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GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 24 Many exc i t ing t h i ng s have hap pened s i nc e the l a s t i s sue . As many of you know , on O c t . 28 B r i g i t t a and P e t e r Van Daam ( R I ) and the i r t h r e e c h i ldren , a n d Joy c e a n d D i c k K i nmont ( UT ) and t h e i r s even c h i ldren a p p e a r e d w i th me on the Donahue show . A l so on the s how were a numbe r o f C h i c ago a re a home s chool i ng f a m i l i e s who had managed to g e t in t h e s t ud i o aud i e nc e . A l l t he f a m i l i e s s poke e l oquent ly and conv i nc i ng l y about home s choo l i ng , and t he o l d e r c h i ldren , Andrea K inmont and J u l i a Van Damm , were t he s tronge s t a rgument o f a l l ; t h e y c e r t a i n l y d i s po s ed o f t h e n o t i on t ha t home s c hoo l e d c h i l dren woul d s omehow be out of p l a c e i n the " R e a l \.Jor l d . " What w i t h t h e show i t s e l f , and s pe nd i ng a n i gh t i n a b i g h o t e l , r i d i ng u p and down the g l a s s- s i d ed e l eva t ors , e a t ing mea l s in t h e room , and s e e i ng C h i cago a f t e r t h e s how , i t w a s an e x c i t ing and happy o c c a s i on f o r t he f a m i l i e s . A f te r t h e s how , I t a ped a one-hour rad i o show on WFMT w i th my o ld f r i end S tuds Te rke l , who s e pro g r am is heard a l l over the c ount ry . On S e p t . 30 , E i l een and Spenc e r T romb l y ( CT ) , the i r daugh t e r Sarah , a nd I appeared on the na t ion-w i d e TV s how "G. o od Morn i ng , Ame r i ca . " The for m a t o f the s how on l y gave us about s even or e i ght m i nut e s to s peak our p ie c e . Neve rthele s s , I heard l a t e r f rom m y publ i s hers t h a t our s egment c re a t e d t he l arge s t r e s ponse ( phone a nd m a i l ) t h a t "Good Morning , Amer i c a " ha s ever re c e i ved . Then on Nov . 3 , 1 2-year-o l d H o l l y H i l l e s t a d ( MN ) and I t a ped t he C BS-TV news s how , "Up To The M i nut e , " w i th t wo o t h e r gue s t s t a k i ng t h e o ppos i ng s id e and H a r r y R e a s oner a s h o s t . One o f o u r " opponent s , " former U . S . Comm i s s i oner of Educ a t i on Ern�st Boye r , s a i d t hat he t hough t t ha t fa m i l i e s who want e d to t each t he i r own c h i l d ren should be a l l owed to do s o - an i mportant c onc e s s i on . L a t e r that s ame week a w r i t e r a nd a phot ographer f rom P e o l e maga z i ne c ame to the o f f i c e t o o an i n t e rv i ew w i th me and , the next day, w i t h t he Mahe r fami l y in Wake f i e l d . The wri t e r , who was very s ympa the tic a nd we l l - informed , taped at lea s t e i ght hours o f t a l k , and f o r t h e maga zine ' s e d i tors t o boil a l l t h i s down to a P 7opl e - l ength s t ory w i l l- take s ome t 1 me . Meamvh i l e , t h e D e c . ' 8 1 i s sue o f Yankee magazine has a v e r y good a r t i cre about me b y my f r i end Me l A l l e n . One of the n i c e s t th ings i n i t i s a wonderful pho t o , t a ken by ano ther f r i end , Ed Braverman ( who t ook the c over pho t o for NEVER TOO LATE ) , o f s ix-year-old V i ta Wa l l ac e and m e pla y i ng v i o l i n and c e l l o . Along w i t h a l l t h i s I have done l i ve t e le phone rad i o i n t e rv i ews w i t h s t a t i ons i n Ok l ahoma C i ty , Wash i ng t on , Toronto , Grand R a p id s , Bos t on ,

San Franc i s c o , and De t ro i t . M o s t o f the s e s hows were e x c e l l e nt . The s e s hows g i ve o t h e r home s c ho o l organ i za t i ons a chance to make thems e l ve s known - f o r example , P a t Montgomery c a l l ed in to the De t ro i t show to t e l l about h e r Home B a s e d Educ a t i on Pro gram . There are t hous ands of t h e s e rad i o shows ar ound t he c ount ry ; l e t ' s use t hem as much a s we c a n . And we had a t h i rd v i s i t or t o t he o f f i c e f rom J a p a n - M i s s Kaoru C h i kamoc h i , a k i nd erga r t e n t ea c h e r . Wh i l e in the U . S . , she v i s i t ed many k ind erga r t en c l a s s e s a round t h e c ount ry ; s h e was surpr i s ed and d i s a ppo i n t e d t o f ind that so f e w c h i l d r e n looked happy . S h e s a id t h a t p r e s sure i n Ja pane s e s choo l s d i d not be g i n unt i l l a t e r , a round j un i o r h i gh schoo l . Most Japane s e f e e l s t rong l y t h a t i t i s v e r y i mpor tant t h a t l i t t l e c h i l d ren , whe th e r out o f s c h o o l or i n , be happy . I sa id t h a t I f eared that many Ame r i cans did not put a very h i gh v a l u e on the h a p p i ne s s G f c h i l d ren . A l l i n a l l , we h a d a mo s t p l e a s ant v i s i t . Busy t i me s ' - - - John Hol t COM I NG SC H ED UL E

J a n 2 7 , 1 9 8 2 : Kenne saw J un i o r C o l l ege , Mar i e t t a GA . 9 AM . Cont a c t Kath l e e n G i l d ea , 404-4 2 2 -8770 x 2 6 8 . Jan 28 ( t ent . ) : " Future o f Pub l ic Educa t i on , " Congr e s s i ona l C l e a r i nghou s e on t h e Future , Ame r i c a 2000 s e ri e s . 9 - 1 1 AM pane l . Rep . A l b e r t Gore , Cha i r , W a s h i ngton D C 2 0 5 1 5; 202 - 2 2 5 -3 1 53 . Feb 1 2 : W a t e r l oo Count y Teachers Pro f e s s i ona l Devel opment , K i t chener Valhalla I nn , Cambr i dge , Ont a r i o . Con tact Pame l a Cons t able , Glenv i e w Park Sec ondary S chool . Mar 13 : I nd i anapo l i s Counc i l o f P r e s c h o o l Coopera t i ve s , Ind i anapo l i s IN . Keyno t e add r e s s & worksho p s . Con t a c t Sa l ly Zwe i g , ConE . Cha i r . , 3 1 72 57 - 8 2 7 5 . To reg i s t er, s e nd SASE: 5163 N I l l i no i s , Ind i anapo l i s 4 6 2 0 8 . Mar 1 7- 2 6 : S t ockholm and s i x o t h e r Swed i s h c i t i e s . Arranged by Ake B y s t rom , L i nkop ing , Sweden . ( We a l s o hope t o arrange engagemen t s in Den mark , Eng l and , I c eland , and po s s i b l y other c ount r i es . ) OFF I C E H E L P

I ' d l i ke t o thank t h e v o l u n t e e r s who , by be ing w i l l ing t o t a c k l e more and more d i f f e rent jobs , have made i t pos s i b l e for John t o t ravel and wr i t e , Peggy to do the a c c ount s and t ra v e l a rrangemen t s , T i m to hand l e t he inc rea s i ng number o f subs and book order s , and me to g e t t h i s i s sue of t he magazine out on t i me . In par t i c u l ar : Racha e l Solem for be i ng w i l l i ng t o hand l e t h e hundreds o f info reque s t s tha t have come i n sinc e the Dona hue sh ow in O c t ober; Wanda Rezac and Mary Mahe r for t y ping; Sco t t Layson , Dawn Reger , and Lynn Kapplow for word pcocess ing; Conn i e B e rnhardt and Reba Karban for sort i ng ma i l ; and a l l t he o t h e rs who have hel ped in t he o f f i c e or a t home . As the work l oad i n the o f f i c e c on t i nu e s to grow, we have to d e p end more and more on vo l un teer s , and I am amazed and d e e p l y gra t e fu l t o f i nd so many p e op l e w i l l i ng t o h e l p . I want to apologize for one job that has fa l l en t h r ough the c racks a s the work p i l e s up - ans w e r i ng mai l . We ' ve been a b l e t o handle "bus i n e s s " let t e r s promptl y , b u L t h o s e o f you who s e nd beau t i fu l , p e r s ona l , newsy l e t t e r s , or who have sent us a r t i -

c l e s , or w h o h a v e a sked us que s t i ons , m a y be wond e r i ng whe th e r we ever got them . Things have been so bus y l a t e l y t h a t t h e r e s i m p l y h a s n ' t been t ime t o a cknow l edge e a c h l e t t e r , t hough I w i s h we c o ul d . We' l l keep look i ng for be t t e r wa y s t o do the ma i l ; mean w h i le, c an I w i pe t he s l a t e c l e a n by one b i g THANK YOU t o eve ryone who has w r i t t en u s ? W e l ove heari ng f rom you ' Thanks a l s o t o a l l of you who enc l o s e . s e l f-add r e s s ed s t amped env e l op e s when y o u expe c t a reply - that doe s i ndeed save us t ime and mone y . Ano t h e r way you c a n save us t ime i s t o t e l l u s when you w r i t e wh e t h e r i t ' s OK t o p r i nt a n y pa r t o f y o u r l e t t e r i n GWS , and whe t h e r or not we should i nc l ud e your name w i th t he s t ory . F i n a l l y , i f anyone c o u l d c ons i der com i ng t o B o s t on f o r a p e r i od o f t i me - s a y , 2-3 weeks - t o vo l un t e e r i n the o f f i c e , p l e a s e l e t us know . You c ould s ta y w i t h a s t a f f member or GWS reade r i n t h e a r e a , and we wou l d be more t h a n happy t o s how y o u how t o do t h e v a r i ous o f f i c e proc edure s . Th i s o f f er· i s open t o anyone o l d enough t o b e r e s pons i b l e f o r t rave l l ing and t ak i ng c a r e o f h i m/ he r s e l f . ( Good t y p i s t s e spe c ia l ly welcome . ) --- Donna R i choux E NJ OY I NG P U BL IC I TY

Tho s e o f you who saw t he r e c e n t Donahue show m a y remember t he energe t i c woman near t h e f ront o f the aud i ence who shared h e r ent hus i a sm about home-s choo l i ng - that was Sue McG a r t l and ( I L ) , who w a s t h e re w i t h h e r h u s band Mark ( GW S #2 1 ) and c h i ld ren Dawn and Nathan . A f t e r t h e s how , Mark w r o t e us : . . . Be fore g o i ng to C h i cago .1 phoned t h e l o c a l supe r i nt endent t o l e t h i m know a bout t h e program , a s o u r po l i c y h a s a l ways b e e n t o a v o i d s urp r i se s . I i nqu i r ed i f h e had r e c e i ved any nega t ive f eedback from anyone i n the one and a hal f y e a r s we have been home educ a t i ng . He r e s pond ed that we have been so l ow-key t ha t proba b l y very f e w peop l e knew about us . Howeve r , the s i tuat i on i s chang i ng rapi dly s i nc e t he show, as many saw us on TV , two newspa pe rs have a s ked t o do s t o r i e s , and the show w i l l be broadc a s t again in our t own Nov . 18 on a d i f fe rent channe l . Of a l l the people who have told us they s a w us on TV , none has been nega t i ve , c o n t r a r y t o aud i ence r e s ponse during the s how . Wha t l l i ke bes t so f a r i s the a t t i tude of the p r i nc i p a l and super int endent , whi ch is "Loca l fa m i l v mak e s t h e b i g t i me . " Far f rom be i ng threatened , t h e y a re e n j oy i ng our exer c i s e i n c oope rat i on between the s c hool and our fami l y . . . ·'V I CTORY' V I CTORY

A reader sent t h i s le t t er from t he C a t ho l i c c o r r e s pond ence s choo l OUR LADY OF VICTORY ! PO Box 1 181 . M i s s i on H i l l s CA 9 1 14 5 ) : . . . The s t a t e of Oh i o h a s been a t ough s t a t e in wh i ch to e s t a bl i sh a pri v a t e s c hoo l , much l e s s a corres pon dence program . We a re p l ea s ed to announc e t h a t two fami l ies i n the Home S tudy Program of Our Lndv o[ V i c t ory School have i n s i s t ed on Lhe i r God-g1ven r i gh t s t o educate t h e i r ch i l dren a t home, AND THEY WON! . . . In Apri l , t wo otOUi: pa ren t s

i n Nor t h f i eld , Oh i o , w e n t t o c o u r t a nd proved t o t h e judge t h a t they were r i ght i n kee p i ng the i r s on a t home . I n a dd i t i o n , they c onv i nc e d the j udge that their s on was ge t t i ng a b e t t er educ a t i on t h rough our Home S tudy P rogram than he c o u l d ge t in t he l o c a l publ i c s choo l . W i th i n a c ouple cf weeks o f that g r e a t c ourt v i ctory , one o f our fam i l i e s i n Warren , Oh i o , w a s t old b y the local supe r i nt endent t h a t t h e i r son a nd daugh t e r had to a t t end the l oc al publ i c s chool . Jus t p r i o r t o g o i n g t o c our t , tHat o f f i c i a l revi ewed our le s s on plans and h e n o w a c c ep t s o u r pro gram i n his area . . . A L LY I N LOUI S I A N A

Woody J e nk i n s , the member o f the Loui s i ana House of Repre s e n t a t i v e s w h o s ponsored the leg i s l a t i o n mak i ng i t e a s i e r t o ca ll one ' s home a pr i v a t e s chool ( GWS # 1 8 ) , wrote t o home s choole r s in the s t a t e : . . . S in c e the p a s sage of Ac t 828 , nearly 200 new p r i v a t e s chools have been e s t abti shed in Lou i s i ana . The la rge s t of t h e s e schools has an en r o l lment approac h i ng 1 , 000 . But some have an enrollment of only one pup i l ! . . . Some pare n t s who wan t ed t o p a r t i c i pa t e i n a home s tudy program r e a l i zed t ha t t h e regula t i o n s on home s tudy ado p t e d by t h e s t a t e Board of Eleme n t a ry and· S e c ondary Educ a t i on ( BES E ) were fa r , f a r more r e s t r i c t i ve t han perm i t t ed by A c t 828 . . . BESE ha s a bsolut e l y no l�ga l author i ty do do what i t ha s -acne- through i t s rule making powe r s - c o n t rol t e a c h i ng m a t e r i a l s , r e s t r i c� who may prov ide i ns t ruc t i on , and requ i re pe r i od i c t e s t ing o f pup i l s engaged i� home s tudy programs . As a r e s u l t , those paren t s who d e s i red t o be free o f reg ula t i o n by BESE and were aware o f t heir opt i ons under A c t 828 s i mply s t a r t ed p r i va t e schoo l s in t heir own home s . At the urg i ng o f a par en t , I reque s t ed an A t t o rney Genera l ' s o p i n i on on the que s t ion o f whe ther i t i s , i n fa c t , legal under A c t 828 to e s tab l i sh a p r i vate s c hool w i t h on l y one s tuden t a nd w i t h the school loca t ed i n the s t udent ' s home . As expe c t ed , on Sept . 22 , 1981 , the A t t orney Gener al r u l e d t ha t such a s c hool is legal ly a "sc hool"- for purpo s e s otc ompl i a nce w i th t h e c ompul sory a t t endance law . . . . Dur i ng the 1 981 se s s i o n o f t he Lou i s i ana leg i slature, a b i �l w a s i n t roduced t o repe a l mos t o f A c t 828 , r e s t ore regula t i on of p r i v a t e s choo l s i n Lou i s iana , and abol i s h t h e autho r i z a t i o n o f home s t udy . Th i s b i l l had t he endo r s ement of all 64 pa r i sh s u pe r i n t endent s o f sc hools in Loui s i a na . Why ? It ' s r e a l ly not d i f f i c ult to unde r s t a nd . The rea son s ome publ i c e duca tors would l i ke t o regula t e and e ven de s t roy p r i v a t e s c hoo l s and home e duca t�on programs i s , qu i t e s i mply , �oney! P a r i s h sc hool boa rds rec e i ve more than $ 1 , 000 per year f rom the State of Lou i s i ana for e ach c h i ld a c tually enrolled i n their publ i c s chools . . . Here i n Ea s t B a t on Rouge Pari sh , where more than 4 , 000 s tu den t s l e f t the publ i c s c hools t h i s y ear , t h e loc a l s chool board s hould lose $ 4 m ill i on i n s t a t e funds . . . I w a s a b l e t o k ill t h e le g i sla t i on to repeal Act 828 du r i n g the 1 981 s e s s ion . However , I expe c t t he p ublic educ a t i on e s t a bl i s hment t o make a very s t rong e f fort t o repeal A c t 828 dur i n g the 1 9 82 s e s s i on . . .

The re i s really only one way t o pres e rve t h e legal r i ght s w h i c h you have acqu i red w i t h the p a s sage of A c t 828 . Qui t e s imply , y o u mus t seek out your nat ural a ll i e s - o t he r pare n t s who educa t e the i r c h i ldren a t home and work to deve l op an e ffec t i ve organ i z a t i o n c a pab l e of lobby i ng i n the le g i s lature . . . A t pre s en t , there a re 66 families i n the s ta t e who have been approved for home s tudy by BES E . In a dd i t i on , there are many o t h e r s who h a v e e s t a b l i shed p r i v a t e s chools i n t he i r home s . Thi s le t te r i s b e i n g s ent t o everyone I c a n loc a t e i n tho s e t wo groups . . . . I am e s pec i al l y i n t e r e s t e d i n know i n g whether you would b e w ill i ng to j o i n a new organ i za t i on wh i ch I am hopi n g we can put together for t he purpose o f promo t i n g home s t udy and home s c hoo l s r i n Lou i s i ana ] . The name of t h i s organ i za t i o n woul d be PARENTS FOR HOME EDUCAT ION . . . [ Woody J enk i n s ' addr e s s i s l Ame r i c a n Pl , B a t on Rouge LA �082 5 ; phone 504-383 -6226 or 3 57 - 9674 .] TEAC H E R PROTECTI ON BILL

Ellen Loege r i ng ( MN ) wrote: . . . Here i s a copy o f House F ile 1 4 5 9 pre s en t l y be fore the Educ a t i on Comm i t t ee i n t he M i nn . House of Repre s e nt a t i ve s . This b i ll w a s w r i t t e n in the Dep t . of Educ a t i on . . . The House w i l l c onvene J a n . 1 2 , 1982 , and we need oppo s i t i on t o t h i s b i l l . . . We a sked El l e n i f s he c ould t ell GWS readers i n the D i r e c t ory about t he leg i sla t i o n . John also wrote t h e follow i ng : . . . The i n t en t o f t h e a c t i s cle a r - t o make i t i l l egal f o r anyone to t each ch ildren e x c e p t c e r t i f i ed t e a c he r s , and so t o w i pe out v i r tual ly all home s c hools and p r i v a t e r e l i g i ous schools w i t h i n the s t a t e . Th i s i s , i n short , a Job Pro t e c t i on A c t . - Reade r s s hould wr i t e to the Cha i rman a nd as many membe r s a s po s s i b l e o f the House Comm i t t e e o n Educa t i on , urg i ng them not t o report out the b i l l . I t wou l d probably be a good idea to po i n t out t h a t a s i m i l a r law was s t ruck down by the c our t s in Ken tucky '(see GWS #12 , 1 5 ) , on the grounds t ha t the s ta t e could produc e no ev i dence t h a t c e r t i f i ed t eachers c ould t e a c h be t t er than unc e r t i f i e d , and there fore could n o t s how a need for t ea c h e r c e r t i fic a t i on c ompel l ing enough t o jus t i f y the i r r e s t r i c t i ng in t h i s way t h e r i ght of paren t s t o have the i r c h i l d ren taugh t a s t hey w i shed . I t m i ght also be u s e ful to send to members of the Educa t i on Comm i t t e e and o t h e r s a c o p y o f t h e s t a t ement o n the Con s t i t ut i onal po s i t i on on home s choo l i ng that I · prepared for a r e c e n t mee t i n g a t the M a s s achus e t t s l e g i s la t ure . [ See t h i s i s sue; c o p i e s o f full s t a t ement ava i l a ble he re for $2 ] . Also , t r y t o b r i n g these m a t t e r s t o t he a t t ent i on o f a s many newspaper edi t o r s a nd TV and rad i o c ommen t a tors a s po s s i b l e . Point out t h a t t h i s bill not on l y i n f r i nge s on t h e Cons t i tu t ion a l r i gh t s of paren t s , but w i l l also burden t he already ove rloaded cour t s of the s t a t e w�t h a f l ood o f c a se s , many or m o s t o f wh i c h the s t a t e will los e . Be sure , too , to wri t e the Gover nor about t h i s . One reader told us earl i e r , when t h i s b i ll w a s f i r s t be ing d i s c u s sed , that t h e Governor had i nd i c a t ed that i f it were pas sed he

would v e t o i t . To wha tever e x t ent thi s may be t rue , he should know about po pular oppo s i t i on t o t h i s b i ll . Ple a s e l e t us know what r e s pon ses you g e t f rom leg i sla t ors , med i a people , and so on . Home and p r i v a t e schoole r s have blocked s im i la r b i l l s i n a number o f o t h e r s t a t e s , and w i t h plen t y of work and a l i t t l e luck s ho u l d be a b l e to do s o in M i nn e s o t a , w h i c h i n m a t t e r s o f personal l i b e r t y has a lways b e e n one o f o u r more e n l i gh t ened s t a t e s (Ano t h e r p o i n t wor t h mak i ng ) . . . KA NSAS G RO U P

From Darlene J . Ve rmeulen , 320 1 Berry Rd , Kan s a s C i t y KS 6 6 1 06 ; 9 1 3722-2386 : . . . We have a Kans a s / M i s souri chapter of HOME EDUCATORS NAT I ONAL ASSO C I �T I ON , wh i ch is a l i ve and wel l , and we n e e d more new p e o p l e t o c ome and part i c i p a t e i n ac t i v i E i e s , . p l us b r i ng new ideas and re sourc e s t o our group . Our H . E . N . i s s po n s o r i ng a Na t i on a l Workshop i n Home Educa t i on , March 26-27 1 982 , and we w i l l be hav i ng Dr . Raymond Moore of t he Hew i t t R e s e a r c h C e n t e r f o r a s pe aker o n March 26 , · and· S i s t er Mon i c a Fol t z e r o f S . U . A . Phon i c s Program fame a s our S a t urda y , March 27t h s pe aker . . . The lady to c o n t a c t r e g a rd i ng reg i s t r a t i on i s Delo r i s F i t zpa t r i ck , Rt l Box 278 , I ndependenc e MO 6 4 0 5 0 ; 8 1 6 -7 9 6 6229 . . . . We would l ike t o make a c all f o r all Kan s a s people i nt e r e s t e d i n do i ng . s ome t h i n g about _he l p i ng t o c hange the laws i n K a n s a s t o a more favorabl e pos i t i on , t o ple a s e c on t a c t me . W e a r e p r e s e n t l y work i ng·w i th the Eagle Fo rum and have found s everal s t a t e l e g i sla to r s who are w i ll i ng t o i n t roduce home - s c hoo l i ng b ills . . . We a r e hoping t o ge t hea r i ng s on t he s ub j e c t set up for next March . . . P r e s e n t ly the l aw s a re s uch t h a t t h e home has t o be i n s pe c t e d by -bo t h t h e c ount y h e a l t h depa r t me n t a n d f i re dep a r t me n t , and you mus t become a " school" and take in at l e a s t one o t h e r s t udent bes i d e s your own c h i ld ren . . . Our o t h e r c o - c h a i rman who i s " s pe a rhead i ng" M i s s ouri i s S aralee Rhoads; Rt l Box 7 5 , S i bley MO 64088 ; 8 1 6 -24 9 - 9 2 3 5 . . . N EWS FROM A L L OV E R

Lau r i e H u f fman o f t he UTAH HOME EDUCAT I O N ASSOC I A T I ON phoned to l e t us know o f a m i s take i n GWS #23 . W.e r e p r i n t ed a newspaper a r t ic le f r om P r i c e , U t a h , t h a t quoted S t ephen S t one a s s a y ing Utah law doe s not requi r e permi s s i o n f rom local schoo l boards t o f o rm home s chools . Laur i e s a i d t h a t i s n o t t rue ; " U t ah d i s t r i c t s a re r e a s ona b l e and c oopera t ive , " she s a y s , " bu t t hey do have j ur i sdi c t i on over home s chool s . S t e phen S t one w r o t e t h a t s t a t ement four o r f ive years ago , and didn ' t fully know the law a t that t ime . " W h i le we're do i ng correc t i ons Ed W i l helm ( VA ) j u s t t old us t h a t con t ra r y t o t h e c h a r t we repr i n t ed i n GWS #23 , the c ompulsory s chool i ng age in V i rg in i a i s 6 . The Oc tober i s sue o f t h e H . O . U . S . E Door newsle t t e r say s , "Good news for Ch�c ago re side n t s - the r e p o r t e r Rosal i nd Ros s i , who did the Ch i c ago Sun-T i m e s a r t i c l e on home s c hool i n g , t alked to Supe r i n t endent Dr . Ruth Love a bout home school i ng . GROW I NG W I THOUT SCHOO L I NG #24

Dr . Love s a i d parents have the c ho i c e t o t each t h e i r c h i l d ren a t home . She t h i nks it i s a m i s t a k e t o do s o , but they have the cho i c e ' " Mary B e rgman o f the NAT I ONAL A SSOC I AT I ON OF HOME EDUCATORS ( Rt 3 Box 324-B , Ga l l a t i n MO 64640 ) s e n t us i n fo on the ma t e r i a l she now o f f e r s : a c a s s e tte " I nt roduc t ion t o Home Edu c a t i on , " $ 7 . 9 5 ; c a s s e t t e " Sen s i t i v i t y / L i t e ra ture , " $7 . 9 5 ; " L i f e Cur r i cu l um G u i d e , " $8 . 9 5 ; and "Lega l Pape r s a nd Ta pe s " o n how t o l ega l l y e s tab l i sh a s chool i n your home , $ 3 5 . She s ay s if you ment ion GWS w i th your orde r, you can r e c e ive a 20% d i scount . A reader sent us t h e New York Publ i c L i bra ry's " Ea r l y Ch i l dhood R e sourc e and I nforma t i on Cent e r " b u l l e t i n , wh i c h i n c l uded i n i t s l i s t o f programs , " Home S c hoo l i n g : A Grow i ng I s sue for Pare n t s and Teache r s , " w i th E l i n McCoy , "Author and Educ a t o r . " We h o pe s omeone w i l l l e t us know more a bout t h i s . - DR PAT S B U SY

P a t Montgomer y ( Mil w r i t e s : . . . I gave the Oc tober addre s s t o t he HOUSE group i n Chi c ago l a s t w e e k on m y s w i ng back f rom L o s Ange l e s where I d id the " A l i v e and We l l" show on USA Ne t work ( no broadc a s t d a t e s y e t . ) The i n t e rv i ewer d i d a s·e r i e s o f t en shows , t e n m inut e s l ong e ach , t o b e s hown e a c h d a y f o r t wo weeks . . . I t prom i s e s t o be a much more e n l i g h t en i ng s e r i e s than any o t h e r I ' ve been i nvolved i n . . . . As o f O c tober ' 81 , we have 60 f a m i l ie s enro l l e d i n HOME BASED EDUCA T ION PROGRAM - 1 36 ch i l d r e n a l t oge th er - in 35 s t a t e s . . . HBEP i s becoming t h e t rue l i f e s av e r , f inanc i a l l y , for C l on l a r a Schoo l . The NCACS ( Na t i on a l Coa l i t i on for A l t e rna t ive Communi t y Schoo l s ) Board of D ir e c t o r s me t O c t ob e r 17 and p l anned the i r s pr i ng c o n f e r e n c e for t he m i dd l e o f Apr i l 1 982 i n Chi c ago . . . I am always cons c i ous o f your warni ngs about d e vo t i n g too much a dm i n i s t r a t ive t ime to organ i za t ions a nd I u s e t h i s a s my gui d i ng l i gh t i n d eal i n g w i t h both NCACS and HBEP . . . The NCACS 1 98 1 -82 d i r e c t ory o f a l t erna t i ve schoo l s , " T h e r e Ough t t o B e Free Cho i c e , " i s n o w ava i l ab l e ( Cl on l a ra Publ i ca t ions , 1 289 Jewe t t S t , Ann Arbor M I 48104 ; $ 5 ) . . . ·

SUCCESS B EF O R E J U DG E

More f rom B renda Cowe l l i n Oh i o ( "Lea r n i ng W i t h H e r Son , " GWS #2. 3 ) : . . . We have had a v�ry t ry i ng y e ar a s my ex-husband f i l e d for a ch ange in t h e c u s t ody o f our son b a s ed pr i ma r i l y on t h e f a c t t h a t Ka l e had n o t a t t ended s c h o o l l a s t yea r . My e x-husband had o r i g in a l l y agreed t o Ka le's non-s choo l i ng but l a t e r c hanged h i s m i nd . A t t h e h e a r i ng , he a t t empted t o pr ove t h a t I a m an i n c ompe t e n t t each er and mo t he r . P l u s h e t e s t i f i ed t ha t Ka l e was n o t grow i n g emo t i ona l l y be c au s e he had l i t t l e i n t e ra c t i on w i th h i s p e e r s as c h i l d ren do i n s chool . Du r i ng the h e a r i ng , two p s yc h o l o g i cal report s w e r e p r e s e n t e d . B o t h p o i n t ed o u t how bri ght a n d c ompe t e n t our son i s a nd ne i ther found s i gns o f Ka l e having a n y a bnorma l p s ycho l o g i c a l d i s t urban c e s or o f be i ng emo t i on a l l y i mma t ure for h i s age . My ex husband's t e s t i mony a l s o po i n t ed out how we l l - l iked K a l e i s by h i s ne i gh borhood f r i ends a n d t ha t t h e y f reGROW I NG W I THOUT SCHOOL I NG #24

que n t l y p l ay t o g e t h e r dur i ng Ka l e ' s v i s i t s w i th h i s dad . The j udge h i m s e l f was i mpre s s e d w i t h K a l e a s h e a s ked Ka l e t o r e a d t o h i m o u t o f o n e o j h i s l aw books . H e d i d . And q u i t e we l l , too ' ( Ka l e i s 8 . ) T h e j udge ' s c ommen t was t h a t he d idn't s e e why there wa s a l l t h i s fus s a bout Ka l e n o t be i ng i n s choo l . No c u s t ody change was made , no r e c om menda t i on was g i ven c onc e r n i ng Ka l e ' s future educ a t i on , and I f e e l exuber ant . . . A UTAH FAMI LY

From Donna Brock ( UT ) : ug . . . We t ook our c h i l dren out o pu i c s c hoo l s i n March o f t h i s y ear . W e h a v e f o u r boy s , age s 1 3 , 1 0 , 7 , and 5 . We have f e l t very much a l one and i s o l a t e d unt i l y e s t er d a y when w e a t t e nded a c onvent i on o f home - s c h oo l e r s i n S a l t Lake C i t y wher e Mr . Hol t w a s t h e gue s t s peaker [ GW S #23 ] . We now f e e l s o much more sure of our s e l ve s and e nc ouraged . Our t h r e e o l d e s t sons were i n publi c schoo l s i n F l o r i d a be fore we move d out here , and we were very happy w i th the educ a t ion t h e y were r e c e i v ing . It w a s t he k i nd o f school whe r e a l l t h e t h i r d graders weren't l umped i n a r oom t o g e t he r - t he y m i gh t have s i x t h grade r e a d e r s and second grade m a t h . . . Our k i d s went s k i p p i n g out t h e door t o s c h o o l every morn i ng , c ame �orne i n the a f t e rnoon exc i t ed and anx ious t o share t h e i r d a y a t s chool w i th u s . . . . Then we moved t o an a r e a whe re s chool i s s omewhere you go t o p l a y b al l unt i l you ' re o l d enough t o g o t· o work i n t h e c oa l m i ne s . Our boy s went t hr ough one e n t ire school year·and a lmos t t h rough a s e c ond be fore we heard about home schoo l s . I t w a s t h e mos t awful t i me i n the i r young 1 i ve s . . . Our f ive y e a r o l d wou l d have s t a r t e d k i ndergar t en t h i s c om i ng term and has t a lked about it and l ooked forward t o i t for a whol e year . S o , even a f t e r a l l t h e prob l ems h i s brot h e r s had i n s choo l , I t ook h i m t o r eg i s t e r f o r k i nd e rgar t e n . H e me t the t ea c h e r s , v i s i ted the rooms , s a w t he book s t h e y were u�ing , and wh i s pered i n my ear , " I f i t' s a l l r i gh t w i th you , I ' l l j u s t keep go i n g t o our home school . " Smar t k id! O f course , the pr i nc i pa l t o l d me that my son d i dn't want to go to k i n derga r t en b e c a u s e he was j u s t l ike other k i d s that a ge . " He ' l l c ry and hang on t o your s k i r t s t he f i r s t few days you l e ave him a t schoo l , but a f t e r t ha t he ' l l be jus t f i ne . " My s on who l ov e s for Mom to g o out o f town w i th D a d f o r a coup l e o f d a y s s o he c a n go s t a y w i th f r i end s , and i s s o b u s y p l a y i ng when we l e ave h i m t h a t he c an ' t t a k e t ime o u t t o t e l l u s goodbye , and when w e p i ck h i m up wond e r s why we ' re back s o s oon , i s g o i n g t o hang on�o my s k i r t s and c r y ? I gue s s I have a m a l a d j u s t e d f ive y e a r - o l d . He ' s v e r y comfo r t a b l e w i th o t h e r p e o p l e and o t h e r surround i ng s . . . . For our f a m i l y , t e a c h i n g au� own c h i ldren f ee l s r i ght . I don ' t want t o pus h i t on someone e l s e be c a u s e for them i t m ight not f i t . I don ' t work out s i de o f the home , and w i th my - husband ' s work we c a n s pend a l o t o f t ime t og e t h e r as a f a m i l y . I know t ha t for a l o t o f f a m i l i e s t h i s wou l d b e i mpos s i b l e . But f o r u s i t i s poss i b l e and i t fee l s good . . .

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Aug. 29 : . . . When a repor t e r i n t e r v i ewed my hus band about a s e c ur-

i ty job he wa s go i ng to be d o i n g for t h e c i t y, we jus t had to g e t a p l ug in about home s chool . She wa s i n t e r e s t e d and made an appo i n tment t o c ome back and t a l k t o us a bout i t . W e s e n t h e r i n s e v e ral d i fferent d i re c t ions a nd t h e e n c l o s e d news pa per s e r i e s i s the resu l t . I c a l l e d Reed Benson a t B r i gham Young Univer s i t y about c o m i ng down here and t a l k ing a bout h i s d i s s e r t a t ion "The Deve l opment o f a Home S choo l " . . . We have s en t s pe cia l i nv i t a t ions t o a t t end t he m e e t i ng t o s chool p r i nc i pa l s , s c h o o l board mem b e r s , mayors , c ounc i l p e op l e , e t c . I ' l l l e t you know how i t goes . P l e a s e f e e l f r e e t o u s e anyt h i ng f rom me i n GWS . We f e e l v e r y st ron g l y about home schoo l , and w i l l do any t h i n g we can t o be o f h e l p t o o th e r s w h o f e e l a s we d o . W e a r e i n c o n s t ant t ouch w i t h Ken and Laur i e Huf fman in S a l t Lake C i t y who a r e organ i z i n g the U tah Home Educ a t i on A s s o c i a t i on lGWS #23 ] , ' and we w i l l be h e a d i ng the group in our area of the s t a t e . . . S ept . 6 : I had a very i n t ere s t i n g commen t made t o m e t h i s mor n i n g about Dan i e l , my f i ve-year-o l d . . . H i s Sunday S c hool t each e r s a id s h e w a s c oncerned a b o u t h i m . She was a f ra id t h a t he w a s n ' t ge t t i n g t h e soc i a l i za t ion he needed w i t h us kee p i ng him at home rather t han h a v i ng him go to s choo l w i th o t h e r c h i l d r e n h i s a ge . H e r r e a s on for concern was that Dan i e l is very qui e t i n c l a s s and. she doesn ' t have t h e d i s c i p l i n e probl ems w i th him that s he h a s w i t h the r e s t o f t h e c l a s s ' I n fa c t , s h e s a id s he u s ua l l y ha s h i m s i t be tween t h e two wors t one s t o keep them s e p a r a t ed! She d o e s n't f e e l i t ' s norma l for a boy h i s age t o a c t t h a t w a y . I gue s s s h e wou l d f e e l be t t e r about h i m s o c i a l l y i f h e were l oud and i l l -manne red . And then i n the s ame b r e a t h s h e t e l l s me t h a t Dan i e l i s the o n l y c h i l d i n t h e c l a s s s h e c a n c a l l on t o g ive a n open i ng or c l o s i ng p r a y e r t h a t she d o e s n ' t have t o h e l p and t e l l wha t t o s a y . I c an ' t und e r s t and a t ea c h e r t h a t worr i e s about a c h i ld who i s w e l l-mannered a nd behave s a s he' s been t augh t t o i n church . Why doe s n't she go to the o t h e r paren t s a n d t e l l them she's conce rned a bout t he i r c h i l d r e n ? . . . Se t . 2 1 : Thi s pa s t week I r e c e i ve all my back i s su e s of GWS . I c o u l d hard l y wa i t to d i g i n . W e l l , t h e next d a y I s t ar t e d havi ng s ome p�o b l e m s w i th a kidney i n f e c t i on , s o I ' ve s pe n t m o s t o f t h e past jNeek,. i n bed . I ' ve h a d l o t s o f t i me t o read and pond e r . We have a k i ng-s i zed wa t e r bed , and i t ' s a wond e r f u l p l a c e for f am i l y d i s cu s s i ons . A l l four boys p i l e i n w i th m e ( and u s ua l l y Dad ) , and we t a l k and l augh and have a wond e r f u l l e a r n i n g t i me . T h e t wo younge s t , Jared ( 7 ) a nd D an i e l ( 5 ) , have he l ped t o " k e e p Mommy happy and make her f e e l be t t e r " by l y i ng i n bed w i t h me and r e a d i ng me s t or i e s . Lynn ( 1 3 ) , who l ov e s t o c ook , h a s been a t t h e h e i ght o f h i s g l ory . H e m a d e an a pp l e p i e f rom s c ra t ch , c rus t and a l l , for Sunday d i nne r , and he made t h r e e l oaves o f banana nut bread t ha t have about made me d e c i d e that won ' t be� s pe c i a l t y ·any more . R i chard ( 1 0 ) , a l ong w i th Dan i e l , h a s taken i t upon h im s e l f to be sure I con sume enough l i quids . I t s e ems l ik e every f ive m i nu t e s he or Dan i e l i s wa l k i ng t h rough t h e be droom door w i th a g l a s s o f some t h i n g f o r me t o d r i nk . And i f I don ' t d r i nk every drop , boy , do I ge t t o l d about i t!

Al l t h e boy s have t _ a ken on e x t ra r e spons i b i l i t i e s to h e l p my hus band keep the hou s e in o rde r , and t hey ' ve h a d a ba l l do i n g t h e groc ery s ho p p i n g w i t hout Mom a l ong . I t ' s rea l l y been a pret t y good wee k . , . . S i nce t h e a r t i c l e s i n our l ocal p a p e r a bout us t ea c h i ng our c h i l dren at home , a lot o f p e o p l e r ecognize us when we ' re o u t somewhere during "s chool" hour s . People a p proach us i n the grocery s t o r e , r e s tau r a n t s , e t c . , and they ' re v e r y a nx i ous t o t a l k t o us and f i nd o u t a bout wh a t we ' re do i n g . Most o f t h e i r c ommen t s a re o f a v e r y p o s i t i v e nature . . . We ' re v e r y mat t e r - o f - fac t a bout what we ' re d o i n g ; i f someone d o e s n ' t agree w i t h us t h a t ' s f i n e , but we don ' t back down . We have a v e r y un-s choo l - l i ke s choo l . We go up in t h e moun t a i n s and r i de our mo t o r c y c l e . My husband (who g o t h i s e x pe r t p i n f o r ma rksma n sh i p wh en h e w a s a p o l i c eman ) takes t h e b o y s out t o s hoot guns - t h i s a l s o i n c ludes ?a f e t y rul e s for hand l i n g t h em , c l earn i ng t hem prope r l y , e t c . . . W e go cam p i ng lmy favor i t e b e c a u s e t he guy s d o a l l t h e work wh i l e Mom relax e s) . We go to t h e 'c i r cus . We go to barbershop qua r t e t f e s t i va l s . We g o and l i s t�n to the s ymphony o r c h e s t ra . In " S en s i b l e Phon i c s , " GWS # 7 , you t a l k a bout vowe l s and cons onan t s a nd perha p s mak i ng t h e vowels one c o l o r and t h e consonant s another . s·ome t i me back I c u t 100 3 x 5" c a rds in half and began to wr i t e t h e l e t t e r s of t h e alphab e t o n t h em , t h e c onsona n t s one c olor , t he-vowe l s a nothe r . W i t h t h e ' mo s t f re�ue n t l y u s ed l e t t e r s I made s ev e r a l o f e a c h . I d i d one s e t tha t w a s a l l c a p i t al s . They ' r e u s e ful f o r a ll k i nds o f won derful game s . Dan i e l l i kes to s pr ead t hem out a l l over t h e t a b l e , g e t t he d i c t i onarj out ( h i s own ) , p i c k a word a t r andom , and t he n f i nd the l e t t e r s t o s pe l l i t . . . /',..fun one f o r t h e who l e fami l y i s f o r e ve ryone t o p i ck a l e t t e r at r a ndom , then we t r y t o put them t oge t h e r t o f orm a word . The mo s t f un is t ry i ng t o p r onounce s ome of the words . And ye s·, t hey know t h a t t he red one s a r e vowe l s a nd t h e blue o n e s are c onsonan t s , but none of us know wh y , so we don ' t worry a bout i t . W e j us t h a ve fun p l aying our game s . Ano t h e r of our favor i t e a c t i v i t i e s i s t o p l a y "Tr i om i noe s . " O n t h e b o x i t s a y s f o r a ge s 8 t o adult , but we ' ve alwa y s t ended to i gnore age s on g ame box e s . . . . We ' ve been p l ay i n g T r i om i noe s w i t h our c h i ldren s i n c e our s even - y e a r-old was t h r e e . Eve ryone i s r e spon s i ble f o r kee p i ng t he i r own s c ore . The younger boys l ove i t b ecau s e it ' s a game t hey c a n p l a y w i thout a n adul t h e l p i n g them . "Uno" i s a n o t h e r f a vo r i te f o r t h e s ame r e a s on . . . We l e arn h i story by readi ng b i o g r a ph i e s out l oud . W e usua l l y s prawl out a l l over the l i v ing room floor a nd t ake turns r e ad i n g . . . . In r e a d i ng GWS #10 I b e c ame v e ry i n t ere s t ed i n wha t a mo t h e r had wr i t t en about ba l k i ng at the idea of her son hav i n g a t oy g un to play w i t h [ s e e a l so GWS #12 , 2 l j . I know t h e r e a re a l o t o f p e o p l e w h o f e el t h i s w a y . I n our family ' i t ' s never been a p r ob l e m , but I c a n s e e how t h i s would be very cont rover s i a l . None of our boys have ever e x pr e s s ed much i n t e r e s t i n t oy gun s . . , maybe i t ' s b e c a u s e t hey ' ve a lways been e x p o s ed t o t he r e a l t h i ng . Hav i n g a f a t he r who w a s a p o l i c eman i n f l o r i d a a nd who w i l l sho r t l y b e do ing t h e same h e r e , they h a ve n o f a l s e i l lus i on s a bout guns and wha t t h e y are capab l e of do i nf': . . .

They ' re a l l p r e t t y good s ho t s , but t hey seem to have no de s i re wh at ever t o s hoot at a n y th i ng o t h e r t han c a n s . They love a n i ma l s of all kinds and t he t hought of hun t i ng is repul s i ve t o them . Ye t i f the t i me ever came t h a t they needed to u s e a gun for pur p o s e s of d e f e n s e , they would know how to u s e i t w i s e l y . . I gue s s I j u s t f e e l t h a t toy guns a r e i n t r i gu i n g be cause c h i l dren don ' t know what guns a re r e a l l y a l l a bout . They s e e t h e T V h e r o e s and t ry t o emul a t e all t h e n e a t t h i ng s they do . . . .

Sept . 30: Ou� boy s had a very nice e x pe r i en c e t oday . They a c com pan i ed my husband and me t o the j udge ' s chamb e r s t o see t he i r f a t h e r s worn i n as a pol ice o f ficer ( duri ng "school hours . " ) The judge was very cord i a l t o them - shook hands w i t h each o f t hem , asked name s , age s , i n t e re s t s , e t c . He a l s o ext ended a s pe c i al i nv i t a t i on to them t o a t t end court whenever t h e y l i ked . He s a i d t he c o u r troom would alwa y s b e open t o t hem . They me t s everal c i ty o f f i c i als t oday and I f e e l they made ·a very favorable impr e s s i on on everyone . . . RE- LEARN I NG I N DEPE N D E N C E

C a t h i EdtJard ( LA ) w r i t e s : . . . The f i r s t day of s c h o o l for our f am i l y as we l l as t h e pubL i c s ch o o l w a s j u s t four d a y s ago . School i S a big dea l i n t erms o f medi a hype , s ch o o l suppl i e s - t h e who l e buildup . . . Because Dan i e l has had t wo yea r s in publ i c s c hoo l , I t h i nk he may have got t en c a ught up i n t he hype and he began t o f e e l he m i g h t be m i s s i ng some t h i n g . H e w a s t h e k i nd o f s tu jent t e a c h e r s l i ke . He was c oope ra c i v e a nd obedi e n t . He was mo t i va t e d t o s tay o u t o f t rouble . Cons e quen t l y , h e w a s "rewarded" for h i s good beha v i o r . I ' ve wondered how he w i l l r e a c t not r e c e i ving t h o s e s t rokes f o r c on form i t y . The f ir s t day of s c h o o l r ig h t a f t e r breakfa s t , Dan i el s a id , "OK , Mom , s t a r t t ea c h i n g me . " I knew then t h a t our e x pe c t a t i on� were not j i b ing . He has v e r y s pe c i f i c i d e a s o f wha t s chool i s o r wha t h e t h i nks i t s hould be . O n weekends a nd during sum mer Dan i el does t h ings f r e e l y and on h i s own . But h i s not i on of wha t s ch o o l i n vo l v e s i s be i ng t o l d wh a t t o do . H e i s n o t c o n v i n c ed t h a t h i s week ends a nd h i s summe r t i me a r e fu l l o f l e a r n ing . I don ' t t h i nk h e f ee l s he ' s l ea r n ing a t home now . A c o u p l e o f t im e s dur i ng t h e f i r s t week h e k e p t say i ng t h a t he jus t d i dn ' t f e e l l ike h e was in s c hool . I t o l d h i m t h a t w a s b e c a u s e he wasn ' t i n s c hoo l . I ' m t r y i ng t o be pa t i ent w i t h h i m a nd s ha r e w i t h h i m s ome ways p e o p l e l e arn t h i ng s d i f fe r e n t f rom s chool ' s way . At t h e s ame t ime I f e l t l i ke he need e d , at l e a s t in t h e beg i nn i n g , more guidan c e than I had an t i c i p a t e d . S o f o r a c oup l e o f days I gave h im t h ings to do - work in workbooks , revi ew of a rithme t i c and v a r i ous a s s i gned tasks . We a l so did o t h e r t h i ng s i n c luding g a rden work , yoga , p lay i ng r e c o rds a nd game s . J a son , who has no p r e v i ous s chool i n f l uence , had no p r ob l em g o i ng on a bout h i s bus i n e s s a s usua l . B u t Dan i e l k e p t c om i ng to me to be t o l d what t o do . To b e hone s t , t h i s w a s beg i nn i ng t o under m i ne my conf idence a b i t . I w a s a f r a i d he ' d d e c ide t o go back t o s choo l . A f t e r a bout a week , howeve r , gave Dan i el some page s i n an a r i th me t i c workbook t o do . He c l e a r l y was

not i n t er e s t e d i n do ing i t . It w a s a s h o r t t i me lat er, a f t e r he c ompl e t e d one page , t hat he wen t t o t h e play room and went t o work on h i s own . He c o uld have gone i n t he r e and done a h e ads t and and I woul dn ' t have c a red . I w a s j u s t re l i eved t h a t he went a nd d i d s ome t h i ng on h i s own . As t i me goes by he i s do i n g more on h i s own . But he says he f ee l s l i ke he i s on a b i g h o l i d a y . He do e s not f e e l l i ke h e i s do ing any t h i ng w o r t hwh i l e i n t e rms o f "schoo l . " Ano t h e r t h i ng h e a sk s i s " how l ong be fore the k�ds w i l l be home f rom s c hoo l ? " Our boys a nd our ne i gh bors ' boy s p l a y t oge t h e r almo s t da i l y . What Dan i e l doe s n ' t re a l i ze i s t hat h e wouldn ' t g e t t o play w i t h them wh i l e a t s choo l . But I t h i nk he is ad jus t i ng t o n o t b e i ng a round k i ds a l l day long . T h i s a d j us tment p r oc e s s t hat we are g o i n g th rough h a s lowered my s e l f conf idence some . T h i s mor n i ng I got a ll t he back i s s u e s of GWS and s ta r t ed r e a d i ng t h e m a gai n . I t r e a lly he l ped . I f i rm l y b e l ieve t h a t _ home s c hoo l i n g is r i gh t for us but I 'm f i nd i ng t h a t I n e e d mo re support than I though t . Some t h i ng that up l i f t ed me was a s e c t i on i n GWS #1 i n wh i ch you t a l k about s o c i a l change . We t oo f e e l t h a t i n jus t a bout a l l a r e a s o f our l i fe, we are i n a m inor i t y . But t o put i n t o p r a c t i c e wh a t we b e l ieve , t o t e a c h o u r s o n s a t home , i s t o c ha l l enge not only a b i g and powe r f u l i n s � i tut i on , · b u t t h e b e l i e f s a n d f ee l i n g s o f.our f am i l y a nd f r i ends . . . [ From a l a t e r l e t t e r : ] A l t hough we are a l l s t i l l a d j us t i ng , I f e e l le s s anx i ous , much be t t e r a nd more c o n f ident t h an I d i d at t h e beg i nn i ng of t h e s c ho o l yea r . R e a s on s : ( l ) Dan i e l i s more i nvolved , s e t tled i n , and a c t i v e . He is b e c om i ng accus tomed t o n o t be ing c o n s t a n t l y t o ld wh a t t o do; ana 12 ) J a s on i s r eal l y e n j oy i ng t h e s i tua t i on and h a s b l o s somed , a t t e m p t ing t h i ng s a n d i n i t i a t i n g t h i ng s h e never d i d be fore . . . . NBC News i n t e r v i ewed us and f i l med our a c t i vi t i e s . They turned the f i l m over t o the "Tod a y " show . They have no idea when or i f i t w i l l be a i red . W e came a w a y f e e l i ng good a f t e rw a rds . The c rew was f r i end l y a nd open . . . B I KE STO R E

from I l l i no i s : . . . I t ' s been almo s t three years s i n c e the kids qu i t s chool . The f i r s t y e a r w e c ra s hed . W e bough t t h e Ca l v e r t home s tudy c o ur s e , but r e a l l y d i dn ' t u s e i t muc h . I n t o t h e s e c ond y e a r , w e s ta r t e d t h e f a m i ly bus i ne s s . We s ell and r e p a i r b i c yc l e s . We a l s o s e l l a l l a c c e s s or i e s a s s o c i a t ed w i th b i c y c l i ng . The k i d s a n d I manage t h e s t ore wh i l e D a d works h i s full - t i me job a s a c a rperit e r . (Unle ss you a r e v e r y r i c h , out s i de i ncome i s n e c e s s a r y t h e f i r s t y e a r s i n bus i n e s s . ) He h a s an a c t i v e r o l e i n t h e s t o r e even i n g s and weekends . Our 1 5 - y e a r - o l d son , w h o h a s t h e b ike know l e dge ( from books and o t h e r p l a c e s ) mana g e s t he r e p a i r de p a r tment , do ing a l l r e p a i r s ( t r a i n i n g dad ) , kee p ing s tock o f p a r t s and working w i th cus tome r s . Our 1 6- y e a r -ord daught e r i s t he f am i l y organi ze r , kee p s us clean a nd order l y , manage s the s tore , sell i n g and kee p i ng up w i t h t h e a c c e s s o r y i nven t ory . Mom ' s ( t hat ' s me! ) main j o b i s t o k e e p t h e o f f i c e g o i ng , book s , e t c . . . S ounds s im p l e? I t ' s not. But f:Dni.JTNf: \,/TTI-HlllT crunrll TMI': 11:?11

s omehow it all works ! We bui l t t hi s busin e s s t oge �her a nd we work i t t oge t he� . N o one t s l e ft in t h e d a r k about any t hing . W e a l l c an d o e a c h o t h e r ' s j o b , inc lu ding the kids being a b l e t o pay bil l s a nd run t he o f fic e . And me , fina l l y knowing bicy c l e s ' ( Boy , i s there a l ot t o know ' ) We a r e p r o f e s sion a l and proud o f what we have a c hieved . Our s t ore is the be s t s chool our chi l d ren c ould have . Considering all t h a t c omes w i t h running a succ e s s ful busi n e s s , they have los t nothing and gained a great d eal , a s we a l l have . . . ON WORK

Here are s ome of t he r e s po n s e s t o "Que s tions on Work , " 'GWS #22. Thanks t o everyone who h a s an swered , a nd if you haven ' t y e t , we ' re int e r e s ted i n hearing f rom you a t a n y time . From Marie Baker ( W I ) : . . . Dave has been a s e l f-empl oyed c arpe n t e r f o r about t hree year s . He finds i t far more s a t i s f ying than working for o t h e r peop l e , t hougb if h e had his c hoic e , he ' d r a t h e r be d e signing and making unusua l furni tur e . He l e f t a j o b a s exhibit d esign er in t he c i t y six years ago when we moved to the c ount ry . The job choi c e s here a r e v e r y limi t e d , which make s elf-empl oyment even more d e sirab l e . For t he pa s t three years we ' ve been hous e- s i t t ing f o r my parent s for six months every win t e r in a Chicago sub u r b whi le they go s out h . There are plen t y o f carpe n t ry jobs there s o he works pre t t y s t eadi l y during thi s per iod ; t hen during the six mon t h s in t he c ountry when t he jobs are usua lly more s c arce he can have more t ime to b e wit h S a rah , cut firewood , ga rden , work the fie l d s , fix the vehic l e s and e quipme n t , and c on tinue bui l ding our hous e . He has a l so done pain ting , e l e c t ri c a l work , mechani c al work , plumbing , c on c r e t e work , e t c . He o f t e n t ak e s Sarah ( 2 � ) with him wh en he goes to s ee and e s tima t e a job . Within a year h e h o p e s t o t a k e h e r along whi l e h e ' s doing the a c tua l l a bor , l e t ting h e r help in many sma ll ways . She ' s a lways been f a s cina t ed with a l l his t ools and a c tivitie s and loves to help in any way a l l owed . She o c c a siona l l y hau l s out her own t ool box o f s ma l l r e a l t ools and has Dave s how her how each is used . When peop l e a s k Dave how he learned c a rpent r y , he j u s t s a y s his f a ther .wa s a carpen t e r , which s eems to s a t i s f y them . Ac tually , he ' s l earned mo s t o f i t b y reading every t hing he ge t s his hands on plus a good degree o f c ommon s e ns e . I t wou l d be pos sible f o r ot her GWS readers to l earn f rom Dave t hrough visiting and wat ching or he l p ing , as long as his work wasn ' t s l owed down t oo much by this . . . K a t h y Johnson ( NJ ) wri t e s : . . . About a y e a r a g o I w a s l ook ing through the h e l p wanted ads of my l o c a l pape r . I noticed an ad s ta ting "Adul t s Wan t e d f or.New spaper D e l i v e ry . " We l l , t o make a l ong s tory s hor t , I am enjoying i t . The b e s t p a r t i s , I c a n t ake Bil l y ( age five) with me ' He has c ome to e n j oy the job , t oo . He helps d e l iver t h e news p a pe r s and he shares in the profi t s . He keeps all the t ip money ( about $8.00-$10.00 a week) He s pend s half and save s the o t her half . He i s rea l l y s e rious a bout his job a nd i s not GRO W I NG W I THOUT SCHOO L I NG #24

a f raid o f work . Whi l e I ' m at t h e news pape r dock he o ft en hops onto one o f the delive r y vans and he l p s the d riv e r s l oad u p . When t h e vending machine man comes once a week , he goes along with him to fil l up the machin e s in t h e l unch room of t he news p a per . The educa tion he is ge t ting and the peopl e h e i s mee ting are jus t one of the b e n e fi t s of our j o b . On rainy , c o l d days he ooes n ' t g e t out o f the c a r t o make d e l iver ies . I n s t ead , we b ring along his " l ib r a r y books of the week" and he reads to me ' I t is such a plea sure t o b e a b l e t o have Bil l y wit h me on my job . And another int e r e s ting point is that d riving my car is not " Shadow \.Jork" ( I van I llic h ) any more . With each mile I d rive we are e arning more money and Bil l y i s g e t ting an educ a tion every day . Another added bene fit is t h a t very o f t en people we m e e t will s a y t o Bil l y , "What , no s cf\ool today ? " He is proud to say " I am a home s c hoo l er ' " Some peop l e j u s t smil e a n d don ' t s a y any thing . But , a t l e a s t o n e o u t o f eve r y t e n are int e r e s t e d and a s k f o r our phone number ' All newspapers usual l y need adu l t delivery people t o c over areas that paper girls and boy s c an ' t c ove r . A simple call t o t h e cir c u l a tion depart me n t o f a n e w s paper will put you in touch with a p o s s ib l e j ob you will en j oy . . . F rom Peggy Buc hanan ( UT ) : . . . I am t raining to be a l ay mid wife a t t e nding home bir t h s . I decided I wanted to be a midwi fe during our pregnancy with our s e cond d augh t e r , Rohanna , who was born a t home 2 � yea r s ago . I am en j oying learning about prena t a l c a r e , t he bir t h pro c e s s. , and holis tic medicine . Shep is an ec onomi s t with the Fore s t Servic e . He enjoy s bejng a part o f the p l anning proc e s s f o r the fore s t s and likes his work . I t is nic e f o r all of us t h a t he has some what flexible s c heduling s o that we can s hare the chi l d -care and s chool ing r e s ponsibilities for Rohanna and M e l i s s a , 6. W e live on the out s kir t s of a t own o f 50,000, about an hour sou t h o f S alt Lake Ci t y . We have b e e n able to c ombine having s ome land with liv ing in an urban area . A s we will s oon be moving, we hope to se t t l e in a more rural a re a . Although neither o f us is self employed at the t ime , it i s our goal , but in s e p a r a t e oc c upations . Shep wou l d like t o do con sulting �ork . When I s ta r t prac ticing on my own next year I will be hol ding the pre natal c l inic s and childbi rth cla s s e s i n o u r home . A l though I woul d l ike t o work i n con j unc tion w i th other m id wive s so we could c over f o r each o t h e r w h e n we t a k e vaca tion s , I w o u l d b e sel f - em ployed . Shep cannot include Meli s s a and Rohanna dir e c tly in his work . But he does s ome t ravelling a s he works for t hre e fore s t s and has mee t in g s out o f t own, and a s w e a r e having school a t home , we o f t e n a l l g o and e x p l o re the d i f f er e n t a r e a s . In addition t o doing a l o t o f hiking , we ' ve had t he oppor tuni t y to see museums , national parks and a plane t a rium . And we jus t made a rran gement s for Meli s s a to a t t end the John Holt Learning Cen t e r a couple o f time s a month when Shep works in Salt Lake Cit y . I n c ompari son, s chool -based learning s eems very limiting . Not only wou l d the gir l s mis s out on t h e s e e x pe rien c e s, they a l so wouldn't s ee their dad nearly as

muc h .

Meli s s a and Rohanna are more dire c t l y involved in my work and I hope to inc l ud e them more in the future . We a l l l ook at my birthing books t ogether and t h e y s eem very int e re s ted . S oon I wil l begin put t ing together a f i l m and s l ide show p r e s e n t acion t o share wit h t h e pe ople who will a t t end bir t h s , inc luding child ren . I want �hem to h e l p me figure out what p e o p l e need t o know and what que s tions t h e y·have abou t bir t h . Mel is s a h a s had some e x pe rience in t hi s as sne a t t e nded t he bir t h o[ her s i s t e r when she was 3�. I ' m sure t h a t a s we ge t m o r e invo l ved , m o r e opportu nities will present t hems elve s for the gir l s t o p a rticipa t e . The way I am l e arning t o be a midwi f e is he l ping t o further my unde r s tanding o f wha t " educ a tion" real l y is . A f t e r s tudying to be a t e a c her I d ropped ou t o f c ollege in my senior year , e x t remely f rus t ra t ed . I had never wanted t o t ea c h in t h e public s c hools but'my goal o f s tar t i n g a priva t e school s eemed unrealis t ic and t h e c l a s s e s I was taking had no re l evance to wha t I t hought I wou l d eventually do . Now I have v e ry few c l a s s e s and most o f what I do i s "hands on" l earning . I am anx"ious t o l earn what i s t aught in t h e cla s s e s because I know t h a t I wil l u s e it dir e c tly . But m o s t o f wha t I l earn would be impo s sib l e to t e a c h in a cla s s r oom . . . CRE ATI NG A JOB

A l e t t e r f rom C a l ifornia : . . . Early in s choo l , my hus band was ide n ti f ied as " hyper-ac tive . " His mother , with good s en s e , re fused to a l l ow him to be medic a t ed . He was not hyper-ac tive , mer e l y bored . His high s c hool c a r e e r was a l mo s t non e xi s t en t , a s he spent mo s t days at home , reading . H e i s p r e s e n t l y emp l oyed a� an a pprentice land s c a pe a rchit e c t . He found the po sition b y o f f e ring to work part - time for lit t l e money . I n a period o f o n l y t hree months he has managed t o make it a full-time posi t ion which pays enough to all ow me to s t a y a t home wit h our son and t o c on c e n t r a t e on my writing ambitions . . ,

HE L P I NG THE H U NG RY

From Karen H o l guin ( NV ) : . . . In the win t e r o f 1979 Arturo and I t ook jobs as c ommunit y o rganiz e r s with an agency t h a t had rec eived fund s to s e t up a f ood bank network mod e l l ed a f t e r Sec ond H a rve s t in Pho enix, Arizona . ,, A r turo and I were p repared to s e t up a n e t work in rural n o r t hwe s t Wa s hingt on S t a t e . The area i s e c onomic a l l y depre s s ed . Most em ployment i s s e a s on a l leaving a l ot of hungry p e o p l e in the winter . . . . I r e c eived a phone c a l l from a woman wi th three c hi l d ren who were hungry . They had had n o income [or 2� months . The loc a l Salvation Army and S t . Vinc e n t DePaul had already been c on t ac ted and since t he y limited their aid t o three day s , they had long ago been exhau s t e d ( t hough what they o f f e red was lit t l e be t t e r t han no thing ) . Anyway , Ka thy had three children who were hungry f o r protein and M I LK ' ' ' I began c al l ing a round . I loca ted a box o f canned goods th rough the Senior Citizens there , then began c a l l ing sma l l marke t s t h a t s o l d f re s h