GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING
18 We are trying out a lighter grade of paper for this issue; it allows us to increase the number of pages wi th out costing us more in postage. My home-schooling book is going to be called TEACH YOUR OWN; pUblica tion date is set at June 12, 1981. We will ~f course be se l ling it here, and we hope that as many readers as possible will buy it directly from us - but then again, we also hope you inquire for it at your local book store and try to get them to carry ~t. Not sure of the price yet. I am about to leave on my .Cali fornia trip, which now includes stops in Santa Rosa, Mill Valley, Santa Cruz, San Jose, San Francisco, and Redlands .. Our thanks to the GWS read ers who helped put this trip togeth er. And to those who were interested in having me speak but who could not be fit into the schedule: perhaps we could work on arranging another West Coast trip. When I spoke at Normal, Ill. Oct . 29, I was surprised and delight ed to see an overflow crowd of more than 700 peop le in the room . It seems to me, from talking with people on my travels as well as from the mail I get, that there are quite a lot of people in this country who are seri ~hst~ considering teaching their own c 1 ren; they may not be quite ready to do so, but they'r~ on the verge of deciding . Mary Bergman (MO Dir.) tells us she has gotten "hundreds and hun dreds" of letters in response to Paul Harvey's newspaper column and radio show on the National Association of Home Educators. The state legislatures in Louisi ana and Wisconsin have recently passed new laws that mention the option of home education - more de tails in this issue . And a Colorado home schooling family told me on the phone the other day that they had a great deal of co-operation and sup port ~rom the State Dept. of Educa tion, even though their local school district had been giving them trou ble. They said they would write us about it soon. About the move in the Virginia legislature to tighten the private school "loophole" (see GWS #16), Abbey Lawrence writes: " . . . The subcom mittee has met twice thus far. Rose Jones tells me that, according to the reporter who covered the first, half the members seem to want to leave well enough alone, and half seem to want to do something, but don't know what. - I'm optimistic." A volunteer has just made an index to Issues #1-8 of GWS, and we should have copies available soon. Also, other volunteers are putting to gether a resource list of all the addresses of the organizations, peri
odicals, materials, etc. that have been mentioned in GWS . If it's short enough, we may include a copy of t h is list with GWS #19. - John Holt
COMING LECTURES March 18, 1981: William Rainey Harper College, Palatine IL 60067; aft mtgs, 8 -PM lecture . Contact Jeanne Pankanin, Stu. Act., 312-397 3000 ext. 242 . Apr 24: Music Educator's Nat'l Conference, Arena, Minneapolis MN. 11 AM mtg, Minneapolis Convention Hall . Contact: Gene Morlan, 1902 Assoc. Dr, Reston VA . 22091. May 9: Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation Conf., Airport Holiday Inn, Lancaster, Ontario. Con tact Bob Morrow, 416-627-3685.
MAKING OF AN UNSCHOOLER From Karen Franklin (AL): ... My 5th grade class was --:e.r y interested in the Bicentennial ln 1976. After several days of discuss ing the American Revolution, Boston Tea Party, Stamp Act, etc, I gave the required quiz. One of the questions. was: "What is a boycott?" Now, this was a 5th grade in an all black school in Birmingham, Alabama. Out of 30 kids, only two explained the word in terms of the Stamp Act and Ameri can boycott of English imports. The other 28 said - and I quote - "It ' s when you ain't gonna ride the bus no more. II For about two minutes that answer puzzled me, then it hit me what else would you expect black Ala bama ll-year-olds to say? They have heard abou~ the Montgomery bus boy cotts that helped start the Civil Rights movement since they were born. Of course that's what it means. I grabbed the chance to use it and we compared the 1770's to the 1960's and I saw eyes allover the room light up - the ah-hah' look. It was wonderful. I was so excited about it, I told the whole story in the afternoon faculty meeting. Ever.yone, including the black principal, was much more concerned that the students didn't answer the question "RIGHT." I was instructed to mark 28 answers wrong so they would learn to pay attention and "get their lessons." I didn't do it; instead I quit in January before the birth of our first child and decided then and there both of us would stay home. We've been learning together ever since ...
TRAVEL NETWORKS From Elaine Andres, 2120 W. Cash man Ct, Peoria IL 61604: ... My husband John and I wou~ like to offer another idea for un schoolers which is similar to the Learning Exchange idea in GWS #16. We would like to start a Network for Edu cational Travel (NET) for unschool ers. Anyone interested in having some other home-schooling family visit their part of the country can send bs their name and address. We will put this information on a card. When a family wants to visit some place they can write to us for names of families who are willing to host them during their visit. The two families can then work out the details of the visit.
We are willing t o provide floor space for sleeping bags, a kitchen fo r cooking their Own meals (each fam ily furnishes its own food), a bath room (bring own towels, soap, etc . ) and our ideas on what to do and where to go in Central Illinois . Our area h as many ~nteresting places to visit and experiences to offer. I'm sure every part of our country has unique sights to see and places to explore. We hope others would be willing to share their homes with us as this would be an inexpen sive way to educate our children to gether. It would be a lot of fun shar ing ideas, too' . .. Many thanks to Elaine for her good offe~. It will be exciting to see what comes of it. We h ave also heard of a similar on-going organization ' for world travel: U. S. SERVAS, 11 John St, Rm 406, New York NY 10038. With the dol lar in decline, many people from oth er countries are visiting the US, and t h is migh t be a good way for GWS read ers to make friends with them and per haps learn their language. From the SERVAS brochure : SERVAS is an international co operative system of hosts and travel ers establis h ed to help build world peace, good will, and understanding by providing opportunities for deep er, more perso~al contacts among peo ple of diverse cultures and back grounds . .. . Have you ever wished you could get beyond the tourist a~trac tions and know the people where you travel? SERVAS may be the answer ... You plan your own trip using lists of hosts in the countries where you wish to go. These lists give the hosts' addresses, phone numbers, languages spoken, activities, and interests. You share the everyday life of the family whom you visit. Stays are usu ally for 2 or 3 days . . . . There is a small contribution to cover SERVAS experyses . No money is exchanged be tween travelers and hosts. SERVAS invites you to be a host. . . . "For those of us who can't trav el," says one host, "SERVAS brings the world into our living rooms through the visits of friendly, enthu siastic people from every continent." Hosts share their family meals with travelers and provide accommoda tions that will fill simple needs. SERVAS travelers ... are expected to arrange the visit with you beforehand by letter or phone. Hosts are urged to avoid accepting travelers when they are planning to be away, or if the arrangements would interfere with important plans . To obtain a traveler and/or host application, send SERVAS a long-sized self-addressed stamped envelope ...
AN UNSCHOOLING CO-OP From Laurie.Davis (MI): .. . We have been unschoolers for nearly three years, and have recently become part of a group of "home" schoolers with the addition of four families . Perhaps you would like to know how we are operating on a group level. We five families take turns meeting one day a week at alternating homes for a " school day" which con sists of a variety of activities host ed by one or more adults and usually includes eight children ages 5-11. We
2 have done things like potaio-printing art, writing or dictating autobio graphies, fruit harves~ng at a com mercial orchard, having a sandwich concession at a local art fair, and opening a bank account with the money well-earned, ( The money will be used for supplies or for f~ture field trips, possibly to the Chicago Museum of Natural History, which is quite a trek for 22 of us from northern Michi gan!) We try to focus ' on developing and maintaining positive self-images; to do quiet, thoughtful things toge ther like yoga and brief meditation; to talk about feelings and interests - really trying to notice what goes on inside as well as outside of our selves. One trip to a small local zoo prompted a follow-up trip to the lib rary where we did research on a cho sen animal, discovering its real habi tat, how natural life ,differea-Irom zoo life, how the zoo could be changed to be more accomodating. The children really enjoy the field trips and the chance at interaction, shar ing fun and learning. The onc~-a-week socializing is far superior to what they would get in school on a daily basis. Other main focuses are environ ment, health, and conservation, and there is always ' lots to do as a group in those areas: v isiting Michigan's last remaining virgin forest, or pre paring a meal from scratch, or recy cling old clothing into new garments. A few of these we haven't done yet we have such a long exciting list' Basically, we as a group have re solved to do reading/math-type work at home on an individual basis, and group or community project~ weekly or whenever something special comes up whic~ would be enjoyed by mos~. We find 'by remaining fairly informal, open, and honest, there is very lit tle concern with group dynamics or decision-making type stuff. We may be able to use our local elementary school gym for playing in the winter time. It is open for pub lic use as long as advance notice is given and it's not already being used. Same goes for the school lib rary, audio-visual aids, etc. As far as how we have all man aged to take our kids out of school: we are very fortunate to have amongst us three certified teachers, so the question of whete do we get our tutors is automatically answered. There have not been many questions by local authorities concerning this arrangement ... We'll be sure to let you know of further developments in this area. ... We try to have regular meet ings with the adults of the group to discuss our home-schooling experi ences, and to share ideas, support, doubts, and fears. We are all getting to know each other better and find the "safety in numbers" element a def inite plus, as opposed to being un schoolers alone. Some of us have our doubtful moments: "Am I doing the right thing?" "Is X really going to learn how to read all by herself?" It real ly helps to have each other (and GWS) for reassurance. And we have ro-re mind ourselves not to come on as in the traditional teacher-student situa tion. You can tell when you're get ting "structured" - the kids clam right up' You have to stop and think why the kids are at home in5tead of in school. If you rearry trust them, I think they can feel that and it really adds to their self-confidence. The Middletons ( see Dir.) would
be interested in exchanging letters with other home schoolers who might consider a ki.d exchange in the future . They have pre-teen and teen age daughters. Maybe an exchange could be initiated by "pen-pals" get ting to know one another and eventual ly arranging a meeting ... Most of the parents I have talked to seem to have reservations about actually sending one of their .kids to the home of a stran~el' unschoolers or not. Maybe rne-w 0 e thing does need to be tossed around awhile before anything positive comes of it. ... We may be building our house next summer and it would be fun to share the whole experience with some one to whom it would mean a lot. We would proba.bly 1 i ve in a tent or other makeshift shelter during the building process. We will pe anxious to share ideas with others out there - anybody could write us. .. • Also, I think it would be won derful - at our house at least - if we could get a foster grandparent somewhere, part- or full-time. It is something we have given thought to many times; 'we are so li~ited within our nuclear families. Children ( as well as myself) always seem to be in awe of older people, and there would be so much to share. I'm sure there must be many lonely and talented old er people out there who would just love to have a family' In all the advertising and recruiting I have seen for intentional communities, there have never been any requests for grandparently types ... Even a teenager who likes young- ' er kids and would be interested in spending time with us as a mother's/ kids ' helper in exchange for room and board or something equitable would be considered. It could be for a week or two or a month or more ...
LIVE-INS WANTED: NC . . . From Shelley Dameron in NC ( GWS #17, "Learning Exchanges"): ... Two articles in GWS #17 caught my eye. . .. Fi rs t, I read "Li ve in Babysitters." You may remember that I wrote that it was difficult to find a job where my baby would be wel come. Having a live-in babysitter would be a good solution, but the problem would still be money. The article following that one on the idea of a Kids Exchange, sparked my thought: How about a combination of both? That is, teenagers living with a different family for whatever rea son, might be willing to help out with the babysitting. We live in the Appalachian Moun tains of North Carolina. In the win ter months, I'm told we have good ski ing, and in the summer there are many outdoor activities. I would be inter ested to know if any young people or parents among the GWS readers would be .interested in our particular situa tion. Perhaps someone could come to be in this area for a week or month or whatever and stay with us . The babysitting itself would be minimal ...
. . . AND VA ... Fr.om Connie Schwartz, Golden Horseshoe Inn, Stanardsville VA 22973: ... After 16 issues of GWS,
have come to the conclusion that per
haps we .have something very valuable
to offer to others. First, we teach
our four sons at home (ages l~, 3, 5,
6~). Second, home is an old brick/ frame house located on the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, adjacent to the Shenandoah National Park. We own approxi~ately 20 acres and a motorcy cle sales and repair shop. We live a life as nearly self-sufficient as possible. We rai~e sheep, ducks, rab ' bits, bees, chickens, fatten some pigs and just recently acquired a milk cow ~ a long desired dream. We breed, raise, fatten, slaughter, butcher, and preserve all our own ani mals. We also do extensive gardening, starting our own plants and preser ving all we don't eat. r feel we have a large variety of experience to offer. Mechanical, farming chores of all kinds (fencing, worming, feeding, roving, etc.), gar dening (we practice organic), food preservation and storage, cooking (we make most things from scratch includ ing bread and butter), complete build ing construction, logging and woodcut ting, beekeeping, homemaking, actual ly the list goes on and on. We are currently looking for a spinning wheel and floor loom so we can spin and weave our own wool. Our children are included in all of this and we'd like to share it with others who haven't the chance otherwise. No age limits, but they'll either have to do en o ugh work for their keep, or pay some ro om and board. We have no TV or radio, but lots of books ' and the bookmo bile comes literall y to our fr ont door twice monthly. We have an endless list of projects to be done and never enough time. We are willing to share our home and the life we love in return for the labor and knowledge of another. Witnessing the reacti o n of a newcomer to this type of life will also be en riching. This would have t o be arranged on a personal basis with any one interested, of cou,se, but we are looking for people of clean living habits. We feel a bit shaky making this offer, as there are all kinds of kooks and weirdos in the world, but we still feel that there would be many benefits to all parties. For fur ther information please contact us at the above address ...
&
... AND WISC. From Gretchen Spicer, Rt 1 Box
85, New Lisbon WI 53950:
... We would be interested in both a live-in babysitter and the kids exchange. We live on a farm with two other families. Altogether there are nine children at the farm ranging in age from 6 weeks to 10 years. We have goats (for milk) and a very large garden, apple trees, grapes, raspberries/ etc. We also have a T shirt screening business. We do maple-sugaring in the spring. We would be glad to have kids of any age on an exchange basis. We could offer a live-in babysit ter room and board and $50 a month for about 10 hours of babysitting per week. We have four children ages 10, 7, 6 and 2. The 2-year-old is the only one that actually needS to be "watched." The three older children only need someone around if they need help. A young person living with us could also make additional money baby sitting on an hourly basis for the other two families here, besides some part-time work in the T-Shirt busi ness. Other part-time work on neigh boring farms might be available fro~ time to time. Anyone interested could
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #18
3 call us collect at 608-562-3969. ... 1 was interested in the com ment from Louise Andrieshyn (GWS #17, "A Singing Painter") . She mentioned that her daughter did not start sing ing until she left her alone. I noticed recently that when I was help ing my kids with their reading that I sometimes found myself getting up and doing household chores, in which case I did not hear their requests fo~ help, ~ or I would try to put them off until I was finished with what I was doing. On the other hand, if I sat right by them and watched what they were doing, I found myself jumping to explain things that they could surely have figured out and worse yet, becom ing bossy and impatient. Quite by accident I found the perfect solution one day when I was engrossed in a novel that I couldn't p~t down and they wanted help with their work books. I just sat close at hand and continued reading. I was right there and ~vailable , when they wanted help, but not so bored that I was sticking my nose ' into their busi ness all the time. Best of all, there I was actively enjoying the very skill that they were working to mas ter. Now I reall~ look forward to sit ting down with them to work on read ing ... WHA T GENIUSES NEED
A reader sent us an article, "The Childhood Pattern of Genius," which appeared in Horizon Magazine, May 1960 . The writer, Harold C. McCur dy, describes the childhood of twenty notable "geniuses," including John Stuart Mill, Goethe, Pascal, Coler idge, and Voltaire. The article con cludes: ... In summary, the present' sur vey of biographical information on a sample of twenty men of genius sug gests that the typical developmental pattern includes as important as pects: (1) a high degree of attention focused upon the child by parents and other adults, expressed in intensive education measures and, usually, abun dant love; ' (2) isolation from other ch i ldren, especially oucside the fami ly; and (3) a rich efflorescence,of fantasy as a reaction to the preced ing conditions. It'might be remarked that the mass education of our publi~ school system is, in its way, a vast experiment on the effect of reducing all three factors to a minimum; accor dingly, it should tend to suppress the occurrence of genius ... INFO SOURCE: NY . ..
From Harold Ingraham, INDEPEN DENT FAMILY SCHOOLS RESOURCE CENTER (RD 1, Smyrna NY 13464; 607-627-6670): , .. . Please feel free to refer any family to us . A few of those who read of our center in the Directory of GWS #15 called us just to chat and lift their spirits. I think ' sometimes this is the/ best part of the services we p~ovide . There is nothing like talk ing to a truste'd colleague . . . . The resource center is far from being like the standard social center . We aren't trying to save the world. We just feel that our experi ence can be a help to parents getting their feet wet. Since we won our case in the courts, there has been a steady stream of cases that we have helped. I have listed what we have done
GRGWJNG WITHOUT SCHOOLING #18
in the way of helping families. The experiences go like this:
home study students. We are develop ing independent study courses which have been successful with some stu 1. How to meet with a public school dents, and others use the Pa. State official University Extension courses. for high 2. Dealing with lawyers school. We like to work with each stu }. A run-down on NY education laws dent individually according to his/ 4.' Recognizing the unique indi vidu her needs. ality of a child One child is severely brain 5. Help in writing up a curriculum damaged and his mother works so well to present to a Board of Education with him that ' we do not interfere. We 6. Referral to legal help simply keep him on our rolls. This 7. Simply a shoulder to lean on way his public school doesn't have to when the going gets tough cope with him and his family can have , 8. Training workshop in using a him at home. This particular mother library had all sorts of difficulty with the 9. Correspondence ~ith family schools until she told them that the school students who like to write and chi Id was enr,olled here, and I wrote be written to on interesting topics them an official letter. Neither of 10. Suggesting a reading study list us has heard from them since. in classical literature
Last year we had a waiting list 11. A do and don't list of how to for our school ~nd had several stu break the news of new-found education dents doing work at home so that they al independence. to SOCiety could get out of bad situations in 12. How to use the news media effec their local schools while waiting,for tively when in court space in our school. One girl just 13. A list of available correspon needed to get a few credits so that dence, private, and Christian schools she could save face to go back to her 14. Referral to good private tutors old ~chool. S~ you ~ee, we are pretty 15. Workshops in teaching reading flexible as to whaC goes. We do recom and math skills mend that students become minimally 16. Textbook selection and resour involved in the school if it seems ces for'good books (like the GWS lis~) possible - they come to meetings some 17. Publications that help a family times and help out with special aff school get started and give good airs. We charge $75.QO. adVice, like GWS SO far we do not feel any pres 18. Planning and preparation before sure to be secretive. We feel that we will simply continue to do what we're starting a family-school, such as get ting the idea across to ' the children doing and if the authorities ask ques tions we'll deal with that when it And here are a fe,w things we happ~ns ... would like to do: 1. To finish our NY educational law manual which states the law and how CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL to comply as a family school, with From Mrs. Carol A. Christopher practical advice on how to deal with of the BETHANY HOMESTEAD CHRISTIAN public school officials RESOURCE CENTER (RFD I , Box 220, Tay 2. Provide a guideline for writing a curriculum lor Rd, Thompson CT 06277; 203-928 0453) : 3. Provide mor~ workshops for par ents who want training in teaching skills to their children .. · .. We have heard of your work and have read some of the recent maga zine interviews concerning your pro gram . The Bethany Homestead Christian ... AND NJ Resource Center is also an organiza tion supporting home schooling. We Meg Johnson , (337 Downs St, Ridge are a small Seventh-day Adventist wood NJ 07450; 201-447-4044) writes: self-supporting group providing ... 1 established the HOME EDUCA school books, materials, schedule TION RESOURCE CENTER this summer, at helps and , when necessary, a support umbrella if school authoritie s the request of several friends around inquire. the country. I have a considerable Our curriculum is a combination amount of information and ideas on home schooling and wish to share it . work-stud ~ , program set ftccord{ng to individual s~dent needs. We offer (The only problem being I can't aff ord this venture.) two correspondence-type programs to aid parents who teach at home. We _ I'~ offering a booklet ~ncluding serve families all across the United "A Preliminary Guide for Preparing to States, Canada, and a few foreign Teach Children at Home," and "Do countries . Children Really Need Peer Group · .. The cost for enrollment is Socialization?" for $3.00. I also $100 per family for one year - Septem have a list of books for people inter ber through June. If more than one ested in home schooling, a ~ist of family has joined together to form a home study courses, an address list school, the cost is tbe same, since eor sources of materials, a packet on all information is being sent to one how to set up a support group, a sam location ... ple of an academic program accepted by a local school district ... Donations of any amount w,o uld be appreciated as materials will only be MORE 'COVER SCHOOL· NEWS sent out as there are sufficient From the Michigan Coalition of funds. Handling, printing, and distri Alternative Schools Newsletter: bution costs 20¢ per page or more ... SCHOOL IN PA.
,From Sandy Hurst at UPATTINAS SCHOOL, RD 1, &ox 378, Glenmoore PA 19343 (215-458-5138): . .. We are willing to have our selves listed as a school which takes
· .. The HOME BASED EDUCATION PRO GRAM was started officially in Aug~ ust, usi n g office-space at Clonlara (1289 Jewett, Ann Arbor MI 48104; phone 313-769'- 4515) and direc-ted by Pat Montgomery (Dr. Pat Montgomery now, mind you!) Of course, there is no way of knowing how many Michigan families are doing home study but the
4
number who are actually enrolled in H.B.E.P. now is 32 students. Another
115 have made inquiries . ..
From Bonnie Williams, OAK MEADOW (PO Box 1051, Ojai CA 93023, 805-646-4510) : ~C HOOL
... We presently have 55 students enrolled from all o~er the US and so far so good. We recently had a case in Northern Calif. where the sheriff visited a mother and told her to report to school. She approached the Superintendent of schools and told him that she was enrolled in our home study program and wanted to make it legal . He merely sent her down the hall to fill out an affidavit and the people in the office even 'helped her to fill it Cout ... Ed Nagel tells FE COMMUNITY SCHOOL ta Fe NM 87501) has h ome-study students in 1980-81 so far.
us that the SANTA (PO Box 2241, San enrolled over 200 since 1976 ~ 115
Other schools that have told us
recently that they are willing to
h e l p home-schoolers:
HOME SCHOOL, Manuela Schreiner,
849 Drake S~, Cambria CA 93428; (805)
927-4137 .
JONATHAN'S PLACE, Pat & Marshall Martin, 4301 Harrison, Kansas City ' MO 64112; (816) 753-5392 or 444-3168. HOLT SCHOOL, Ann Bodine, Box 866, New Providence NJ 07974. HALVI SCHOOL, H. Saer, 124 N Par edes Line Rd, Brownsville TX 78520; (512) 546-1449 . THE JOHN HOLT LEARNING CENTER,
James Salisbury, 8446 S Harrispn St,
Midvale UT 84047.
HOME STUDY IN ALASKA
energy, handicrafts, back-to-the earth, and almanac-ty~e historical curiosities." For $1.50, Merritt will send you clips of the article; for $2.50, the complete issues of The Townships Sun. Send US or CanaOIan mone~im at Box 129, Richford VT 05476, or Box 10, BTigham, Quebec, JOE lJO. CONN. HOME-SCHOOLERS
The Tromblys (CT) sent this
story from their local paper:
... David Cole, assistant super intendent of East Lynne Sc~ools, ad mitted the Tromblys' request' "took some getting used to," but that now a "very positive relationship" exists between the two sides. What Cole and other educators don't say, however, is that home edu cation is available to practically any -family who wishes to give it a try. For instance, there are no re quirements that parents be cer~ified instructors. Even the $tate law, which education department spokesmen declined to comment on, is so vague it is almost impossible to prevent anyone from educating their children at home, _as long as they have the time. Under Section 10-184 of the Conn . General Statutes, children be tween the ages ~f 7 and 16 must attend a public school "unless the parent . . . Js able to show that the children are elsewhere receiving equi valent instructions in th'e studies taught in the public schools." Thus far, no cases have gone to court re ~arding the home education issue in
Connecticut .
.. . Where there used to be only a few corresponde-n ce schools for the interested parent to ch90se from, there no~ are many, which perhaps bet ter than any other yardstick, meas ures the growth of home education pro grams . . .
A reader in Alaska writes: ... There is an elaborate home ,schooling correspondence course in Fairbanks. When we enrolled our daugh ter this spring, they offered no ob jections - in filling out her forms, we were simply asked to give a reason for using the correspondence school and I had the feeling that they would h ave accepted any reasonable-sounding explanation. They took the form and handed us five big boxes of materials - workbooks, art materials, books to read. The workbooks are boring and stupid but required. According to the correspondence teachers, there are about 50 children (all grades) in the Fairbanks school district who use the program . This Fairbank's office is only for students within the school district - the "bush" students work through Juneau, the head office ... LD. ARTICLE
My friend Merritt Ciifton, who publishes a small fiterary magazine, Samisdat, recently wrote a long arti cle called "Learning Disabilities: What the Publ icity Doesn't Tell. " I t is quite extensive, thorough, and " skeptical of the whole notion of "LD" - good ammunition for any who are con cerned with fighting this battle. It was printed. in two issues of The Town ships Sun (Box 28, Lennoxville, Que. JIM 123), which, Merritt says, "is a good, family-oriented monthly news magazine focussing on alternative
Eileen Trombly added: . ,.You might be relieved to know t hat, although as yet unlisted in GWS, there are many-interested people ~arin~ to "home-instruct." The many we _ ave spoken with all have pre school children and want to "get it <ll} toge ther" ahead of time. We do recommend to them that they draw up their plans" before meeting with any officials, and have a plan of action ready to submit, but not to do "so until ~he necessary time (age 6 in Conn. ) We also have suggested agreeing to allow their chilqren to be given ?tandardized tests twice a year, and agreeihg to infttruct 180 days per year, minimum 4 hours per day. lhe testing is to satisfy local and state boards. ThiS, along with a curricu lum~ seems to be all that's necessary "to turn in to the superintendent . As you are aware - the standard ized testing is almost worthless, but it satisfies them . We do not agr~e to any other type "of testing~everal years back an incident came up where by a teacher administrating the tests gave her own type of test - asking the girls questions that indicated to her that they were "unhappy because they missed their school friends." Her personal opinion on this whole idea was given at the conclusion of the test in writing. We stopped this. Anyway - as more people get in
volved in the. actual instruction pro
cess, they will include their names in the directory. They are anxious to ... LETTER FROM CALIF.
From a reader in California: . .. After five years in the Ori ent, we decided to educate our child ren ourselves. My husband is a writer and artist with an M.A. in Philoso phy, and I have a B.A. from Sarah Law rence. Sam and Sara spent most of their childhood travelling in Asia and only returned to America when they were seven (1975). We bought land in an isolated part of northern California, started building our solar house and growing our own food. It never occurred to us to notify any authorities, as our place is over forty miles from the county seat and we have no neighbors to complain about the children not go ing to school. I'd never taught (though my hus band has taught painting and History of Art) but decided to start our , "school" by exposing Sara and Sam to everything we loved: good literature, art, and music. During the long rainy winter I spent most of the day read ing out loud: The Greek, Norse, Cel tic, and Egyptian myths; the Ramayana and Mahabarata~ Homer, Shakespeare, Tolkien, Keats, and Shelley. We con stantly played tapes of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Vivaldi, and Indian ragas, and brought home books from the lib~ rary on painting, sculpture, archaeol ogy, and architecture, which we all looked at together. The children used to snuggle close and look over my shoulder as I read aloud, and within two years were reading on their own "The Chronicles of Narnia," Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, Howard Pyle, and Robert Louis Stevenson. We sub scribe to several magazines that they eagerly read: National Geographic, Natural History, W'o rld, Ranger R1ck, and the Sunday New-YOrk Times. When ever they were 1nterested ~n a topic (King Tut, dinosaurs, Columbus) we'd find a book at the library and read up on that particular subject . . We had-no eystem for teaching math, but noticed that the children quickly taught themselves how to count money, make change, and add up the cost of groceries when we made our weekly shopping trip to town . Sam and Sara drew and painted a lot, wrote stories and poems and made up their own plays with beautiful cos tumes. We supplemented the indoor act ivities with daily work on the farm: gardening, carpentry, chopping wood, cooking, and caring for our animals. The children seemed healthy and happy except for one thing - they longed for other children and we just didn't know any, living so far out from town. Finally in October 1978 we rented a house in the town and en rolled them in a small private school so they could enjoy the social life they were begging for. In a short time we knew we had made a mistake. The joy went out of their faces, they were constantly tired and irritable, and all creative energy evaporated to be replaced by televisio.n, "Buck Rogers," and "Star Wars . " Their conversation at home was mostly how mean or crazy the other kids were, and who did what nasty thing to whom that day at school. We hated the change but stuck it out fo~ two winters because this "social" life seemed so important and we thought we would all adjust.
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #18
5 To get an inside view of the school, I volunteered as a History teacher so I could get to know the other children, but what I saw real ly made me sad, and strengthened our feelings that there is something seri ously wrong with American families to produce such neurotic children. There were only a few I found to be normal, happy children. Now we've spent the summer months back on our farm and have def~ initely decided to give up school and the house in town. Sara is painting" baking, sewing, and writing poems again. Sam is sleeping well and put ting on weight, losing his cranky, irritable look he got in town, and once more is singing, writing stor ies, and whistling as he helps us around the farm. . .. 1 hope to solve the need for other children by inviting kids from town up ' on weekends and I'll let you know how that works out ...
PERSONAL POLITICS Norma Luce wrote in the Oct. '80
Home Educators Newsletter ( PO Box
623, Logan Dr 84321; $17.50/yr.):
... What would happen , if each o f you, in your vario u s and separate states, became personally acquainted with ' the legislative representative in your area, not your state, just your area? These men [Ed. - & women] need to be educated. They need to hear about what you are doing. They "need to meet your children. They need to hear your views on your inalien able constitutional rights. They need to see your effectiveness. Then, "when adverse legislation comes up they'll stanq and ,say "I don't see any need for it. I PERSONALLY KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE EDUCATING THEIR CHILDREN AT HOME. THEY ARE DOING A WONDERFUL JOB. I be lieve they should be left alone." " What if, after this legislator speaks, seventeen others from differ ent areas in the state stand and say the same thing. What if three-fourths of the state House of Representatives and two-thirds of the state Senate personally know fa'milies who are successfully educating their child ren? .. It's so simple. No tra veling , no big amounts of money expended . Just talk to your neighbor, the one that you have elected to represent your area in the state legislature ...
DEVELOPING SKILLS From Lori Smith (NY): .. . 1 have been intending to write in praise of GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING but never got around to it until this evening. Though I am thor oughly fascinated by the informati o n and ideas contained in each issue, the fact that my husband and I have no children (yet) made me feel more like an observer, not a participant. However, Issue #17 spoke directly to me, especially "The Process of Work." I am 25 years old and have been grappling with the problem: what do I do with my life now that I have a BA degree in English but no idea of what WORK I should do? The struggle has been deciding between a career in "EDUCATION" (because it is a "respect able" profession) or "simply puttering around learning all I can about em broidery, weaving, and textile arts in general (because I love thread, yarn, needles, fabric, mnd sewirig). Even though I suffered through a
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #18
few education classes in college and decided that I wanted nothing to do with schools, I h ave recently ques tioned that decision, wondering if I quit because I was just too cowardly to cope with the unpleasantness of herding children through their ,lives. Then I read: " ... Six adult 'teachers' had all done many kinds of work before they began teaching, and all brought to the ~chool a number of visible and interesting skills." And, "Adults must use t"he skills they have whe~e children-can see them." I realized that for me, it is im portant to develop the skills that will enable me to do the work that I love. I also realize how much I have been brainwashed by my ow'n sChooling (which I hated) to fit into society doing something "respectable" like teaching. Thank you for the encouragement I needed to finally decide , in favor of learning real skills . As far as teaching, the most rewarding teaching experience I've had was when my nine year old niece saw me sewing and asked me to teach her. We rummaged around for a scrap of cloth, thread, and needle, and I showed her how to make a draw-string bag for her doll. We worked for hours; she had great difficulty get ting accustomed to holding the nee dle. Her hand began to hurt and she pricked herself many times, but I was amazed at how deliberate and careful she was to make the stitches small and even - ripping out those that were unsuitable and doing them over and over. When the bag was finished she was so thrilled and excited that she decided to keep it for herself to carry change and tissue. As I said before, I have' only praise for what GWS is doing for chil dren and parents, but I am even more grateful for what I am learning about myself and my own education. I guess it amounts to un-schooling myself after 25 years ...
UNUSUAL SCIENTIST A UPI story from Eight Dollar Mountain, OR: ... You wouldn't expect to find a space -age scientist living with compu ters and telescopes atop a roadless hill on the edge of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, 30 miles southwest of Grants Pass, Oregon. But then, Paul Lutus is a man who's spent his 33 ' years doing things in different ways. . . . As a bookwormi s h "extremely precocious and arrogant 12-year-old," he idolized Albert Einstein. Believ ing school would "lead to ruin," the 7th grader dropped ou t to study astro nom y and electronics on his own. When his parent s didn't accept that decision, he moved out . Under the wing of a foster family, the 12 year-old became a television repair man. At 16 he qualified for a Federal Communications Commission radio television license and later worked as a radio announcer in San Jose, Cal. At 20 he launched a career as a "street person." He earned a panhan dler's living in San Francisco by sketching portraits, singing folk songs, strumming his guitar, holding bubble-blowing classes. He switched to a research asso ciate position at Mt. Sinai Medical School in New York. Then he pedaled his bicycle from New York to Colorado where he -to ok a job designing re
search equipment for the molecular biology department at the University of Colorado: In 1974 Lutus began work as a NASA consultant in San Francisco. He moved to his hill at the base of Eight Dollar Mountain a year later. He designed computer programs that helped the Viking spacecraft fly to Mars, and he's the electronics engin eer who i nvented a "new kind of light ing for the space shuttle. His lifestyle (no' running water" "no telephones, no roads) may seem un conventional, but he says, "I do a lot better work up here." ...
SHE LEARNED AT HOME . . . From Ruth Stewart (KS): ... You might be interested to know that I was myself an "unschool er." My parents became mission aries in Colombia when I was six. There were five of us children at the time (and I was the second oldest, so you can see how close in age we were') and a few months after we arrived in Colombia we adopted an infant who was brought to our doorstep half-star ved . For our meager resources the Cal- " vert courses were too expensive, and my parents felt strongly about not wanting to place 'their work bef o re their children, hence they did not wish to send us away to boarding school as is a common practice for missionary families in remote areas. My mother had done some school teach ing in the States and before we moved she procured an assortment of new and used textbooks for first thr ough sixt h grade - English, arithmetic, science, geography, history, h ealth, writing. She would make out a list of daily assignments' for " each of u s, sometimes weeks in advance. We worked almost entirely on our own, coming to her only if we had questions we couldn 't find answers for by our selves. Almost immediately I moved up to my older sister's level , and that made things a bit easier for Mom be cause there was one fewer se t of assignments to make. Mom would check our written work and show us any errors she had found, but s he never graded. . My parents are both great read ers and we all inherited it . I loved doing my reading and grammar assign ments. When I was seven, one day I completed the third grade grammar book and my mother gave me the fourth grade one to look at. I glanced through it and r.ealized that it was all review of things I already knew . Mom took my word for it and the next day I st a rted the fifth grade book . It was that kind of flexibilit y that I particularly value in looking back . Our lessons didn't tak e us very long most days and then we were free to play. Needless to say, there was no television and we had few of the toys most modern American parents consider vital for a child's stimula tion. We made trains out of packing boxes and then set them on their sides and they were dollhouse s. We were given some puppets and we wrote our own puppet shows. We pored through children's crafts books to find things that we could make to amuse ourselves. We rode bikes, played in the park, participated in church activities, made friend s with neighborhood children. Most of all, we read and made up
stories~ My younger sister and I
wrote our own little books of poems,