Growing Without Schooling 39 by Patrick Farenga

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING

39 As we could only expect in a big and diverse country like ours, the home schooling picture is mixed. Most families are having it easy, some hard. On the whole, though, we seem to be winning much more than we are losing in our struggle for respecta bility and legitimacy. Legislatures seem more and more of a mind to make home schooling explicitly legal, but with some restrictions. If we can avoid wasting our time trying to get rid of all restrictions, we should be able to use our energy and our grow ing political savvy to insure that such restrictions as there are are minimal, reasonable, and easy to live with. At the same time I would say that the number of school people who feel that they can and should stamp out home schooling altogether contin ues to decline, while the number who are ready to live with it, and even to give it strong support, continues slowly to rise. In short, I feel that the odds are continually improving that families who want to teach their own children and who go about this the right wa~ are going to be able to do so with little or no trouble. What the right way is, we have of course discussed at length, and will contin ue to discuss in GWS. In a nutshell, we should try not to attack, startle, or terrify the schools, and to show them instead that we are smart, seri ous, reasonable, courteous, resource ful, and determined . The response to our article about starting a tax-exempt corpora tion called Friends Of Home Schooling (GWS #38, p 7) has been encouraging. May we ask that you look or look again at tht article and tell us your thoughts. We plan fairly soon to write about it to all former sub scribers; perhaps a number of them, who feel that they no longer need GWS, will want to help us keep it go ing for others who do need it. The article I wrote for The Pro gressive, which they, rather to my regret, entitled "How Teachers Fail," was reprinted in the May 14 issue of Newsday, a very large newspaper that serves Long Island. They gave it the much better title, "Educational Meta phors That Crush Kids." In Ithaca not long ago I saw three performances of Ishmael Wallace's new musical play - his third, all produced (wonderfully') at the First Street Playhouse. Except for Vita Wallace and one other child, the cast was made up of adults, most of them experienced singers and actors (it was Bob Wallace's first appearance on stage), and all of them excellent. The play was very funny; some of the Saturday night audience were laughing so hard I thought they might have to be carried out, or given oxygen , or something. Nancy Wallace's wonderful home

schooling book, BETTER THAN SCHOOL, sold over 1000 copies in its first three months, which is very good for a book by a new auth o r, published by a small company. This will be a word-of-mouth book, so if you have read and liked it, please tell others about it (or buy it for them ) . By the way, the publishers have no immediate plan to put it into paperback. Speaking of books, we just had an order, from a public school in California, for one each of every book on our list' A splendid e xample for everyone. Dr. Raymond Moore (Hewitt Research Center, PO Box 9, Washougal WA) has started to publish some cur riculum materials in reading and math, and would like to have home schoolers act as distributors for his material. People interested should get in touch with him. We have had several foreign vis itors in recent months. From Sweden came myoId friend Ake Bystrom, who arranged my tour to his country in early 1982. From England came John Farrow, Co-Director of Kilworthy (in Devon), a community of teen-agers and adults; and later, my friend the physicist David Deutsch, who wrote us (GWS #29) about apprenticeship as a way of learning advanced physics, and with him his two young friends Ben and Rudge Brown. --- John Holt

JOHN HOLT'S COMING SCHEDULE July 12, 1984: Holt Associates Open House (2nd Thurs. of each month). July 19: A. A. Cleveland Confer ence, College of Ed., Washington State U., Pullman WA. Contact Denis Conners, 509-335-5023. Sept. 8 (tentative): Connecticut Home-Schoolers Association. Contact Laura Pritchard, 203-634-0714. Sept. 28: Sunrise Session, D'Youville College, Buffalo NY 14201. 8 AM. Contact Robert DiSibio, 716 881-3200, ext. 6112. Anyone who wants to coordinate other meetings or lectures around these times, contact Patrick Farenga.

"YOUNG CHILD REN" SUPPLEMENT We are pleased to announce a new publication available from our office, "YOUNG CHILDREN: NATURAL LEARNERS . " This is the first-ever GWS supplement, made up of letters from GWS readers and articles by John Holt. This is not a collection of old material reprinted from GWS, but all-new stories which we simply have not had room to print. The entire supplement relates to children from birth to age 6 - living with them, watching them learn, coping with their demands, teaching them (or trying to'), the important role of play, deciding whether to send them to pre-school or school, and more. One article by John Holt describes how a six-year-old inter twines work and play in our office. Although many of the letter-writers do not expect to send their children to school, this GWS supplement is not specifically about home-schooling,-- and could be read and enjoyed by many parents and others who are not inter ested in home-schooling as such. So this could be the perfect gift for your friends and relatives, as a way of introducing them to our beliefs about the way children learn, and to give them many great ideas on what they can do with their children. For now, the price of this sup

plement is $1, including postage. As soon as I send this issue of GWS to the printer, I will be putting togeth er the supplement, which will be 8 pages in the same 3-column format as GWS. So it will be available by the time you read this. We may print sup plements on this or other topics in the future, depending on the abun dance of material, our time con straints, and the success of this one. So, for all of you who have told us you just can't get enough of GWS here's your chance to get a little more' You won't find this kind of encouragement and support anywhere else. --- Donna Richoux

NEWS FROM CLONLARA Pat Montgomery sent us the April issue of Home Educator, the newslet ter for her HOME BASED EDUCATION PROGRAM (Clonlara School, 1289 Jewett St, Ann Arbor MI 48104). Some inter esting excerpts: ... The number enrolled in 1978: 3 students; the number in 1983: 632 students . ... In the current school year, 37 home school families were contact ed by local school officials. Two were threatened with a court suit by those officials. Each of the 37 con sulted with HBEP and let us handle the contacts. None of the families had to consult a lawyer; none was taken to court . . . . Out of a total of seven high school-aged stud e nts who completed the HBEP program in 1983, each went on to college or university (two to business college, three to community colleges, and two to universities). ... Clonlara School Based Educa tion Program does provide standard ized tests, the California Achieve ment Test, for home school stu dents ... We administer the test in either of the following ways: (1) the entire packet, including the adminis trator's manual, is sent to the fami ly, the teacher then administers the test after becoming familiar with the manual and with our own written ex planation of procedures; or (2) ... a teacher from an alternative school near to the family's home administers the CAT to the home schoolers. The entire packet is then returned to HBEP ... An explanation of the scores and each interpretation is then sent to the home school. The cost is $20 per family (it does not matter how many children a family has enrolled in their home school) ... In January, the "rear portable" classroom here on campus was re arranged to accomodate home schoolers from the area. Actually some families come from as far as 60 miles away to attend the sessions here .... All of

WHAT'S INSIDE - Wisc. law: 2 --- Other legisla tlve news, 2-3 --- Court news: 3-4 --- Early grad: 4 --- Longtime homeschoolers: 5 --- Open Houses: 5 --- Organizations: 5 --- Success stories: 6 --- Peterson/Changing: 7 --- Reluc tant husband: 7 --- Work: 8-9 --- Jamaica: 9 --- Mexico: 10 --- Elitism: 10 --- OK to be ordinary: 10 --- Fighting: 11 --- JH on diSCip line: 11 --- Shyness: 12 --- Duro case (NC): 13 --- Lewis Thomas/Language: 13 --- Learning stories: 14 --- Hart/Brain: 15 --- Return to school: 16 --- Radosti/Ed. School: 17 -- School grads: 17 --- Wallace/"Seattle Sue": lB --- Math (real life, fingermath): 18-19 -- Computers: 19 --- P.E.: 19 --- Writing (Pen pals, cluster): 20 --- Books: 20 --- Aerial photos: 21 --- Trials: 21 --- Art (Tips, Egypt weavers): 21 --- Music (Instruments, Suzuki, synthesizer): 22-24 --- Language tapes: 24

2 the resources of the campus school are available to the home schoolers. . . . Last January, also, Jackie Beecher (MI) and I met to develop an idea about instituting satellite schools in as many areas of the state and country as we possibly can .. . Jackie's was the first satellite . . . She opened a room in her Emmett, MI home to area home schoolers on cer tain days of the week and acted as tutor for several students; her books and materials were made available to them. Janine Timo of Pinckney, MI fol lowed suit in February ... Valerie Carrier [in Lansing] was next ... If you are interested in being a CLON LARA SATELLITE SCHOOL, contact Pat, preferably by mail, for details ...

NOTES FROM DONNA Dr . Mendelsohn an Ally: Toots Weier (WI) writes, "! see that Dr . Robert Mendelsohn's book CONFESSIONS OF A MEDICAL HERETIC is available through GWS . Wonderful' . . . We attend ed a seminar with Dr. Mendelsohn as the guest speaker .. . A woman in the audience questioned him about his obviously strong opposition to rou tine immunizations of children and how to deal with entering the child ren in school without being immun ized .. . His answer: 'If you are smart enough not to immunize, you are smart enough to teach your children at home. I" Want to be an Alaska School Superintendent? A reader wr~tes, "I am on the school board of a rural school district and hope that after elections in October there will be a majority of board members who will favor exchanging our present superin tendent for a new one . . . Could I look to you for some advice and sugges tions about sources for recruiting a school administrator who would be sym pathetic to 'Holtian' educational philosophy?" If you are interested and think you qualify, I can put you in touch with this reader. Justice O'Connor not a home schooler: As I suspected, the quote in the last issue about Sandra Day O'Connor was an error - she went to several private and public schools in Texas. However, one article I found implied she did not start school till age 8, though this was not clear. Canadian Home Schoolin Book: Wendy Priesnitz (195 Markvi Ie Rd, Unionville, Onto L3R 4V8) says in her newsletter Child's Play that she is writing a book on home schooling in Canada . If you ' d like to help, send for the questionnaire she has pre pared (it is not necessary to identi fy yourself on it). Another youn~ writer makes a sale: Ton~ Lenhar t (OR) says that MOther Earth News sent a check and a contract to her daughter Brooke (5) for an article she dictated on "Brooke ' s Books." Brooke makes and sells blank books with a variety of decorated covers. When the home schooling newsletter Family Centered Learning ran a notice offering her books for $1 each, Brooke got quite a few orders, according to Toni. "She tells me what she wants to write to each customer and I type it up . " A Big Thank-you to everyone who helped with our latest booklist mail ing, especially to Kit Finn, who co ordinated the entire project . Other local volunteers were Loretta Heuer, Mary Silva, Pam Mitchell, Ann Gil bert, Rosemary Larking, Mary Maher, Jim Sterling, Jeanne Gaouette, John Woodman, Mary Pelrine, and their fami

lies. Typists across the country were Eldon Evans, Marie Hartwell, Pamela Lewin, Linda Rieken, Bonnie Speir, Carol Hughes, and Susan Rhodes. - DR

AL~Y

IN UTAH From Leslie Westrum (IN):

... 1 wrote to Professor Arnold sen (Brigham Young University) who is on the GWS "Professor and Allies" list [GWS #36], and he's really ter rific' He sent me some good material, things that he and others had written on freedom, learning, how schools do and don't work, etc ... He said that following the children's lead - let ting them show us what they are ready to learn - is the best way to teach . .. He's a delightful man, total ly in support of home-schooling . . .

NEW WISCONSIN LAW On May 9, the Governor of Wiscon sin signed Assembly Bill 887, which read, in part: .. . 115 . 30 (3) On or before each October 15, each administrator of a public or private school system or a home-based private educational pro gram shall submit, on forms provided by the department, a statement of the enrollment on the 3rd Friday of Sep tember in the elementary and high school grades under his or her juriS diction to the department which shall prepare such report as will enable the public and private schools and home-based private educational pro grams to make projections regarding school buildings, teacher supply and funds required. The administrator of each private school system and home based private educational program shall indicate in his or her report whether the system or program meets all of the criteria under section 118 . 165 (1) • . .. Instruction in a home-based private educational program that meets all of the criteria under S . 118.165(1) may be substituted for attendance at a public or private school . .. . 118.165 Private schools . (1) An institution is a private school if its educational program meets all of the following criteria: (a) The primary purpose of the program is to provide private or reli gious-based education. (b) The program is privately con trolled . (c) The program provides at least 875 hours of instruction each school year. (d) The program provides a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in read ing, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health. This subsection does not require the program to include in its curriculum any concept, topic or practice in con flict with the program's religious doctrines or to exclude from its cur riculum any concept, topic, or prac tice consistent with the program's religious doctrines. (e) The program is not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compul sory school attendance requirement under S. 118 . 15(1)(a). ... (2) An institution may request the state superintendent to approve the institution's educational program as a private school. The state superintendent shall base his

or her approval solely on the criter ia under sub. (1) ... [DR:] The original form of the bill would have closed the loophole of home-schoolers calling their homes "private schools." This would force them instead to get approval for home instruction through the Department of Public Instruction, which has a long history of being erratic and harass ing families. Home-schoolers did not find out about that bill until late in 1983, and immediately started alerting as many others as they could. At a pub lic hearing on Jan. 25, over 2,000 people showed up, the overwhelming majority opposing the bill. The next few months were full of visiting representatives, writing letters, phoning, arranging media coverage, etc. Sue Brooks wrote in the newslet ter of the WISCONSIN REGIONAL COALI TION OF ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, "Several of us 'volunteer lobbyists' were in the Capitol [in February] talking with reps and WAIT ING to find out when AB887 would be on the floor for a vote . As soon as we found out, we all called our con tacts back home - THE NEXT DAY THE PHONES WERE RINGING OFF THE HOOKS' Secretaries and aides were comparing notes in the hall: 'How many did you get this morning?' ... At that moment it became crystal clear to me that the press is important, lobbying is important - BUT, if you want to make an impression in Madison, make sure that informed constituents are con= tacting their representatives' It was a GREAT thing to see and hear'" As the bill went through various committees, votes, etc., it changed form . Home-schooler Janet Kassel pre pared what turned out to be important testimony, documenting many instances in which the Department of Public Edu cation had acted irresponsibly (fail ing to answer home-schooling re quests, turning them down for no apparent reason, demanding applica tions of unreasonable length, making derogatory comments on personal char acter, etc.). Sue Brooks says it was also important to reassure representa tives that there were already laws on the books concerning children who didn't go to any kind of school (tru ancy investigations, consultations, reports), so there was no need to deal with that in this bill.

LEGISLATIVE & STATE NEWS ALASKA: Jack Lash sent us a copy of a ~assed by the 1984 Legisla ture that says, among other things, that nothing requires religious or 6ther private schools to be licensed by the state. It also has an interest ing "kicker" about test scores that reads, "The composite test results of a religious or other private school operated in compliance with AS 14.45.100-140 are not public informa tion unless each public school (1) is also required to administer a nation ally standardized test ... and (2) the composite test results for each pub lic school are public information." The office of the state's Cen tralized Correspondence Study (Dept. of Ed., Pouch GA, Juneau AK 99811; 907-465-2835) sent us information on their home-study program which is available free to Alaska residents . It says, "The 1983 enrollment of 1,154 was an all-time high ... Enroll ment has increased nearly 30% the last four years .. . In May the CCS K-8

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #39

program was declared one of the nation's exemplary education programs by the U.S. Dept . of Education ... " ARIZONA: According to the FAMI LIES FOR HOME EDUCATION newsletter, "Dr. Moore came here to speak to the Senate Education Committee concerning Bill 1125. The part of the bill that we were interested in was the section trying to change the mandatory begin ning school age in Arizona from 8 years to 6 years. Since 90% of the children are already attending at that age there seems to be no reason to change the age. It would have made an inconvenience for many home school ers, requiring them to take the test earlier than they had planned. Any how, Dr. Moore made a very good pre sentation plus some excellent remarks from Sherri Pitman and this section of the bill was unanimously dropped . " CALIFORNIA: A new brochure on Independent Study, the program that public school districts can use to approve home-schooling, is available from the Office of Alternative Educa tion and Independent Study, Calif. State Dept. of Education, 721 Capitol Mall, Sacramento CA 95814. CONNECTICUT: Laura Pritchard tells us that the legislative propo sal for a 5-year mandatory school entrance age has been dropped for the present, as has the all-day kindergar ten. She sent a newspaper article that quoted one legislator as saying, "I've never had as much mail on any issue in my 10 years here as I have had on this one." (See GWS #38). ILLINOIS: Mary Friedl told us that the draft on "Suggested Proce dures for Determining Program Equiva lency" of home-schooling (GWS #38) has been dropped . Instead, the commit tee of Regional Superintendents work ing on this issue have proposed a one-page form for home-schooling par ents to fill out, called a "Statement of Assurance." Home-schoolers have seen a draft of this form and are try ing to make some changes in it. KENTUCKY: Libbie Morley writes, "It seems that a strong effort will be made in the next few legislative sessions to extend the annual testing requirement to private schools . The bill this winter was easily squashed in hearing, largely through the efforts of the church school lobby (GWS #38) ... Another reason for its defeat this year was funding as the state would not be able to require the private schools to pay for these tests." LOUSIANA: The legislature is in the midst of considering changes to the laws regarding private schools and home-schoolers. June Conley told us on the phone that it appears some sort of compromise will have to be worked out - the state wants home schooling to be legitimate, but also wants some sort of control over it. MAINE: The Maine Home ,Education newsletter pUblished a long anti home schooling statement by the presi dent of the Northeast Regional Elemen tary Principal's Association, and urged all home-schoolers in the state to send their responses to the Dept. of Education and Cultural Services. MINNESOTA: From the Minnesota Home School Network Newsletter: " On March 28, a couple of dozen home schoolers met with Independent Repub lican legislators on the education committee ... It was the consensus of the legislators that we ought not to push for a home school law right now until the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled on the two home school court cases now pending. Their concern was that powerful special interest groups

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #39

in education (I think they are refer ring to teachers unions and school board associations) would turn a home school bill into a law that would restrict home schools greatly. As one of the legislators commented, 'The only people not represented to our education committee are parents and students. You're the first I've seen.' It was suggested that we gath er a committee of home schoolers to work with the legislators about the specifics of a home school bill. The legislators were very cordial, and the home school families present felt good about the communication that took place ... " NEBRASKA: The legislature passed a bill saying that schools that do not wish to comply with the usual requirements (which includes certi fied teachers) may instead submit evi dence annually to show that (1) they meet minimum health and safety stan dards; (2) they keep attendance records; (3) they provide instruction in basic areas; (4) the teachers have passed a nationally recognized teach er competency exam, or provide some other evidence of competency. NEW HAMPSHIRE: The NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME SCHOOLING ASSOCIATION would like people to get a copy of the new home-schooling regulations from Charles Marston, State Dept. of Education, 101 Pleasant St, Concord NH 03301, review them, and send their comments directly to Charles Marston and to Elaine Rapp of NHHEA. TEXAS: Martha Bigley writes, "FromlISfening to the debates before yesterday's election, I found that the Texas State Board of Education is not against home education . I heard two of them say that they would sup port home education, that it is a choice parents should be allowed to make . . . In June (maybe) the Governor will call for a special session of the Texas legislature to consider edu cation and road improvement . . . One of the main recommendations is that children should start school at age 4, and that kindergarten should be all day classes ... " Martha also sent us a copy of a letter that Carl A. Parker, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, wrote to her, in which he said: "The Legislative Action Subcommittee had recommended to the full Select Commit tee on Public Education that home schools be exempted from compulsory attendance laws for grades K-6 if the student maintains certain achievement levels through testing at the local school district .. . I was subsequently convinced through conversations with home schooling advocates that the issue cannot be so simply dealt with . It appears that many home schooling advocates are divided in what they want to happen with home schooling in this state. Therefore ... I moved to remove the recommendation from the report pending further study ... " WASHINGTON: In order to write a bill that will have as much support as possible, the home-schooling organ izations are sending out a survey, developed by Jon Wartes of the TEACH ING PARENTS ASSOCIATION. It looks to be very thorough and well-written; results will be available some time after August 1. - DR

COURT NEWS The Washington Post, 4/28/84 : ... A judge in Anne Arundel

County Circuit Court today dismissed

for lack of evidence a case against a

Maryland couple charged with viola ting the state's compulsory school attendance law by educating their children at home. Following two days of intricate testimony on what constitutes educa tion, Judge James Cawood said the state failed to provide evidence that Kathleen Miller of Laurel isn't provi ding "regular, thorough instruction" to her children, Terry Jr . , 12, and Deborah, 8 . The jury, therefore, had no facts to deliberate, the judge sa id. The case, brought by the state against Kathleen and Terry Miller who withdrew their children from public school two years ago, was widely re garded as a test of the state's com pulsory attendance law. In announcing his decision to the jury, Cawood said, "We're not try ing the value of education here . I will stand behind that any time I can. And we ' re not debating whether public schools are better than home learning." Instead, he said, it was a mat ter of the state "shooting itself in the foot" because it did not collect evidence prior to the trial to prove that the Millers were violating the law. The law requires all children from the ages of 6 to 16 to attend public school "unless the child is otherwise receiving regular, thorough instruction during the school year in the studies usually taught in the pub lic schools to children of the same age." Anne Arundel Schools Superinten dent Edward J. Anderson has interpret ed the law to mean that children must attend either public or private schools and, unlike some neighboring county superintendents, has refused to allow home education. . .. Cawood said school officials' assumption that the only comparable education was in a school was wrong under current law and that the real issue was determining whether the pro grams were similar. "The state cannot approve home education programs and turn around and say you can't use them," he said. Mrs. Miller has used programs from the Calvert School of Baltimore and the Home Education Institute of Takoma Park to educate her children. Dennis Younger, curriculum direc tor for the county board of educa tion, today testified that the Cal vert program used by Mrs. Miller in the 1982-83 school year was not com parable to county curriculum because it allowed fewer hours of study and did not provide for physical educa tion, art, and some other subjects. However, A. Dale Swecker, a state accreditation specialist who monitors home study programs in the state, said the Calvert program pro vides "appropriate" instruction for elementary-age children. Mrs. Miller testified that she supplemented the Calvert program in those areas. The state had no evi dence to the contrary. Other expert witnesses called by the Miller's attorney said tests of the Miller children indicated they

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #39, Vo l . 7 No.3.

ISSN #0745 - 5305. Published bi-mont h1y by Holt

Associates, 729 Boylston St, Boston MA 021 16.

$15/yr. Date of Issue, June 1, 1984. Second

cl ass postage paid at Boston MA.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GWS, 729

Boylston St, Boston MA 02116.

ADVERTISERS: Dead l ines are the 15t h of odd

numbered months. Discount for ads i n 3 issues.

Contact Patrick Farenga for rates.

were rece~v~ng regular instruction and were working above grade level in most subject areas. Marilyn Nicholas, an assistant professor of education at Towson State University, said she found Mrs. Miller, who has a high school education, to be a "warm and loving teacher .. . responsive to the children's needs." . . . The Chicago Tribune, 4/17/84: . . . A Riverside woman's campaign to educate her five children at home got a boost Monday when prosecutors agreed to postpone her trial on educa tional neglect charges while she works out an acceptable curriculum with local school officials . ... [Marietta Rubien] had taught her children at home for more than year before a Cook County Juvenile Court judge last December ordered them returned to a formal school. .. . Rubien could have lost ward ship of her children if educational neglect was proven in a trial .. . Teresa Magnazini, an assistant state's attorney, said the main issue no longer is whether Rubien should keep her children. Rather, she said, it is whether the suburban mother can create a home school program that will be acceptable to the two local school districts . . . From the April newsletter of CHRISTIAN HOME SCHOOLS (8731 NE Ever ett St, Portland OR 97220): · . . In Mariposa, a small town in northern central California, the school board tried to get one of our member families to enroll their child in public school through threatened court action. There is a private Christian school in the area which decided to try an independent study program with the family. This was accomplished and now the school district is trying to decide what they can do further, under the law, to force the child into the public school. The legislature in California has passed legislation authorizing and encouraging this type of alterna tive within the public school. There fore, if the public school can set up independent study, then the private school must have that right also. The school attendance supervisor is quite perplexed by the turn of events and is asking to see the curriculum . [DR: See the Hackett case, GWS #34 & #35.] The St . Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/27/84: · .. Two conservative Christian families who teach their children at home have filed a suit contending that state officials and school dis tricts have conspired to deprive them of their religious rights. The class-action suit was filed Monday in U.S . District Court in St. Louis . Defendants in the suit include Arthur L. Mallory, state commissioner of education, and Joseph J. O'Hara, director of the Division of Family Services . · . . The plaintiffs - including David and Deenie Ellis and their daughter, Elisha, 8, of Augusta in St . Charles County - are asking the court to declare unconstitutional Missouri laws used to justify the intervention of child abuse investiga tors into home school operations . . . . Others joining in the suit

were Charles A. and Marcia Bowles of Warrenton, and FAMILIES FOR HOME EDU CATION, a Kansas City-based associa tion of Missouri parents who operate home schools. .. . The Ellises and the Bowles are among at least 24 families in counties surrounding St. Louis claim ing to be victims of harassment from officials. The parents contend that their reputations have been damaged by their being "stigmatized" as "in capa~le of caring for their child ren . . . . [DR:] From a letter by the presi dent of the Nebraska State Education Association, published in the March newsletter of the NEBRASKA CHRISTIAN HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION: . .. On January 27, 1984, the Nebraska Supreme Court in State Ex . Rel. Douglas v . Morrow upheld the con stitutional~ty of the teacher certifi cation requirements set forth in state regulation . The Morrows were operating a home school for their children and neither of them held a Nebraska Teaching Certificate. The court found that, notwithstanding their religious views, the Morrows had not complied with state law. The court held that the requirement of the State that all teachers hold a valid teaching certificate does not interfere with or violate Morrow's religious beliefs or other constitu tional rights .. . [DR: However, see also "Legislative News," this issue.] The Birmingham, Alabama Post Herald, 4/6/84: . .. Two Decatur residents who refused to send their children back to Decatur schools after Christmas vacation were ordered to spend 90 days in the Morgan County jail yester day for violating the state's compul sory education laws. Edmund and Sharon Pangelinan [GWS #38] - who want to educate their children at home - can reduce the sen tence to 10 days in jail and a two year supervised probation if their 9-year-old and 7-year-old daughter are brought back from Connecticut and sent to school. The Pangelinans instead appealed the decision to Morgan County Circuit Court and vowed to continue their fight .. . "Our defense may have appeared weak, but we felt we were go ing to lose on this level and we will present more of our case in circuit court," [Mrs . Pange linan] sa id .. . "We'll take this thing to the Supreme Court if we have to . .. " Deputy Morgan County District Attorney Paul Mathews argued during a four-hour trial that the couple had never tried to meet state regulations for the home teaching they advocate . . . "We had intended to take our plan to the school board but found out it was held a night early and once the warrants were issued we just decided we would not," [Mrs. Pange linan] said . Dr. Byron Nelson, superintendent of Decatur city schools .. . said the state requires that home teaching plans guarantee instruction a minimum three hours daily between the hours of 8 AM and 4 PM for at least 120 days a year in a plan the local school system must approve ... "Person ally I've not had the first home teaching plan submitted to me in 13~ years as a superintendent," he said . ..

Other court news in brief: County drops case: Maginess & Erin Dowling, West Palm Beach FL; after they agreed to enroll two other children in their home school. Facinf court action: The Golson family, Co umbia MD Stephen Beckett, Cambridge ME Released from ~ail Feb. 23: Six fathers in Lou~svil e, Nebraska; after they agreed not to send their children to a particular Christian school . - DR

HOME- SCHOOLER GRADUATES EARLY The Maine Home Education news letter reprinted this article from the Lewiston (ME) Daily Sun, 3/13/84: .. . High school graduation has come early for Tom Kane of Wilton Road, Farmington . The 14-year-old Kane .. . has received word that he has passed the final examinations at the John Holt Learning Center, a school for the gifted and talented. In making the announcement, Head master James Salisbury stated, "I am pleased to congratulate you for gradu ation with the highest honors (summa cum laude, valedictorian). Your course work and graduation test was unquestionably one of the finest sub missions we have had in our five year history, indeed a beautiful bit of research and thoughtful writing ... We recommend you warmly to university work." The school is named for John Holt of Boston . . . U.S. Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell is one of the directors. Kane's major subjects were astro physics, literature, and creative writing. Kane said he has not completed his plans for the future. Currently under consideration is the University of Maine, Farmington, where he has already taken some courses for cred it. Another possibility is Bates, he said. Dean Mary Kendall has indicated Kane would be accepted for study at the Lewiston College . The youth remains active at Sandy River School, where he has been a student since 1978. Some of Tom Kane's plans for the immediate future include traveling in Europe during late spring and early summer with the John Holt Learning Center, visiting museums, attending theaters in London and the Passion Play. Kane is also thinking of attend ing an international astronomy camp in West Germany this summer, then attending Spitz Space Systems gradu ate credit course in observatory and planetarium education in Philadelphia in August ... The newsletter also printed this note from Jean Kane (MI): . .. You asked why we chose the John Holt Learning Center. (1) We wanted an accepted, accredited high school diploma to clear ourselves with the public school . (2) Of course Tom could have got ten that at other schools (Calvert, American, etc.) but we liked the "aca demic excellence" of this school's requirements and courses in: 4 years of English literature and creative writing; algebra, geometry (plane and solid) and trig; sciences including physics; proficiency in foreign langu ages; history .. . An old fashioned col lege-oriented private school flavor .

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #39

(3) We thought this bettered the "old fashioned" school, though, be cause all the emphasis is on personal initiative and endeavor - creative approach - self-motivation . More of home study, which we like. (4) The school did more than just put us on our own . (We were already there . ) Through their gui dance and direction, we - the whole family but especially Tom - discover new ideas, books, courses of study which we had never thought of and find fascinating .. . [DR: For more about the John Holt Learning Center, see GWS #37 p. 15, or write them at PO Box 520794, Salt Lake City UT 84152.]

LONG-TIME HOME-SCHOOLERS Susan McKnight in Texas wrote: · .. Mary Schwalm in Dallas has been home-schooling for some 20+ years . I had the privilege of hearing her give an informal talk to the Ft. Worth homeschoolers recently about her experiences with her now 20-year old twins and her youngest son, aged 13 or 14, who is still being schooled at home . Many of her experiences were similar to those of other GWS fami lies; for example, her boys read later than she thought they would ages 9 or 10; they watched a tree in their yard every day for a year and noted its seasonal changes. What is important to me about her experiences is that her homeschooling methods are so pure and untouched by the flood of curriculum and resources I find my self bombarded with. · .. One comment she made about children beginning to read still sticks in my mind. "It's what child ren bring with them (in their minds) to their reading that's important. Children who have been read to and with, and children who have engaged in thousands of meaningful activities and had the chance to question and discuss with other adults, have a more enriched reading experience." . .. From Kandy Light of Ohio: · .. We have been doing home school for eight years now' Five of our six children (17 to 2) are school age . They are turning out to be well adjusted, not socially deprived, and (I thank God) not your "average" kid. They are able to speak intelligently, and not about the latest TV show or rock group . Some may think we've shel tered them but I did not want them to know about the perversions of society until they were older. All of that comes soon enough. We have been asked to speak to a few home-schooling parents or those interested, twice now. The last time, 70 people showed up in someone's liv ing room. There is quite an interest in home school, much more than when we started eight years ago. There were several public school teachers at the last meeting who were either doing home school with their own kids or interested in doing so. I could write a book on our ex periences over the years . In New York we were confronted by the school authorities and finally, heartily approved as a private school . Here in Ohio we are "laying low" - or trying to - but everyone knows about us, it seems. People I've never seen before are constantly coming up to ask me about home school. I suppose it's a

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #39

matter of time before we are "inspect ed" again . ..

N.J. OPEN HOUSES [JH:] To what Nancy Plent said about the New Jersey Unschoolers "Open House" in GWS #32, I would like to add some excerpts from an article she wrote in the Unschoolers Network: ... A year ago, we decided to chuck all of the things we were doing up to then in favor of a monthly Open House. No meetings, no workshops, no changing locations, no plans; just come on over and visit. Post cards went out to the entire local mailing list, saying this was the last card they would get. (Whew' Hadn't real ized what a pain it was to send those cards each time') Everybody was invi ted to come over on the first Tuesday of each month. At first, we got a movie from the local library each month, but that, too, proved to be too much structure and we settled for getting one now and then . In the summer, we sat outside and the kids splashed in the pool . Sometimes out-of-state fami lies passed through NJ and spent the afternoon with us . New mothers came and said they were glad to know we were around for when they would be home-schooling. I don't think any of us knew exactly what we wanted to do with this day, but doing nothing spec tacular proved to be just right. One of the good things that has happened was that people who came here often met other people they could get together with on other days, too. Three families who met here are taking their children to a local gym class together, and no, we aren't going to make that a "group trip" ... it's much more relaxed this way. .. . To people just starting groups, I'd say try not to get side tracked by having too much purpose and schedule. It's easy to get high on ideas, and tempting to try and carry them all out . The burn-out phase comes on very suddenly when a group tries to translate too many ideals into reality. I really feel that alternative people would experi ence much less of a sense of isola tion if they could focus more on get ting to know each other as people, as less on causes and meetings and activities ...

group for home school parents. Month ly meetings have grown from a dozen or so in private homes to over a hun dred interested parents and children meeting at a church. Field trips have been organized .. . " Beth DeRoos (CA) arranged a home schooling seminar at Stanford Univer sity May 28. She told us in April that more than 400 had signed up, at $15 apiece. COLORADO: Nancy Dumke of the COLORADO HOME SCHOOLING NETWORK has revised and expanded their Legal Pack et, which is available for $6.25 (write to Judy Gelner, 7490 W Apache, Sedalia CO 80135). FLORIDA: Ann Mordes says, "We will again begin to put out the FL.A . S.H. newsletter, but this will be on an irregular basis." INDIANA: According to two news paper stories, one home-schooling Indiana parent is a judge (Kenneth Johnson, Marion County Superior Court 2), and one is a school board member (Richard Merrion, Danville School Dis trict)' IOWA: Issue #5 of OKIDS ($3/yr, 202 Sr-Rth St, Ankeny I~21) lists support group meetings in: north, south, and west Des Moines, Story City, Rolfe, Waterloo, Ida Grove, Sioux City, Ames, Marshalltown, and Ankeny. MONTANA: Patty Barnett of Missou la wrote ~n the Montana Homeschoolers newsletter, "We dec~ded to hold a small home school workshop ... given by parents who were actually teach ing, which would be free .. . Printing 300 posters cost about $20. We sent one to every church in town, and in surrounding areas, along with a cover letter asking them to please display them on their bulletin boards . Then volunteers hit the town with the rest of them. Public service spots were put on several radio stations and we had a piece in the "Community Briefs" section of the newspaper ... Including people already belonging to the group, there were about 50 people attending' ... " MISSOURI: Cynthia Fels of the HOLISTIC EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES DIREC TORY, RR 1 Box 45, Defiance MO 63341, says her group is starting a home study program with a large group of parents in southwest Missouri. OREGON: From Toni Lenhardt (OR):-~e is now a Portland net work/group of homeschoolers who met to hear Lawrence Williams of OAK

THE

Planual

ORGANIZATION NEWS Addresses of all home-schooling groups are either in the back of this issue or in GWS #36 . Or, send $1 for our Home Schooling Resource List . ARIZONA: Liz Prohaska of SUNSET HILL SCHOOL writes, "A group which includes 15 families and 33 children are getting together once a month . The adults talk and the kids play . We usually meet in a park . .. Four of us with children of similar ages get together 2-3 times a week. A few of the children in the group take a pot tery class together once a week at a pottery studio in town . The teacher has been surprised at how self directed the kids are ... We are gradu ally building up enrollment in our school of independent study students . We just enrolled 4 children from Cali fornia, our first out-of-state stu dents . .. " CALIFORNIA: Suzanne Bischof of North Hollywood writes: "A local church has formed a satellite support

Home School By Ted Wade and six others

··Or. Wade's book is persuasive and posi· tive.Not only does he sort out the complex issues involved. but he offers••• detailed information and resources•.•" - Michael Horich. BOOKS. KCCK·FM. " • •• a very useful book for parents who are considering teaching their children at home." - United Press International. " •• • the best and most complete manual we have found on home schooling." - The Teaching Home. A few of th e 22 c hapters: Pa ren ts a n d educa ti o n. Keeping peace wi th sc h oo l auth o ri ties. Help ing c hil dren learn, Teac hi n g seve ral c hild ren. Earl y ed uca' tion. Teac h ing reading, Teach in g m ath. Social de ve lopmen t. Also, six appendix sections including lists ofo r gan iza lians. publi sher s an d laws. I ndex. .5 18 pages. hardcover. 1984. To gel yo ur copy send $ 14.50 plus $ 1 ship pin g (and tax in Ca lifo rni a)

to:

GAZELLE PUBLICATIONS 5580 Stanley Dr.. Auburn, CA 95603