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GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING
36 The Jan . /Feb . issue of Mother Earth News, which should be out about the time you receive this GWS, will carry an article by me about how to home-school . It will also recommend and quote from Nancy Wallace's new book BETTER THAN SC HOOL (see GWS #35). I will a l so write an article for The Progressive about what I call the metaph ors of education; not sure when this will appear. And I am talk ing to the editors of Phi Delta Kap ~ about doing another article for them, about some simple and inexpen sive ways to make the schools a lit tle bit better . On Sat . Nov . 19 I spoke to a state-wide meeting of school boards in Nevada, saying why I thought it would be in their best interests to allow and support home schooling, without imposing too restrictive con ditions . The audience was polite though not enthusiastic. Later the President of the state board of educa tion said to them that there was no longer any question of the state for bidding home schooling, it was defin itely legal, and the only question to discuss was under wh at conditions would it be allowed . For the time be ing the state seems ready to tell peo ple that they can teach their kids at home as long as they do exactly what the schools do, a condition which most home schoolers (and I) would find too restrictive and not accepta ble. But it is encouraging that they are at least no longer thinking about trying to forbid home schooling alto gether . On returning from my Nevada trip, I and our friends the Maher fam ily taped a too - brief TV show with Steve Allen, musician, comedian, and one of the big stars of TV a decade or so ago . He did not learn until he reached the studio that he was going to be the interviewer for our show, so had no time to prepare; but even on this very short notice he asked good questions and was fun to work with . While speaking in Philadelphia, I met my hosts' seven - year - old daugh ter, Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, who entirely on her own started and runs "A's Bakery. " It is all her show; she makes and puts up posters, collects orders, buys the raw materials, bakes blueberry muffins and three different kinds of (delicious) cookies, fills the orders, collects the money, every thing. I hope in a coming issue of GWS to tell, or to have her tell, her story at greater length . We are happy to say that in recent weeks we have had the largest volume of book orders in our short history . Thanks for using us . As we've said before, one small but real ly helpful thing you can do is show or send our book list to as many peo ple as possible.
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I am leaving immediately for a 10-day trip to the Midwest, which (thanks to some organizing by GWS readers) includes talks at Eastern Illinois U., DePauw (IN) U. , Indiana polis, Chicago, Northbrook IL, Kalama zoo MI, Ann Arbor, and Oakland U. (Rochester MI). I will be back in time for the Dec. 8 Open House, and a Dec . 12 meeting with Providence, RI homeschoolers . - John Holt
JOHN 'S COMING SCHEDULE Jan. 12, 1984: Holt Associates Open House. Jan. 28: Providence Learning Con nection, Providence RI . Contact Joyce McFarlane, 401-274-9330. (Feb. 4 snow date) . Feb. 9: Holt Assoc. Open House. Mar . 5: Project Excell, Suffolk U., Boston. Contact Glen Lewandowski, 723-4700 ext. 280 . Mar. 30: Eastern Washington Uni versity, Cheney WA . Contact Darleen Weller, 509-456-4401. Mar. 31 - Apr . 1: Seattle home schoolers . Contact Deb Stewart, 206-435-5015. Apr . 2-3: Home Schooling Fair, Spokane WA. Contact Nola Evans, 509-326-0267. Apr . 16: University of Kentucky. Contact Libby Morley, 606-273-7816.
GRANT COLFAX DOING WELL From the San Francisco Examiner, 11/6/83: SCHOLAR WHO NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL LIKES HARVARD - AND IS DOING WELL It's a long way from the coastal moun tains of Mendocino County to Harvard Yard, but except for a touch of home sickness and normal freshman jitters about grades, Grant Colfax is making the adjustment just fine . "Things have calmed down pretty much," said the 18-year- old who drew international media attention after he was admitted to Harvard even though he had never attended school. Colfax and his three younger brothers received all of their educa tion from their parents at their moun taintop home near Boonville (CA) ... Colfax said the media blitz sur rounding his first two weeks at Har vard was "embarrassing . " He went from never having watched television to appearing on "The Johnny Carson Show" ( " which convinced me I don ' t want to be in show biz"), " Good Morning Amer ica" and more than a dozen other radio and TV shows. When he arrived in Cambridge, he was besieged by reporters from as far away as Australia and Germany . CBS wanted a TV crew to follow him during his first day of classes. He refused, explaining, "I figured I had enough to worry about." ... "The change (from studying at home) hasn't been that bad," Colfax said . "There is a lot of work ... The work isn't that hard, it's just the quantity of it. It requires a lot of organization. I have to learn to calm down at times . I have to learn I can't learn every detail like I could at home." That lesson came swiftly. "After my first chemistry test I came out almost in tears because I had done so poorly," he said . "I felt so bad I called home and told them I might not make it. " His intuition was correct . He got only 54% of the answers right. But on the Harvard curve, that was good enough for an A; 39% was worth a
B on the test. His midterm grades in his pre med course of studies were an A in math, an A in Spanish and an A-minus in chemistry. Colfax was one of only nine stu dents selected for a freshman honors seminar on psychological issues in medicine. "There were 90 applica tions," said Dr. David Funder, a psychology professor who conducts the seminar . "I wanted to find people able to work independently, who didn't need to be spoon-fed, who were well-prepared." Colfax more than met those quali fications, Funder said. "He's very energized and well-organized," the professor said, describing him as a "pretty remarkable young man . " . .. His lack of formal schooling and the social interchange associated with it haven't hampered him, Colfax said . "I'm pretty outgoing" ... "The main thing I miss is the quiet," Colfax said . "It's never quiet here. It makes you very tense. I have to get away from it a lot." . ..
NOTES FROM DONNA Looking back on our sixth full year of publication, I must say it was an eventful one for the staff. Two left (Peggy and Tim), one got engaged, then married (Pat), one had a baby (Mary Van Doren). Mark Pierce got pneumonia in September and was out for a week; in his absence we hired Mary Gray, who had been volun teering for us, and now both she and Mark are working on the book orders and subscriptions . Mary often brings her lively 5-year-old son Christopher to the off ice. Time for a big end-of - the-year " Thank you'" to everyone who has worked as a volunteer for us. Special credit goes to: Mary Maher, for proof reading GWS and typing letters; Mari lyn Pelrine, for mailing renewal post cards every two months; Kit Finn, for proofreading the big Directory in this issue. Other local volunteers who have helped this year in the office or at home include Mary Silva, Mary Steele, Mary Pelrine, Pam Mitch ell, Terry Burch, Mario Pagnoni, Ann Gilbert, Danny Desai, Fran Castelluc cio, Sue Mojica, Jan Wrotnowski, and their families. Typists outside the Boston area included June and Allen Conley, Bob Post, Nanda Hills, Zeke Cameron, Cheryl Richardson, Kate Gil day, Jeanne Finan, Mary Friedl, Gary Floam, Diane Kephart . Thanks also to the families such as the Prices (Susan, Matt, and Faith) of Florida who helped while they were visiting Boston. I was surprised at how many entries there were for our " Free Logo Drawing" - 78, not counting dupli cates (we only allowed one entry per family) . The lucky winners were: Randy Pierce, Texas; Freda Davies, Ontario; Nancy Spector, Al aska; Y. Hanus, New York; and Rebekah Co h en , CA. - Donna Richoux
A WIN IN GEORGIA ... There have been two important rulings concerning home-schoolers in recent weeks, one win and one l oss . First, the win. As reported in t h e Atlanta Constitution, 10/26/83: . . . The Georgia Supreme Court overturned the state ' s compulsory school attendance law Tuesday, call ing it an "impermissibly vague" sta
2 tute that fails to define a private school. In a 4-3 decision, the court issued the ruling in response to an appeal by Terry and Vickie Roemhild of Stephens County, who were arrested two years ago when, for religious rea sons, they insisted on teaching their children at home instead of enrolling them in school. ... Under the compulsory atten dance law, students aged 7 to 16 must attend public or private school . Although the law is clear in its definition of public school, it only vaguely defines a private school. As a result, many home schoolers have complied with the law by registering their homes as private schools . "Although we agree that the word 'school' clearly puts one on notice that an organized education must be provided to the child, there are many questions concerning the scope, nature, and place of the education which are left unanswered by the state . . . " said the ruling, written by Supreme Court Justice Richard Bell. . . . Rusty Sewell, executive coun sel for the governor, said Tuesday's decision means that the law is now in limbo. "Probably what it means is that you couldn't prosecute under that law if someone is teaching their children at home," Sewell said ...
schools. The trial court sustained objections to this evidence on the ground that it was irrelevant to the issue of whether the defendant was qualified as a teacher. We agree with the trial court's ruling . The compari son would at best be mere conjecture insofar as Mrs. Newstrom's qualifica tions to teach are concerned. The trial court construed the word "quali fications" to mean educational quali fications acquired by formal educa tion as well as informal training and correctly ruled that [whether ] Mrs. Newstrom was in fact a good teacher or not was irrelevant ... Appellant simply does not real ized or appreciate that every parent does not have complete freedom in selecting and determining the manner in which her children are to be educated ...
[DR:] The Justices' legal reason ing concerning "vagueness" drew heavi lyon the Wisconsin Supreme Court case Wisconsin Vs. Popanz, from which we quoted at length in GWS #34 . Connie Shaw of GEORGIANS FOR FREEDOM IN EDUCATION writes, "The overturning of the compulsory atten dance law has created a mixed chorus of government and non-government reaction . A new law will most likely be voted on in this next legislative session which begins Monday, January 9, 1984. Our time is short .. . If we are to influence our Georgia legisla tors in forming that new law to in clude home education, then we must combine forces with all home educa tors." The organization urges all Georgia readers to contact their legislators.
OTHER COURT NEWS
.. . A LOSS IN MINNESOTA The second ruling comes from Minnesota. On Aug . 31, a District Court upheld the conviction of home schooler Jeanne Newstrom of Bemidji . Some quotes from that ruling, written by Judge Saetre: ... The main thrust of Mrs. Newstrom's defense relates to Subd . 2 of M.S. 120 . 10 and that her "qualifi cations are essentially equivalent to the minimum standards for public school teachers of the same grades or subjects ... " The qualifications for minimum standards for public teacher are ... a bachelor's degree which must include a completed course in elementary school teaching and licensed as an elementary teacher by the State Board of Teaching. Mrs . Newstrom has the equivalent of one year of college in general courses, none of which include any courses in education . Mrs. Newstrom acknowledges her lack of formal train ing and qualifications but claims that nonetheless she is qualified to teach her own children and offered evidence to compare the results of her daughter ' s education with the per formance of children in public
account of the results of our eviden · tuary hearing last spring . We WON' Our handicapped child was neglected and worse - abused - in the local pub lic school. It was just awful what was going on in that classroom .. . He has improved 100% since getting him out of there. I have enjoyed teaching him ... At the time we had charges brought against us we did not know of . your group or of others, but some of the home-schoolers elsewhere in Minne sota saw the account in their papers and got in touch with us. I must say they were a big help in helping us win the case. Dr. Moore gave us a lot of help and I also had information from John Holt which I gave to the judge as an exhibit . . . From the local newspaper article Shi rley sent:
[DR:] However, the Minnesota State Supreme Court has agreed to review the Newstroms' case, and attor ney John E. Mack is hopeful that the P?panz (WI) and Roemhild (GA) deci s~ons will be influential . Mr. Mack asked John Holt (among others) to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf on the Newstroms, and John agreed. He plans to write more about the weak nesses in this ruling in GWS #37.
Ann Mordes (FL) wrote in the FLASH newsletter: ... We are happy to inform all of you that the case in Monticello (Jef ferson County) against parents who were operating a "623" incorporated school was dropped due to "lack of evidence." The attorney was informed the day before the hearing was to have taken place ... [DR: The families involved were Gilbert and Theresa Sil veira, and Ross and Gloria Johnson.] I'd like to compliment them in their choice of an attorney, Joseph P. Dal lanegra, Jr . Mr . Dallanegra prepared a most thorough and truthful law brief. It was enough to educate not only the State Attorney, but also the Department of Education . .. A news story reprinted in the Iowa newsletter O'KIDS: PARENTS ACQUITTED ON TRUANCY LAW CHARGES - A Muscatine couple who with drew their children from school to set up a home study program have been acquitted of charges that they viola ted Iowa's truancy laws . Ronnie and Nancy Shuler were accused by Muscatine school officials of failing to provide their three children with an educational program taught by a state-certified teacher and equivalent to public schooling. But in a ruling filed Tuesday, Muscatine County District Associate Judge James A. Weaver said he was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Shulers' home study program fell short of meeting those legal requirements ... [DR:] In GWS #34 we mentioned briefly that the Kirschenman family of Moorhead, MN had won their court case, but that was all we knew. Since then, the Kirschenmans have sub scribed to GWS, and Shirley Kirschen man (MN) writes: ... I am enclosing a newspaper
... Becker County Judge Sigwel Wood has ruled that a Moorhead couple does not have to send their ll-year old mentally and physically handi capped son to Moorhead public schools. ... The Kirschenmans have been teaching Stephan at home since they removed him from public school in May 1980. The judge also held that the com pulsory attendance law did not apply in this case. Wood said the laws con cerning education of handicapped chil dren provide that parents may send a handicapped child to a school of their choice . "In this case, ·Stefan is attend ing a school ... insofar as he is be ing educated at home in all of the common branches as required for men tally handicapped child, and fur ther ... Mr . and Mrs. Kirschenman do have qualifications which are essen tially equivalent to the minimum stan dards for public school teachers of the same grades or subjects," Wood wrote . Mrs. Kirschenman has a nursing degree, worked as a Army pediatric nurse and also taught nursing at a California college. Mr. Kirschenman is a North Dakota State University engineering professor. . .. Assistant Clay County Attor ney Cathy Mills said the county will probably not appeal the case. Mills said Wood's finding that the Kirschen mans are qualified to teach Stefan precludes any appeal ... Other news in brief: Awaiting trial: Jimmy Wilson, Vanceboro TN; attorney, Hugh D. Cox The Millers, Maryland Line MD. Awaitin ruling: The Wilkie fami ly, Alpena M . Case appealed by state: Sheridan Road Bapt~st School, near Saginaw MI (GWS #31 & 33).
y
GOOD NEWS: WA, KY, MS, FL From the Seattle Post
Intelligencer, 10/7/83:
... Some parents could legally teach their children at home for the first time in state history if an experimental home-study program is approved today . The state Board of Education is expected to act on the proposal . .. [DR: they did approve it.] . .. Parents from tne-Stillagua mish Learning Exchange [see "Helpful Schools"], a two-year-old education cooperative headquartered near Arling ton, said they would like to take
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #36
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part in the experiment. They said · they would expect to be evaluated like any private school. About 150 Stillaguamish students are taught at home by their parents who are assisted and supervised by certificated instructors. The program was approved by the state board in 1982, but when the board learned this summer the program was a home-study project, it withheld approval. Under the state's attendance law, children from the ages of 8 through 14 not enrolled in either a private or public state "approved" school are considered truants. The home - study proposal from the state Superintendent of Public Instruction would establish two one-year experimental programs admin istered through a public school and a private school. The parents would tutor their own children under the supervision of a certificated teacher, who would be hired by the school. Teachers would train parents to be tutors and monitor no more than 20 children. Each parent and student would meet with the teacher for at least one hour per week and keep daily progress records. The state superintendent's office would audit the program annually . ..
children as I reviewed the many accom plishments they have made already. For example, the 7-year-old has taught himself to read with confi dence; the children save their own money to help support their new Mexi can foster brother, with whom they correspond and have decided to learn Spanish for; the children help teach art classes at a local nursing home and have "adopted" a wonderful gentle man to be their "grandfather"; we have taught ourselves the rudiments of Cuisenaire rods, and are learning Latin; the children are carefully rai sing gerbils and keeping records of the successive generations, eating habits, and all pertinent information that they can gather to go into a book they hope to publish . . . and on and on' ... My proudest moment came when I received a phone call from Mr. West only a few days after I had returned the data forms. He was kind enough to call me hersOnally to commend our fam ilydon t e fine program we had devel ope and to offer encouragement, praise, and any help we might need in the future . I nearly wept with grati tude for his kindness and understand ing, and I realized that the many neg ative responses to our decision to try home-schooling must have been hurting me more than I had realized .. .
From Barb Soper (KY): .. . 1 had been told that the pro cess of becoming a home school might take some time and trouble, so I imme diately sent for your back issues (to glean all pertinent information) and called Mr . Pat West, Jr., the Superin tendent of Non-Public Schools in Frankfort . Within a few days, I was shocked to receive all of the neces sary information and an application form' ... I immediately called the local health department and the dis trict fire marshal's office to re quest that they inspect our designa ted school area. Although I had been told that the officials who would be certifying (or, Lord forbid, not cer tifying) our school were very~rd to please and downright rude, I was thor oughly impressed with the courteous, helpful and supportive response from both offices ... By the end of July, I had received a 100% rating from the health department and the approval and commendation for cooperation from the F~re Marshal' By the second week in August, our school had become approved by the State Department of Education, and my only other obligation was to notify the County Superintendent of Schools of the children's names and addresses by October 1, which I did. Our school was sent data bank forms (which are sent out to all Ken tucky schools) inquiring about our curriculum, schedule, philosophy, mat erials, etc . , which I had been told by another home-school family to ex pect [see GWS #35]. They had told me that I only needed to write N/A across the forms and return them or even throw them away' As I read through the forms, however, I real ized that it might be helpful to the State Board of Education if I took the time to reply and to write down the philosophy behind our family's decision to learn at home .. . As I counted the number of books in our home and listed all of the wonderful things we have been learning togeth er, I became more and more aware of how really fine our program is and of just how committed we all are to our home school. I felt very proud of my
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #36
[ DR: ] Becky Howard (AR) sent us a copy of the new 10-page Mississippi compulsory education law, and marked the sections related to home school ing . Looks like the Mississippi legis lature went out of its way to protect the rights of home-schoolers . (Does anyone know why? Someone must have put a lot of effort into getting these favorable passages included in the bill . ) The relevant parts: . . . SECTION 21 . .. (2) The follow
ing terms as used in this section are
defined as follows:
... (e) "School" means any public school in this state or any nonpublic school in this state which is in ses sion each school year for at least 155 school days, except that the "non public" school term shall be the num ber of days that each school shall require for promotion from grade to grade . . . (i) "Nonpubl ic school" for the purposes of this section shall mean an institution for the teaching of children, consisting of a physical plant, whether owned or leased, inclu ding a home, instructional staff mem bers and students, and which is in session each school year. This defini tion shall include, but not be limit ed to, private, church, parochial and home instruction programs. (3) A parent, guardian, or cus todian of a compulsory-school-age child in this state shall cause such child to enroll in and attend a pub lic school or legitimate nonpublic school for the period of time that such child is of compulsory school age, except under the following cir cumstances: . .. (c) When a compulsory-school age child is being educated in a legi timate home instruction program ... The parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child attend ing any nonpublic school . . . shall com plete a "certificate of enrollment" in order to facilitate the administra tion of this section . The form of the certificate of enrollment shall be prepared by the State Board of Education and shall be designed to obtain the following in
formation only: (i) The name, address, and date of birth of the compulsory-school age child; (ii) The name and address of the parent, guardian, or custodian . . . (iii) A simple description of the type of education the compul sory-school-age child is receiving and, if such child is enrolled in a nonpublic school, the name and address of such school; and (iv) the signature of the
parent . . .
For the purposes of this subsec tion, a legitimate nonpublic school or legitimate home instruction pro gram shall be those not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoid ing or circumventing the compulsory attendance law. ... (9) Notwithstanding any provi sion or implication herein to the con trary, it is not the intention of this Section to impair the primary right and the obligation of the par ent .. . to choose the proper education and training for such child, and noth ing in this section shall ever be con strued to grant, by implication or otherwise, to the State of Mississip pi, any of its officers, agencies or subdivisions any right or authority to control, manage, supervise or make any suggestion as to the control, man agement or supervision of any private or parochial school or institution for the education or training of chil dren, of any kind whatsoever that is not a public school according to the laws of this state; and this Section shall never be construed so as to grant, by implication or otherwise, any right or authority to any state agency or other entity to control, manage, supervise, provide for or affect the operation, management, pro gram, curriculum, admissions policy or discipline of any such school or home instruction program .. . A home-schooler in Florida wrote to Ann Mordes of FLASH: ... The day after I talked to you, Mr . Jones (Health and Rehabili tative Services intake counselor) called and said that I had to have a certified teacher in order to be oper ating legally. I, of course, told him that he was miSinformed, which he very heatedly denied. I asked him where I could see that requirement in writing, and he said Chapter 39. I asked him what it said exactly and he replied that all children must attend school between the ages of 6 and 16. I asked him where it said that any private school had to employ or have on its staff a state-certified teach er, to which he replied that he did not know right off but that he would find out . We ended our conversation with his assurance that he would let me know where to find a statute sup porting his statements. I had also during the course of the conversation mentioned the H. R . S. manual's defini-
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #36, Vo l. 6 No. 6. ISSN #0745-5305. Pub l ished bi -mont hly by Hol t Associates, 729 Boylston St , Boston MA 021 16. $15/yr . Date of Issue, Dec. 1, 1983. Second -class postage paid at Bost on MA . POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GWS , 729 Boyl ston St, Boston MA 021 16. ADVERTISERS: Dead l ine for nex t i ssue, Jan . 15. 20%off for ads run in three or more consecutive issues. Contact Patr i ck Farenga for rat es.
4 tion of "truancy" which he said was not accurate. I asked him to please look it up to make sure. He said he would. He also said that we were defi going to (you guessed it) --- . I was chagrined. Immediately upon my hanging up the phone, I start ed to worry and wonder what I was go ing to do. Not fifteen minutes later the phone rang . It was Mr. Jones who told me, very nicely, that I was right about everything that I had said' The definition of truancy, that there was no requirement for any private school to have on its staff a state-certi fied teacher, and very few other re quirements. He went on to say that as far as he could ascertain I was opera ting within the law (I had mentioned that I was open to the public and that we are supported in part by tui tion and/or gifts) and that as far as he was concerned the case was closed and his report to the State (?) would say just that . He asked for a copy of my attendance records and said that was all he needed . . . A few minutes later I received another call, this time from the school social worker, who apologized for all the trouble and frustration I had been put through . She said that it had been equally frustrating for them as they have received no help or legally-supported information from either the school board or the Dept . of Education . She asked me to send her copies of the papers I have and said that she would be very grateful. She also said that she hoped the role of the school board would be a more supportive one in the future . She also assured me that if she learns of anything I need to be doing to be in compliance with the law she will let me know . I am taking your advice to get everything in writing ... Thank you also for putting me in touch with Mr. Dallanegra (attorney) . We are arran ging for him to conduct a seminar in this area soon. He gave me some advice also and even dictated the affidavit he advised me to send H.R.S . instead of the attendance records that they requested . .. [DR: See also "Success in Flori da," GWS #28, page 4.]
c55Rft
INFORMAL SCHOOL IN CALIF. Karen Olin Johnston (CA) wrote: The SAN FERNANDO VALLEY HOME SCHOOLERS, of which we are members, has really been growing' At recent meetings we've had as many as 13 moth ers and 23 children ... Over the sum mer we met a few times rather infor mally, at parks and at the beach . As the schoolyear approached, some of the older children expressed the desire to go to school, to be with kids their age . We decided to organ ize something among our own children to fill that need. So at present we are having these things happening: Once a month we meet at a park, all ages welcome; and also families just considering home-schooling are welcome. While the children play and get to know one another, us mothers give each other moral support, share resources and news info, discuss GWS, swap stories, etc. Once a week, part of the group (mostly 7-12 years old) meet at alter nate houses for a more formal "school day." Everyone involved agreed that they were much more eager to sit down to do math or writing if there was someone to do it with. The first
week, one mother led singing and be ginning music notation lesson with the whole group; then one group worked with Cuisenaire rods while another group solved math problems with some Montessori materials. After lunch the whole group played a game to open them up to creative writing, and on the side there were one-on-one experiences going on with a home com puter, the piano, and puzzles . Two babies and two four-year-olds just merged right in alongside the older children. We're also planning "field trips" once a week ... Last week we visited a park which was the estate of a silent-movie star. It had farm animals, old western-style home, nature trail, etc ... One thing we've all noticed is how well these kids play together. There is virtually no whining, tat tling, or fighting . .. One time you'll see a 10-year-old playing with a 22-month - old, and the next time you see her she'll be involved in a game with an 8- and a 12-year-old ... Our only level of organization is a telephone tree, which operates in a complete circle, so that anyone can instigate communication with the group. Also, as one family had al ready set up their home as a private school with an affidavit last year, many of the older children are "enrolled" in it this year, as some sort of protection . ..
OTHER LOCAL NEWS Addresses for all home-schooling organizations are listed in the back of this issue. ARIZONA: From an article head lined " Home-instruction program earns good marks in first year" in the Ari zona Republic, 10/2/83: "Richard C Harris, school superintendent in Mari copa County, said he is pleased with the achievement test scores of the approximately 150 children in the county who were instructed at home last year. Of that number, 14 failed to show adequate progress on the Cali fornia Achievement Test, Harris said. After testing by a psychologist, four of the 14 were denied home-schooling exemptions. 'I was surprised there were as few as 14 who seemed to be having problems,' Harris said ... 'I think the parents who are teaching at home are courageous . They're challeng ing us (the public schools) to do a better job . . . '" The article also said the state had administered 314 proficiency tests to parents wishing to teach their own children, and 214 of those passed. It was unknown how many who failed retook the test later and passed. FAMILIES FOR HOME EDUCATION pub lished the longest directory we've seen yet in a local newsletter - 99 families in the greater Phoenix area. CALIFORNIA: A campaign to place the "school voucher" initiative on the '84 ballot has been started . For information, contact PARENTS CHOOSE QUALITY EDUCATION, 1537 Hood Rd, Suite D, Sacramento CA 95825; 916 921-0575 or 444-8725. Evella Troutt of the L.A. COUNTY CHRISTIAN HOME EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION writes, "We are affiliated with a statewide network called CHRISTIAN HOME EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION which is directed by Karen Woodfin and Susan Beatty. We are not locked in with any particular Christian church - most of our members would fit into the histor ical evangelical framework. Our main
efforts have been directed at estab lishing local support groups, and pro viding basic guidance and information to prospective home - schooling fami lies. We would be happy to work with any families you wish to refer to us. We do have a county newsletter which is directed toward local news of sup port groups and field trips .. . " Janet McCormick, the California State Department of Education Liaison to Non-Public Schools, expects over 5,000 private schools to register with the state in 1983-84, says Pam Pacula in Home Centered Learning, 10/83. GEORGIA: About 400 people attend ed a home-schooling conference featur ing Dr . Raymond Moore on Oct. 24-25, according to Connie Shaw of GEORGIANS FOR FREEDOM IN EDUCATION . HAWAII: From Barbara Hussey (HI):-rrwe-are a growing group of fami lies here interested in home school ing ... For now (and this is from a district superintendent of schools), there is no state policy on policing home-schoolers. It is allowed as long as basic rpquirements are followed: (1) Registration with the Department of Education; (2) 4-year college degree (which we don't have, but which we feel we can overcome as we have many years in college); (3) Sub mission of a basic program outline to the district superintendent." IDAHO: Elizabeth Good writes, "It appears that the State School Board here in Idaho is gearing up for a legislative offensive against home-schoolers in the next session of our legislature . The attorney general was asked by the State Board of Education to render an opinion on the state's compulsory education law as it relates to private and home schools .. . One legislator is drafting a bill based in part on the Arizona law which includes the yearly testing of home-schooled children . Many of the home schoolers are in favor of his bill because it 'makes us legal.' Others of us have a totally different philosophy of 'testing' and could not in good conscience support such a bill .. . " INDIANA: The Summer Bulletin of the HOME EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER listed what it called "an excellent booklet for IN home-schoolers," entitled INDIANA LAW AND HOME EDUCA TION, available from: EDUCATION DATA, 6401 Velmar, Ft. Wayne IN 46815. SASE suggested. IOWA: Barb Tetzlaff reports in the OTKTITS newsletter that the state has appOinted a committee to study home-schooling and non-approved Chris tian schools . A neighbor of the Tetz laffs, Dr . Gordon Shipp, President of Faith Baptist Bible College, is on the committee, and they loaned him materials on home education, inclu ding GWS . Some quotes from the paper he submitted Sept . 16: "I could not detect one single force that prompted home education . I did find a dedica ted group of people that were making real sacrifices to educate their chil dren. They were fine people within their communities. They were not her mits, nor were they withdrawn. Many of the parents were not highly educa ted themselves in formal processes . They were good communicators and ex pressive ... Let us allow them their freedom .. . " MARYLAND: Manfred Smith sent back issues of the MARYLAND HOME EDU CATION ASSOCIATION newsletter and wrote, "I have just discovered that you are not on our current mailing list' I'm-Yery sorry' You probably have been wondering what is happening
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #36
5 here in Maryland .. . When I read in GWS #35 that the Hjembo family was introducing legislation on home schooling, I became very concerned. Our law is fine the way it is (at this time) .. . We have sympathetic peo ple in the State Dept . of Ed. Intro ducing a law would set forces in motion (teachers are very stron~ in MD) that our few numbers would e hard pressed to stop. I've talked with the Hjembos - their legislator was interested, but is not willing to do anything right now . . . " MASSACHUSETTS: Mario Pagnoni (MA) and Elaine Rapp (NH) have given two seminars on home-schooling in Hav erhill, MA and Manchester, NH. Mario is giving a slide show and demonstra tion on "Home Computers and Home Schooling" Feb. 12, 9-noon, at North ern Essex Community College, Haver hill. MICHIGAN: The MICHIGAN ASSOCIA TION OF HOME EDUCATORS has started a newsletter, $10/4 issues. Some quotes from its first issue: "15 months after starting this organization, we have the names of over 800 home schooling or interested families .. . [At ] the Conference in Lansing May 21 .. . the final headcount was 940 peo ple . Of those that turned in the ques tionnaire, 50% were currently educa ting their children at home . The response given most often by families who weren't educating their children at home was that their children were too young . " Pat Montgomery of CLONLARA SCHOOL sent us a clipping from the Detroit Free Press about a State Rep resentative, Timothy Walberg of Tip ton, who is teaching his children at home . Walberg is on the state House Education Committee. Pat says, "An associate of Walberg met him in the House chambers when this news broke and told them that he was very upset because Walberg was doing home school ing when, in fact, this other fellow wanted to be the first Representative doing it'" MISSOURI: Saralee Rhoads of FAMI LIES FOR HOME EDUCATION wrote, "The MO/KANSAS HOME EDUCATORS group dis banded a couple years ago, and gener al consensus was that the state would leave us alone if we kept a low pro file. Well, they didn't. Last year a bill came up which would have made all home educators in our state guil ty of a misdemeanor until proven inno cent! As a result, our group was formed, and has been growing ever since. In July we had 200 members, and now there are 300 + on the mailing list . We have conducted a study on the nature of home schooling in our state, and are preparing for further legislative battles ... " NEBRASKA: Gary and Marilyn Mil ler (NEJ formed a support group of homeschoolers in August. Marilyn writes, "We have grown to 70 families on our mailing list, many of whom have withdrawn children from the school system and are facing litiga t ion ... '1 NEW YORK: Harold Ingraham of CAL UMET SCHOOL writes, "A network of sorts among New York State unschool ers now exists . I say 'of sorts' be cause I abhor the idea of centraliza tion. Therefore, I merely set out to instigate a contact system of like minded persons . . . Anyone who writes or calls me asking for area contacts will be given the name of their area's contact leader . A self addressed stamped envelope will do the trick . I have also suggested that the area leader run a small notice in the local newspaper .. . "
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #36
OHIO: Ruth Kirchhausen (OH) Leffel asked me to let you know that they did get permission to teach Matthew and J e ssica at h ome. The Geauga County superintendent signed the agreement .. . Also another family in the county got a permit by claiming a religious exemption, neith er of the parents having college de grees. So it seems the Leffels' court experience last year (although they were found guilty of truancy) has pro ven to the superintendent the serious ness of these home-schooling parents and he has grudgingly accepted their presence this year . .. " ONTARIO: Anna Myers is coordina tor for a new organization, ONTARIO HOME SCHOOLERS; newsletter, $10/year. QUEBEC: Another Canadian group, the Q~HOMESCHOOLING ADVISORY, has started a newsletter ( $2/year). They sent us a copy of proposed educa tion legislation in the Quebec Nation al Assembly; we don't know how differ ent it is from the current law, but it does mention as an alternative to school attendance, "receiving instruc tion at home equivalent, in the opin ion of the school board, to that pro vided at school." TEXAS: The newsletter of the TEX AS COAITTTON FOR HOME EDUCATION re ports, "Governor Mark White has appointed Ross Perot to head a spe cial education commission to study the Texas educational system ... His preliminary recommendations include the following: (1) that children should start school at age 4, ( 2) that school hours should be leng thened, and (3) that children should go to school year-round . . . Please write Ross Perot today and express your views (Address: EDS, 7171 Forest Lane, Dallas TX 75230)." WASHINGTON: In GWS # 32, we re ported that Washington home-schoolers were fighting and supporting several education bills in the state legisla ture . The outcome, as reported in the Unschoolers' Pro~ect: "Truancy H. B . 282 died ~n the ouse Rules Commit tee . .. H. B . 492, a bill that would have extended the compulsory school age, died in the Education Commit tee ... S . B . 4095, a parental rights' bill that Debra (Stewart) did not think had a chance to get out of com mittee, went farther than in the last two years ... It was caught in a time crunch ... Next year we have been pro mised an 'Interim Study Committee' to e~amin~ the p,resent law for constitu t~onal~ty ... A new home-schooling group in the Spokane area, the FAMILY LEARNING EXCHANGE, has started a lengthy month ly newsletter ($18/year). - DR wrote~ynne
THOUGHTS ON " DAY AFTER" I watched "The Day After" with my friend, neighbor, and editor Mer loyd Lawrence, and a small group of her friends. I found the film very well done and often very moving. Ear ly in the film I noticed a surprising reaction in myself . The suspense, as we waited for what we knew would hap pen, that the bombs would go off, became so unbearable that I began thinking in the back of my mind, "Hur ry up, set it off, I can't stand the waiting." Later it occurred to me with real fear that many people may have begun or may soon begin to feel that way in real life - since it ' s coming sooner or later, let's get it over with. After the film was over we all agreed, as has been pointed out in many news stories, that the film enor
mously underestimated the damage that would have been done by a nuclear attack of that size . The bomb over Kansas City would probably have start ed a very large firestorm, and at that time of year there would have been enough vegetation in the fields so that the storm would probably have burned its way all the way to and through Lawrence. Most of the injured would have been in very much worse shape than the ones we saw, many of them with massive burns, and many of them blinded like th e little boy, since the reflex which makes us look toward a bright light is a very hard one to repress. Radiation sickness in its more advanced stages causes acute diarrhea and vomiting, which was not shown and was onl y once even hinted at . The problems of raising food would have been far more severe than what was suggested; not only were those farmers' tractors electrically burned out, but they had no fuel, no seed, and none of the chemical ferti lizers and pesticides without which our large scale agriculture cannot grow crops at all. And as my brother-in-law put it, "Whose cellar was that horse in?" Where did that healthy horse come from? - A day or two later I talked on the phone with my sister in New Mexi co. She told me that a number of young people in her town who saw the show had an interesting reaction, one I would not have expected. The spe cial effects in the show, particular ly the pictures of the injured and dying, were so much less bloody and horrible than the specIal effects these young people are used to seeing in the crime and horror films they regularly watch that they were bored and disappointed. "Is that all?" they asked. "Is that what all this fuss was about? Big deal'" Many of you will have already learned from articles in the press about the danger that Carl Sagan in the panel spoke of after the film. There seems to be very strong evi dence that even a small (small?) nuclear attack or exchange, involving as little (little?) as 100 megatons, would throw so much fine dust and smoke into the upper atmosphere that for several years the temperatures at the earth's surface would be greatly lowered, probably to well below freez ing. Scientists from many countries, including Russia, who have seen the figures and the arguments seem to agree that this is so. I would add something that I have not yet seen in print, that even a much less drastic reduction in average year-round tem-
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