare and Attendance. In other words, the tmant ofhcer.

He got our name from the Hvate School Directory, for we had flled a private school

afftdavtt.

Thls oIIIcer could have been as unpleasant as the term'truant olflcer' lmplies, but instead he was almost unbelievably nice and understandtng. He assured me thatwhat I was dolngwas perfectly all right, and he was merely calling to krform us of the dlstrlct's Independent Study Program. We could, he sald, keep our lndependence as a prlvate school tn thls program, and also be eltgible for llnancial aid ln the purchastng of materlals. I nras noncpmmlttal, knowtng that such programs usually lnslst on standardlzed testlng and currlculum control. He told me hts program ollered an lnsurance that |f our chlldren ever entered the publtc school system, thcy would be up to grade level. I asked hlm about the program's requlrements, but he wouldn't get speciflc, He did say that we would have to provlde a cer-

tain minlmum of lnstructlon hours (ridiculously low). I laughed and satd we provided many mor€, even ln the summer. He laughed too, and agreed. He knew, he said, that we could easlly provide our chlldren wlth so much more than the schools couldl I told trlm polttely that hls program sounded lnteresting, and that alter my husband and I had dlscussed lt, wewould get back to hlm. We hung up on a frlendly note.

I then drafted a letter telling thts olftctal exactly what ure wanted from the school dlstrlct a statement of the current currlculum used in the publlc school lor second grade, acrcess to special programs Ln thtngs like foreign httg,r"ge and music.

I sald we wer€ not lnterested ln standardlzed tesUng. I also ollered to send him our Statement of Educaflonal Goals, a lengthy

typewrttten rnanuscrlpt I had prepa.red lastyearJust last vear lust ln case. My husband edtted our letter and we sent lt olf, with the request that from now on all our csnrmunlcaHons be tn writtng. Needless to say, we have not yet heard agatn from our frlendly olllclal. I{e must be too busy to lhelp'a homeschoollng famtly who obvlously knows what tts dotng. And the only thlngs we requested from the school dlstrlct wer€, to my knowledge, thtngs they have cut from their currtculum. Thls wasn't lntendonal. Forelgn language and mustc happen to be thlngs that both my r

husband and I are weak ln. But so, alas, are our publlc educadon systerns.

DROPPED CHARGE MAKES KIDS HAPPY Laurle ,4d.ans o.f Pern-sglvado. urrttes:

Our superlntendent had threatened to charge us wlth tmancy. She walted until the day charges were to be flled to return Mtchael Farrls's (of the Home School legal Defense Assocladon) calls. The week ln between was very tense. Thls is our first year of homeschoollng, and we didn't want lt to end. The stress of waiting to hear lf we would be charged w:ls overwhelmlng. The litds were doing the bare

mlnimum of work (We're enrolled ln Christtan Ltberty Academy) and tears were frequent.

We had Just sat down to begn for the

day, on the day the charges were to be filed,

when HSLDA called with great news. All we had to do was send a brief description of our curriculum, and verify that we

would teach the requlred hours.

After that, the chlldren did a total about face. They started singing while working, and they showed me how far ahead they could be if they did a couple of extra pages here and there, as opposed to our lesson plan which has the bare minlmum listed. They declded to work ahead as much as posslble to complete the course qutckly, so the rest o[the school year would be thetrs to do as they pleased.

INVESTIGATED BY FAMILY SERVICES Rosemary Rtsbg (MO) writes:

This ls our llrst year o[ educating our I l-year-old daughter Lora at home. It is especlally gratildng, as lora asked us to teach her at home. I felt very honored, and started ln the mtddle of last year to talk to other homeschoolers, and read all I could on the subJect.

I provtde ltcensed chlld care in my home, and earlier thls year my homeschooling was lnvestigated by the DePartment of Family SeMces, without my belng awane of lt. My former liccnsing wonurn surprlsed me with a visit one morning, brtnging wtth her the new licenslng wornan, saytng she Just wanted to tntroduce her. As we visited, I exPlained that Lorawas home because we were teachlng her. TWo weeks later, the new lic.ensing woman called to schedule another vtstt. It was unusual; previously the visits have been 6-12 months apart.

When she vislted, she said, The subJect of homeschooling as it combines tn a family day care situation has come to our attentlon. and we would like to know, from your point of view, how the two can be comblned.' I explatned that I have two fewer day care llds than I had last year, and that I write out lora's assignments each ntg[t so that she can begtn work on her own ln the moming. I said that [.ora's father helps her with math ln the evening, and I use the younger chlldren's naP time GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLINC #67

l0

NEW HOMESCHOOLERS: DECIDING TO HOMESCHOOL Kathg Thile (CN wrltes: When Chris went olf to klndergarten, my husband Scott and I satd to each other that itwas a trial, we'd take hfm out lf we weren't pleased. But lt worked out prettSr well - ln fact we were lmpressed.

Then came flrst grade. I was exclted about the teacher Chrls was gotng to have.

She had good ldeas about free reading time, etc. Chrls had been in her class a week when the princtpal called and told me the school was fn a btnd. Legally they could not have more than x number of kids (3O, I thfnk) ln the room. They were over the limit and the only cholce was to put some of the llrst g;ra.ders ln the sec,ond grade room. Chrls, he said flatteringly, had been suggested as one ofthe lidds to be moved. He assured us Chrls would be dotng the ffrst grade work. He erren sald, when I began to sound like I rnlght not be accepting the idea well, that Chrts could return to the first gyade room errery day for the

I

|', q

(

free reading time.

We went along wtth tt. Chrts htmself was very proud and qutckly flt fn with the older ldds. He was given the opportunlty to do {irst grade workbooks lnstead of second grade, but the maJortty of the classroom time was not spent on workbooks. For instance, they had to write storles, and Chris and the other llrst graders were sdll struggling to make thelr letters. Chris is very compedtive - not content to be anything but the best - and he worked and worked to be a'real' second gpader in terms of the work he was dotng. Soon he was doing all the secsnd grade work and getting the htghest possible scores on lt.

But he also had crytng spells, stomach and headaches, and wasJust platn grumpy and grouchy all the tlme. He lnslsted he rvanted to stay ln second grade when I offered to have hdm swltched back to llrsl The day after school let out for the surruner, I had a cheerful, a{Iectlonate seven year old agatn. We could hardly believe the ovemight change. Stlll we were sweating out the decislon about where to place him next year. We saw two cholces: a combinatlon second and thtrd grade, whichwe assumed would be no more successful at meetlng the needs of the younger second graders than thls year's c.ombination flrst and second grade had been for the first graders. Or he could be tn second grade again as a bna flde second grader.

Since we thought he had probably overstressed himself trytng to keep up with the older litds, we were leantng toward the

latter.

Then we met a family wtth two of the nicest, most poised, accompllshed, relaxed teenage boys IVe ever met. We spent a day

at their home, and prlvately I was think-

irrsi 'I'd do anything to have my kids turn

out llke tl^.!-q.'Eventually, I llgured to myself that as aceompllshed as the boys were in so rnany arcas - muslc, sclencc, and computers were what we notlced - they slmply wouldr,L't hane ttme for school. I finally asked lf they were homeschooled, and of course, thry rverc, That settled tt, pretty much, although we still felt we needed to think and read. I

thlnk our story ts an example of how when you thlnk you must choose between two rather unacceptable chotc.es, there are often other avenues avatlable that vou can't qulte see, A.fter a Jew months oJ fantrsclrolbg, Kathg wrote: You asked how thlngs were golng now.

It's greatl We feel as lf we've been reuntted as a famlly. Chrts really ts glad to be homeschoollng. At fust he was bored a lot.

He wandered around almlessly, whtntng.

But he's already learning to get hlmself started on \,'arlous projects. It only took two or three weeks of boredom. I would say. I would r€fuse to let htm watch TV tf he was ln that almless condidon, and lt really paid off. I was awfully tempted to shut the whtntng up (and that whole

Jects we would study and when, from 8:OO

to 3:OO. It was brutall The first day, he followed tt, the second day he sort of thought we oug;ht to follow lt, and the third day he didn't want to but thouglrt I ought to make

hlm follow lt. I trted to explaln how homeschoollng would be dllferent from his prevlous schooling. He Just c.ouldn't buy that, so I made a modtfied schedulc that went from 9 to noon, but agatn he wanted me to rnake hJm stlck to it while I dtdn't llke the schedule ln the llrst place.

Now we do somethlng together that ls school-ltke (some ldnd of math, or read-

lng from biography or hlstorical bmks)

most mornlngs for an hour or two.

By and large we don't do artsy craftsy

annoytng 'I'm bored' attttude) by letilng him 'llnd sonrethtng educatlonal' on TV. Somehow I realized that that would not help him tn the long run. Now he ts rarely bored and when he ls he seems to understand better what to do about lt for

things, and I feel guilty about that. Somethtng lnteresting though: before Chris went to school, he was a prolific artist, and his drawings wer€ extremely detailed, and always related to some current fascinaflon of hts. After he went to schml, all that dried up. He never drew, and during art period ln school, the teacher told me Chris would get pantclry about drawing, saying he couldn't do lt and bursting into

The ntght before the publlc school began tn September, Chris made up an elaborate schedule that detailed what sub-

tears. Now we are slowly seelng a few drawtngs. Not as many as before, but a few, and again they are tled in to his most lntense lnterests.

htmself.

WATCHING CHILDREN LEARN OK TO STOP ACTIVITIES Flom Susan Shdcock

Atg l/2, Amanda (now

{PAl: 12) had been

mnnlng her home-based bakery for about a year and a half. She made cookles and

mufffns and sold them to frlends, relatlves, and people around town, and she'd done lt qulte cuslstently, malidng about 45O dozen clokies and mufllns.

Occaslonally people would say,

'ls

Amanda sdll running her bakerl/?' or "How long is she golng to do tt?' It started occurrlng to us that the lmpllcation, at least for some people, was that Amanda would somehow be a failure tf she stopped runrdng her bakery. We thought, 'My goodness, what a burden for an Syear old chtld to feel that she has to continue forever with a buslness that she started when she was 7.'So we cusclously started respondtng to people ln ways that might

deflate the questlon a little, safng, 'Well, she's been enjoytng doing it for qulte a whtle, and she's also enjoytng here -' and we mlght focus on the other thlngs she was doing then. When people asked, polnt blank, how long she was goirlg to continue it, we'd say, -That's really up to her. lf she wants to kecp dotng lt lntensely, that's Ilne, and lf she decides that sheJust wants to do lt sporadtcally, say for frlends on speclal occaslons, thafs flne too.'

From that whole experienoe, we realtzed that when our ihildren enter lnto almost any ldnd of acttvity - ballet, vlolin, art class, whatever lt rnay be - there are certaln thlngs that we as parents can do to set lt up so that there lsn't that

lmpllcaflon that they must contlnue

lt

forwer or feel Uke a failure. For example, when Amanda started working at the local nature oenter, we suggested that everyone see it as an experlment, have her go there for four or {lve Wednesdays and see how it goes, and after that w€ can review lt and declde whether we'd llke to continue.

Amanda ended up worldng there regularly for two years, from the Ume she was 8 to the time she was lO, but I thtnk putting it that way helped relieve the burden not onlv on Amanda but on the nature ccnter stait, who were taking on a child volunteer for the ffrst time.

When we set up art classes for homeschmlers at a local art center, using their facilittes during off hours, agaln, we didn't want to sign on forever. We decided to think of tt as a stx-week cours€. so that completing that felt llke a success. We learned that lf you say, 'I'm taking art,' It's open-ended and seerns to have that extra burden of needlng to contlnue, whereas lf you say, 'l'm taktng a series of art lessons focusing on rnaldng puppets,' you can be succ'essful, have fun, and not have to say, when someone asks you ffve months later lf you're still keeping up with the art lessons, that no, you've stopped.

I c.ertainly do think there's value in sticking wtth somethlng, and pushing yourself past the hard moments, Amanda had many ofthose ldnds ofchallenges during the two years that she ran her bakery. The trlck ts to be able to sense, wtth the chtld, when you're faclng a hurdle that the child would like your help getting over, and when lt's really approprlate to take a break or stop entlrely. Sometimes helps to back up and take a long look at GROWINC WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

it

to discuss lora's readtngs wlth her and answer questions. I explalned that lora usually spends an hour a day outslde wlth the chlldren (i:ecludtueg her brother and sister), and I count that as her exerclse.

That tlme allonrs me to do some chores so that I can have more flme for lora- But throughout the day she comes to mewlth quesuons and asks me to glance over her work. I usually can take the ttme then, but tf not, I tell her when I wtll take the tlme.

Of course there ls no way to be sure, but I feel sure that thts vlslt urould not have been made if we dldn't homeschool.

The woman was tnvesflgating my homeschooling and not my day care, and yet homeschoollng ln thls state ls not under the Dlvlston of Family SeMces.

The cpnccrn seemcd to be that I would keep lora out of school to help me in day care, and deny her an educadon. But the $/ornan gave me a wonderful wrlte-up, and it turned out posttlrrcly. The best part was when she asked Lora, 'Don't the chtldren distract you?' and lom sald, -There are twenty-Ilve fewer klds here than tn my class at school, and my bedroom door

lnterests ln as much depth as she tvlshes. conlldent that as she grows her awareness and lnterests wil continue to expand, as wlll her capablldes and skils to deal wlth our world. Her educatlon ls hollstlc; therefore, the enclosed Program of Study ls lncomplete tr that tt has fi:agmented a whole. So often toplcs mesh and actMdes and dlscusslons reflect a wlder plcture than can be expressed ln a Itst of dtscrete subJects.

We make frequent excurslons as a fantly - to the woods, to the clt5r, to museums and llbrarles; we partlclpate tn spectal farm and cpmmunlty acdvlties; and we are actfue ln varlous organtzaHons.

We are aware that your lnterest ln our chtld ts a destre for her to grow, to learn, and to be educated ln a manner that will preparâ&#x201A;Ź her for life ln today's world. We matntaln that, betnS educated at home and ln the wlder communlt5t, she partictpates tn our world as fully as she ls able and $adly acquhes skllls to deal wlth tt as her capa.bllitles and awareness Eirow.

We choose to have Helen's progress erraluated by the portfollo method as

locks.'

stated ln the Superlntendents' Informadonal Memo #45, dated February 2O,

PROGRAM OF STUDY FOR A 5 YEAR OLD

1985, parts 2c, 5, and 6. We would Lke to dlscuss thts wtth someone from your oflIcc tn the near future so that the portfolio can be kept in a way that wlll be

Marg Van Dorer\ whose Jartly recentlg nurved font Mabe to VIrgUna. writes tlrr.t slte had, sent awag Jor tt{ornu' tlon abut tle V@tia Frneschml;ltg

law bJore nurv/r1g,. 'l tlr,dn'tloo/r.ed at U coreJullg tlerl'' slle says, Just made s.lne tlut X u:as, hded., prettg sbnple. Wtut I mJssed uas tle a mpulsory sclwl age: 5 on or bJorc *ptenbr 3O.' Mary @r,tbr' Klndergarten ls requlrred, and Helen meets the deadltne by two days. I had told the superlntendent that wed talk to trtm next yeart he dldn't react to tt at all, and maybe tt dtdn't sturk ln at the Hme, because when I called to apologlze for

belng unlntenflonally tmant, he dldn't remember at all. I have also slncc found out, from talhng to other local homeschoolers, that all you harrc to do ls state tn wrtttng that you wlU be keeplng a 5 year old home unill llrst grade tf you don't want to send tlrem to ktndergarten. But by that tlme I had already gotten rrost of the letter to the superlntendent together, and we declded tt wouldn t hurt to establtsh ourselves now as responslble, albeit slightly dtsorganlzed, homeschooltng parents.

I'm pleased wtth the way the letter turned out, and I have no doubts abouttt's being approved. I was very careful on the 'Program of Study' only to put down things Helen had already asked hundreds of questions about lately.

l\om tle Janllg's letter to the

superlrtendent:

Helen's Program of Study ts based on her tnterests; as you will see, her range of lnterests ls qulte broad. She tnltiates many discusslons and e:rperlments and particlpa.tes ln every aspect of a busy, wellrounded farnily lfG. At home she has the time and the freedom to pursue her

GROMNC WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

We are

sadsfactory to all conccrned.

AndJrom Helerts hqrant oJ Study: Language Arts:

Readtng: recognlHon of letters, râ&#x201A;Źcpgnltlon of some wrltten words, Itstenlng to books read aloud.

Wrtdng: wrlttng letters. wrttlng some words and names, composlng personal correspondence, wrltlng out corresPondencr from dtctated spelltng.

Spellfurg: some awareness of the spelltng system of Engltsh, spelllng of some words.

Phonlcs: awareness of the sound system of Engltsh, some correladon of sound and spelltng systems.

Vocabulaqr

systems, functlon of nervous system,

skeletal system.

Human Derrelopment Astronomy: the solar system, the odstence of solar systems and galades other than ours, spaae travel, some

constellatlons.

Earth sclence: formadon of/source of rocks, sand, soll, etc., formatlon of contlnents and plate tectonlcs Ecologr: lnterrelationstrtps of the earth, plant ltfe, antmal ltfe, humantty, preservadon of resources, erosion.

Social Studles: History: some current esents, late lgth and early- to mid-2Oth centur5r

farntly

ltfe.

Geography: work with maps, U.S. flag and flags of all nations, the contlnents, some U.S. geography.

World Cultures and Festlvals Economlcs and Consumer Studies: rnanagtng money and budgettng, shopping for qualtty and value.

S@.: Gr:aphic Arts: drawlng with pencil, chalk, crayon, etc., painttng.

Muslc: slngtng, ptano, recorder,

vlolln,

Photography

Practlcal Arts:

Handlwork: sewlng, knitting, crafs.

Woodworklng: use of hammer, chlsels, plane, etc.

Cooktng: measurlng, mfdng, coohdng, developing reclpes.

Household Tasks: washlng dishes, srveeplng, etc., laundry and lrontng'

Trlmming Hatr Physlcal Educatlon: Phystcal Fitness: active plaY, danctng, yoga.

Health and Nutrldon: diet and health, personal hygtene, dlsease Prevenilon.

Yellow Moon Press Storytelling Books & Tapes

Slgining: stgntng some letters, concepts tn Amertcan Stgn Language.

Typtng: baslc knowledge of how to use

a typewrlter, farnlltartty wtth typewrtter keyboard.

Mathematlcs: Counting Arlthmedc: some slmple addltlon, some slmple subtractlon.

Ttme: seasons of the year, months of the year, days of the week, familiartty wlth clocks of varlous types, Measurement: llnear measurement, welght.

Money: colns and paper money.

Sslre,:

Physlcs: volume, soltds, ltqutds and

gases, angles of reflecuon.

Botany: germlnaUon, tendtng plants, llfe cycles of plants.

Anlmal and Insect Llfe: observatlon of wild life, farm anlmals, tursects, etc, needs and habtts ofantrnals, Human Anatomy and PhYslologY: location and function of tnternal organsr

funcfion of clrculatory and resptratory

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ll the situation. For example, the flve chlldren in the Pastel Qulntet ['Playtng Molin in a Nursing Home,'cWS #661 had all been taking group violin lessons, and some of them weren't enJoylng them.

When we stepped back and sat-d, 'What ls the goal of group vtolin lessons? If it's to play the rriolin with other chlldren, ls thls the only way to do that?'We found that forming a quintet that played ln nurslng homes met that need, too. Often when children say they want to stop a pardcular

activlty,,lt may be that the actlvtt5r needs to be redefined. Or lt may be that it's ttme

for a new teacher, It's also helpful to me to remember that you can take a break from somethlng and then stoft agaln Emtly, now lO, hadtaken horseback rtdtng for a year and a half, and had loved it --she wis the energl/

behind the whole family's pardcipadon in riding. All of a sudden she said,-'I feel done wtth riding.' After several dlscussions, and gotng a few more dmes, and

letting her sit wlth the declslon for a while, tt was clear that she really did want to stop. I respected herdecision. She said, 'You know, I'm not quittin!,'and I said, 'Yes, I think it's approprtate not to use the word quitUng. It's perfectly flne to say that y-ou'r-e on sabbatlcal. Next sprlng you may declde that you want to add ridtng back to the circle of actlvlUes you're involved in, or you may flnd t6at you're heavily lnvolved ln somethlng else that we don't even know about now.'

WRITING WORKSHOPS In GIVS *56, Nelpd,a la neschaler Arulie Leon wrcte abrlut edWng tle magazte, Our Own Creations, uhjch

publishes clildren's unrk. Rrcently her mother sent us an udate sagtng tl:rrt Arvie, now lO, {s stitl puillsttutg tIE ond also crrndtrcttq writers' nnrkshops. Whenuse oskd, dinie A tell us something nore abut tlese uotkshops, she urote..

I began the workshops nearly three l8o' J5t a short flme after I began publishtng Our Oun Creafions. Uy rialn goal has ahrays been to obtatn new wrlters and lllustrators. workshops are totally dillerent - My lrom :rny otlrer wrlters' workshops.

Instead of prereglsterlng tdds who are Interested tn wrtflng, I go to placcs where I'm likely to ffnd lots of ldds and I set up a booth. For example, tn Aprtl I went to lilds Day, USA at the communtty college cam-

Ygf

pus tn North La.s Vegas. Over IO,OOO ldds came to that falr and dozens stopped at my booth. I also set up at places such as home--

school acdvides and church lrzaars.

Placeswhere parenb tend to brtng thetr kids whtle the parents do somethtnA, but there's not much for the klds to do.ire usually the best locatlons. wo_rkshops are deslgned to get klds started wrtdng. Many walk up to mv tables looldng for somettrlng to dobecauie they're-bored. I promlse to glve them a free gopy of Our o.l"tn Creatlons tf they stay and draw-a -plcture or \rrrlte a story that I can use. I always have sample lssues on the tables and copies of m1r Wrlter's Guide so the kids can see the type of materlal I publish. The best modvailon that I can

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

g[ve ls to convlnce the kids that there are people who would enJoy seeing thelr work publtshed ln my magazine.

Over the years my mom and I have deslgned about thtrty tnstrucHon sheets that tell how to create puzzles, write out recipes, orJust give ldeas for stories and Poenxt.

I give the lidds as much help as they seem to want, and I use most of the contrlbudons. I usually have one or two tape

recorders for the kids who don't like to wrlte-on paper. If the ldds ask for my oplnlon, then I read or listen to their woik. I alvrays compliment flrst, because it's lmportant to encourage them. Then lf I feel something ls rnlssing or lsn't clear, I'll ask questlons. I don't lnsist the ldds rewrlte or rer€cord their stortes. We make notes on the original paper or at the end of the tape. Then I come back and publish the

items with the changes. Sometlmes the klds don't want help or they prefer help from a friend or paient. _ Many of the liids who pardctpa.te contrlbute agatn after r€ceivlng the magaztree wlth thelr work. Some have become regular writers, and very often a kid who wgyld only try a drawtng or ptvzle at llrst wil begln wrt$ng poetry, book revlews, artlcles and/or short stories after seelng their work published.

If any GWS readers are lnterested, mv Wrtter's Guide ts aratlable to anyone wh6 sends a long SASE. If the envelope has 4Er postage, I'll tnclude three of my lnstruction sheets also. Readers under lB are also tnvtted to enter my contesl The categories are short story, lllustrated short story lone or more pencil or pen drawlngs), poetry1 news artlcle, amd comics, Age brackets will be determined by the number of entrles recelved by May I, 1989. Please wrlte 'contest e,ntry' at the top of the page and the contributor's narne, age, address, grade (optional), and either the word 'homeschooler" or the rrame of vour home school. My address ts OZZ So. Zth St, Las Vega,sNV39191.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMER Randall l(rlrn oJ Woshlngton urr{tes..

I am 12 and have been a homeschooler all my life. I have been programmlng clmputers for slx years. A year ago I started going to an IBM computer club, even though I dtdn't have an IBM yet. When we got one, last June, I became the consultant for our group.

The last meetlng I went to was held tn a newspaper olllce, because the computer they use for their accounilng neededto be s€t up. When we got there we found out that the program they had bought didn't do what they uranted. So th.y hlrcd me to wrlte an accounts recelvable and account malntenance program for the newspaper.

Thls ls the ffrst Job I have errer had.

I wrote a program to teach myself

language to start wtth. I got a book on algebra, and all of the problems that the book said would be hard were easv.

I would be very happy to havi people call or wrlte me tf they have problems

with computers: Randall Kem, Advanced

Data Solutions, 7O-W Camano Drive, Camano Islarrd WA 98292; 206-387 -42O5.

MUSICAL FAMILY More Jrom Kathg Tffle:

Music ls our famlly obsesslon, bluegrass muslc ln partlcular, Chris (fl has always been intense about music. A family friend of ours ls a mandolin player in a bluegrass band, and from the time Chris was 3 he knew he wanted to play rnandolin. He finally got one when he was 5, and

went right to work on lt, first leaming simple chords, then learning to plck simple melodtes. We were surprtsed by his determlnatlon. He was not yet ln liiindergarten, and had plentSr of time to sit in a oorner with hrls mandolin and work at it.

We declded to ask our friend the mandoltn player tf he would take Chris on as a

studenl Our thought was that we wanted to gutde Chrls to play with the proper technique so he wouldn't have to unleam bad habits later. Also, he wanted to play bluegrass and we had no ldea how to find bluegrass tunes for trtm to play. We needed a teacherJust to gatn entrance to the world of bluegrassl Strrcc John (our frtend) has always been the object of Chris's hero worship, havlng him as a teacher seemed to lnsplre Chris to work even harder.

Chris's dedicadon tnsptred Scott and me to get lnvolved. Scott had played tn a 1.zz trand as a te€nager, and nowhe wanted to leam to flat-pick the guitar, and has been worklng and lmprovlng on that ever since. I ^st year I dectded to W my hand at fiddling, and I am llnding tt dilllcult but

worth working at, Chrls has been playtng mandolin for

two and a half years now and plays really well. He keeps up with adult players with no problem. Iately he has taken up gluitar and flddle, too. The llddle is harder lor htm than mandolin ever was, and he does not have the rapport with hts fiddle teacher that he has with hts mandoltn teacher, Still he really wants to learn it. He seems to hear tt ln hts mlnd, and that drtves him to try to produce what he's hearing.

John (5) shows almost no lnterest in muslc or playlng an lnstrument, and we're not pushtng lt. Sometimes lt seems as if our music ls a sore point with John - a lhtttg ttr. rest of us are all busy dotng that leaves hlm out, We try to lnclude him in

ways thatwe can. Has anyone else overcome the problem of nurturing the stbItngs of a kld whose spectal attributes @nsume the famtly's ilme (and budget)?

Morse code, because I was tDrlng to get a

ham llcense. I took my test for ihe f,am tlcket and was hoptng to quallfy as a novlce but got the htgher level of technlclan.

Programmtng has taught me a lot about loglc, and abstraction. kaming the program Pascal has taught me a ton about structure. Pascal was ortginally wrltten for teachtng programmtng, so li ts the best

spiritual parenting, sdrmling and homeschooling.

Nurturing the magical time of drildhood. Send $20 (or $5 for a sample) to Nancy Aldrid,

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GROWINC WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

JOHN HOLT'S BOOK AND MUSIC STORE LTVING RESPONSIBLY CARING FOR YOI,JR OWN DEAD

cratic parts we must also face. For example, here's a sampling

by Lisa Carlson #1108 $12.95

of ways to help a friend who has had someone close die, from an appendix called, "A Good Neighbor's List For A Time of

"... Most importantly, this book can help us keep the endings as well as the beginnings in our lives family-centered and surrounded with love," GWS reader Pat McMullen wrote to me soon after she had arranged for a review copy ofCaring ForYour Own Deadto arrive on my desk.

She continued, "Lisa Cadson's book empowers its readers in the same way that gmd birrh books can... [they] can cut throughjargon and confusion to help us get, and pay for, only what we wanL" I soon saw thatCaring For Your Own Deadblonged in our catalog along wi0r our other books about family, community, and self-reliance as opposed o institutional dependence.

Pat McMullen probably sensed that I was open to a book about dealing with death becase of my involvement with the deaths and funeral arrangements of my dear friends John Holt and Anna Van Doren. She didn't know, however, that my decision not to enter my father's funeral business was among the major decisions I have made so far in my adult life. Caring For Your Own Deadhelpedto confirm and clarify many of my feelings about dying and about the many details of deattr.

The book contains three short accounts of people who wanted to be as much a part of a friend's or relative's death as they had been a part of their life. The author adds several clear essays about fie hisory ofand legal reasons for our current funeral practices, embalming, cremation, burial, organ donation, home vs. chapel wakes, and so on. She also prints a state-bystate list of laws and regulations regarding funerals. This is an invaluable compendium since the legalities of death are much

like the legalities of homeschooling: the regulations vary widely from state to state. For instance, some states allow you to care for your own dead without much bureaucracy at all, others allow you a limited amount of involvement" and still others, like Massachusetts, won't allow you to care for your own dead at all, and mandate a funeral director's assistance.

In the author's very valuable appendices she reprins useful articles, explains how to fill out the non-medical part of a death certificate, and gives advice about using the..Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney," which enables terminally ill people to specify a wish not to have their lives prolonged by extraordinary measures.

Carlson manages to maintain a fine balance between the personal, emotional aspects of death and the clinical, bureau-

Death":

. One friend came in right away and cleaned my house. She knew me well enough to know where little things went and never asked a thing as she silently and efficiently put things in order or made coffee. . I will always be grateful for the money I was given. Our families were scattered all over the U.S., and my telephone bill was exorbitant for months. . My neighbon took my kids long and often. I needed that, and my children di4 too. . My friends let me talk. And they listened - in my case, for months!

I find it interesting that Lisa Carlson would have been unable to write such a complete, detailed study of American funeral practices without help from the funeral industry, and she gratefully acknowledges this help in the beginning of the book.

"The idea of a family managing death was terribly new for almost all [funeral directors]," she writes. "Yet what I found in my conversations was that the vast majority in the funeral profession express caring and service-oriented views. Many listed in this book seemed far more interested in helping families in need than in protecting the 'turfl of the funeral industry."

My father remembers many funerals, years ago, where the wake took place in the home of the person who had died. The moruners would climb up an apanment building's stairs and crowd into the small rooms to pay their last respecs, console and reminisce with the family. But my father hasn't ananged such a funeral in decades, and most people who come to him for his services never even mention wanting such an arrangemenL Perhaps since we have so little memory of what it was like to care for our own dead, we no longer consider it a viable option.

John Boston, director of the School of Home lrarning, made a similar observation to me about homeschooling. He said one reason people have a hard time accepting or considering homeschooling is that they don't remember what life was like and how people learned before everyone was forced to attend school. We need to turn to our grandparents, and often our great-grandparents, to firnd out about life with little or no school.

Likewise, the importance of Caring For Your Own Dead isn't in is ability to tell us what we should do,but in its ability to let us know what we can do. This book shows us ways to mourn and deal with the details of death outside of institutionalrzeA, standardized practices.

-

Parick Farenga

.fohn Holt'g Book and Muelc Store

2269 Massachusetts Ave.

LEGAL RESEARCH: How To Find and Under' stand the Law

By Stephen Elias #1154 $14.95 We have long urged people to look up homeschooling laws themselves, for there is nothing as empowering as seeing in black-and-white what you would otherwise have to accept on someone's say-so (someone who might very well be wrong). To encourage people to discover how accessible legal facts are in this country, we used to sell a book in our catalog calledUsing A Law Library. When it went out of print we looked around for another good guide on the subject and found this one. Legal Research is published by Nolo Press, who offer a whole series of legal self-help books, and it is bigger, more detailed, and covers more ground than our earlier book.

You could use this bmk in a number of different ways:

. As a reference book. It is divided into many clearly labeled chapters and subsections, with a complete table of contents and index, so you can quickly find the answer to a specific, real question.

. Read it sraight through out of sheer interest and desire to become informed. The writing is clear and pleasant, using simple English and touches of humor. . Plow through like a text and study each section, perhaps setting yourself exercises to look up in the law books. You might not wind up knowing as much as an experienced lawyer, but maybe as much as a paralegal or some fledgling lawyers.

You could pretend you are a student in law school - or, better, like Abe Lincoln and countless others who "read law" outside of school. . Or just browse, reading whatever catches your fancy.

The book provides a good balance behveen legal theory and legal procedure. Primarily it shows you how to determine what type of law is involved in your question, how !o find out what the law says, and what the courts have said about how that law applies in actual circumstances. To a lesser extent, it shows you how to take a case to court, how to find the right forms to file, etc.

The advice will prepare you to deal with any legal issue. I can easily think of a quite a few issues through which homeschoolers encounter the law: getting approval for homeschooling, determining compulsory schml age, using school resources, returning to school, Euancy laws, child labor laws, accusations of child neglect and abuse, custody disputes, special education, high school equivalency certificates. Furthermore, alternativeminded people are likely to clash with the laws in other areas besides education - health care, zoning, religious freedom, freedom of speech. And we can all find ourselves drawn into unfortunately common hassles such as landlord-tenant disputes, injuries due to negligence, consumer problems, insurance problems.

Although through this book you c:u gain knowledge and power to deal with disputes that may be forced on you,I should quick to say we are not encouraging you to become litigious people do advise to file lawsuis. John Holt used to always

-

Cambridge, MA02l4O

everything they could to stay out of court, and he pointed out that judges look more favorably on people who attempt to do so.

I apologize that some of the print quality in the book is poor - the author illustrates lavishly with actual examples from the law books, and apparently he photocopied the texts and pasted snippets into his own manuscript. So you get the same kind of broken type you would get from a typical library Xerox machine. At least it's no worse than if you had Xeroxed the material yourself. And I think it is a real plus to see how lhe law books actrully appear.

As the book says, there is no substitute for doing real research yourself, and the sooner you get to a law library and realize how accessible this knowledge is, $e better. You don't need to grcsp every detail from this guide - many points will become obvious once you start doing a real task. But this book gets you started, gives you backgtound so you can walk in confidently.

And even if you have used law libraries a few times, as I have, there is still plenty to learn from this book, as it provides a comprehensive overview and fills in facts that I had not seen for myself. For example, I never knew unlil now what the little pictures ofkeys in front of cases were good for (they help you track down similar cases in other states). And I knew nothing at all about the Shepard index that tells you when a case in question has been cited by later cases, so that you can figure out whether the conclusions still hold true.

As I worked on GWS and followed the complex legal changes that began taking place in homeschooling, I was able to benefit from having John Holt around to talk with - a layman, not a lawyer, but knowledgeable and concerned about law. I can remember him explaining to me that there is really no such thing as a "binding precedent"" and our talking about exactly how a Supreme Court opinion does or does not change the law of the land. If you don't have a knowledgeable person around to fill you in on legal principles, then a book ltke Legal Researchis Donna Richoux the next best thing.

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ETHICAL INVESTING: How To Make Profitable Investments Without Sacrificing Your Principles

By Amy L. Domini and Peter D. Kinder #l I l8 $10.95

I'm going to start by listing all my reservations about this book. (l) The chapter that "reviews the basics" about investing, describing all the different forms like common stocks, municipal bonds, etc, is a liltle too difficult for a real beginner in the field of investing. And the same parts are too slow and tedious for someone who knows about the subjecr (2) The author recommends that at a minimum, an ethical inveslor should rcadThe Wall Street Journal anda local paper daily, plus a business weekly, plus the business monthlies! That's a lot of work. As she makes abundantly clear in fte rest of her book, someone who does not have that kind of time can still make ethical investments, ttrrough mutual funds, for example, and choice of bank. (3) The tax advice is out of date, given the substantial changes since 1986. (4) Finally, how many GWS readers are going to feel that this book has no relevance to them since they

22

Joha Holt's BooL and Muslc Store

69 Massachusetts Ave.

Cambridge, MA 02l4O

have no money to invest, period?

HOME ECONOMICS

Now that I've set those down, I can get on with saying why I think this is a very good and important book.

It seems to me imperative, for the well-being of the planet, ttr:at as many of us as possible question every detail of our daily

by Wendell Berry #l130 $9.95

lives and make conscious choices about everything - how we obtain food, where we live, what, we do with our garbage, how we raise our children, how we stay healthy - and what we do with our money. Whetlrer you choose to avoid invesring in a certain company may or may not have an effect on that company (it probably would only if thousands of others also chose to avoid that company) but at the very least it will have an effect on your own state of mind, to know you are not benefiting from some activity of which you disapprove. Instead, with a little effort, you can put your money in places that contribute towards the kind of world you wanl And, as the track records of the ettrical munral funds show, your investments can do just as well, or even betrer, than average.

Amy Domini's well-organized book covers everything you need to know !o start investing ethically. She gives all the addresses of the organizations in the field, such as the mutual funds th,at screen their investments for various ethical criteria, or the newsletters that provide information on the subject" She helps you to identify what your own ethical standards are, suggests many ways o determine whether a company meets your criteria, and advises how tro find the right balance for you between growth and income-producing investments.

This would be a great book !o give, say, a teenager in your household who dreams of getting rich, wheeling and dealing.

But ethical investing is not just a opic for the rich or would-be rich. Many ordinary people have IRA accounts - where do you put that money? Others are coming ino inheritances as the elder generation dies, or can affect where their church or ofter instinrdon puts its money. Even what bank you use for your checking account or savings account can make a difference. I-et this book show you what your alternatives are.

DR

John Holt wrote to a friend in 1975, "If the world is to be saved, it will only be when very large numbers of people think, 'How I live, in my personal life, can make a difference, and does make a difference,' and begin to act accordingly." Donna Richoux echoes this in her review of Ethical Investing, and it is the central current of Wendell Berry's Home Economics as well.

We've added Berry's book to our catalog not only because it is beautifully written and because it raises diflicult and important guestions, but because it is, in the author's words, about being "responsibly at home" in the world. It is about what it means to be alive in a world where the things we do might destroy - or,

just

possibly, save - that world.

Berry is a poet and essayist living in rural Kentucky, so his principle questions, in thinking about living responsibly in lris home, are about farming and agiculture. What do farmers really need? What works, and what doesn't? What pars of the big government's wisdom about small farms are in fact applicable, and which are so off the mark that they are dangerous? In many as

ways, Berry's questions about farms are questions about individual people and small enterprises, in all sorts of circumshnces, trying to live in a big country with a big government.

In one essay, Berry describes a meeting in Indiana in which local citizens tried o oppose the building of a nuclear power plant" A woman in the audience asked ttre members of the company building the plant, and the memben of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, how many of them lived within the danger zone slurounding the plant in progress. Berry writes: The question proved tactically brilliant, apparently shocking the penonages on the stage, who were forced to give it the shortest, plainest answer of the evening: Not one. Not a single one of those well-paid, welleducated, successful, important men would need to

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a

Mastercard and Visa Phone Orders Accepted Bet'ween 10 - 4 Monday - Friday

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(617) 864-3100

Shtp to (Please give street address for UPS):

I

PACKING Wc ship UPS via U.S. Mail

& DELIVERY

i

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OVERSEAS Sad ll5.S rbiping. Wc sill Hll

By Sufs Mail Efud b.r.d o raul cid86.

OVER SEAS AIRMAIL nrb*riplions to GWS rhould rcnd 32l1.fl) for pctage.

Subtotal: c

5olo

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Packing & Dellvery (see chart):

John Holt'r 22

BooL and Muslc Storc

69 Massachusetts Ave.

worry about his family or his propcrty in the event of. acatastrophic mistake at lvlarble Hill.

This sory would be less interesting if it were unusual.

My point, of course, is that it is not unusual. Some version of it is now happening in this country virtually everywhere, virtually every day. Everywhere, every day, local life is being discomforted, disrupted, endangered, or destroyed by powerful people who live, or who are

privileged to think that they live, beyond the bad effecs of their bad work.

DISCONTINUED ITEMS Hcre are the ltems that wtll be cut from our Sprlng catalog for which we sUll have stock avallable. (We wlll lssue credlts tf somethlng ls out of stock by the tlrrr you order.) Deadllne for the purchase of these ttems ts Merch Sht, 1989.

Scctlon Art Bables Bables

Chtldren & Adults Ctrlldren & karntng Chtldren & Adults Changtng World Changtng World

Economlcs Economlcs Economlcs Economlcs Facts & Sclence Facts & Sclence Facts & Sclence Facts & Sclence Facts & Science

Much of. Home Economics is aboat how we can keep ourselves close to the effects of our work and our actions close to, aware of, and responsible for. It is, for this reason, very much about education (when John Holt wrote about

Forelgn Forelgn Foretgn Foretgn ForetgF cadgets

being a responsible teacher, he meant it in just this way). It is also about our relationship to the natural world, and Berry' proposals about this are more sophisticated, comprehensive, and ultimately useful than many others I've heard.

Finally, ttte book is about the viability, and value, of community in modern life, something about which GWS readers are clearly concerned. Home Econonics is for all who think about living responsibly, and for all who might, through reading it, begin to.

Susannah Sheffer

Home & Garden Home & Garden Home & Garden

-

INSTEN) OF EDUCATION

IS

BACKI

John Holt's lmportant book about the true purposes of schools, real teachtng, and ways to help people do things better ls back fn prlnt and avallable from John Holt's Book and Muslc Store (#387,$8.95)

AISO_ HOW CHILDREN FAIL. John Holt's classtc book. ls avallable wlth a new lntroducUon b y George McCovern

(#356,$e.es)

Cambridge, MAO2l40

Language

h.nguage La.nguage

Language

language

Hlstory

Instruments Instruments Instruments Math Math Muslc Muslc Muslc Poet. & Literature Poet. & Literature Poet. & Llterature Puzzles(Jtgsaw) Puzzles(Jtgsaw)

Puzzles(Jigsaw) Serles Serles Vtdeotape Words & Wrtttng

Young Young Young Young

Chlldren Children Children Children

Itcml Tltlc 714 Sta-Ttte Prtndng Klt - Regular 23.OO l@ Btrth Reborn 8.95 2U Chlldblrth wlth Instght 8.95 214 Complete Father Brown 9.95 2H Essays Into Llteracy 12.5O 476 Merry Adventures of Robln Hmd 5.95 314 Grassroots Fundralslng I1.95 A32 Weapons and Hope 6.95 2fi Economy of Cities 5.95 2ffi Food Flrst 4.95 3lO GoodWork 7.95 7@ Small ts Beautiful 5.95 2O2 Chemtstry Expertments for Children 2.75 2& Fteld Guide to Dtnosaurs 9.95 ffi2 Sand Count5r Almanac 3.5O 686 Savlng the Peregrine Falcon 12.95 n2 Underground 6.95 162 Blanche Neige 7.99 198 Cendrillon 7.99 2$ El Flautista De Jamelln 2.95 48 los Cuatro Cantantes de GuadalaJara 2.95 48 losTresOsos 2.95 334 Hearlng hotectors l7.OO 474 Memolrs of a Medleval Wornan 8.95 194 Cash from Square Foot Gardenlng 9.95 7lO Square Foot Gardening I1.95 84O Whole Foods for the Whole Family 10.95 138 Aulos Recorder - Alto l3.OO l4O Aulos Recorder - Sopranlno 8.OO fi2 Pitch Pipe - Chromatic l2.OO lo4 Aha Insight 1o.95 732 SuMyal Mathematics 9.95 48O Mlkrokosmos vol 2 4.75 57O Portratts Vol 2 3.5O 571 Portralts Vol 3 3.95 228 Country of the Fointed Ftrs 5.95 ffi7 Pocket Book of Ogden Nash 3.95 7M Snow Walker (short stortes) 3.95 584 Puzz,le - Phystcal World 17.5O 586 Pttzzle - Poltdcal World 17.5O 593 Pttzzle - U.S. - small 25.oo 788 Ttndn - Ttntln and the Picaros 6.95 794 Ttntln - Ttntln in Tibet (Eng) 6.95 821t We Have To Call It School - BETA 25.OO 532 Odord Picture Dict/MonolingUal 4.95 & Many Moons 4.95 236 Daniel's Duck 3.5O 128 Anno's Counting Book 4.95 614 Read ItYourself series - Lrvel 3 23.6o

LI\ST CHANCE FOR SINGLES In our next catalog, we wtll be selling the followtng ltems as scts only. This is your last chanc.e to buy Indtvtdual fltles. Complete your sets todayl Reoords

28

Muslc Muslc Muslc Muslc

292

Ransome Ransome

254 722 724

FLansome FLansomc

316 554 558 690

Ransome

742

Ftansome

424

FLansomc

u2

Tests Tests Tcsts

IU6

Iti4

l8a

For Chtldren (2 record set) 22.OO For Chtldren - book I 4.75 For Children - book 2 4.75 Stewart Pre-Sch Plano - Studerrt Bk 5.OO Stewart Pre-Sch Plano - Tchrs Bk 5.OO Grcat Northern .6.25 Ptcts and the Martyrs 6.25 Ptgcon Post 6.25 Se.crctWater 6.25

Swallowdale 6.25 We Dldn't Mean to Go to Sca 6.25 Winter Ilollday 6.25 Cambrldgc Prc-GED - Lanpgagc Skills 7.OO Cambridge Itc-GED - Math Skills 7.OO Cambrldgc Prt'-GED - Ileadlng Sktlls 7.OO

t7

FOCUS: MAKING DISCOVERIES l-rom an wpttbltshd.letter JoFul. Hdt wrote In 1965: The trouble with the new enllghtenment ln educatlon... ls that lt has glven teachers the ldea that they must teach, not facts, but concepts...

What happens ln pracflce ls that we put lnto words some of our own nonverbal understandlngs of the world, and try to get these words lnto children's heads, elther by tel[ng them or byAnswer f'dlng. We g;ive them, to be sure, some of the underl5rtng facts toworkwtth, and some of the materlals we devlse for thts are very tngenlous. But we are lmpa.tlent; we won't let thts stulf stmmer around ln chlldren's heads for long; before much tlme has passed we start trylng to pull that'concept" out of them' and when we succeed ln dotng so, we thlnk that the same structural relatlonshlp odsts tn thelr mtnds as erdsts ln ours. ... Bronowsltil ,ln *tence andHumanVahrcs, made the polnt' very beautifully and graphtcally, that to dlscover the connectlon between what had seemed two lsolated facets of qdstence ls a creatlve act' whether the ffeld ls art or science. He calls lt an act of uni$lng. Thts ls somethtng we cannot do for someone else. We cannot make these connectlons ln someone else's mlnd. We can gtve them the data. We can even tell them what the connectlon ls. But we must not assume because we have told them, and because they can repeatwhatwe have said, that they- really know. They have to dlscover thls for themselves.

Let me make clear that I am not saytng that chtldren must dlscover everyttrlng unatded. We can help them in several ways. We can so ilTange the materlals put befiore them that dlscovery ls made more likely... Real learntng ls a process of discovery, and tf we want lt to happen ln schools, for children, we must create tn schools the ldnds of conditions tn whtch dlscoverles are made. We know what these are.

They tnclude time, lelsure, freedom, lack of pressure, and the like. ...I sald that telltng someone a connectlon, a structural pattern, does not make them grasp lt. [In htgh schoo[ I studied physlcs' and soon ran tnto Newton's Third Law of Motton. My reactlon to lt was to say that lt was poppycock I had been thtnliilng about that problem for years- At the age of about lO or t I I had had an ar$umentwlth some aunts and unclei about rocket shlps tn space, and I had argued very convlnctn$y that a rocket would not work ln space, because there was nottring' no alr, for the gas to push agalnst. How can you push when there ls nothlng to push against? I was so convlnctn$ that to thls day I cannot persuade them that I was on the wrong slde of the argument' In hlgh school I was told that when I pushed agalnst a wall the wall pushed back. What nonsenset One mtnute the wall is standing there, not pushlng; the nert mlnute lt ls pushlng. How does tt dectde to make the change? And as for the notion that the earth turns slightly under your feet when you walk on tt - moonshlnet It took a long Ume to dlscover for myself that the Thlrd [.aw was true. Nobody did lt for me; nobody could have done it for me.

And, of course, all the tlme I was grappllng wlth the problem I was handing tn physlcs papers saytng thlngs that I dld not belleve. Eventually I felt tn my bones the trr.th of what Newton was talklng about' so much so that now, when runnlng, I really do feel my feet turnlng the

I am not saAW that children must discouq etnry-

wsldcd

We

tlelp thern

fr].

thing c(]jn

seueralwaVs.

earthunderme...

But what happens to most kids in school ts that they are requlred to repeat, as sense, what makes no sense to them, to the potnt that they gtve up trytng to reconclle what people say about the world with what they really feel about lt. They accept as true whatever authortty says ls true. They do not try to check or test lt. They soon forget even how to test It. Oh, sure, lt ls easy to test the statement thatwater botls at such and such a temperature; but most of our knowledge' most ofwhat we are asked to accept as true, cannot be so easlly tested. I cannot run controlled orperlments to test the truth of what people tell me about hlstory, or economlcs, or human nature. I have to check these statements agatnst my mental model, such as lt ls.

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

Wttr:thappens ta most krds in school Is thnt tleg are requlred to rewaL (Issense, wlwtmakes no se?lse to thenu to tle prllint thflt theg giue up

WW ta recon-

cile wtwt people sag aboutthe usorld. wtth what tteg reallg Jeel about tL

18

[SS:] To begln a discusslon of the questtons John Holt ralses in thls letter (see prevlous page), I spoke wlth peter Bergson of the Open ConnecUons Fanlly Resource Center in Pennsylvania and Pat Montgomery of the Clonlara Home Based Educatlon Program ln Mlchtgan, both of whom have spent some ttme thinklng about these questtons. What follows are excerpts from our conversatlons. My comments are in italics; Peter's and Pat's are tn regular type.

DISCUSSION WITH PETER BERGSON Do gou rcmembr ttntJeellng of 'new enltghterurcnt'tttot Jolut tolks abut?

Very well. I remember tt especlally wtth regard to the socalled new math. As a Peace Corps volunteer fn trahfng, I was a member of a group of maybe etghty college g;raduates belng prepared to teach new math to old math Ftltptno teachers. I was struck by how marry of my fellow volunteers had trouble leamtng the material that u;ewere supposed to be teaching others. Many of them didn't really understand fracdons, for example, or even the concept of the Base lO system, upon whlch our whole numerical system is founded. When they were told to prepare a lesson plan which introduced the concept of borrowtng, they urere lost. They knew how to borrow, but they had no ldea why lt was done that way. They knew that when you dtvtde fracUons you "trrvert and multiply," but lf you were to ask them why, they'd draw a complete blank. I found lt even more dilffcult to explafn these concepts to them than I imagine tt had been for thelr elementar5r school teachers to explain the functions origtnally.

a

And get tIle rloltlon oJ terchlng @raepts rather tlunJacts uras tlut fud oJ crr4fuston wosn't Lf?

response tD

Yes, exactly. And in some ways lt should have been easler to teach new math to young chlldren whose mlnds weren't yet cluttered with confusion. But what the genluses who created new math didn't reallze was, as John said, you can'tjust declde to teach concepts to people who don't have a real understandtng of the thing itself, The volunteers wlth whom I was worklng clearly didn't have a real model of how numbers worked, and what bases or fractions meant, so tt dtdn't matter whether I trted to teach them concepts or facts.

Did gou ttink that tJ gou @,tldJust make gour eryilantatloln

futter, x unuld. unrk?

I thought that, and ln a way I sttll ttrtnk so. I think I c.ould have trled longer to find somettring that they did understand somethlng that they really knew ln the fullest sense of the word, like you know walktng, for example. Once you know walklng, you can walk pracUcally anywhere, on any kind of surface, etc. If I can find something that somebody knows llke that, and lf I can connect the new ldea to tt ln some meanlngful way, there's a good chancc that the learner would make the same connection and then begin to know lt, too,

Hou dres Aratft tn corutectiorts

rDit]r

tle ldea tlru.t up can't

nao,lce

lor people?

That's why I used the word chanrce.I can't be sure that the connecdon will be made. That's somethtng the learner has to do. I can only lncrease the probablltty by plactng the new lnformatlon in the proxlmlty of somettrtng already known, As John satd, 'karning is not the result of teachtng; learntng ls the result of the

actlvtty of the learner.'

How canurc tell wFr/ people are readg to tnderstard,, what

arvecttons tlvg'rc rcodg to make?

One way ls to llsten to thelr questlons. If children ask about somethlng, that may be a sign that they're ready to hear more about lt, and are probably ready to make sense of what's presented. Of course, you can glve an explanatlon that's too complicated, that desn't crnnect with anythtng the child already understands, and that won't help at all.

Another way ls to look at the chtld's (or adult's) thinking pn,câ&#x201A;Źss. You can ask, 'What tnstght do I get about how this person sees or understands this particular piece of the world from the way she or he approaches the new material?' For example, ask someone to show l/2 dtvided by 3/a h picture form, Most people wlll qulckly draw a clrcle wlth a llne stratght down through it, whfch suggests to me that they understand the c.onc.ept of L/2, aad that they remember learntng about fractlons from a teacher who used those pte diagrams. The next thing you'll nodce wlth most people ls that then they hesltate about what to do wlth the 3/4. A few who really understand fracUons wtll be able to llgure out what to do wtth lt. The rest wfll fumble around for a while and chuckle nervously at their frustraUon and confusion. This helps me - and the learner - see what's really known and what's simply memorlzed wtthout understanding.

Cartt we also tell

u:hr:.t

sorts of tlttngs auailade,

people are readg Jor bg maktng

ard seehg wlnt ttey

oI

respond. to?

Yes, though there can be some rlsk in that. Ifs one thing to lnvlte a child to explore a new material, to experiment with it, to lnteract wlth tt, to get to know lt at whatever level ls appropriate for that pardcular chtld. It ls qulte another thtng to expect a child automatlcally to master a materlal (or a new conc'ept). That mastery takes both tlme and enougfr previous knowledge ln related

areas to be able to connect the new knowledge. For e:<ample,

lt

wouldn't be falr to gtve a baby a computer and expect him or her to start cranldng out letters to GWS. But that baby mtght want to explore the computer ln other ways. Also, we want to be sure that we don't tnadvertantly create a sense of obligation on the part of chlldren, ln which they feel that we expect them to understand somethlng because we've left a particular material around.

It seems to me tlut we hanse tD tll.jrl.k oJ wltot sorts oJ circtnrstanoes would creote that Jeeltrtg oJ oiligatton- I can't fuLieve thnt ft's rraessar{lg bad to io,nn something anound that tle chlld, isn't getreadgfor. I nean goucanhove a setoJencycbpd.fas Lr a lause wlth ababy, ad. nothing nurchlruppns rurr.lil tte chdd fs, sag, te4 ard. picks them up to use tlrem. ls there necessarfly pressure or o4tgailonJust tt he Jact oJ tte errcgcbpedtas' fuW

ttere?

No, I don't thtnk so. The quesflon ls whether you hold a chtld accountable for something. If your child begtns picldng up books and looking through them on hls or her own, and you thlnk this means lt's automatlcally time for reading lessons, you could be creating a problem. I've secn three year olds (and fours and lives) who would show some Interest ln a math balance, to use another example. They'd maybe hang some weights on one end or another and watch tt ttp back and forth. Some parents then lnterpret this as an opportune tlme to make some learnlng happen (as tf tt weren't happentng already), and so they say to their child something like, 'If I hang one wetght on the flve peg and one on the four peg, can you make lt balance wlth one wetght on the other slde?" (meantng, do you already know that 4+5=9?) Now, the three year old, and qutte posslbly the four and flve year old, hardly has a worktng knowledge of what ls meant by 'balance,' let alone understandtng what ls meant by 'four plus flve equals.'When chtldren are tn thts posltlon of betng expected to perform, they have only two real options, both of them harmful. One ts to drop out, most likely wtth some sâ&#x201A;Źnse of hilure. The other ls to guess by movtng the weight from peg to peg until tt hangs from the nine peg and the balance sits level. At this polnt, the child may or rnay not memorlze that 5+4=9. Regardless, such a hlt-or-miss approach, wtth the chtld thinktu:rg more abut the adult's exPectatlons than anything else, ls what helps to prcduce adults who can GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

l9 add and subtr:act but don't really understand mathernadcs.

WelI,

tlcre tlE

o.dult has o specgtrc

gal sonet}try tllr.t adult tle chtld- But { you

nrants to nuke luppn or wonts to lrrr.porse on Just harr tle nrath brrlrrrlr amund -

Yes, lfyou Just harrc lt around, and lfyou really can keep yourself from Geling llke you're waidng for some connecdon to happen, then lt's OK. Probably one day the ctrild wtll flgure out that certaln thtngs make lt balance, and wtll come and tell you, 'Look what I llgured out.'

fm ildnking oJ Ncrncg WaIIae's story oJ Vita's reodirg Ltttle Women ten tlrnes, over tJe yeors, and. getllng sonethttg df{ferent out oJ tl erch tute. I dodt tlthk you'rc saykrg tlrc.t she shoul.l harc ro<rltd. until she @uA wrderstottd, UJully bJorc rcadilg IL No, but I don't thlnk she would have read and enJoyed tt the Iirst tlme tf she didn't understand lt at alL lt rctlilng tn tt had

mnnected to anything she already knew. And slnc.e she wasn't being held accountable for what was tn It, wasn't belng tested on it, she was frer to read tt agatn and agatn and rrake more @nnections each time.

DISCUSSION WITH PAT MONTGOMERY

klds ltked to go and see the pt$ets. Thls parflcular day, a boy namedJohnny, who was about 4, u,"as sttttng uP next to me ln the van, so he could see errerythlng I could see. As we tumed the bend, I could see the farm tn the dlstancc. I sald, -There's Snyder's Farm,' and Johnny sald, 'No lt lsn't.' I satd, 'Yes, there lt ls, up ahead,'because at flrst I thought heJust dtdn't see lL But he lnslsted that thls wasn't the farm. He started to get angry, so I thought well, I'll leave lt alone. Then, as rve pulled lnto the drtveway, and the farm was rlght there tn front of us, blg as life, Johnny satd, -Ihis ls Snyder's Farm.' So he had been unable to accept that that barn tn the dtstance was the sarne as this btg barn fur front of him.

It's interestirg to tl1ttt& abut tlE chohes tlvt you hd lrr thot slturatlon You ould tlur)e tlougrlt, 'I wderstard, thls, so fm rcoIV SoW to nuke an qffort to e:g.lotur to Johrng that ilnrys lrole d$ereft utlen tleg'rc Jor away.'

That doesn't respect the chtld, and lt doesn't work. If I'd tried to say that to Johnny, lt would have been futlle, and what would that interactlon between us have amounted to? Johnny would have thought, 'I'm stuptd, and Pat's mad at me.'We have to have the distance to allow chlldren to ffgure these things out for themselves, to become famtltar with the way things work.

Wluen are erylanatbns apptoprinteT

I remember that in 1965 we were stlll tn the thmes of Sputnik h"lrittg gone up, whlch threw our educattonal establlshment for a loop because tt secrred our ldds dldn't know enoug;h science and math. So there was, on the one hand, a feeltng that urc should be teaching facts to keep upwtth the Russlans. But there was also a re€xamlnailon of rote memorlzatlon as a way of teactrtng. We began to say that chtldren should learn hour to thtnk, not tuhat to think, wtrtch I think ls what was rn€ant by 'the new enlighten-

ment.'

b

you

tht* pple

ote ldcbtg back rrrlw ond. saylng, That

Idea oJ teaclnng crrrrrlpts dtdn't wotk, use hanse to teachtacts

agatn?'

Yes. One thfng that's lnvohred here ls that teachers, and somedmes parents, are on the recelvlng end, walttng for the wave to wash over them, for the enltghtened word to come down. So they begtn to reslst ll because it seems to them like lt's Just one

thing and then another, Ilrst facts, then concepts, now facts again, and they're sa)dng, -This lsn't gotng to worh lt's Just like what we had before.'

It also seems that u:e've Jalld. to rcaltzc wlatJotn phtd. out thattle deaoJtcachtng aneptstafld.bause un didn't und.erstrrnd.

tlut gou can't stnplg talce a anept and put X tt Wlvt abut tleJafutre oJ neut nro;th Jor

sorn@rre ebe's mbtd-

example?

I remember a child named Kathleen, who had attended

tndittonal schols and then came to Clonlara when she was I l.

She had been hlllng math tn tradtdonal school. At ffrst, she avotded our math dme, when other kids were dotng math. But she was also saytng, 'I'm not learntng anythtng here.' So we made an agreement. We sald that two or t}ree tlmes a week she and I would have a math sesslon together. One day I handed her 325 poker chlps, and safd, 'Dtvly them up for three players.'She dld that, and then of c,ourse I was tempted to say, 'Now, if you wrote that down ln numbers, tt would be...' But I dtdn'l because I lsrew that she always got so angry and fmstrated whenever she trled to do math prcblems on paper, We worked wlth the poker ctrlps for a few more sesslons, and I waited. Ftnally, lt seemed appropriate to say somethtng. I said, 'You know what you Just did? That was dtvtston, And f you had to wrtte lt down, wlth no poker chlps around, you would wrlte lt ltke thls.' I could see the Ughts gotng on ln her head, but she also couldn't belteve tt. She couldn't belleve that dtvldtreg up poker chips was dlvlslon, We went to the chalkboard, and I gave her some problems and said she cpuld do them wlth poker chlps or wlthout poker chlps, and for the llrst Ume she dtd them all, and got them rtght. That day was only a llrst step - tt sflll took a whlle for her to make lt her own. But she no longer got so frustrated by lt,

It

remlnd,s

ne

oJ

Mrye

Children of tils shdent Jose, tIue Pd,gr|rms crossed was

I remember taldng classes ln new math, for my master's, from one of the foremost rnathematlclang ln the countr5r, Dr, Joe Payne. I r€cogn?.ed that he lorred math, that he thought mathemaflcally. But I dtdn't thtnk that way, and I had trouble with tL Even though he loved lt, he couldn't slmply transfer that way of thlnldng to me.

There's a rcal terryttallon to tlrb* tlut { I wderstand sonetlldrg clearlV, I canJust erylatrt U hillIantly to gou and gou'll urlderstla.nd. lt tm. A thfs desdt alurags unr*- what Is tle altemofux { r*e do urqnt to pqss dong ow wdcrstondtg?

We can glve chlldren a chancc to be around people who do love somethlng and understand tt, so that they can eventually grab tt for themselyes. The exposure has to be continued so that

it's available when they're ready. If they're not ready, tt Just won't make sense. I remember one lncldent rrery vtvtdly. Years ago, at Clonlara, we would go to the nearby ptg farm pretty regularly. The CROWING WTTHOLTT SCHOOLING #67

tle

Derurlson's story kr The Llves of

frdlng scune

u anvzlrg

tlut tle eean

&een he hnd gone swlnrrrr@

h- He made aarrcctlonfufunen somethlng le uas supposed to Iear* and, someddng ln hls own unrld. Jor tle /irst tlne. Atrd Kathleen had nerrer b;forc oruated dlDtsbtr problems wlth sonetldrg slc actually dld. h her own $e. You gann lrr sonetnng b @'lter:t to, sonrtltblg to un'|'r. wtllu

It was really clear, ln her subsequent lessons, that she was angry that no one had gtven her that before. She'd say, 'If thts is ttrls easy, how come I dtdn't get tt tn thtrd grade?'

We'd llke to hear more storles like the ones told here stories of chlldren and adults maktng connectlons .rnd dlscoverles, and stortes about when explanattons vr'ere and were not useful.

20

RETHINKING ''QUALITY TIME" VS. "QUANTITY TIME'' Marg-Georye Slnpnltch oJ Callfomlo. rurites: Often when I read GWS, I see a com-

mon concern. What exactly should a parent be for a chlld? How much should a parent do? Thls ls such a baslc questlon, but tt ts also one that I feel rnany parents lginor€, that the answer ls obvlous, or perhaps fearlng the answer.

In recent years, as woman has discovered her true value as an lndependent human belng ln her own rtght and has moved out lnto the 'worktng world,' she has taken wtth her a nerv burden of guilt. The gutlt ts causd by the very real concern a rnother has for the ctrlld she has left behtnd. To assuage that gutlt, the "chtld experts' oblfgn$y lrrvented a new term: qualip tlme. It has a rdce rtng to tt.

We all search for qualtty te our daily lives.

We all want the best thtngs for ourselves and our loved ones, Butwhen lt comes to

providing loving care and attenflon for our clrlldren, how valuable ts "quality

time'?

A pa.rent who glnes qualtgr ttme inltiates the contact. She (or he) ts calltng the moves, taktng the cholce away from the ctrild. The parent who gfrrcs quallty time ls actually forclng hers€lf on the ctrtld, whlch ls not very lo\rlng. It fs interfering. The ctrtld ls, alter all, the only one who truly knows what he or she needs.

But when a parent glves qualtty flme, she is saytng, ln efiect, "Iam the one who knows whatyou need, and you had better take lt, nour, oryou won't get tt at all.'

On the other hand, the at-home parent who provides 'quandty tlme' ls always there when the chlld needs her.

She doesn't have to tnterfere, for the ctrtld can lniHate the cpntacts. And thts ts real time. From birth, a child can recognlze hls needs and ask for the care and attention necessary to ffll them. A baby crles when he ls hungry, cold, orwet, and the nurturing mother responds approprtately. Iater, the chtld dwelops more complex needs, but he has retalned and rellned hts abtltty to recognlze hls needs and communlcate them, tf he has always had the security that hts needs wtll be met ruhen they arlse.

He learns self-awareness and selfreliance. He learns to recognlze hls own goals and to achleve them through selfassertlveness. He ls, ln short, learntng independence.

But he ls also learnlng the value of belng an lndtvtdual wlthfn the securtty of a close, tnterpersonal relatlonshlp. The quanttty tlme mother has her own needs, too, and she spends most of her tlme involved ln her own work, whatever lt may be, with her chlld close by. She doesn't mind lntermptlons, and, ln fact mostly welcomes them. But she doesn't intcrfere when she lsn't needed.

Ouality tlme ls a concept lnvented for working mothers ln the same way that formula and feedtng schedules were inventcd for bottle-feedlng mothers.

Those ofus who have chosen to stav at

home wlth our chtldren must be careful

that we do not adopt an lnferlor method of child care that was adopted for other mothers. Yes, we are always therc for our ctrlldren, and they have the securlty of knowtng that we are. But we stlll must avotd forclng ourselves on them, lnterfer-

tng, taklng away thelr lnltlaUve and their growth toward lndependenc-e. Thls ls what I hear both Klm Kopel ['let Ktds Choose,' cWS #651 and Ltsa Asher l'Older Homeschoolers,' cWS #651 telllng us. And they

are dghL

CHILDREN IN THE WORKPLACE IN A WINERY, WITH A MIDWIFE Dlate Paget (CN wrltes:

My husband Blll works ln a small, famtly-run wlnery wherc klds are very welcome. Most of the employees who have liids have brought them to work at one tlme or another. Tl:e owners have two ldds of thetr own. and ltke and welcome others.

Btll brlngs Jade (lO), Laurel (8) or Charlle (4) to work wtth hfm frequently.

There are a number of dillerent thtngs they do when they go to the winery. If the owners'klds are home they play with them. Sometlmes they stay with Blll, who ls a mechanic, watch what he ts dolng, ask quesdons, and help trlm. Or they rntght hang out wlth the owner, or go lnto the tasting room to ask questions or help.

Jade has helped wtth both bottllng and labelfng. Usually she volunteers, and ls pafd wtth a bottle of grape jutce. Once when they dldn't have enough people to work the bottling llne, the owner asked her to work and patd her the sanre wage as the adults. I never appreciated what she had done untll I worked the bottling line myself - you have to keep up or the whole crew of slrr ls stopped.

When I worked on the bottling line, I had a chanc.e to see what it was like for lidds to be there. My ldds weren't ttrere, but another boy came ln after kindergarten.

Everyone kept an eye on hlm. He was allowed to play with the winery equlpment as long as he wasn't Ln the way or hurting anythtng. I thought about how much I wlshed John Holt could have been there, because lt was such a ltving example of what he wrote about - chtldren having their place tn the adult worlidng world, where they were both free to play and free to experlment and help wtth the work.

I am a lay midwtfe, and do my work ln people's homes. I have alurays brought the l<ids with me on prenatal and postnatal vlsits, and brought them to births undl they were about l8 months old. Mostly it has worked out very well. A few of my pregnant moms dldn't want to share my attention wtth a toddler, but for the most part lt wasn't a problem. It was much harder for my toddlers to learn to share me wtth other people.

TEACHER BRINGS YOUNG CHILD TO SCHOOL A eanadfan reader wrltes:

I am a slngle parent, and a full-tlme teacher ln a large high school (16O0 students). My son D. ts 5. I went back to work when he was I l/2, a dilllcult age for both of us. His father was here then, and stayed home wtth htm unttl he was 3.

I thank God for my principal, a wlse and humane man, who told me one day

that tf I ever had dilliculties I should Just brtng D. with me. Young children are good for the older ones, he sald, and as long as the school board or supedntendents didn't hear of tt he would encourage the practic.e.

Thts made my ltfe so much easier. On those days when hls llttle face Just crumpled as I headed for the door, I could say, 'OK, come on then,'and he did.

Thts has worked out fairly well. He is comfortable wtth the school, and will walk around, go to the cafeterla or bathroom by htms€tf, go to the sign-ln room to get my notlces out of my maibox and so on.

He ls very good at adaptlng his behavlor to the requlr,ements of the school. Usually, that ls. We have had Just one or two scr€arning fits trn three years, after each of which I had to tell h,lm I couldn't take him agafu:r for a while until I could be sure he could behave, because the school definttely could not have tolerated those klnds of dtsrupdons. But apart from those tsolated lncldents (whtch are less of a risk as he grows older), he draws constant comments on hts good behavlor. He slts quietly at a desk beslde mtne, and llstens, or draws, or looks thrcugh books while the class ls ln s€sslon. I have often taught with hlm on my htp, one hand holding hJm up and the other holding the chalk.

I lind he ls a good tnfluence on my students. My toughest street boys will get dovm on the floor to play silly games with htm, and want to hold him ln their laps.

On the mlnus slde, he definitely does tnterfere wtth my work. The ldds are often so lnvolved In watching him or trylng to amuse him that schoolwork ts virtually tgnored. (l'm not saying thls ls a bad tr:adeoff, Just that I have an obligation to teach what I am pa.td to teach.) And I get no work done during my lunch or prep times.

I need peace and quiet and solitude to do tasfts tfiat need any ktnd of thought (this

ls familiar to stay-at-home parents,

too),

and on the days he comes with me, these rasks can't get done either at school or at home, and so I fall behind, and my sense of desperatlon increases.

I have wondered, too, about the effect of the envlronment on hlm. It's reglmented, borlng and noisy; bells ring, people yell and Jostle, kids swear and lnsult one another. But he loves observing ln the auto shop, and running the photocopler for me, and he's getdng a realistic plcture of what school ls like and what mom does all day. And he's wlth me. So on the whole, lt's worth it. One day last year, when he was 4, alter he had spent the whole moming tn boredom and flnally wrapped htmself up ln my c.oat and taken a nap on the floor behind the flling cabinet 'where the lrdds can't see me,' I felt so badly for hls longsuffcrirrg patience that I satd, 'took, sweetheart, wouldn't you rather go honre wlth Peggr (the babysitter, who had come with us for the moming GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

2l another of my blesslngs) norr/l It must be so boring for you here.'

'Well, yes,' he admttted, tucktng trts little hand into mlne, 'but you are the most funportant.'I could s:ry no rnor:e.

We get mlxed reactlons from other people tn the buildhg. The ldds, without exccptlon, love hlm. Several teachers do, too. The readtmg cllntctan urcnt out of her wEry one day to stlck her head into my room and tell me how much ft brtghtened her day to see hlm here. Some of the offIce stalf obvlous$ vierv him as a nulsance, and the vlcc prlnctpals, and most teachers, I suspect conslder hls presenoe unprofesslonal. One teacher went to the vice presldent (back when D. was very little) clairning that I had been breastfeedtng

him fn front of students (l harrc alnrays been careful not to, knowlng how tt urould be vtewed.) Another actually made an anonymous call to the superlntendent tnrc years ago, alle$ng that the school was belng used as an unpald daycare seMce. That hurt, because lt was slx months or more before elther the prtnclpal or I dared to allow D. back agatn, and he was the one who sulfercd.

Slnce then weVe trled to keep a fatrly low prollle when ln the school (although at least two other women have brouglrt theiryoung babtes with them at times when their babysttilng arrangements broke down, so I am not alone), and the entire situation easâ&#x201A;Źs up e\rcry year, as he gets older and rnore lndependent. I don't know what the fuhrre holds. I can see trlm maybe using rrgr classroom as a hnd of base, maybe tahngbuses to museums, Itbrartes, frtends, and checklng ln when he wants to see me. IJust don't know. It has not been a perfect soluflon - lt feels pretty makeshtft - but then, I feel that no soludon will be perfect until socie$r matures enough to accept chtldren's right to a place at thelr parents' stde, and provlde fcr tL But tn the meantlme, thls arrangement has allowed me to contlnue Juggling motherhood and a Job wtthout golng under.

QI.]ESTIONS ABOUT KIDS IN THE WORKPLACE Elabe Frndall oJ Wtscons{rr urlles: I have read wlth lnterest your arilcles about children ln the workplace and Itndtng communlgr, I harrc felt for a long ttme that so many needs go unmet ln our present system of putttng people tn

plgeonholes. I homeschooled our two children, now 8 and 12, up undl this year, when I sent them to school. The problem was that I felt desperate and like I needed some TLC - dolng somethln! for me, fior a

change.

As I see lt, we need to restmcture what our lives and work are aboul I do not bellene that nrc were meant to ralse children alone. What you are dotng at GWS - havtng people brtng thelr chtldren to work - seems to me to be a real model for change. Do you know ofany other buslnesses that are based on anv slmllar r4eas? Are there

any netryoiks or ways of

flnding other people who are committed to brindnC people together ln the workplace? I am very lnterested ln starttng a small buslness wlth one or more persons GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #57

Lledlolf (avallable here, #226, 8.95 + post.)

We seem to llnd a reason to recommend

commttted to having chlldren be part of the workplace. Do you have any suggesttons, guldellnes, models, or resources for

thls

this book ln almost wery lssue of GWS. Though not speci{lcally about ctrlldren In the modem workplac'e, the book ls about prectse[whatyou suggest - thatwe were not meant to ralse children alone, and that the best placc for chtldren ls ln the mtdst of adult life and work.

5, We will b. h"ppy to ansuter any speclfic quesdons about how children fft ln at the Holt Assoclates olfice. It's hard to address your questlon wlthout knowing what sort ofbuslness you want to start, and whether you would run lt out of your home or an outside olllcr. One point which ts perhaps obvlous alleady is that tntegraung children tnto adult work ls easler lfall concerned are at least tolerant ofthe tdea, and easiest tf all are acflvely lnterested fn maldng lt work. But lt's also true that ln OJ Cradles and Careers lhere are serreral storles about women who brought babies lnto very tradttional workplaces, and good advlce about how to prepare one's coUeagues for this. So tt ls posslble to brtng chlldren lnto a setting ln whlch not everyone ts of prectsely ltke mtnd. (Some of the storles tn GWS attest to

ldea?

[SS:] Some resouroes:

l. OJCradIes andCareers, by l(aye Lowman (avatlable here, #5lO 11.95 + post.) Useful collectlon of stories about mothers who have adapted their work to lnclude children (usually babtes and young children, but some of the storles are useful models for mothers Mth older chlldren, too). See our tntervlew wtth the author ln GWS #64. The book ls publlshed

by La Leche kague International, which may be another sourcâ&#x201A;Ź of support and alltes.

2. Jan Fletcher's Horne Bus[ness Advlsor, a nugazlne whtch we mendoned tn GWS #66. Many of the storles focus on worktng at home wtth chtldren. Note the new address: 63,10 34th SW, SeattleWA 98126.

3. The other GWS readers who have wrltten about brtngtng chlldren to the workplace. Stnce GWS #62 we have been runntng such storles, and perhaps all of you can exchange ldeas, suggestions, etc.

4, The h^tltutum bncept by Jean

thts, too.)

OLDER HOMESCHOOLERS playtng around wtth the varlous facets of

TEACHING HIMSELF MATH Mike Md. urote In tle Norr,mDrr

the computer's rnath funcdons. I quickly mastered such lntrlcacles as negative numbers, order of operatlons, e4ponents, sclentlffc notatlon, and roots. I nerrer regarded tt as learntng - tt was merely

tssue oJ the Tervtrsse reussletter, Homeschoollng Famllles:

somethlng I rvas dotng because lt seemed rather lnterestlng.

Over the next couple ofyears, my averslon to math gradually faded away.

Up undl this time (around age 12 to 14, I thtnk), I had never bothered to learn such supposedly baslc math fundamentals as my multlpllcation tables (this to the dlstress of my mother). Eventually, I was dotng so much math, I reallzed that not knowlng the tables vras slowlng me down and shortening the length of tlme I could spend on the truly fun stuff. I never dld actually sit down and learn them, but I ptcked up the mulUpltcatlon tables quite qulckly once I declded that they would be useful.

When I entered school, I could read IIne. I was also capable of dolng quite a btt of math... By the tlme I left school, I was

lncapable of readlng (my mothet's favorlte e:<ample ts that I pronouncrcd 'lotlon' as 'lah-fi-on,' hantng been told to pronounce short vowel sounds only) and I despised math wtth a passlon. When I began homeschoollng and was left to my

own devlces, I soon regatned my love of and sldll for readtng, but lt was some tlme before I became lnterested fur math.

I ffrst started worHng wtth the 9S/4A computerwhen I was lO. One of the thlngs that the 99 / 4A (or any computer, for that nratter) ls capable of ls, obvlously, math computadon. Out of curlostty, I began Do

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age 6 through 16? increasingly sophisticated clwllenges for yow child? /nced a progratn that will denonstrate to state etamitTcrs that your chiA is baning writing skills?

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22 ...At thts stage of my ltfe (16), IVe decided to use a math textbook. I decided to

WATCHING CHILDREN LEARN, continued from

do thts matnly because I was really tnterested ln math and wanted to pursue lt at a greater pace than I was plcklng lt up on my own. By thls tlme, I uras studytng lt more for the tntellectual challenge than because I needed to know lt. I also reallze that, ln the field I am hoping to work t: (computer engineerln$, extenslve knowledge of math may turn out to be qutte helpful.

I am stud5rtng math uslng the Saxon

ANOTHER HOMESCHOOLER'S

math books. I'm currently worldng my way through the'Geometqr-Trtg-Alegebra III" book. Saxon's books are, ln my opireion, the best math textbooks I've seen.

Saxon presents each math concept and then condnues to build on lt and have questions on it for the rest of the book.

Thus, you can't forget a toplc, because you're reusing it errery time you do a problem set. It should be noted that there are ttrose who disagree wtth my pratse of Saxon's book - whether you llke it or not, like everything else ln llfe, depends on your polnt of view. More lmportantly, the polnt of view of the chtld - after all, she or he is the one who's golng to be uslng it so if you do get a textbook, make sure you're getttng one that your chtld likes. Don't assume that if you like lt, your ldd wtll

ANSWERS Several ofyou may have seen the

flyer, avallable ln our Set of Reprints,

called,'One Homeschooler's Answers,'

whlch Amanda Bergson-Shflcock

(PA)

created to answer some oo[unonly-asked quesfions. When I sent the flyer to Klm Kopel (MO), she decided to write up her own answers to Amandas questions. Maybe others of you would ltke to do the same.

Some of Klm's answers: Q. Are your parents your only teachers?

.d I vtew all my frtendshlps and relatlonstrlps as valuable and educadve. I learn about all ktnds of thtngs from my brother and slsters, from somethtng my

I've also worked my uray through most of an economlcs self-tutortng book I found. The one I have now ls OK, but the author, I thlnk, tends to present hls own vlews as gospel wtrile lgnortng or putting down all others. I have seen a couple of other economics books and textbooks, and they are even worse ln this regand.

Perhaps it is impossible to llnd a completely obJective ec,onomlcs book.

brother Burt read about Gerrnany to gettlng along with stblings. And ifs the same way wtth friends: I learn how to work with and get along with other people, how to exercise diplomacy, and millions of other thtngs. From my famtly I'm always leamtng things, espectally about our ancestors, farntly trtstory, etc.

I used to take weaving lessons at a hlstoric house near our old home, and made a lot of friends there - my teacher, several other people who taught, too, and some of the students (all adults). And thts year my sister Sara, my brother Burt and I are taktng Irlsh dance lessons. Earlier thls year I started corr€sponding with Susannah Sheffer. who works with me on rny writing. So I learn things from lots of other people besldes my parents.

DENTAL ASSISTANT WITHOUT SCHOOL

know something, and your parents don't know the answer?

like it.

Q. What do you do when you want to

Ruth McCutcheprn torote In tle FoII issue o;f The Kentuclry Homeschoolers Exchange: Deborah, who passed the GED at 17,

wtth a Job whrch perfectly meets her needs rtght now. She ls worklng as a dental asslstant for our dentlst, whose olllce ts Just a mlle from our home. She works only three days per week, but the days are general\r ten to twelve hours long. She ltkes havtng the other days free so that she can do all the numerous other thlngs she llkes and needs uras recently blessed

to do such as sewing, household chores, playtng the flute, and contlnulng her independent studies ln the Scrlptures as well as varlous other areas of Interest.

Inctdentally, to be a dental asslstant one normally attends school. But our dentist knew of us through a mutual friend, and alter we became hls paHents he talked with Deborah, asking her to come work for hdm on a Joint trtal basts for a month.

That was two months ago so apparently they are both satislled wtth the arrange-

ment.

tlons I have.

My relatlves are a good source of

Never doubt that a small group

of

thoughtful, committed citizens can c the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever

A. The same thfng my parents do when they want the answer to somethlng ask someone who knowsl Really, I think one of the most lmportant thlngs I've learned from my parents ls to go and flnd things out for yourself, not to wait around for someone to drop the answer ln your lap ln a neat lrttle package. Th.y'.r. always encouragd us to wonder, to ask questlons, and to seek the answers.

Now, the ways ln wtrtch I try to ffnd the answers. We have a lot of books ln our home, lncluding seneral sets o[ encyclopedlas, so depending on what I'm trytng to flnd out, I can look there. And we live about flve minutes away from the county library, so lfs easy to go there, too.

Even though l know more about weavtng than anyone else ln my family, lf I have a problem, I usually talk tt over with Mom and Burt (who's leamlng to weave from me), because they mfght have some good tdeas. But tf we still can't flgure lt out, i call the place where I took weaving lessons. They can usually answer any ques-

has.

- Margaret Mead

lnformadon, too. My uncle knows a lot about sclence (that's the field he works ln), my dad works as a manager fur c'omputers, my grandfather ls sort of an accountant, my aunt's a nurse, and my grandmother manages a cafeterla, and she also grows a

page 11

garden and an orchard. So tfl have any quesUons ln those areas, I can ask them.

And Burt sometimes knows stulTabout things I don't, so I can ask him, too.

Q. Do you conslder yourself a soctal outcast?

A. No, of cours€ not. fWhoever said

that school is 'society,' anywalr?) I have a better chance of getdng along in soclety

than kids who go to school do, because I'm spendlng my day ln the real world, not in the conllned, controlled atmosphere of the classroom, where you learn what they feel like teachlng you, and you don't have much ofa say. (I wonder, how can having someone else make decisions and choices for you teach you to be a responsible person, and make responsible decislons?)

Q. Do you ever thlnk aboutyour

future?

A. Yes, I do, but I don't have any plans for tt right now - exc€Pt that someday I want to get married and ralse a famtly (and let them educate themselves, of coursel) A while ago I was beginning to think about college, and I was worried because I didn't know what I wanted my career to be in (and I think tt's kind of dumb to go to college wtthout havlng any ldea what you want from lt, and what you want to maJor tn). But now I've decided that I have to ltve right now, and that ollers plent5r of challenges and declsions to keep me busy. By the time I'm ready to start looking at college as an option, my lnterests may have changed. Some things I'd like to do are: write books and have them published (what the heck, I'd like them to be bestsellers, tool), start my own Irlsh dancc school, glve weaving lessons, start a sort of learntng ctnter, work at the library, and work for Growittg Wttlaut

Schooling.

MATH, READING, GEOGRAPHY

More Jrcm MotY'Carge Simorutcfu

My daughter Ertn (4 hates math drill and won't do tt, and I don't make her. [.ast year, I admit I was a smidgen worried. She had been an excellent reader since she was 5, but she hadn't yet learned to add by rote, even the slmple addltlon facts' My son John, almost 5, can add most slngle dlgit numbers, and can even do some double column addttlon and subtraction, and what he can't do by memory, he ftgur€s out. But up undl August of th,is year, Ertn was still at that level, as well. And now (as of the end of September), she is addtng, carrytng, subtractlng, borrowing' wen flgurtng out multlpllcation, dlvislon and fracdons on her own. Hof? I thtnk the better questlon ts, whY? First of all. John was interested and maldng progress. Erin saw an oPPortunlty to teach htm. and to teach, she had to know. Second, she loves games, and the Aames she loves best are c'omplcx adult board games that lnvolve much liguring.

So she is llnding reasons to learn math, and she is doingJust flne.

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLINC #67

23

I lind it fascinating the way John is learning to read. Edn learned because bmks were the most lnterestlng thtngs fn her life - all over the floor, beds, tables, chairs, climbing up the walls. John ls learning to read because he loves cars (wen more interesting, becausc I don't drive). When we go for uralks, he reads car logos, license plates, road slgns, bumper stickers. This kid knows more about cars than I ener thought I uranted to thtnk about (but now I, too, am learntngl) On our wall is a Nadonal Geograptrtc map of the Untted States, hung at lidd level, In front of the rnap are the chlldren's no-longer-needed tnfant car seats, which they can, nonetheless, sflll slt lr, They 'drive' across the U.S. often, sltung in these seats and taldng Journeys ln thelr mturds where they follow certain hlgh-

ways, camp ln specillc campgrounds, and visit various cities. Sometimes thcy even write each other letters from thelr separate vacation spots ('DearJohn, I am now in Indianapolis. I hope you can rnake tt tn time for the races...- and so on,) Geography ts a living thing for them. And they lnvented thls game.

DISCOVERING ARITHMETIC A reader tr,ritesi My 8-year-old daughter always multtplies by rounding off numbers. I dtdn't teach her this, she Just worked lt out fior herseU. My 6-year-old son dlscovered adding with carrylng because he reallzed 35 + 45 couldn't be sevent5r-ten, slnce we don't have any such terrn In a delighted voice he proclaimed, 'Oh, that would be 801'

USED TO BEING TAKEN

SERIOUSLY

Ronder Yourg (GN utt'ttr,s:

When Wlliam was 5 he was permltted to take a hand-building clay claqs destgned for 6-12 year olds. One day ln class he dectded to make a fountaln ptece for hts father's Ilsh pond. Several of the older children pounced on thls tdea and made fountain pleces as well. I uras exctted that he was conlident and creatlve enough to lnfluence the dhectlon of chlldren con-

slderably older than hlm. Wtlllam, other than belng exclted about his own worh was unlmpressed. Hewas accustomed to

his ldeas belng taken serlously by hls father and me, so he was not surprlsed when others dtd the same thtng. A year later, ln a mlxed rnedta art class, he casually asked ifthe others had ever done any nature drawlng, an actlvl$r he enJoyed at home wlth hls father. The followlng week the class went out lnto the g;ardens and dtd natur€ drawlng. Once agatn I nras lmpressed wtth Wtlliam and the class. Once aSotn wtlltam was unlmpressed by anythlng except one gtrl's lovely mlx of colors.

William, not havtng had my classroom experlencc, dtd not realze how unconrnon tt ls for a 6 year old to set the agenda. Hls own educatlon was not something done to hlm or for hlm, but rather something he actlvely partlctpated ln, actively directed. He was rtght to be unimpressed.

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

IF WE LISTEN...

Utda

NerlJrntg oJ Cal{ornlrr urrites.'

Regardlng Shannon Stoney's letter ln CWS #62 ('Childrcn's Comments'), I happened to be walldng down the street next to a teacher leadtng her class of 6 or 7 year olds on an oudng. Some of the chtldren had gone on way ahead ofthe teacher, and she called out h that phony, sing-

RESOURCES

song volce that people sometimes use around chlldren, "Billyl Saml I can't seeee

youl'

They moved back into stght and she said, -That's better - nour I can see you.'As I walked by I heard one ofthe boys say (very serlously and concerned), 'Gee, Mrs. maybe you went bllnd for a mlnute - I -, saw somethlng ltke that happen to a rnan onoe on TV.'The teacher tgnored thls - I'm not sure lf she erren heard him, but I did.

& RECOMMENDATIONS

FREE ED GUIDE ISS:I Several years ago we mendoned The F\ee HGLnde, al2-pa4e newsletter

that lists and descrlbes free materials for parents and children.'ltrc Guide ls now betng publtsh.d ag"in after a two-year hlatus, and the fall lssue ltsts forty dilferent r€sources, mostly pamphlets, charts, and booklets that you can send for. All sorts of dlllerent thtngs are avallable - a booklet about acld raln, a chart about energf mnserrradon, a serles of vldeos showing people uslng math'as a tool to make the tasks they face easler,' pamphlets about muslc, lncluding advice to parents whose chlldren want to quit piano lessons - the llst goes on, and I can't irnagtne that any of you won't be tempted by at least one of the ltems, especially since they're all free. Subscrlpdons to the Guide are $14 for 4 lssues from FREE ED GUIDE, 5O2 Woodstde Avenue, Narberth PA 19072.

MULTI.ETHNIC CHILDREN'S MAGAZINE Glnger Fltzslmmons (MA) says her daughter Jenny (9) recommends Sktppttg Stores; A Multl-Etfultc Clildren's Forum a magazlne of storles, poems, photo' graphs, drawlngs, and chlldren's own wrlttng about thelr ldeas and acdvltres. The nlegazine calls ltself 'a place for chlldren ofdiverse backgSounds to share thelr partlcul,ar experlences and expresslons. Our goal ts to reach chlldren amund the world, ln economtcally dlsadvantaged as well as prlvtleged famllles, tncludlng underrepresented and spectal populadons wlthin North Amertca-' Subscrtp$ons are $15 (4 lssues); sLngle lssues are $4. SKIPPING STONES, 8O974Hazelton Rd, Cottage GroveOR97424.

REPORT ON STANDARDIZED TESTING THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR FAIR AND OPEN TESTING (FAIRIESI)'s report, 'Fallout From the Testtng Exploslon: How IOO Mtllton Standardlzed Exams Undermtne Equtty and Excellence ln America's Fubltc Schmls,' may be of use to CWS readers negoHaUng tesdng requlrements wlth state leglslatures or local school dtstrlcts. The So-page report ls full of tnformaflon about how tests are used and m/srlsed tn publlc schools, and speculatlons about what thts means for education. Perhaps most useful ls the annotated bibUography, whlch lists several lnteresttng-looldng ardcles and, ln many casies, addresses from whlch you can get coples.

The report ts avatlable for $8.95 from FAIRTEST, 342 Broadway, Cambridge MA 02139.

THE LETTER EXCHANGE m

Rosalle Schultz (lL) writes: "There ls a gazll;le called Ttre Letter Erchange, pub-

Itshed for people who still enjoy the art of letter-wrtting. You can either place or respond to ads ln the magazine ln order to cunect wlth suttable pen-pals. I:xalso carrles thoughtful letters and ar$cles on the philosophy of letter-wrlting. A young people's sectlon ts lncluded, for chlldren who want to {lnd correspondents." Subscriptlons are $12 for three issues. THE LETTER EXCHANGE, PO Box 62 18, Albany

cA94706.

PEN.PALS Chlldrcn wentlng pcn-pelr should wnte to thosc llsted. To bc listed, samc name, age,

addregs, and l-3 words on inter€sts -= Amber HEINIZBERGER (13) .147 Rarr Rd, Parts Kf 40961: horses, art, plano =: DORRE.939 Buck Hill Rd. Prcscott AZ 863O{}: Matthew (lO} slcdding, Ntntcndo, rcadtng; Andreqr (8) transformcrs, sleddlng, Nlntendo === Cha{le FARAONE (9) 2O7 Drake Av Apt AJ, New Rochelle NY I O8O5; legos, computers === Mlchael HOHENSEE (8) I Bluebcrry Ln, Nashua NH O3062; legos, vchicles, computers =: Jessc WRIGFIT-FITZGERALD (9) 2t I I Eastern Av, Baltlmore MD 2l23ll ice skating. piano, srt === Hannah SORENSEN (7) Rt I Box l2O, MasonWI 54856; dolls, ballet, drawing =- CONOVER, 3469 Chestnut Dr, Doraville GA 3030: MacMam (lO) comlcs, reading, drawtng; Kalen (8) baskctball, books, coloring OUR APOL,OGIESI Our cornputer lost some of thc pen-pal llstlngp for thls lssue. Ifyou scnt your listlng In slncre GWS #66 trent to press and beforc mld-Ianuary. and you don't sec lt hcrc, pleasc scnd the tnformatton agaln and we'll Print It ln the followlng ftro irssues. to make it uP to you.

TESTING?!

'Testing materials and scoring 'No minimum shipment order 'Two week scoring service Call /Aotitude\ Aptitude Free / Interest Interest \

Write or

lor

lmmediato DeliverY

Diagnostic

Personality

Achievement Mental Ability Subject Specilic Bureau of Educslional Moasuremonts Emporia State UniversitY Emporia, Kansas 66801'5087 (316) 343-1200, Ext. 5298

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ADDITIONS TO DIRECTORY

84)

Here ae the addidorrs and changes to thc Dlrectory that havc comc In stncc thc last lssuc.

Our complete 1989 Dtr€ctory was published ln GWS*66.

Our Dir€ctory ls not a ltst of all subscribcn, but only of thase who ask to b ltsted, so that other GWS readers, or othcr lntcrcstcd pcoplc, may get tn touch wlth thcrn. lf you would likc to bc included, pleasc send the cntry form or a 3x5 card (one family pcr card). Pleasc takc carc to tncludc all the lnformaflon - last rramc, full address. and so on.

Plea* rernember that we can't control horv the Directory ls us€d; tfyou recclve unwant€d mall as a result of bclqg listcd.Just toss lt out.

We print bittlryeots of chtldrcn, not a{les. If we made a mistake when convertlng your chtld's age to birthyear, pleas€ let us know.

Plcasc tell r:s ifyou would rather havc your phone number and torrrn [sted lnstcad ofyour mailing addrcss. We don t havc spacc to llst both.

If a Dlrectory fisdng ls follor*ed by a (Itt, thc family is wtllng to host GWS travclcrs who makc advancc aranglerncnts ln q/rttlrrg.

If a name ln a GWS story ls follorred by a state abbrevlation in parerrthcscs, that penon ls tn thc Dlrcctory. We arc happy to forward mail to those whose addrcsscs arc not ln thc Dlrectory.

Mark thc outsi& of the crwelope wlth name/ descrlption, lssue, and pagc numbcr. lfyou don t mark the outside, we open thc envclope , see that you want somcthing fonarded, and thcn have to rcaddress the letter and une our ortrn postage to

DC === Robcrt & Gtngcr WErcH (Rlan/76, Corrlc/78, Maral81 , Traven/8lD I 624 Recdalc St NE, Washlngton, DC 2OOO2 El) === Dan & Wendy MILLER Uusttn/81, Stcvlc/84) I 12 Vlolet Dr, Ncw Port Rlchcy 34652

mailit.

When you send us an address chargc for a subscrlp0on, please rernind us lfyou are ln the Directory, so we can changc it her€, too.

AL === TIn & Frannlc REED (Holly/8l, Beth/83, Megan/&al 4O5 Green Av, Cordova 3s55o tlt ,ltjz === AIIITONAHOME SCHOOL NEWS, 1890 Don Carlos #1, Tempc 85281 === Arurc & Jim DORRE (Mattherr/78, Andrew/81) 939 Buck Hill Rd. kescott 86309 (Itl

CA NORTII (zlpr 9tl0(x) & up)

===

SOLJTH STREETCENIRE, Box 261, Boulder

Creek 95fi)6 (I4 =: Gilbert & Mary COONLDI lJlm/7o,Kathy/73) 1523 32nd Ave. San Franclsco 94122 === Wendle & Blll FtAlNE$ WHALLEY (Arnle/8f , Chrlstophcr/a3) 2474 Bangor Hu6r, Orovllle 95966 (change) === llnd6 ZIEDRICH & Robert'IilATERHOUSE (BcnJamln/ 84. Rcbccca/88) 9145 Glcn Arbor Rd, Bcn

Lomond 95OO5 (I4

CA SOUTH (zlpr to 9/rooo) === John & G KIRKIAND

Fracy/85, Alexa/a7l 76-287 $tteet

Pca, Palm Des€rt 922@ (changef ===

Jmc &

Irrry SAMUELS Mlllam/85. Mlchacl/aa) 26765 Paseo Robles. Carmcl 93923 === Susan & Rick TRUDEAU (Robert/8{|. Monlquc/861 6O94 Via NaranJo, La Vcrne 91750 (I4 := Gary & Sharon ZACFIARJAS Uarcd/76, Jordan/82) 1316o Olathc Rd, Applc Vallcy 9113O8 (change) QQ === FOOTHILLS FAMILY SCHOOLS. 5591 MtAudubon Pl, Lor4ynont 8O5Ol

CT === Mar€hall & Rob KINIIAIRD (Emtly/ a{,Lance/a7l 69 Pcaccable Hlll Rd, Rldgeffeld O6877 === Janlce & Rlchard LOOMIS (Rlchard/ 78,

Brlan/8l) 4 Hudson St, Enfleld 06082 (I{)

=== Mlnard & Barbara SCOl-f (Cana/82, Sarah/

III :=

Llnda II{OUYE & Bradley IAU (Katyl84. EmlV/871 94-416 Xlllanl St. Mllllanl 96789 (changc) (El

Kathryn DUERST lBethury / 79, Sarah/8 1, Anrral84, Rcbccca / 8V RwERSIDE SCHOOLHOUSE RESOURCE CENTER, HCR Box 1814.

BcmtdJl 566O1 HETTKE

(Bcthany/8:1, Dana/85, Joshua/8fl 4o34 SJollct Av #5, Lyons 60534 (I{) & Jamlc THOMPSON (Sean/ 8a, Ryan/8s, Kylc/88) 3435 N Russcll Rd. IIY

-=- Kcrmlt

Krlstlna FELBECX & David Av

SE, Mlnncapolis 55414

BI3OM (Erikal69, XT =: Row Joshua/78. Mana/Wl PO Box 3369, Xalispcll 59903 (change) NH

Steve & MarU ADELSIIiIAN (j'aron/ 74,Elhan/77,Paul/80) 59(X W Racc Av, Chlcago 60644 (I4 === John & Nancy CHIPCHASE

IL ==-

=:

Danicl/84, Mlchael/84 lO82 l2th

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Carla GREETTIWOOD (Tabltha/84)

PO Box 1665. l-aconla o8'247

f,J === Bcn & Rcbckah ISRAEL (Rachel/8o, Arlc/8:|) 20€ Amherst Ct, Somervllle 08876 {change) =: Patrlck & Bctty Ann YATES (Mtchael/&1, Ehzab€th/85, Tlmothy/82 4-D Tcrracc Dr, Chatham'l\*p 07928 0{)

Bloomtqgton 474O8

l{U =: Bill & Bctql BARTEI-S pcssc/8S, Ll^m/8712463 Camlno Capitan, Santa Fc 875,O5

IA:= Marvtn & Darlcnc BERGMAN (Jesslca/82, Ruth/85, Lcah/a1 l7l4 wllson, lowa Cfty 52245 (8,

{charge)

X8 =: Darrld & L€slic LeROY (KaUe/82, Bonnie/8a) Rt 4 Box 58, Great Bend 67530 [Hl

ItY === Lcslle McCLOGIN &

George

KENNEDY (Candra/84, Calen/87) RR

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Box 146,

Cunnlngfram 42035 (I{)

rrF === Jim BERGIN & Judy GARVEY (Matthew/77, Danlel/80) RR I Box lO5, Blue Hill (Ellen/84, 04614 -= Leah & Jim DICKSON Ashton/86) PO Box 127, Dctroit 04929 (II) =Jantc MATRJSCIANO & Joc EDWARDS (Jarnie/ 85, Maddy/87) Rt I Box 48{}. Read{ield (Xil55 =: LotrAnna & Roycc PERXINS (Reubcn/8o, Jorrathan/82) Plcrcc Fond. Rt I Box 22-C, Penobscot O4476 XD === Glerrn & Ramorra ANGUS {Sarah/ 79) 992 WateMew Dr, Crownsvllle 21O32 === Theresa & Tony IJJI lJeesln/77, Michael/80, Vlctorla/85) lO8O9 Becch Creek Dr, Columbia

2to44 U/l === Robin COLE & Brian GI,OD (Bryanna/8il RD I Box I l9C, Apple Vallcy Rd, Ashlield Ol3ilo =: Ellcn EPSTEIN Xzt/821 22 Webb St, Irxlngton 02173 (changpl =: HOME$ CHOOLERS OF MASS. EDUCATION CLUB. 617.

469-3647 or 787-5949, (Boston)

:=

Carl &

Llan€ JABLONSIil (Erln/8{|. Lcah/8s. Carlton/ 84 3r Highland St, Concord 01742 === Steve & Jean JOHNS,ON (Alden/8o, Ryan/82, Evan/85, Ember/87) 72 hospcct St, Greenffeld OlSlOl === Tom & Paige LUSSIER (Bcthany/8l, Gabricl/8i|, Caleb/86) Popplc Bottom Rd, Rtc 149. w Barnstable O266a (changc) === Doug & Dawrr McNAIVIARA (Aler/8z, Rq*s/86) 7l Pilk St, T\rrners Falls O1376 === N{TIONAL CENTER FOR FAIR & OPEN TESTING [FalfTes0. 342 Broadway. Cambridgc 02139 (change) === Jams & laura RODLEY (Llly/82. Emilene/85, Jreph/87) Cmtral Shatt Rd. RR 2, Florida 01247 Davc & Nancy TOWLER fMac Star/81 ,

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Nathan/a2) Box l7O, MohawkTrall, Shelburnc o1370

m === CLIq'SSIC CURRICULUM, Dcpt G, PO Box 656, Mllford 4aO42 === Gary & Tharura ELFNER lGary/78,Thanna/a2l 7221 E Highlmd, Hourcll 48843

mt

=== Davtd & Ellzabcth ANDERSON

ll-ah / 82, I{annah/85, Jcsse/87)

l 52

l cct-

tysburgAv No, Golden Vallcy 55427 === Dmtcl &

flt =: NATIONAL HOMF^SCHOOL ASSOCIATION, PO Box 167, Rodeo 88O56 lrY =- Richard & Tera CAI,IANT (Bcn/82, Carly/85) 9 Jackson St, Sloatsburg 10€74 (changc) === Richard & SalV DAY (Sara/e],

Suzanne/85. Tlmothy/8Z RD I Box 320A, 73O3 Collins St, Whltney Pt 13a62 GI) === Sfcp & Barbara GUERIN (Joshua/72, Elizab€th/8 I ) 2lO5 Westside Av, Schcrrectady 12306 =Raeann & Max TIEINRICH (Craig/68, Mcli:sal71, Klersten/84) 164 Argyle Rd. BrookVn ll2l8 (I{) =: Alyson & Emlllo MEUONE (Andrs/&]) 2 Shclheld Dr. Endlc'ott 13760:= NEW YORI( CITY HOME EDUCATORS ALLI.ANCE, c/o Thcresa Morrls. 341 E sth St, New York IOOO3 =: Fich & Tricia STOMTSCH Ucssica/80, Kenny/8 I. Kcvln / a2, Kns|ofa.r / a4, Kylc,r87) HSR 12861 Haguc Rd Box 94. Ttconderoga l288il (changc) (H) === SyMc yELIERT & Roger SMOKE Vn,/a3,Jules/85) Box 584, NewYork

loo25 (H)

NC:= Jane & Bill FLEMER [Emma/84, Nell,/84 58O Old Hury 64, Warnc 289o9 (chrge) === Randy & Allan GOODSTADT (DJl82, Julie / 86) PO Box 668, klcrster 28748 FII =: NOK|H CAROUNIANS FOR HOME EDUCATION, PO Box 3044:!. Raletgh 27622 (cha'],&.1 OH =: Marrha & Ric AUGUSTTN [Katie/8o.

Ellic/82, Dan/861 47568 Rt lOw. Obcrlin 44074 =: Tcrrl & Dan ENDSLEY hn&cwl73. }flra/741 13947 Flvc Pt Rd. Perrysburg 43551 E4 === Amy & Erln SCHRAM (Shmyah/86, Fiona/87) === McMlllcn Av, Columbus 4il2ol === Darid & Susan VAN METF.E [Matt/81, Chrlstopher/83, Michael/86) 675.3 Gainesmill. Sylvania 4356O

OR === Chrlsty INGRAHAM & Parvlz MOGTIADDAS (Carlin/8s) 9216 N lronard St, Portland 97203 === FOK|IAND AREA TRICOUNTY HOMESCHOOLERS, c/o Susn Joqg, 28901 So Davls Rd. Lstacada 97023 (changc) === Lehana & Bill SMYTH (Roshan/77, Roman/80, Hamah/81, Kaylan/85) 3990 Placcr Rd. Surmy Yalley 97497 (changc| PA === Jarncs & Laurle ADAMS ('lom/77, Tlrra/79, Blalr/80) I l2 Lynwood Dr f3, Edinboro I 64 I 2 === lra & Robyn JoSEPIIS (Ross/8il, Ray/ 85. Failh/87)

2 I 5-565-4O5a, fiosc Vallcy) [t0 === Dantel & Llnda NEYER (Dantcl/8^l, Mary/86, Paul/88) 7O8 Delawarc Av, Nommd lg074 === Merrlly WLLIAMS & Richard SUMMERS

(Abmham/82) 23O S 2l St, I'htladelphia

l9lo3

SD === Jean BOGGS & Jay SCIIIAGEL

GROWINC WTIHOUT SCHOOLING #67

25 (Jac.ob/86) I f O (change)

TX:=

l2th Av NE, Abcrdecn

574O1

Glen DAIS & Debra CTC,LDWELb

DAIS (Jared/84) f4O2O Schroedcr #134, Houston

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Stcvcn GUTSIEIN &

ACADEIVIY, 2213 Spur

Tfail. Grapcvlnc 76O51

77o7o lchangel O4

Rachelle SIIEELY ([Iannah /e I , Bsthcr/8s) I 2 I 03 Poulson ftr. Houston 77ots1 =: McGUFFEY

\If :=

Stephen & Roberta HISLOP (Ttmothy/79) FO Box 3O8, Randolph O5O@

VA:=

Rachel & Ncvln DIENER (Jonas/77, Sarah/78, Ellzal82, Alex/84) Rt I Box 2 13.

Keedetown 228fl;2 =: KathrF DOYI^E & Jclbey LEFKOTMTZ (Jcsse/82, Daniel,/861 Rt 2 Box 329.

Strasburg 220.57 (Hl =: Andrca & Karl I(ELLER (Petra/8!!, Thane/8s, Rhys/8fl Rt I Box 58, Markham 22643 === Bcth LcGRAND & Michacl SCHERER (Elias | 84, 7:Lchary / 8l) Gcneral Delivery, CHdcrs 2282O =: Anncttc MILLS & David ECIGRT lMartg/8z1 lO9 W Wcstmoreland Rd, Falls Church 22046 (changc) (IIl =: freborah & Flarold SMITH Ucssc/82, I^aura/8fl

Rt I Box 278, LlrMllc 228{}4:= Mary Jane & Russcll STONEKING (Kcsl/81) PO Box 322, Lacey Spgs 22aSl === Hans & EYclyn WEIDIG Glans/8i}, Andrcw/8s) 551-8 Popc Rd, Ft Bclvolr

22060 tI0 === Sue & Paul ZICCARDY (Bcnjamrn/ 80, Daniel/85) 4O5 Broad St, Harrtsonbuag

22aOl WA & llaney ALDORF -= Naoml (Jonathan/86) 357 S For=st. Bcllingham 98225 (I{l =: Brlan & Betsy RAY (}Iallic/a0. R.achcl/82, Hannah/86, Dardel/88) 25 W Crcmorre, S€attlc 981 l9 (changc) (t0 =: Zcn & Carla SETDEL (&remy/84, Mcllssa/a6) 83a WAxton Rd *55.

Bellir4fram 9a226

WV:= Mary Ellen SULLMIY & Dornld FISHELUacob/al. flouglas/a2, Maxrcll/8s) Rt 2 Box 113, Mmntngtm 26582 (Itl wl === Cluis & Paul KIELTYKA (Jccph/ 77,Domtnel79, Nichola.s/44) Rt2 Box 130, Ettrtck 54627 CANADA: BC === Chrlstiarrc CHOUIILARD & Tony DUGGI.EBY !{url arrc | A2, Ellzn I Ul bx 20 17, Prlncc Rupcrt VAJ 3WB F4 === Janct & Jcrry ETZ(ORN lJake / 82, Justtnc/84| Carmanah Ltstn, 2l Huron St. Vlctorla V8V 4V9 := C".olyn & Stcphen FAWCETT Odaurlce/8l!.

Dclrac/87) Box I l8l, Goldcn VOA IHO (II) := Herb & Susn FIAMMOND Uody/72, Shannon/ 76) RR I, WinlawVOG 2.JO

2O2

Once a year we prlnt our lists of helpful teachers, lawyers, professors, Psychologlsts, school dlstrlcts, and resourc€ people. We print addltlons and changes throughout the year, so pleas€ contlnue to send them ln.

lf,An === Krtstln PETERSON (Dcvon/83) Walnut St, Winnlp€g R:!G IPS 04

NS === Harot WHITELAW (Erlcl,/8:', Kallna/ 85) RR #1. Scotsbum BOK IRO

ONT === Carol Lynn & Ltno D|FELICE {Gina/a6, Alcx/881 2O8 Wcstchcstcr Cres, St Catherines IzP 2W3 (IIl OTHER, I.OTCATIONS =: Davtd & Bgther CULPIN (Reuben/79, Slmcon/8l, BcnJamtn/86) 36 Queenswood Dr, llampton Dcne, Hereford

HRI rAT Unttcd Ktngdom (II) =: Gtlbcrt &

Deborah MacKALL (Lyndsay/86) Torrll Statron 7A7, Arc San Francisco 96331-1608 (JrFn) (I4 === 1yi111snr & Martc STIGLIANI (Marba/

82, Claire /8i1, Emilie/85, Catartna/8Z Ottcnstclnstrass€ 123, Sudstadt A 2344 Aurtrh (H)

GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

CERTIFIED TEACHERS Here is our complete list of certified teachers willing to holP homeschoolers:

AZ - Kathleon KNEZ, Western Navajo Reservation, PO Box 889, Tuba City 86045; Sp€cial Ed

CA, Sonth (Zlp. to 94000) - Tutu ANDERSON, 6949 Fisk Av, San Diego 92122; 619453-1086 -== Lynne BEHEIM, 3 28 James St, San Diego 921 06 Karen BISHOP, N County Pl, 2204 El Camino Rsal, Suits 212, Oceanside 92!'94i619-721-7571 John BOSTO|,|, PO Box 92, Escondido 92025; 619 749-1522 -== Ruth BOTHNE, 17355 ilelody Ln, Los Gatos 95030;408-35(]-3620 === Kahleen 8OYD, 1Gll5lvlarcus Av, Tuiunga 91042; elem E child dewl Karen CANTO, 2&l N May Av, Monrovia 91016; Cafiy CARGILE, 10818 Lam€ntin 818-3591669 Marybeft Ct, San Diego 92't24i6'19-487-5624 CRAIG, 16091 Amber Valley Dr, Whinier 9G509; 213943-4131 ilonica CROCKETT, 4037 Cheshire &, Cypress 90630; 714-670-7225:= Sandy DOERFEL, PO Box 271331, Escondido 92027 Judy DUBY, 3i!181 Pas€o lr/blinos, San Juan Horb Capisrano 92675; 714€61-1049 HAMMER, PO Box ll5918, Los Angeles 90045; 2132815025 === Julie & David LOYD,7216 Gamet St, Alta Loma 91701; 714-987-8295 (Julie: elem, Spanish, mah; David: olem, high sctrool, English, Spanish, Social Sndies) Phyllis [IOTTO{-4,728 Chiquila Rd, Sanla Barbara S!103; 805-9694838; elem & Monlessori Nhry PICARD, PO Box 281, Santa Ana 92799; 714-952.4546 SANDERS,204 V€nice f4, Huntingdon Bdr 926a8; 714-W-7443 == Jim SKEIE, 14816 Daphne Av, Paula WRIGHT, Gardena 90249;215-324-9207 5420 Border Av, Joshua Tree 92252 CA, Nonh Glp.9{oo0 & Up) - Margaret ARlGHl, 6015 lr/buritania Av, Oakland 9a605; 41 $ 653-5098 === Terri CHRISTL, 144 ilolitas Rd, Danville 94526; K-7 & Spec Ed Marilyn DoVORE, 2120 B Robinson, Oroville 95965;916534-47S1 Sharon GREENE, PO Box 52, Cadona 95528 CO - Kara BERTHOLF,3780 CR 129, Hesperus Sandra GUENTHER, 2923 Sunsot Dr, CO 81329 Golden 80tol JONES,3 Stonsmoor Dr, Pueblo 81005; -Jaelee 30$561-3510; LD Kada PUMPHREY, 3401 Morris Av, Pueblo 81008; 303545-7285; K€ Mikelyn WARD, 13400 Rd 32, Planevillo 8O651; 78$6378; K-l2, reading CT - Geoffrey SMffH,365 Bellevue Rd, New Haven 0651 1 ; 20$787-5659; Eng, math, 7-1 2, admin FL - Charbne THIEN, 12201 Old Kings Rd, Jad<sonville 3221 9; 9G-76&0a72 lL - Bonnie VERHULST, 121 Walnut Vall€y Dr, Springliald 62707; K-9 lN - Rebecca BICKNELL. PROSPERITY SPRINGS SCHOOL, Rt 1 Box 221, Anderson 4601 1; Spec Ed & Deaf Ed -=* Linda OWENS, 7262 Lakesido Dr, Indianapolis $278: K-8 lA - Ridrard & Shaon CARGIN, RR 5 Box 128, Le Mars 51 031 === Jan Francher. Vemon Street Schml, PO Box 1399, Dubuque 52004 ME - Barry KAHN, 35 College St, Portland 0{'103i 207-797-8866 === Kathi KEAHNEY, 49 Gamage Av, Auburn 04210; ME & VT K-12 llD - Frances lvlOYER, 4017 William Ln, Bowie 20715 Manlred SMITH,9085 Flamepool Way, Columbia 21045: Soc. Studies 912 llA - Adele GARLICK, RFD 1, Southbridge 01550; 248-6521 John JUDGE, A.l.D., 112 Mt Hope St, Lowell 01854 -=- Dr. Denise KUHN, EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL SERVICES, 235 Woodland Rd, Milton 02186; 33&0730 -== Thomas MAHER, 30 Park St, Wakefield 01880; 617-245-7634 1

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=== Nlario PAGNOtll, 76 Emsloy Ter, lvbthuen 01844 === W€ndy SPMTTLER,,160 S. Main St, Andover 01810: Linda ZUERN, Box 619, 5 Depot Rd, Cataumet lilA 02534 lll - Jill EASTIAN, 913 Heights Rd, Lake Orion 48035; Fr, Eng, reading === Mike BENNETT, 1 05 3rd St, Ontonogan 4995S1300 === Fran BUBKE, R1 Box 254 County Line Rd, Thompsonville 4968i3,616-26$ 4282i elem & special od K-1 2) === Carol CLAUSS, 5268 19 Mile Rd, Barrylon a9035; K-8 === Kathy DONAHUE, 616-27*$27 (Lake Ann); Sharon JORDAN, Rt 3 Box 85, Bear Lake 49614; 616Rite EBELING,29595 l'l€rbert, 889-5920: Ray KRUMM, PO Box Madison Hghts 48071 Dinah I,IORRISON,572 713, Houghlon 49gil1 Mi litary, Baile Creek 4901 5; 61 G9&3-282l; 7 -1 2 --= Muriel PALKO, 4O3 Pleasant St, lonia 48846; K-12 Janet ROELLE,9300 Wanrick Meadows, Grand Blanc 48439: K-8 llN - Jeanne BOURQUIN, HC 2 Box 3780, Ely

K-12:

K-6:

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55731 MO - Karen FOSSE,

Sar Rt Box 82, Washburn

65772 1{T - Bonnie BILLEB, PO Box 219, Philipsburg 59858t 40e8593919 NE - Tara SENNETT, 1941 L St, Lincoln 68510 (math) NV - Pat E Jane BRUNKER, Home Schooling Consultants, Las Vegas; phone 878-6670: Aimee Duion,7z Caliente St, Reno 895@; 702-348{845 Ntl - Sally EMBER, 2&4 Water St, K€€ne 03431 NJ - Gwin HUTCHINS. 53 N Clark Av, Sandy irADKlFF, MINOTOLA Somerville 08876 ACTNmY CTR,207 Coari Av, Minotola 08341;609

*

697-1ili!; K-12 Eng

Nil - Kara BERTHOLF,3780 CR 129, Hesperus CO 81329 (certifiod in CO & NM) NY - Lyman BARRY,9297 Shaw Rd, Nunda Diane CHODAN, 1451 7: 71&468-2650; scien@ Lucretia GABRIEL, RD 1 Box 462, Rome 13440 lzFavay Ct, Albany 122)8; science:= Joyce HOUCK, RR 1 Box 148A, Brant Lake 12815;51&494N72:elem. ==- l/la1i6 MILLER, Aikens Rd, RD 1, Vicky Watkins Glen | 4891 ; mah, sci, accounting QUINTANA, 3i}6 E 90h St apt. 1A, New York 10128 === Marian RONALDS, LEARNING CTR BOOKSTORE, 207 S l|ain St, Canandaigua 14424i716394-8798 Oll - Paul HILSTON,3a20 Williams Ct, A\lon Karin JERNBERG-BRIGGS, 44011;7-12 science 216-262-4o70, Wooster; K, counseling =-= Robert E. f/tASON,5 Samson Pl, Granville 4&8,614-587Candace MILLER, 439 S Cole St, 4114 (K-12) Lima 45805; K-8 OR - llary MAYFIELD, 24874W Brush Creek Rd, Swe€t Home OR 97386; EO3-$7-2474;5-12 Diane SOI.|TAG, PO Box 11583, Eugsne 97440; 1-8 Molly It ICRELAND, Mustard Sesd Educational Services. 12890 SW Walker Rd, B€a\rerton 97005 Marcia SPANI, ALOHA KIDS ACADEMY,4640 SW 182, Aloha 97007: 503€42-4094; K-8 PA - Debby BELL, 116 N Lincoln St, Palmyra 17078; language === Deborah DOERFEL, 1360 Arline, Roslyn l9001Patricia HOUSER, Box 88 RD 5, E Stroudsburo 18301i717-421-3705 === Rick KEPHART, I High St, iiblwtn 19355 (elem) Barbara lvhMlLLAN, f1 Sunshine Rd, Herminie 15637; elem & spec ed === Kathy O'DONNELL,429 S Pitt Sl, Carlisle 17013 (music K-'12):= Beth STONE,988 Siddonsburg Bd, Lervisbory 17339 fN - Manuel FELICIANO, 232 N Tulane Ave, Oak Ridge 3783O; science TX - Linda JOtlES. 3i!01 Hemlock, Temple 76504: el€m UT - Brother James PETRAIT, 514 24th St, Ogden 84401 ; 801 -399-5627; scienc€

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26 vT-MarthaANDERSEN, RR 1 Box614, Huntington 05462 === Kathi KEARNEY, 49 Gamage Av, Auburn ME (M210; ME A W K-12 === Holly KOCHALKA, Rt 2, Johnson 05656; 635-7318 VA. ScoN CHRISTIAN, Rt 5 Box 3TI9-8, Marti nsvi lle 241 1 2; 7 8-632-3780 Evelyn KlM,

392, Kennen Sc 19348; 215-444-0285 TN - Philip Carden, 607 N 14th St, Nashville 37206: 615-22S0416 TX - Tom Brandon,7601 Xavior Dr, PO Box Mike Edwards, 3400 3131 142, Ft Worh 7613it Bissonnet St, Suite 290, Houslon 2005: 71+66e

LEARN.AT.HOME CONSULTING SERVICES. A26

1

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Crenshaws Mb Ct, Chadottesville 229,O1i 804-9733068; K-l 2 WA - Kar€n FOGLE, 18120 145h Pl NE, Woodinville 9&72; a81-2228: Debby HALPERIN, 4536 €th Av NE, Seatde Mike SMITH, INLAND EMPIRE HOME SCHOOL CTR, PO Box 1 1 992, Spokane 9921 1 ; 509924-31 8l Denis WICHAR, Cascade Jr High Sdrool, 13900 NE 18h St,

98105:

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Vancouwr 98684-7290; 25e6O52 Wl - Cheryl & Brue BISHOP, 411 Bryan St, Green Bay SztiDl; olem.

David GMPENTINE, Rt 1 Box 45OA, Maple 54854; Linda HUGDAHL, 60227 Sun Valley Phry, Oregon 53575:= Donna lvlAHR, 561 N Main St, Or€gon 53575; Soc St K-12 === Alison t\,lcKEE, 5745 Bittersweet Pl, Madison 53705; elem, vis. impair CANADA - Leslie AYRE-JASCHKE, 8or2215, Peace River AB TOH 2XO === Viaoria HALIBURTON, FSJ TTORING SERVICE,9706 108th Av, Ft St John, BC V1J 2R2; @4-787-716

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VA - Poter W.D. WriOht, 20O8 Bremo Rd, Suite 01, Ridrmond 426; 804-28*2oC]€ WV - Larrence M Schwegler, 182 lrihple Av, New Martinsville 261 55; 3O4-45$21 60 Wl - Jadr Umdeby, N 88 W 16848 Main St, i/hnomonee Falls 5305 1 I 41 4-251 -9440 WY - Wlliam Twichell t Gerald lvlason, PO Box 785, Pinedaf e 8?9,41 i 907 -967 -21U Cenade - Lloyd Greenspoon, RR #1, Gore Bay Ontario PoP 1l-10 1

PROFESSORS AND OTHER

ALLIES The following peopl€ are willing to help homesdrooling families in dawloping olrriculum, evaluating progress, or in other ways: Larry Arnoldsen, Box 10 McKay Bldg, Brigham Young U, Pro\,o UT 84602 Dr. Stephen Corwin, Greenwoods Rd East, Norfolk

cT 06058

HELPFUL LAWYERS AR - Jay Dickey Jr, PO Box 6038, Pine Bluff 71611: 501-534-6302 CA - J Michael Smih, 117(X Wilshire Blvd Suite 226, Los Angeles 90025; 21+47}9873 CT - Frank Cochran,5l Elm St, PO Box 1898, New Haven 06508-1898; 20$865-7380 DC - Mark Amerman, Nancy LeSourd & George Grange ll, 1925 K St NW, Suite 300, Washington 20006-1115r ?02-862-20n,O Hl - Tom DiGrazia, Meditation Clinic,32 Kainehe st, suire 2028, Kailua 96734;808-X;2-O730 lD - Lyle Eliasen,202 ldaho St, American Falls 8321 l; 208-22&5138 lL - Helen Baker,440 Addison Av, Elmhurst E0126; 312-83i1-5655 lA - Craig Hastings,315 6h St, Ames 50010; 515-232-2fi1 Earl Hill, PO Box 298, Kanawha 50447; 515-762-8251 KS - Austin Kent Vincent, I 108 Bank lV Towers, Topeka 66603; 9 13-235 41 22 KY - Theodore H Amshoff Jr, 1012 S 4th Av, Louisville 40203; 5O2-582-35O0 LA - Claire Benedict, PO Box 819, Simmesport 71 369-081 MO - Ray Fidler, 523 Dunkirk Rd, Baltimore 21212;8OO-233-1957 or 30l-3774013 ==- Paul Kimberger, 3905 Bexley Pl, Mado,r, Hghts 20746; 301899-693i1 === Dale R. Reid,7091 Brangles Rd,

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Maniottsville 21 1 04; 301-t4$1 322 lrA - Eug€ne Burkart, 155 Main St, Walham 02154;617-8995337 Susan Osberg, The Common, Box 246, Harvard 01451;617-45e3688 === John Sandelli, 1 12 Slad€n St, Dracut 01826; 617957-5528 lll - Norm Perry, 8976 US 31 -t13, PO Box 241 , Benien Spgs 4910i1; 61 c471-2848 llO - Robort Baker, On fie Square, Sarcoxie Amold T Phillips, 1221 &862;417-54&S121 Locust St, St Louis 631 ffl; 314-231 4901 UT - Doug KcU€y, Sultc 4G, Arcade Bldg, Helena 59601 ; 406-442-0T70 o( /14$3738 NY - Dustin Ordway, 110 Terrace Pl, Brmkleyn 11218;718-972-9121 === David Pullen, 48 W ltlain St, Fillmore 14735;716-567-2229 === S€fl Bockmuller, RD 1 B ox 172E, East Chatham 12060;

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518-392-4277 OH - David A. Hatfey, 20 King Av, Box 610, Xenia 45385: 51 3-372-8055 === James Petsrs, 1 07 W Court St, Woodsfield 4379]; 614-472-1681 PA - Thomas E Manin.201 S Eroad St, PO Box

Gay Eastman, 2122Kendall Av tr2, Madison Wl 53705; 608-231-1875 Dr. lvlario Fantini, Dean of Education, U. of !lass., Amh€rst [,lA 01003 Steven Hall, M.D., Srong Family Pracdce, PO Box 189, Srong ME 049€13 (physician) Dr. Nancy D. Kiger, EdD, 1604 Sunside Sq, Orlando FL 32807 Prof. Richard King, Ed. Dept., Univ of Victgoria, Box 1700, Vicloria BC. V8W 2Y2 Dr. Hal Lenke, 4239 N. 42nd Pl., Phoenix AZ 8501 8;

602-955.9449 Dr. John ircDermon, Assoc Prof., Dept. of Ed., iloravian College, B€thlehem PA 18018 Dr. Nadine llcHugh, Educational Fellovship ol Christian Schools, oral Roborts U., z7 S Leryis, Tulsa OK 74171 Dr. Chalmers E. lrleans, Dir. Reading Programs, State Univ. College, Oleonta NY 13820 Michael J. Murphy, Assoc. Pof., U. of Saskatcfieryan, College of Education, Saskaoon, Sask., Canada S7N 0W0 Dr. Donald Musin, Dominion School of Education, PO Box 6321, Lakeland FL 33803; 813-747-1476 Dr. Paul Nash, Schml of Ed, Boston Univ, Boston lr,lA 02215

Dr. Robert Ne*man, Assoc. Prof. Emeritus, Teacher Education, Syrao.rso U., 137 Hughes Pl, Syraalse NY 13210 Sam B. Peavey, Ed.D.,?&7 Tyler Ln, Louisville KY a0205; 502-4592058 (oxperiencod homeschooling

witness) .|89 Edward Pino, former school superintondent, Antelop€ Tr, Parkor CO 80134 Chailes Pregger (History - SUNY) 19 Larnard St, PoMam NY 13676 Bruce Quarringbn, Dept of Psychology, York U., 4700 Keele St. Dornsviery Onario

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Nancy Reckinger,8679 Valley Flores Dr, Canoga

ParkCA 91304

&ck Robertson, Prol. Emeritus, New York Univ, PO Box 55, Greig NY 13i145 Prof. Albert Schatz,6097 Sherman St, Philadelphia PA r9119 Paul Daniel Shea, M-A., Ed.D., 145O Beacon Sl., Suite 801, Brookline [rA 02146; 617-277-4214 Dr. Peter Stiller,3902 E. 29h St, Apt. R13, Bryan TX

T7N2 Shirley Tucker, Principal, Banington Christian Academy, Barrington Rl Chester S. Williams, Assoc. Prot/Socondary & Higher Ed., ETSU, Box 5518, Texarkana TX 75501:214-838-5458

HELPFUL PSYCHOLOGISTS CA - Hal Jindrich. 555 W. Middlefield, #5-301, llountain View 9404i!; 41 5-9699981 MA - Michael lt asny, 43 Burncoal St, Leicester 0152a; 617-892-8012; oertifi€d school psychologist & social wo*er: .Dr. Susan Ott, HC 81 , Box 10A, Petersham 013616

tlO - Michael E Jayne Sake, 9Ol Dielman, Oli\rerti 53132 NC - Linda Brannon Shamblin. 219 Wibflowe.

Rd, Asheville 288O4 ==- Wlliam Shamblin, Director, Child and Adolescsnt Services, HiOhland l-lospital, Asheville 28801 OH - Ridrard George, 1201 30tr St NW, Canton 44709 Joe Jernberg-Bri ggs, 216-25,2-4070, Wmster; schml psychologist, reading specialist PA - Dr. Bob Conroy, RD 5 Box 286, Smoky Andy Peterson, 25 Corners, Williarnsport 1T?01 Rose Hill, Smehport PA 16749

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FRTENDLY SCHOOL DISTRICTS The following is a list of scfiool districts hat are willingly and happily cooperating wih homeschool€rs, and who ar€ willing to b€ list€d in GWS as doing so.

One reason tor such a list: we want to encourage and rsassure school officials who may be hesitant about approving home schmling and l€t them knor that here are oher districts €njoying good relatioships wih tpir homescfrooling families. Also, families who are willing to mow lo escape a ditfioJlt situation wih school otficials would have at leasl some ideas about where to go.

We will only list these school districts under the icllowing conditions: (1) The family has to be notiusl satisfied but y'easedwih the cooperation the schools are giving to heir home schooling etforts. (2) The scfrools themselves haw to be happy about being induded in he list. lf hey are un€asy about it, or fear hat it may got h€m in rouble whh som€on€, we'd raher not subject them to that risk.

So - if your district is cooporating with your homesctrooling, and you would lke t.|em to b€ on this list, ask thsm, and let us know it hey say to go ahead.

By he way, we would also like to list school districts hat would like to help homeschooling families. but have not been able to do so b€caus€ no families have yet asked hem.

CA - Anderson Valley School District, Anderson Valley Way, Boonville CA 95415. Phillip Thomas, Elomentary Principal.

Bune County Schools, 1859 Bird St, Oroville 95965; 91&534-4678; lvlarilyn Devore, Home Study Director.

Lodi Unified School District, 835 W Lockford St, Lodi 952a0; 20&36S741 1; Ron Alsop, Asst. Supt. of Elem. Ed. i/bnt€rey County Offico of Education,901 Blanco Circle, PO Box 80851, Salinas S|912; Bill LaPlante, Director of Altsrnatiw Programs San &an Ridge Union Sdrool Disrtict, Oak Tree School, 18847 Oak Tree Rd, Nevada City 95959, Donna Soldano. Administrator.

MA - Barnstable Public Sctrools, 230 South Sl, Hyannis 02601; 617-T11-2211. Jane Sheckells, Curriculum Dirgctor.

Cambridge Public Scfrools, 159 Thomdiko St, Cambridge 02141 ; 498-92*1. Contact lrilary Lou

lvlccrath.

Lowell School District, 89 Apploton, Lowell 01852; 454-5431. James lVlclvlahon, Asst. Supt. for Curriculum Development.

Rockland Public Schools, Rockland 02370; Supt. John W. Rogea.

Scituale School Districl, 606 Cushing Hwy, scituare 02066; 617-545-5369; Vida Gavin, Dir. of

GROWINC WTTHOUT SCHOOLINC #67

27 Special Services.

Southern Eerkshire Regional School Dislrict, Sheffield 01257; Director of Guidance, Paul Shafiroff.

PA - Soufiwest Buier County School Disrict, RD 1, Harmony 16097; Ron Snyder, Supt.

RESOURCES The people listod beloiv haw €xporisnce with the following subjects, and who are willing o correspond wifr ohers who are interested. As wifi all of our Resourco lists, w€ appreciate additions and corrections.

Adoptlon: Kahy Donahue, 61S27+5827 (Lake Ann, Ml)

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Wendy Forbes, PO Box 1036, New Brunsrvick NJ 08903 Lury lgnizio, 195O4 Hiawaha Rd, Odessa FL 33556 === Walter & Mary Marschner, 109 Alleman Dr, Lafayetto LA 70506 Suzanne Mortensen, Box 272, Skidmorc TX 78389 === Jenny Wright, Quaker City, Chatlestown NH 03603 Bllndnesc: Donald & Kahy Klemp (sorl/7s) Rt 1, lxonia Wl 53036 Ruh Matilslq, 5 Briamood Dr, Somerset MJ Alison lvlcKee,5745 Binorsweet Pl, Madison Wl 53705:- Naomi Ric€,3205 NE 64h, Pordand OR 97213i 5p&287-1828 Deafnear: Deborah Do€rtol, 1360 Arline, Roslyn PA 19001; teachsr irolty iloreland, 12890 SW Walker Rd, Beawrbn OR 97005 Alison Pana, Zacateros 77-5, San Miguel da Allende, GTO, Mexico 37700

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Down Syndrom.: Elaine Bechtold,'10827 Rosedale Av N, Rt 1 Box 233. Loretto MN 55i!57:612498-755{l Gary & Diann Foster, 1167 Lono Valley Rd, Campbellsville KY 42718: Glenn & Marsha Salisbury, 79?,J.* 1 2f,t1 St E, Puyallup WA 98rtl71 ; 20G 84 1 -8589 llome Computers: Doug Bastian, 913 Heights Rd, Orion Ml Doug Calsbeek, Box 185, Orange Ciry lA 51 041 Ted E lvhrrha Laux, 1853 Easl Shore Dr, ltnca NY 14850: Jamss O. Mayor, 26824 Howard Chapel Dr, Damas@s MD N721247; 301-253-5467 or 595-55(X): Mario Pagnoni, 76 Emsley Terr, Mehuen MA 01844 Sheryl Schuff, 8156 Lieber Rd, Indianapolis lN 4626O;317-

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2594778 lmmunlzationr - lilaggie fuby€r, 11054 CR 54, Findlay OFI 45840; 41$8592302.

Lcarnlng Dlsabllhler: Kahy Donahue,

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616-27U8n

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(Lake Ann, Ml) Sharon Graham, 22500 Rifle Range Rd, Covelo CA 95428;707-98$ 6513 Kris Hallberg, 644 Comstock Av, Elmhurst lL 601m Sue Himel (Bryant6) 1723 Wllorv Dr, Grand Forks ND 58201 Loslis lr,lccolgin, RR t Box 146, Cunningham KY 42035 (spe€ch & language pathologisD === Cheryl & Gary Stswns, 2486 Pebble Beach Loop, Lafayen€ CA 94549 (Special Ed.) llontes3orl Homc Educetlon: Gloria Harrison.

8ox 53, NAVSTA, FPO New York 09540 Physical Handlcapo: Janna Books, Box 309-8, Roure 2, Santa Fe NM Kahy Donahue, 616-275-827 (Lake Ann, Ml) Karen Franklin, 39i19 Winfield Rd, Boynton Bch FL 33436 (Jessica/8o C.P.) Myrna Vogel & Saunny Scon, 1gO1 Barker St. Lawrence KS 66044

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Single Perente: Joseph Ciano, HOME EDUCATORS SINGLE PABENT NETWORK, Rt 5 Box 120, Ava lvlO 65608 (01 + SASE) Kim Dslauter, 15O N. Avery, Pontiac Ml 48054 Judy Eade, 8 Tobey Ln, Andover iIA 01 810 Wendy Flanders, PO Box 7854, Reading PA 19603 Janet HofftTan, 44 Bailey Ave, Patchogue NY 11772 Jane lvlara, 1657 Wlson St, Eugene OR 97402 Diane iihNeil, 3131 Cty EE, Baileys Harbor Wl 54202: Cathy Payne, 40.| -46&2834, Rl ==- Deborah Phillips, 400 Raymondale Dr, S. Pasadena CA 91030:= Laura Pritcfiard, Station A, PO Box 2106, lvhriden CT 06450 === Carl Ann Stockton, PO Box 3t358. Seattle WA 98103; 206-524-S133 === Karen Turner, Gen Del.

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Annapolis CA 95412 =-- Paula Walker, Rt 2 Box 38, llontgomery Creek CA 96065: Christine Willard, 14854 Sunon Dr, San Jose CA 95124

Travel: HOMESCHOOLE RS TMVEL DIRECTORY, PO Box 108i1, Tonasket WA 98855 ($2) EDUCATION OTHERWISE Visit Exdrange, Helen Holland, Inholms Farm, Plumpton Green, Sussex BN7 3DE, England Travcllng Famlllcc: Lois & Jim Blumenthal (Janicozg, David/83) PO 683, Summerland Key FL 3iX)42 Joseph Ciano, Rt 5 Box 1 20, Ava iro 65608 === Wendy Forbes, PO Box 1036, Nerv Brunswick l{J 08909 Arlene Haight (Bocky/68, i.raty 73) 4150 So US #1, RD 2, Palm Bay FL 32905 Karen Holguin, PO Bor 2010, Sparks NV 89431 Twlm: Mary Cunningham, T6 Hoad Ln, Hannibal iro 63401 Gloria Harrison, Box 53, NAVSTA. FPO New York 09540

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WHEN YOU WRITE US Pleasc - (l) Put sepante ltems of buslness on scparat€ sheets ofpapcr. {2) I\,rt your name and addrcss at the top ofcach lctter. (3) Ifyou ask quesdons, enclosc a sclf-addrcsscd stamped envelope. (4) Tell us lflfs OK to publish your letter. and whcther to use your namc wlth the story, Wc cdtt lettcrc for spacr and clartty,

Group membcrships avallable. Box 167, Rodeo, NM 8aO56. 5,05-557 -2250.

Family to rcnt our sccond housc. Gardcn to share. Rcmote. Wrltc Dtanc Paget, PO Box 223, Phllo CA 95466.

Book: 9I0PPING ACHOOL IN EARNEST. Debunks crlppltngbellefs that pewadc sdrools and soc'let5r. Emphaslzcs unschoolers' rlghts of cusclencc. Rcvlcrvs relevant law (Canadtan slant). By F.L. Davlcs (GWS #s 6dl,43,3:!,3r, l7).

U.S. $13.6(), Cdn $16.20, covers malllng. Scnd to AFlf, RE-TFIE-WIND. SOUT1I GILLIES. ONTARIO POT2VO.

Curtom-Dcdgncd Educetlonrl Soltslrc.

(Commodore).

I

Hryh Str€et, Malvem PA 19355.

215-&4-8319.

INTRODUCE YOIJR CHII,I)REN TO A AECOND IANGUAGE| Delgbttul bilingual story tapca. storybooks. Ilashcards, workbooks and morcl Urrlvcrsllr rccornmcnded. Easy & fun.

Prcschool through clernenta4l. (Spantsh or Frcnch.l SASE for frec brochu=. Hear An' Tell Mventr.rcs, 32O BunkcrHtll, Houston, TX 77024.

TUtor ln Baston area looldrg for studerrts. Call

254-SS7r.

DECLASSIFIED ADS

COII)RFI'L IIARDWOOD PIN:ZLW .

EDUCATIONAL AND FIINI Our'Alphaworm"

Rates: 7o+/word. $l /wod boldlrcc. $5 mlnlmrm. Pleasc tell thesc folksvou saw thc ad

puzzle features both uppcr and lower casc lettersl 25 harrdcrafted d€signs to choosc fiom. Color catalog. Every Buddles Garden, P.O.Bolr77f3, Corvallls. OR 97339-0788.

lnGWS.

IIOUE EDUC,AnON PREg{t publlshcs Homc E<lucadon tVtagadne, Tlrc Homc School klmer.

Altcrnadves tn Education. and norr The Homc School Reader, featuring thc wrlttng ofJohn Holt, Nancy Wallace, Marlo Pagnord, Susarurah Shelfer, and many otherst 168 pages, $12.75 postpald. Free 16 pagc catalogt Box 1089, Tonasket. WA 98t155. 50S-486-1351.

AUAZINC IftW untt studlcs K-8 (hlstory. sclcnce, rcadtr4l - Cutscnalre Basc Tcn manlpulatlvcs/games - How tobooks from England Bushrrcll scknce equtpment/Lrqtrlr5r scts - GED prep - MORE foretgn l"rrgr"g. Earlylearnlng, Tcachlng Guldcs kel(-6. Art, Kcyboardlng, Standardlzed test hclp, and morc. Frec catalog, LEARMNG AT HOllE. Box 37GG67.

Honaunau,Hl 96726.

NATIOTiIAL HOMESCHOOL ASSOCTATON

.

Lfettme Chartcr Membcrshfp $5 (fncludes

rENTRY FORM FOR

nervsletter, membcr scrvlces and dlscounts).

Asthma Updatc rrcwslcttcr r€ports latest lnformatlon sbout asthma trcahnent and research from rnedical Journals, Four lssues for $8. 123 Monticcllo Ave. #16, Arurapolts, MD

2t401.

BACI(TARI) SCIENTIST SERIES books of tun, fasclnatlng, cxcldng and challeqging sclcncc cxperlments for chlldren agcs 4 to 14 )rcars.

Stmple safc cxp€rlments. Provcn mcthod of teachtng hands-on phystcs and chemlstry uslng Itcrns found around thc housc. Deslgned for home schooltrg. Fora frecbrochure, scnd SASE to: Baclryard Sclentlst, Dcpt. GWS, PO Box I 6966. lrvlne. CA 927 13.

Empower your:self to lntcract penuaslvcly wtth thc publtc schools - for program approval, lnstrucdonal resourrccs, or reenrollment. Send 25+ stamp for FREE dctalls. Mountatn Meadow Press, PO Box 447-tr1, Kooslda ID &3439.

DIRECTORY

If you would like to be in the Directory and have not yet told us, send in this form, or use a postcard or 3x5 card (only one family per card).

Adults (first and last names): Organization (only tf address is same as family):

Chtldren (Names/Birthyears): Full Address (Str€et, City, State, Zip):

--

GROWINC WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67

If thts ts an address change, what was previous state?

- advance arrangements in Are you willing to host traveling GWS readers \ /ho rnake wrlflng? Yes

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No

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HOW TO GET STARTED Herc are some wa1nr you can ffnd out the legal situatlon inyour statc, l) Look up the lavyourself. tn a publlc librar5r or law llbra6r (courthousc, law school, etc.) Laws are lndexcd; try'school attendancc'or

'educadon, compulsory.' 19 statcs havc rwlscd thelr horne educatlon laws slnce 1982 so check the recent statute changcs. Wc havc prtnted or summarlzed thcsc ncw larys ln our back lssues.

2) Ask the state dcpartrncrrt of educaflon for any laws or r€guladons pctatntng to horncschoollrg and/or starHng a prlvatc school, In some states (partlcularly CA, lL, lN, Kfl therc arc few regr-rlations concerlfng prlvatc schools and so you can call your home a school, Ifyou are concemcd about revealing your rrarne and addrcss to the state, do this through a frlcxrd.

3) Contact state or local homcschootlng groups. Thls list was last prlnted ln GWS #66, and ls updated and sold scparatcly for $2 as part of our 'Homeschooling Resourcc Llst.- Somc groups have prepared handbooks or gutdelines on legal matters. Often, thesc groups can tell you more about thc lcgpl cllmatc tn a statc than anyone else can - whether ncrr legfslatton ls pendtng, for cnample, and hor thc present law ls beingenforced.

4) Contact other farnllles ll,stcd ln our Dtrectory. This is particularly uscful lf you llve tn a state that lcaves homeschooltrg declsions up to indivldual school distrlcts. When you contact these families, help them by havturg done some rq9€arch on your own flrst.

5) In general, lt ts not wlsc to start by asklng your local school dlstrict; thcy usually don't know the law either. Bcttcr to gather the facts first on your own.

At the bottom ofthls pagc ts a form you can us€ to renewyour subecrlpdou. Plcasc hclp usby renewing early.

How can you tell when your subscrlptlon exptrgs? I49k at thls samplrc labcl:

JIMANDMARYSMITH

270t@

PIAINVILLE

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscrlpuons start wlth thc next lssue publlshed. Our crrrrcnt ratcs arc $2O for 6 lssuca, $36 for 12 lssues, $48 for 18 lssucs. GWS ls publtshed cvery other month. A slngle lssue costs $3.50.

Forctgn paymcnts must bc clthcr mone)r ordcrs tn US funds or checks drawn on US banks.

W€ can't alford to accept personal checks on Canadtan acclunts, e\rcn lf they havc'US funds' wrltten on them. Outsidc of North Amerlca. add $lO peryear for alrmall (otherwlsc. allow 2-3 months for surface rnall).

BecL lrucr: We strongly urge you to get thc back lssues of GWS, cspcctally lfyou plan to take your chlldren out of school. Many of thc ardcles ere as useful and tmportant as when they wcf,c prlntcd. and we do not plan to repcat thc lnformatlon ln thcm. All back tssucs arc kcpt ln

NY

OI I

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The number that ls underllned In thc example tells the number of the ffnal lssue for the subscrlpdon. The Smiths'sub cxplres wtth Issuc #68, the next issuc. But |f wc were to recclve thclr renewal beforc we scnt our ffnal ac.count changes

mcans you get one copy of each lssuc, 2X means you get 2 copies ofeach lgsuc, 3X means 3 coples,

ctcJ

lx 2X 3X 4X sx 6)(

I year 2 yrs.

6lss. l2tgs.

3 yrs,

$20 $36 $48 $60 $70 $78

$48

$36 $64 $90 $l l2 $130 $144

l8tss. $sO

$126 $156

$r80

$216 7& 8X, etc: $12 p€rpersonpcrycar.

Plcasc scnd tn thc names and addrcsses of mcmbers ofyour group sub, so that we can keep ln touch wlth them. Thanks.

cWS s.r foundcd ln ls77 by John Holt.

Editor - Susannah Sheffer Managtng Edltor - Patrtck Farenga Contribu6ng Edltor - Dom Rlchoux Editorlal Asslstant - Maqr Maher Editorlal Corrsultant - Nancy Wallace

prlnt.

Book & Sube€rlptlon Manager - Day Fat€nga Book Shlppcr/Rccrlvcr - Ann Barr Offfce,{.gslstant - Mary Maher

Our rates for back lssues: any comblnadon

ofback tssues. rnailed at onc tlmc to onc addrcss, csst $2 pcr lssuc, plus $2 per order, A completc sct cqsts $lOO. These rates ar€ for subscrlbers only: non-suhscribcrs pay $.j.50 pcr issuc.

Indcrcr to GWS (spcciff ttcm numbcr): #38O Indcx to GWS #l-30, $2.5O #382 Index to *3f-4O, $l #384 Indcx to #41-50, $l.5O #385 Index to #5 f -6(), $2. #381 Set ofall Indexcs. $5.

Blndcrr arc avatlablc wlth rods that hold GWS without obscurtng any to(t. Gold letters on

Holt Assoclates Board of Dircctors:

Patrick Farenga (Corporate President). Mary Maher, Tom Mahcr, Dorura Rlchoux, Susannah Sheffer Advlsors to thc Board: Stwe Rupprecht, Mary Van Dorcn, Nancy Wallacc

Copyrlght O 1989 Holt Associates, Inc. All rlihts rescrvcd.

oover.

RENEWALS

16MAINST

to thc rnatliqg housc (carly Aprll), they *ould qualry for the frce bonus lssuc.

Rcncwal ratcs ar€ thc samc as for ncw subecrlpuons: $2O for 6 lssu€s, $36 for 12 lssucs. tll8 for l8 tssues.

#3ilo Bt:derwlth 24 rods (holds GWS #l24), $f O; #328 Btnderwith l8 rods (holds 18 latcrlssucsl, $9.5O. #326 S€t of4 Binders and 78 rods (holds cWS #l-78), $35.

Add pacldng and delivery charge for btndcrs (scc center pagesl.

Ad&cr Ch.ngc.3 lf you'rc movlngi, let us knowyour new address alr soon as posslble.

Plcasc cnclosc a reccnt labcl (or copy ofone).

Issues mlss€d because of a drangp ln address may b€ r€placed for $2 each. Thc post olffcc destroys your misscd lssues and charges us a notillcatlon fee. so we can't afford to replacc them

wlthout chaqge.

Grcup Subrcrlptlona: all copies alc mallcd to one addrcss. Pleasc pay with onc ehecl. Her€ ar€ thc currcnt group rates {lX

g

HH

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B

trL.{

F 3ld

sA

ih 6'lg

'alE ol=

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SUBSCRIPTION AI\ID RENEUTAL FORM Usc this

fom

to subssibe or renry to GROWING Wfi{OUT SCHOOLING. For renryals, place thc label below, tf possible. If not, print the tnfo. Cllp and scnd witi your chcck or money ordcr in Or, you may now subscribe or rcnw by phonc with Mastercrd or Visa: call 617-864-3100.

from a reccnt US

fmds.

Thmks.

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New

isuc

subscription

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Rencwal

Gift subscripuon to bc aent to na mc shown.

Account Numbcr (for renewals): Name: I

Expiration Code (for rcnewals): Address (Changef yes/no) City. Statc. Zip:

_

6 issues,

GroupSub:

HEH

$2O copies

l2 isucs, $36 of

issues. $

l8 issucs, (sc chrt)

It is OK to sell my name and address to other organizatlons.

$48

gaz fisf; GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #67