GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 49 Things are looking brighter here now that we've had a chance to adjust and get organized. More details in the story following this one. Good news on the publicity front. Patti O'Toole of Family Circle stayed for several days with the Maher family in Wakefield and visited our office, and says that her article on homeschooling will appear in a late August or September issue. It will include our address, and just ,,,aybe will cause a spate of inquiries and new subs. In February, my husband and I will combine a visit to relatives with a trip to Raymond and Dorothy Moore's one-day "homeschooling lead ership meeting" in Princeton, NJ. The Moores say, "A special moment of memor y will be reserved for John Holt. Many very religious people hav e sharply criticized him, often very unfairly. We will publicly acknow ledge the powerful influence John had on the home-school movement." Plans are to stay with Nancy Plent and Susannah Sheffer, and I look forward to seeing a number of GWS friends. Nancy Fiero, a local homeschool ing parent, will represent Holt Asso ciates on a panel at the "Whole Life Expo" in Boston on Feb. 2. The topic is "Preschool Education and the Whole Child." Mothering magazine is now sell ing reprints of its 1981 interview with John Holt. Send $1.50 to Mother ing Publications, PO Box 8410, Santa Fe NM 87504. There's a fascinating article in the Dec. '85 Atlantic cal led "The Case Against Credentialism . " Writer James Fallows makes some powerful observations about the rise of the educated, professional class, and how this contributes to mediocrity . Worth looking up. Homeschooler Penny Barker (OH) tells us that her daughter Britt was chosen as one of Teenage magazine's "100 most interest~ng teenagers in the country." The magazine's blurb reads, "'I'm too busy doing things to read about them,' says Barker, who has been out of formal school since the fouth grade . Her primarily self devised formula for home education has allowed her to apprentice with the local veterinarian, study applied biology on her family homestead, and write freelance articles for magazine publication." Britt was nominated for the honor by Pat Stone, associate editor of Mother Earth News. You'll find a new feature in this issue - a 4-page highlight of selected items from our "John Holt Book and Music Store" catalog. Throughout the year, we plan to focus on different sections and topics. We can also use this as an inexpensive mailer to send to separate address lists, and so reach people who may
like our items even though they are not interested in homeschooling. Some people are wondering if we are still having the Open House at the office. Yes, indeed, at the usual time: the second Thursday of each month, from 6-8 PM . And you are wel come to come in any weekday to browse through our books; there's usually someone here from 10-5. --- Donna Richoux OUR FI NANCIAL SITUATION In his will, John Holt divided the shares of Holt Associates as follows: 20% each to Pat Farenga, Steve Rupprecht, and myself, and l2~% to each of three couples: Tom and Mary Maher, Mark and Mary Van Doren, and Bob and Nancy Wallace. On Dec. 11, we had a sharehold ers' meeting and elected ourselves to the Board of Directors: Pat Farenga, Tom Maher, Steve Rupprecht, Mark Van Doren, Nancy Wallace, and myself with the provision that for the Mahers, Van Dorens, and Wallaces, either spouse may act as Director at any given meeting. The Board then elected Pat to be president and treasurer of the corporation, and me to be clerk. The Board will meet monthly for the next year to examine finances and decide matters of policy. After personal bequests to fami ly a nd friends, John left the remain der of his estate to Holt Associates . The estate will probably not be settled until the end of 1986 at the earliest, and so we can not use any of that money for quite a while. In the past, Holt Associates has lost money every year, and John has mad e up the deficit with his personal savings. Last year the loss was about $10,000. We are now going to have try to at least break even. We always wel co me any suggestions you may have towards our financial well-being. One thing we have decided we must do is raise subscription rates, which have stayed the same for five years. Starting June 1, 1986, the price for one year of GWS will be $20, and the rates for multiple years and groups will also go up . We feel this rate is still a bargain, consid ering what you would pay for other publications with fewer pages. Furthermore, this means you still have until May 31 to renew or extend at the old rates . We hope you will act quickly, as every renewal is a relief to us. - DR
UPDATE: DONATING HOLT BOOKS I asked Donna Mahr (561 N Main St, Oregon WI 53575) how things were going with the plan to place John Holt's books in libraries across Wisconsin (GWS #48). For various reasons, the project is starting slow ly, but she said that so far they had raised $150, mainly from four local families - and this represents 25 books' One of the families has budget ed a contribution of $10 per month. Donna says they plan to talk to fami lies at support group meetings and the WISCONSIN ~ARENTS ASSOCIATION con vention. It may takes years to reach the goal of TEACH YOUR OWN in every library, she says, but she is commit ted to keeping it going, as every book placed is one that wasn't there before . Donna checked into the various possible ways of obtaining the books. Dell Books will give 20% off to any one who orders a minimum of 25. How
ever, libraries can get the books at 1/3 off, so she figures her group will probably give the money to the library network and let it place the order. The Oregon folks had not yet started to raise money when I phoned in mid-January. Candace Syman -DegLer (26409 Valley View Dr, Cheshire OR 97419) thinks they may buy their books through a friend who runs a bookstore and so get a discount that way. Donna says she got a lovel y let ter from Sandra Hanson in Vancouver, B.C., who is exci ted (though apprehen sive) about doing something similar in her area. If anyone else would like to follow suit, do please let us know. - DR RESPONSE TO JOHN HOLT TRIBUTE
From David Slezak (VA): ... Thanks much for GWS #48. It was a superior issue bringing togeth er the past and present of the home schooling movement. I would encourage you to con tinue printing information and anec dotes about John Hol t's life and work in every issue. That will help keep him and his memory alive. I at t ended a meeting of some Virginia home schoo 1 ers in Charlottesville last Sund ay and was amazed to find several people who had never heard of him. Please send ten copies of GWS #48. Enclosed is $9.50 plus a little extra ... MEMORIES OF JOHN
Nancy Plent (NJ) wrote in the Unschoolers Network #19: ... 1 first "met" John Holt through a phone call on my birthday in 1977. We had just learned that GWS #1 had been published, and were very excited .. . My awe soon vanished as John chatted pleasantly with me for several minutes. When I asked him what he could tell me about the legal ities of homeschooling in New Jersey, he replied, "Why, nothing. We were hoping you folks would tell us'" It was my first inkling that we were going to have a colleague in John, rather than a guru feeding us direc tives . .. . His observations cu t to the heart of things, one of the reasons why his opinions were so valued. In the early days, we had carefully (and nervously) cultivated a dignified, serious image with the press. Then we came across some families handling things in what we considered a flam boyant manner, almost gleefully dar ing the school to give them a hard WHAT'S INSIDE - Van Dorens: 2 --- Volunteers:
2 --- Bllnd child: 2 --- Therapy services: 3
--- Foster children: 3 --- Parents learning : 3
--- Standardized tests: 4 --- Court news (TX.
MI): 4 --- Truancy: 5 --- Calendar: 5 --
Local news: 5 --- Poll/disapp roves: 6 --
Lobbying & letters: 6 --- J.P. 2nd grade:
--- From g y.o.: 8 --- Wanting kindergarten: g
--- Importance of play: 9 --- Asher /acc epting:
10 --- Giesy/influence: 10 --- Rewards: 10 --
Baruch/Letting go: 11 --- JH/tracks: 11 --
Teachers: 11 --- Live-in: 12 --- Teens: 12 - -
Audubon: 13 --- College: 13 --- Single parent:
13 --- Spain: 14 --- Medical voyage: 14 --
"Teach/fish ... ": 19 --- U.S. Trip: 19 ---
T.V.: 20 --- Lunch: 21 --- Formaldehyde: 21
--- Queries: 21 --- COMB: 22 --- Britannica:
22 --- Reading. writing: 22-25 --- Cursive: 24
--- JH/writing: 24 --- Math: 26 Physicist:
26 --- Composers: 27 --- PE: 28 --- Tshirts: 28
time so they could "go pub l ic " and show them up . We felt sure they would come across in TV or news stories as irresponsible, and therefore would get a lot of media attention. While we were concerned, we also felt we couldn't tell others what to do. John's answer was simple . "You can't pretend to the media that there are no nuts in this thing, because there before their eyes IS one . Just trust in your own good works to speak for themselves and don't worry about what others do." Another time when John asked how a particular workshop had gone, I moaned that some people had let us down, failing to get things ready that they had promised. I sighed and guessed that next time I'd just have to do it all myself if I wanted to see it done. John listened carefully to my woes and launched into a story about Gandhi, the gist of which was that you have to trust people "until they become trustworthy." But the time that defines the man most clearly to me is a walk we took to the top of a hill one year at the Homesteaders Festival. John was a great walking companion . I usually drive people crazy once in a woods or meadow, pointing out things I notice. John was right in there with me, and we interrupted each other a dozen times to point out wildflowers or small creatures darting past. When we reached the top and turned to look out over the view, John scanned the hills and murmured "A thousand shades of green" as his eyes swept the trees o n the hills beyond us. He said it again before we walked down, an almost involuntary expression of wonder at the magnificence and com plexity of nature's midsummer show. He stopped often to feel the warm sun or admire the scene below us. I noticed later that he did this often in other settings, too, particularly where little children played nearby . He never missed a word of conversa tion he was in, but his eyes followed children as they played, and he smiled a lot . His enjoyment of the world was quite contagious . I thought about him daily this fall, and tried to make time often to enjoy the love ly days, wishing, in the way we do when someone we love dies, that I could enj oy it twice as much to make up for him not being able to . . . Danette, Bridget, and Socorro Finn ( 7, 6 & 4) dictated the follow ing to their mother, Kit, as their tribute to John: John was a good friend. He seemed like family to me . I played with him and I talked with him . John writed books, and him played on the cello. He played a violin, too. He showed how to play our violin . He played "Guess the song" with us. We guessed "Twinkle Little Star." John made a magazine. A lot of people made a magazine. John was the boss. It was him's idea. We worked too . We carried things and stapled. We took packages to the post office with Steve and Ross. I bringed John a package and him gave me a kiss. We copied papers on the copier. I stapled my finger once. I put postage on packages and I weighed them . John typed on his type writer . Sometimes he fell asleep on his typewriter. When he typed he put on his earphones and he did n 't close the door. He talked on the telephone . Then he closed the door . We had a typewriter too and we typed. But our typing wasn't a magazine or a book .
Sometimes it was a letter. Sometime I'm going to make a book. John said I could make a book. I liked to be with him . He was our John Holt. He came to our house. He slept in Danette ' s room. Once Corrie stuck a penny to his head with spit. It stuck 'cause he was sort of bald. She was really little. He said she was learning. He didn't yell . Him never got mad at us. We watched the gymnastics on TV together. I told him I plan to be in the Olympics . He said he'd Come and cheer for me. He was going to come and visit us. I was going to show him my cartwheel. We were going to play the violin together. I was going to show him my new room. But he died. He got cancer. Him was too sick. He took his body off. He went off to heaven. I want John' John' John' John' John is my best friend. He has to take care of Anna. And he can ' t come and visit us. It's really sad. I love John and Anna. Anna got in an acci dent and got dead too. Her went with John . I don't like my friends dying. John was good at hugging. I can't hug him any more. I can't sit on his lap any more. Nobody else likes to eat peanut butter and applesauce sandwich es with me. John liked to talk too and he never called me motor-mouth. John was a grown-up and a person. I miss John . He's still my best friend. You can love a person even if he has to take his body off and go off to heaven.
were a few people out there who we knew were willing to do this sort of work, the result would be that this info would become much more accessi ble. You don ' t need a lot of experi ence to do paste-up, but it does require a certain amount of patience, eye for design, and perfectionism. Let me know if this appeals to you. Another idea: we will almost cer tainly acquire one MacIntosh computer this year, maybe more, to streamline various operations. It would be very handy to know who else out there has a Mac and might be willing to do work on it for us at home . As we've often said to people, you cin always help by spreading the word about us, and by having strong and active local groups. - DR
SUPPLIER BACK IN BUSINESS Carla Emery is once again run ning TEXTBOOKS FOR PARENTS, following the death of her husband. During his long illness she had to put the busi ness on hold, which explains why a GWS reader (GWS #47) had trouble get ting her order filled. Carla offers the same textbooks used in many pub lic schools, including teacher's edi tions, and she hopes GWS readers will send for her catalog and two free bro chures, one on children under 6, the other on kindergarten at home. Write to Box 209, Kendrick ID 83537; phone 208-276-4721. - DR
THANKS FROM VAN DORENS We would like to thank all of you who have expressed your sympathy to us for our Anna's death. We very much appreciate your concern. It real ly has helped us more than we can say to know there are so many of you who care. It has shown us that GWS, and the homeschooling movement, are more than a network for exchanging informa tion. This is a group of people who really understand that we are not just a collection of individuals but people who can support and help one another, and who do so. Thank you . - MARY, MARK, AND HELEN VAN DOREN
VOLUNTEERS Patti Pitcher (ME) has started to work on the next GWS index. A half dozen others also volunteered in response to the notice in GWS #48, and I hope there will be some other way in the future to take advantage of their skills and good will . Over the years, many people have offered to help us, but we have not always been able to find jobs that can be done outside of the office. Much of what we do simply has to be done here, or at least locally. But we will continue to look for projects that can be done by faraway volun teers. For example, at John's sugges tion, we lined up twenty or so friends last summer to help us evalu ate possible books for our catalog; you've seen some of these folks' reviews in GWS. And recently I asked half a dozen people to help regularly with correspondence and other cleri cal tasks . Here's something we could use volunteers for: a sort of "paste-up and layout" crew. There are certain projects we have long thought of but have never done, such as pasting up articles from back issues of GWS onto sheets or in booklets, according to topics (reading, writing, math, learn ing disabilities, etc.). If there
HOMESCHOOLING A BLIND CHILD From Kathy Klemp (see Resources): . .. When I suggested homeschool ing as a possibility until a better placement could be made for our 9-year-old son who is blind, school personnel told me I couldn't do that unless we belonged to a fundamental ist religious group. Not knowing any better, I trusted this person who has worked cooperatively with us for sev eral years . Thus, our son went back into his old school setting and our summer's work to help him become an independent young man slowly wasted away. One month after school started went to observe our son in his class room. I was appalled at what I observed . His behavior was atrocious (not at all like the child we know at home). The teacher was not only fail ing to discipline him effectively, but even made excuses for his behav ior when I discussed it with her. No wonder our son failed third grade last year in spite of his above aver age intelligence' He was well on his way through another year of failure, as evidenced by his lack of academic progress. My husband and I decided that something had to be done immediately. Further communication with the school proved to be futile. By the end of that week we notified the school that he would no longer be attending their classes and would be enrolled in our home-based program. By this time I had finished my homework and was well informed of our legal rights. . . . Our home school is now in its fourth week and going very well. Our son's behavior is very manageable again and he's so much more relaxed . It will take a long time for his self-image to change but I see signs of change already. Academically, he is progressing rapidly and really learning . While he could not (would not) complete seven addition problems
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #49
3
in 15 minutes in his former class ro om, he has now learned his times tables through 6x12 and completes 25 multiplication problems in 20-30 minutes. Although we are doing well, I am anxious to find resources which can supply the special services our son needs, i.e . , braille instruction, cane training, etc. I have written several letters and I ' m beginning to receive some encouraging responses . I would like to know if there are any other homeschoolers who have blind children, and if so, how they are obtaining the special services for their child .. .
I went down to Catholic Chari ties to investigate their program we dis cussed foster care and homeschooling, and came to the agreement that (1) if the child desperately did not wa nt to attend school and (2) if the natural parents were in agreement that I could homeschool, then as far as Catholic Charities was concer ned, it was OK with them - just in case anyone else had th ose sor ts of thoughts. I t was my impression that you don't have to be Catholic to go through Ca th olic Cha rities foste r parent program ...
[F rom a later note:) ... Regard ing braille instruction, I am taking a correspondence course offered by the Library of Co ngress and therefore have the manual I need to look up any thing my son can't figure out. The NATIONAL FEDERATI ON FOR THE BLIND offered a seminar for parents of blind children which was very informa tive and encouraging. This group of blind people will support us in any way necessary with personal assis tance as well as group support ... They sold us a cane that day and gave us the basic instruction so our son can now travel more independently . ..
ON PARENTS LEARNING
SPECIAL SERVICES AVAILABLE
From Sandy Stock: · .. 1 am a registered occupation al therapist with experience in the publi c schools - learning disabil ities, emotionally disturbed, autism, and other developmental disabil itie s . .. Public Law 94-142, the fed eral "Education for All Handicapped Children" act, does provide for "re lated services" - occupational thera py, physical therapy, s peech - and these are available even if the child does not attend public school. As a public school therap1st, I hav e pro vided services for children in pri vate schools. This may be something that homeschooling paren ts of handi capped children may want to investi gate . School therapists are generally used to working closely with parents, developing programs to be carried out at home. · .. In many states, the schools are required to provide services for students age 0-21; some from age 3-21, or 5-21 . The parents will probably have to demand the services; usually the public schools will do as little as possible. · .. Copies of PL 94-142 could be obtained at a law library - perhaps another reader could do that and send one to GWS (my life is quite chaotic right now, as I am moving). I would suggest contacting the local Director of Special Education. If the chi ld is not in school, an evaluation can be arranged and treatment provided, if appropriate ...
CAN FOSTER CHILDREN HOMESCHOOL?
Deirdre Cox (IL) wrote in the 9/85 HOUSE newsletter: · . . A Burning Question Has Been Answered - or at least one of my burning questions. I talked to several families who homeschool and who do foster care, and none of them have let the agency in question know that they home school their own children. Well, that is too much trouble for me to go through, so when
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #49
From Kathy Purdy (NY): . .. Janet Williams (GWS #46) want ed to know how mothers' lives have changed since beg1nn1ng home school ing ... I am starting to shake the idea that there are certain things I'm good at and certain things that just can't do. I realize that I' m capable of far more than I gave my self credit for in the past. That's one of the reasons I'm typing this letter . I took typing in high sc ho ol and barely got up to 30 wpm. Ever since then I have described myself as someone who "can't type very well, " someone who just doesn't have the knack for it . Long, frustrating hours in col lege typing essays and term papers, where the spelling (i.e . typ ing) had to be perfect, confirmed thi s perception of myself. But since I have been reading some of John Holt's stuff (HOW CHILDREN LEARN, HOW CHILDREN FAIL, TEACH YOUR OWN, and most recently, back issues of GWS), I am realizing how muc h this desire for perfe ctio n hampe red my first attempt to learn to type. So now I am trying t o type without looking and wit hout worrying about typos and I expect that my typing will eventually improve ... Another reader writes: ... 1 had an interesting experi ence a couple of months ago. I was attending a gem and mineral show, and there were a number of artisans making various kinds of jewelry, as people watched. One fellow was making a "lo st wax" tree. The " lost wax" process is used for making silver castings, each of which is unique . .. You can s hape a figure by adding lots of tiny bits until you get what you want . Trees are easy to make because they lend themselves to be ing formed by tiny bits, especially by amateurs. It is a process that takes at least a half hour by someone who is skilled . Well, the fellow was sitti ng there making a tree, and I was watch ing him, fasci nated. To learn lost wax is one of many little goals in life I had set for myself . After I watched him for awhile, he asked me if I wanted to try it. I was truly astounded because, in general, people tend to be very proprietary wi th their equipment, myself included. But I thought it would be fun to try, and in any case, if I le a rned it on thi s day, I wouldn't have to pay someone a sum of money t o take a class. It looked as if I could learn th e essence of it in one session, and the rest I could glean from books, if I got the necessary equipment . So I decided to try it, and I sat there for quite awhile making a tr ee. I ~as right proud of my tre e; it r ea lly looked good .
The man told me th at he Jften asks peop le who are interestej if they want to try to make a tree . He said th a t they a l mos t never agree tJ do it' I thought this was very strange, although I guess I snJuljn't have been surprised; after al l, I have been l iving in this society fJr about 40 years, but the fact was , I did not expect to he ar this. I natu r ally assumed that people are as eager to try new things as I a11 . f>"lis is in spite of the fact that l1 JSt peop l e I know won 't read boo k s t o learn anything either . Well, whi le we were sitting there, at least a half dozen people came and expressed intense interest in what I was doing. The man asked several o f them if the y wanted to try it . In fac t , he strong ly urged them. No luck. I also asked some of them if they wan te d t o try it, and none of them did' I a l l10st th ought I had a cus t omer one time, but alas' not. At any r ate, this got us in volved in a conversation about why people a re afraid to try new things . We didn't make any profound obser vations abou t the nature of t he uni verse, I am afraid, but it occurred to me that nearly everybody in our SOCiety is a product of the schools . It seemed logical to both of us that the sch oo ls do some th ing to pe ople that makes them afraid t o try new things. Maybe it is penalizing people for guessing, and for being wrong. Maybe it is th e intense competitive ness, naturally due to a disparity of ages ... All of th is, of course , leads one to notice how pervasive the fear of new experiences is in our society . Whether it be the cas ual passer - by who won't make a lost wax tree, or my electronic music composition teacher who uses her sy nthesizer with aplomb, but is scared to dea th of com put ers (in my mind, machines of exactly the same ilk') . I have run into it every where I turn, most especially now th at I am paying attention . But it has been my experience that the home sc hooling parents I know, who have been at it for more than two years, have lost this fear to a large extent and are reaching out to embrace the world ... From Barbara Gaut hier (Ont . ) : ... Ove r the last year, I hav e been following correspo ndence courses. My airr is to redo my science and math courses from high school and get the best marks possible. I hated high school when I was younger and, therefore, only did enough wor k to get through. The courses are put out by the Ontario Ministry of Educaticn and the entire high school curriculurr is available . Unfo rtunatel y, these courses are not yet available t o people of high school age. Hopefull y, by the ti~e the kids are that age, they will be acle t o follow these courses at horr e (if they are still homeschooling ) if the y intend to gc on to universities . Fo r myself, I arr hoping t o get as far as medical
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #49, Vol. 9 ho. I.
ISSN #07 45-5305. Pu b1 i shed bi -month 1:1 by ~')1 t
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes t o GWS, 72Y
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ADVERTISERS: Deadlines are the 15th of adj· numbered months. Discoun t for ads in J con;pcu tive issues. Contact Patrick Farenga fer fdtes.
4 ~ = n oo l a nd co nt i nue on to psychiatry. F~ rt u n a t e l y , the government provide s
Sing l e Par e nt Allowance which we have lea rned to live on quite comfort ah l y . It allows me to stay home and s t lldy with th e kids. It is just amaz ing how I a m e njoying math and ho~ simp l e and l ogical it is. There is no th i ng wr o ng with learning alge brn , geo me tr y , trigonometry, etc . , th e pro blem i s that the schools force p00p l e t o l e arn it whether they want 0r nee d t o o r no t, and without any choice of whe n o r where or how the y l pa rn i t ... q
LET THEM DISCOVER
Sha rr on Le r ew ( PA ) wr o t e in her lami l y ' s news l e tt e r ( se e story else whe r e this i s s ue) : ... Ll oyd and I took the "How To iste n So Your Kids Will Talk and l il lk So Your Kids Will Listen" work s hop l as t spr i ng. One of the big reve l a ti on s I go t f rom that workshop was th a t whe n I no tice that someone does nn t und e rstand s omething or is misin fo r me d abo ut something that it is not [,('cessa ril y my responsibility to - t eac h th em o r co rrect them; that if t hey eve ntually learn it them s elves i t wi ll be th e ir s - not min e . A beau tif u l e xampl e o f this happened during Je nny ' s po t-h o lder spurt. During the fi r s t f ew days s he was making "ran dorr " po t ho ld e rs. I love patterns in eve r ythin g a nd had a terrible time no t hi n ting t o he r that something ex ci t i ng wo uld happen if she would put co l o r s o n the l oom systematically. I re s is t ed and a bout the third day she carre up t o me with the biggest smile a nd ce hind he r ba c k a patterned ro t-h o ld e r. Sh e was so thrilled. And she had di sc ove red it herself' Of cou r se af t er two days of her making t ha t s a me patt e rn I was once again t em pt ed t o s ugge st that a different sys t em woul d produce a different pa tt er n. Luc kil y I'm learning to re si s t these t e mptations when I no ti ce them .. .
FEF1CENTILES ARE MISLEADING
Fr om John Meyer (see "Additions t o Speaker Bureau"): . . . In reference to the letter fr om Ki tt y Semisch (VA) in GWS #47, 1 wis h t o make some comments about as s e s si ng children using standardized te sts, a nd the interpretation of re s u lts from such tests. Homescho o lers should be partic l' la~l y a ware that the use of percent ile sc o res to interpret standardized t e s:s can be very misleading because rer~entiles are NOT evenly spaced quantities . For example, the "small" difference between the 2nd and the 16th percentile is, from a statistic a l standpoint, as significant a dif f erence as is the "larger" difference bet ween the 16th and the 50th percent ile. Assessment specialists generally c o nsider the "average" range on a standardized test to lie between the 16th and the 84th percentiles. (Tech n i call y speaking, this is the range f r om a negative one standard devia t io n t o a p l us one standard deviation [rom the mean, i . e., a Z Score of -1 t o +1.) In any meaningful sense of the ter m, children can ONLY be consid ered t o be above or below "average" i f their scores fall OUTSIDE of this range . Consequently, any regulation which d emands that a home schooled c hild perform above the 40th perce n t
i le or be returned t o a traditional c lassroom can onl y be interpreted as absurd. Unfortunately, I am familiar with situations where a school dis trict has placed kids into classes for the handicapped because their test scores were near the 25th per centile - still well within the "average" range' ...
colors. We did the first twent y words of vocabulary and she got only two wrong (and our school year isn't e ven half over yet) . Our conclusion is that Judy is above grade level. So, with a little bit of luck everything s hould g o really well this year . ..
CREATIVE TEST ANSWERS PARENT PROTESTS TEST SET-UP
From Mary Ann Daniels (NY): . .. It was with such sadness we learned of John's death. I wrote him over two years a go t o thank him. Judy ( now 11) was labeled hyperactive/ learning disabled. We solve d the "hyperactive" pr o blem s with Fein gold's Diet, and we didn't feel Judy was "learning di s abled." She wouldn't do her schoolwork - s he hated it. At the ages of 5, 6, and 7, she had enough fortitud e t o f o llow thr ough with her hatred o f paperwork and refused to do it. She drew pictures of horses and unic o rns on the back of her mimeograph e d worksheet s , made up songs and sang them, ab out the sub jects of the paperwork, and outright refused to have an ything t o do with ABC order o r anyth i ng tedi o us. Thi s i s our third year o f home schooling. I love it' It was as Donna stated in I s sue #46 of GWS, t o a mother whose daughter only wanted to play: "It will quite likely take as long for the effects o f school to wear off as the number of years that she was in it." Judy was in school for three years and the barriers she built up just began coming down this year. Suddenly learning i s becoming something which i s beginning to be fun. She actually loves math now. " .On the gloomy side, we moved into a new school district last win ter and were required to go in for testing. Judy got nervous and blew it. I then received a phone c all from the principal . When I told her I placed no significance on the tests she was a bit shocked, as she is a "test" person. To top that off, this fall we received a letter from the C.O . H. saying we could get a "free" education for our previously handi capped child. I can hardly believe that our child ' s progress is being judged by one standardized test . They never asked to see her work or any thing . .. I started researching the standardized test in my sister's teaching text books. All I found were statements such as "It is doubtful that the results of standardized tests can be accepted with great con fidence." I then got angry and sent them a letter letting them know it . .. I also cited Judy's experience with the test ing situation itself: writing answers i n t h e booklet first instead of the answer sheet, being nervous, not com pleting the test, getting involved in a little incident with a boy, the classroom not being quiet like she is used to, etc .. . I requested that they send me a sample of the CAT and a sample of the PEP Writing Test that she has to take this spring. I also asked for arrangements to be made for her to take the test in a quiet place. Guess what we got in the mail Saturday? We got a nice letter and a copy of the CAT and PE~ test . The psy chologist also told me to contact the principal to make special arrange ments in the spring for a suitable testing environment. When we looked through the test we were amazed. Judy should come through with flying
Another good testing story from Eda LeShan's book THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST CHILDHOOD ( see GWS #48 ) : · .. At the age of six, when I was given my first intelligence test for entrance into a progressive sch oo l, I was later asked by my mother wh a t I had th o ught o f the test. I rep o rt ed that it had been all right, e x ce pt f o r on e very puzzling quest i on. I s aid that the teacher had asked me to draw a lion between a chair a nd a pail drawn on the test page; I didn't think I co uld draw a good lion, s o I had drawn a daisy instead. Wh e n my mother said, "But, Eda, they probably wanted you to draw a line between the c hair and pail," I repl~ed, "Oh, but that would have been too dash'" .. . It later dev e l o pe t a t o n a s imple arithmetic question, "Wh e n the fo x ate two little rabbits, and then he a te two more littl e rabbits, the fox had eaten ---- little rabbits," I gave as my answer, "The f ox ate the poor little rabbits." When my mo ther suggested that I should have said "four rabbits," I replied, "Oh, but Mommie, the poor rabbits'" COURT NEWS
The November issue of the Texas Home Educators Newsletter repores:-As a result of recent action by the Texas Education Agency, numerous prosecutions have been initiated or threatened against homeschoolers since September. Among those school districts which have initiated or threatened prosecution are: Beaumont, Cleveland, College Station, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Grand Prair ie, Hughes Springs, Humble, Katy, Kerrville, Leander, Lubbock, Midland, Midlothian, Mt Pleasant, Pasadena, Richardson, San Antonio, Spring Branch, Taft, Vidor. · . . A word of encouragement to our readers ... This still represents a small portion of the approximately 1 , 100 school districts in Texas . Furthermore, many of these 23 school districts are not aggressively pursu ing homeschoolers. · .. Shelby Sharpe, the attorney handling the class action case (GWS #44 & 46), wants to be informed of the name and address of each home schooler who is prosecuted or threat ened with prosecution, as he is seek ing to recover for all homeschoolers in Texas any expenses incurred in their defense and for the anxiety which they have suffered .. . [Sharpe's phone is 817-429-6268 or 335-4417 . 1 South Bend (IN) Tribune, 1/19/86: · . . A Berrien County (Michigan) judge has upheld the conviction of a Berrien Springs woman who said she did not send her son to school in 1974 because of religious beliefs, but he also has criticized a lower court for delays which kept the case £ending for 11 years . In tfie ~n t erim, the 7-year-old boy has become an l8-year-old adult,
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #49
5
who is attending college and is old enough to vote. ... Although he upheld the ver dict, [Circuit Judge Chester J. Byrns) criticized the sentence imposed in Berrien District Court against Judith Jones, then Judith Waddell, and set aside a ruling that she pay $1,000 in costs. Jones was arraigned Jan. 16, 1975, on a charge of failing to send her son, Brett Waddell, to school from Sept. 8, 1974, to Jan . 14, 1975. ... Jones claimed that she kept the boy out of school because of her religious beliefs expressed by Ellen G. White, a 19th century prophetess
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
. .. [Judge Byrns) wrote that Jones' beliefs concerning sending her son to school is not shared by all Adventists and there is no official church position on school entrance age. In fact, Byrns said, the over whelming majority of Adventists do send their children to school at the required age. In reversing the sentence that Jones pay $1,000 in costs, Byrns said that costs are often waived entirely in cases where a public question, such as constitutional rights, is involved, . . He said courts must not chill s i ncere constitutional claims and defenses by assessing heavy penal ties when the claim is denied ... The Firminghams of Pontiac, MI (GWS #47 & 48) have agreed to place their children in an approved private school while they appeal their case. Because of this, contempt of court charges were dropped. Meanwhile, Pat Montgomery reports in the December Learning Edge that two families in Oakland County have been summoned to appear in court for "educational neglect," even though one family had already returned their child to school, and the other is supervised by two certi fied teachers. The truant officer of Oakland County says he intends to take every homeschooling family in the county to court, "two at a time so as not to tie up the court system . "
FEARS HARASSMENT FOR "TRUANCY" From Gayla Groom-Slatton (OR ): ... 1 work with an attorney who is in charge of representing the city of Portland in any truancy problems that arise . I asked him how the police determine who is a truant . He says that they basically just con front kids who are out a nd about dur ing school hours, take them to one or another Horrible Public Institution (I'm paraphrasing), and call their parents. This is awful. I realize that the majority of truants are out looking for trouble, at least the ones the police would likely be look ing for. But how can I protect my kids, when they get old enough t o be out and about on their own, from being summarily picked up and escort ed in a police car to a police sta tion or juvenile home or whatever, and left there until the "authori ties" can get ahold of me or my hus band? How can I keep the authorities from bullying and harassing my child ren? If it is not the law that a child has to be in school during c er tain hours, then why are the police enforcing such a law? Surely they can find better things to do. I remember one encounter I had with the law when I was a teenager, and, although I'd
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #49
done nothing wrong, the terror of the situation was all out of proportion to reality. I suppose that's the pOint ... [DR: Any respon s e, readers? I can't ever remember someone telling us that the police had harassed home schooled children, but it may have happened. My hunch is that if a child is reasonably verbal, and is going somewhere or doing something in a pur poseful manner, not just hanging ar o und, then there' s not likely to be a problem. "We're homeschooling, and I'm o n my way to my French lesson." My guess also is that most home school ing parents don't allow their child ren the sort of far-ranging play dur ing school hours that they would per mit at other times, that children are either close to home or out on a specific mission - with their par ents, if younger, or alone, if older. Is this accurate?)
N.V. TELLS LOCAL DISTRICTS When I wrote the "How To Get Started" s tory for the last issue, said we never heard of a state depart ment of education official passing along names of those who inquired about homeschooling to the local school di s tri c ts. Well, there's a first time for everything. A Long Island family reports that if you ask the New York State Education Department in Albany for the new guidelines on homeschooling, a copy of the state's reply is sent to your local superintendent. This did not pose any problem for this par ticular family, but they felt that others should be alerted. Rather an unpleasantly officious action of the state, I must say. However, as we have also said before, if you are concerned about giving your name out, you can arrange to make inquiries through a non homeschooling friend. - DR
CALENDAR We ar e will i ng to print a calen dar of major homeschooling events. Guidelines : ( 1) th e event should be open to anyone interested in home scho o ling; (2 ) it should have state wide, multi-state, or national orien tation; (3) we need at least four months' advance notice (because-0f tne-considerable time it takes to assemble, print, a nd mail GWS). Here ar e the first items we have on hand: A~ril 18-19, 1986: THE WORLD IS MY CLA SROOM, 2nd conference. Alver n i a High Sc hool, 3901 N Ridgeway, Chi c ago IL 60657. $ 5 in advance, $7.50 at d o or. Exhibitors welcome. No ch i ld care. Conta c t Deirdre Cox, 1919 W Melrose, Chicago IL 60657. May 3-4: WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF HOME EDUCATORS , 1st Annual Home schooler s Co nvention. Everett Civic Auditorium, Everett WA. Contact Car o lyn Kunard, 206-745-8478. June 14: KENTU CKY HOMESCHOOLERS Annual Pl c nlc. 12 n o on . Geo rge Rogers Clark Park ( near lodge), Thruston Av, Louisville KY . Co ntact J. Montgomery, 10208 Bluffsprings Tr, Louisville KY 40223.
LOCAL NEWS For addresses of state and local homeschooling groups, see GWS #48 or our "Homeschooling Resource List," $1. ALABAMA: Lee Gonet of ALABAMA
CITIZENS FOR HOME ED UC ATI ON says t he group has decided to f o r e g o s u p po rt ing ~ homeschooling l e gi s l a t ion f e ] 1986. There is to o mu c h of a po s s i bility for a bad l a w t o be passed that we would--rather wa it unti 1 wE' hold a stronger positi o n. I n ot her 'safe' states the mand a t o r y atte n dance laws had been rul e d u nco n &t it u tional befor e any h o mesc hoo l l egisl d t ion ha~ enacted. [ DR: for eX dn pie, GA & WI. ) In two pri o r cases (Hill v. State, 1981, a nd J e rn igan 'J • State, 1982) our court s rul e d th at Alabama's schoo l att e nd a nce laws ~ c r e constitutional. --- "So until the Al a ba ma Educa t i o n Association holds a weaker pos it ion in our House and Sena t e and/or we prove in court that th e s t a t e of Ala bama has a minimal inter e st i n nur children's education, we wi ll not actively push for a n e w l aw co n ce r n ing home education. This d oes n ot mean that we will n o t be l obbying this coming yea r. Th e gr o u p decided that we will be putt i ng ou r e n ergy into communication and educ at io n of the general public and o ur l egis l a tors through letters, ph o n e ca ll s , and personal contact s , with th e t~ought"of the 1986 ele c ti o n s i n mlnd . .. ARKANSAS: The stat e is e n forcjn~ strictly the clause in th e n ew h o~ e schooling law ( GWS # 46 ) tha t says homeschooling fam i li es must fi l e their intent notices b y Augu s t I S, says the ARKANSAS CHRI STIA N HOME EDL CATION ASSOCIATION. Fa mi l ies cannot remove children from s ch oo l in ~id year and begin homesch oo l i ng. AC HEA plans to address this pr o bl e m i n th e next legislative session. Furth er more, if a homeschooled 6- yea r- old turns 7 during the s c h o ol year , t he state is saying s /he is trua nt unless the family filed th e Augu s t n o ti ce . CALIFORNIA : A law pa sse d in October, SB 695, revi se d th e p r oce dures that allow stud e nt s f r om grad e s K-12 to take communit y c ol l ege cour ses. If the community c ol l ege approves, a child may att e nd par t time or full time, and th e co ll ege will be able t o c o ll e ct st a t e aid money. Full-time att e nd a n ce sa t isfie~ the compulsory educati o n l aw . Pare n t s of children not in sc hoo l ca n pe ti tion the pre s ident o f th e community college directl y . COLORADO: A r e cent De n ve r Post article says that Rep. Mik e Bird~ -a homeschooling parent h i mse lf, p l ann ed to introduc e a bill th a t wou l d eli~ir ate the state's a uth o r ity t o appro ve home study pr ogr a ms, a nd a ll ow for alternatives to stand a rdi ze d t estin~, such as evaluation by a ce rt ified teacher. Students wh o wer e n't pro gressing after two yea r s o f h o~e study could be f o r ce d t o re t urn t c public scho o l . The NORTHER N CO LORADO HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATI ON n ews l et t er l isted four districts that seem to r eject homeschooling request s a ut omatica ll y: Westminster, Aur o ra, St. Vr ai n s, and Pueblo #60. Families s h o ul d kn o~ thal they have the right t o a pp eal to t hE State Board of Educ a ti o n. CONNECTIC UT: Th e CONN ECT I CUT HOMESCHOOLERS ASSOCIATI ON i s prepar ing a phone tre e s o me mbe r s can act quickly if possible a d ve r se legis l a tion is introduced . DELAWARE : Home s ch oo l e r s have CO-OPERA TlVE GAMES
about nature, ecology, adventure, langudgf',
history, math, space, world problems ( rn') 1e .
ALL AGES - ALL SITUATIONS New, expanded catalog, 25<: Family Pastimes(GS),Perth,Ontario,Canada K71UC6
told me o n the phone that there is 50~e uncertainty as to whether it wOll l d i nd eed be wise to introduce jpgislation (GWS #48), or whether ~ost fami li es a re con t ent with the e x i sting law. GEORG I A: About 400 parents ~ltcn~i a- i-CEO RGIA NS FOR FREEDOM IN EDI 'CATrON sem inar in November. Guest speaker was a State Department of Edu cation off i cia l who talked abou t the first year ~ nder the recent home schooling law . KANSAS: Bonnie Sawye r writes in Kansas-for-Alternative Education, rrr isE-sissron-rne-nouse Education Com ~ jttee t a bl ed action on any home school l eg islation, pending a deci sion on a case on appeal before the Kansas Supreme Court . The appeal has since been dropped and is no longer a factor in the Committee taking action. Th e refore, thp Committee cou ld act on HB 2008, 2080, and 2178 at a ny time ... A major concern is that the committee wi ll take HB 2178 and amend it wit h some of the unaccep tahl e conditions contained in 2008 and 2080 ... "This wi 11 be an election year fo r the Hou se , and some Representa tives may want to avoid controversial i ss ues . One positiv e point: the legis lat ors hav e heard from homeschoolers' Represe ntati ve Louis has received many comments from othe r legislators about the amount of mail they have r ece ived. "Whil e [2 178 ) may not be a per fect bill, it is one that the lawyers f e lt they could defend us with in court if it were passed. This appears to be our best option . " LOUISIANA: From the newsletter of CITIZEN5-rGR HOME EDUCATION NORTHWEST CHAPTER : "The new [educa ti on ) department head, Sue Starling, has been very gracious and helpful wi th homesch oo l families . The majori t y of the renewal applications have been recommended for approval, but some have needed additional verifica tion of eligibility ... According to Ca thi Edwards, the app l ications that we r e acco mpa nied by test scores were r ecom mended for approval without ques tions. Those families who chose to develop their own programs rather than use the curricul ums familiar to th e educators, such as A Beka, are being asked to submit additional materials . In these instances, submit ting th e standardized test scores would be the quickest means of verifi cation . Even if the child scored l owe r than his grade level this is no cause for concern as the department is l oo king for progress." MAINE: Barry Kahn (ME) writes, "Th e EiIggist b izarre news in my life is that I am running for the Portland School Committee . After 37 years of quiet apolitical life, I'm going pub lic. As I told one of my friends, even though my kids don't attend pub li c school, they live in the same t ow n - and play with - all the kids who do . If I can make school a little more se nsible for all those kids, I'll be content." MARYLAND: The MARYLAND HOME EDU CATION -ASSO~ATION was unable to find a spo nsor for a one-paragraph bill that would have only required home schoolers to f ile a notarized affi davit stating that the child is r eceiv ing "regular , thorough instruc ti o n in the studies usually taught to children of the same age." So they are now supporting a modified version of Florida's la w, which delegate John Gary of Ann e Arundel county is will ing t o introduce. Under the bill, par ents would keep a portfolio of
records and wo rk, and provide an annual assessment in any of a variety of ways (test, certified teacher eval uation, correspondence program evalua tion, etc.). MICHIGAN: The Learnin Edge reports~close t o 1,00 attended the homeschooling rally at the state capitol in Lansing on October 23. Th e r ally was orga niz ed by INFORMATION NETWORK FOR CHRISTIAN HOMES. MINNESOTA: Sharon Hill estad of the MINNESOtA HOMESCHOOL NETWORK felt that the Dec. 12 he aring before the Senate Education Committee went ~ell; many homeschoolers attended and pre sented good testimony. However, Ellen Loegering says the additio nal Januar y hearing did not go so well. Senator Pehler, the chairman of the commit tee, has drawn up an interim bill that would set up a Task Force to write the actual bill, and would in the meantime impose requirements regarding curriculum and t esting . Various educators testified on behalf of this bill. Ellen says that when the legisla tive session starts Feb. 3, Pehler's bill will be formally introduced, as will be the homesch ooling bill draft ed by the Berean League (GWS #43), and more hearings will be held. MISSOURI: FAMILIES FOR HOME EDU CATION says the "A cademic Freedom" bill, allowing homeschooling with no restrictions, has been introduced in the legislature by Sen. John Schnei der of Florissant and Rep. Ronnie DePasco of Kansas City. NEW YORK: Katharine Houk of the HOMESCHOOLERS EXCHANGE was invited to take part in a Jan. 16 conference of "education leaders" in New York State, the purpose being to improve relations between public and non public schools. OKLAHOMA: Joyce Spurgin sent us a news story in which the Oklahoma Education Association listed a dozen legislative goals, one of which was "On the home-school issue, the associ ation opposes any schools without cer tified personnel and accreditation from the state Department of Educa tion . " Oklahoma has been one of the most peaceful states for home school ers ever since 1922 when t h e State Supreme Court decided Wri~ht v. State. Joyce has writtener represen EiIIves and is sending copies of the clipping to other families in the GWS Directory, and I imagine the various homeschooling organizations across the state are also taking action . PENNSYLVANIA : An article in the Lancaster Sunday News, 11/17/85, shows how much school superintendents vary in their handling of homeschool requests. Dr . Curtis Rohm of Solanco says his district has granted per mission to homeschoolers for many years, and has had "pretty good exper iences." Donald Bissinger of Hemp field says, "I won ' t allow it .. . There is no home school that can match the quality of education in a public school." WISCONSIN: On Nov. 15, the Senate~CiIIon Committee held an informational hearing on the 1984 homeschooling law. Roger Sunby of the Dept. of Education and other educa tors said that the law did not pro vide any assurance that children were being educated. In January, the Wisconsin Associ ation of School Boards convention con sidered a resolution to ask for more regulation of homeschoolers. Donna Mahr tells us that several homeschool ers were able to attend, distribute copies of the existing law, and speak about the legal standing. The resolu
B
tion was tabled until next year's co n vention . Donna, a former school board mem ber herself, says she has told her local schools, "If you want the state to regulate me, I will go to the state and getthem to regulate ~" and she feels this has a strong effect, as local control is very important to school officials . - DR PUBLIC DISAPPROVES OF HOME SCHOOLS? From Karen Furuhjelm (N H) :
... 1 found an article in a l oca l paper that states "The public (737.) thinks that the movement toward home schooling is a bad thing for th e nation." Need I point out that it is unlikely that this 73 % has seriously considered the issue for more than thirty seconds, and has done no research into the how, why, and why not of home schooling? This se nten ce was the last sentence in a 230 -word article, and the only mention of home schooling in the entire column. Fur thermore, the internal evidence sug gests that this article and the sur vey upon which it was based were most likely prepared and paid for by the National Education Association, although there is no official respon sibility given ... [DR: Karen sent the entire arti cle, which is just as she describes it. It was a report on the "17th annual Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools" and says the results of the poll were to be published in the September 1985 issue of the magazine Phi Delta ~appan . Perhaps a reader could look tnrs-up and send us a copy? There may be some useful information given on how the item was worded, who was polled, and so on.) LOBBYING & LETIER-WRITING Here is advice and experience from two homesc hooling newsletters that may be useful to anyone involved in a legislative battle. First, from the PENCIL Sharpener (PA):
Letter Writing: Representative Pitts [sponsor of the homes chooling bill) has said on many occasions that five personal contacts and ten let ters from homeschooling families in a particular district will get that vote . In our work up to now, we have been struck by how unfamiliar many legislators seem to be both with the concept of homeschooling and with HB 1478 itself. We cannot blame busy legislators for this; rather, we must make it our business to inform them. Writing letters, especially to members of the Education Committee, continues to be one of the most impor tant things you can do. Below is a list of all members of this commit tee, and we urge you to write to them, particularly to Chairman Galla gher, who has, as Rep. Pitts says, "life or death power over the fate of the bill . " Many letter-writ ers have already gotten evasive, non-committal responses from various legislators. If this has happened to you, we strongly suggest that you follow up wi~h another letter, this time insist ing on a substantive response. You can still be polite (a nd it is always important to be) while asking your representative to identify his or her particular concerns about the bill so that you may address them. We have fact sheets available on Teacher Cer-
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #49
tification, Truancy, Achievement Tests, Socialization, and The Present Law (send us a self-addressed, stamped envelope) and you are welcome to send these to legislators or to use the facts within them in your letters. In your letters, remember to be brief, polite, firm, and above all, personal - that is, emphasize what the passage of the bill would mean to you and your family . Stress that you are not attacking the schools, merely hoping to secure the right to home school. Finally, do continue to send us whatever responses you receive, as we forward these to Rep . Pitts and keep our own list as well . If Rep. Pitts knows what the legislators are saying to you, he is able to identify which ones need more convincing, and he puts his staff to work doing just that. Lobbting : After visiting the offices 0 two representatives on the day of the rally, we are convinced that Rep. Pitts has not underestima ted the value of personal visits. Many legislators are simply unfamil iar with the bill and have no clear or realistic notion of who homeschool ers are. Their lack of information, supplemented only by a few negative stories sensationalized by the press, seems to lead them to imagine fami lies who might keep their children at home and then "refuse to educate them," and this in turn makes them wary of supporting House Bill 1478 . Tom Eldredge, president of PARENT EDUCATORS OF PENNSYLVANIA, made the point when he spoke at the rally that the parents whom legislators fear are really hypothetical parents. We need to show legislators that home school ers are concerned, dedicated and reasonable people, interested in the best education for their children . It is not difficult to do this, and leg islators are interested in speaking with intelligent and concerned voters (which all of you are). So do visit a legislator who is still undecided or opposed - either your own, or a mem ber of the Education Committee - and bring your children. Don't waste the time of a legislator who has already promised to support the bill, but do write a brief thank you. And do let us know what happens' .. . And from Kansans for Alternative Education: ... The most effective means of communicating with our elected offi cials is by letter. When writing to legislators, it is important to remem ber the following: 1. KEEP LETTERS SHORT AND TO THE POINT . The nicest available paper and envelopes should be used . Do not use notebook paper. 2 . GRAMMAR AND SPELLING . It is essentia l that all letters be free of spe l ling and grammatica l errors. This is extremely important because we a r e arguing that parents are capable of deciding the educational standards of their children. So please have some one proofread each letter for gramma t ical and spelling errors. 3. BE NEAT. A handwritten note carries the most weight . However, if you have difficulty in maintaining a neat letter, use a typewriter. [DR: My own feeling is th at a neatly typed, one page letter will probably pack more punch than multiple pages of large handwriting. 1 Do not use pencil. 4. INCLUDE ONLY ONE IS SUE IN THE
GROWING WITHOUT SC HOO LING #49
LETTER. Do not bring up other issues when writi ng abo ut home education . If you are concer ned abou t several issues, address these i n separate letters. 5. ALWAYS USE YOUR OWN WORDS. When writing your letters, don't copy someone else ' s wo rding. Always use your own ideas and arguments . They are the most effective weapon you have. Most legislators read personal letters they receive but are not impressed by and will not read form letters . 6 . WRITE YOUR ADCRESS BELOW YOUR SIGNATURE . Many times legisl a tor s want to ack now ledge receipt of your letter. 7. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR LEGISLA TOR ' S VOTE ON ISSUES YOU ARE CON CERNED ABOUT . If he votes as you sug gested, send him a n ice thank-you . If he does not, let him know you are dis appointed and ask for an explanation of his vote. Your note to your legislator should include: 1. The bill number along with a short description of the subjec t of the bill . 2 . Your pOSition - su pport or oppose. 3. Two or three brief reasons supporting your posi ti o n. 4. Your recommendation o f action to be taken. Your letter wil l make a di fference ...
PLANS HER OWN DAY
A parent wrote in the newslette r of HOME SCHOOLS ~NITE D (NV): . . . Our 9-year-old lost her en thusiasm for daily s tudy; s he just wanted to watch TV and play all day. We decided to put her in charge of her own learning prog ram by requiring that after breakfast and her morning chores, she was to tell us what her study plans for the day would be a nd to ther. get started on them. We didn't have to remind her once' All we did was ask her what her plans were and it was obvious that she had already thought it out. She got busy right after her chores . And her work seemed bette r, too; ther e weren't as many mistakes . I have heard that other homesch oo l ers were "self-directed" but I n eve r really understood that conce pt until trying it with my daughter . . . WHAT HE WANTS TO LEARN
More from Kathy Purd y (Ny): " .Last yea r ou r o ldest son Ternan (5) was enrolled in Yamaha music school . He has been teaching himself to swim in the kiddie pool across the park (he can dogpaddle with his head in the water) and I asked him which would he prefer, going back t o Yamaha or swimming les sons. He said he'd rather go to Yamaha because he al read y knows how to swim' I th en aske d him what else he would like ~o learn this year, and he t old me: how to ride a horse 2 ) how to drive a ca r 3 ) how to control trucks (i.e. opE rat e earth movi ng machinery such as bulldozers) 4) how to use a saw 5 ) how to use a chain saw 6 ) how to do rr.onke y bars 7) how to c limb a tree (which he 1)
taught himself shortly thereafter) 8) how to use a ha mm er 9) how t o put a wall up 10 ) how to r ead 11) how t o nurse (feed) a bacy a bottle 12) how to writ e words 13 ) how to build a house 14) how t o fix a book 15 ) how to ma ke toys 16 ) how t o hol d a baby Without lean i ng on a n arm r est 17) how to help my dad 18) how t o help my mom 19 ) how to cook 20) how to use a food processor 21) how t o go down th e fast slide without getting hur t 22) how to go down the fireman', pole 23) how t o put up a ceiling 24) how t o change a baby's diaper 25) how t o put up pictures 26) how to have music lessons on a guitar My husband is replacing the plaster walls in th e boys' room with sheet rock, and many of Ternan ' s "how- t o's " reflect this . I have been r p inforcing the c hildr en's paperback boo ks with c l ear, adhesive shelf paper and this is what he means by "fixing boo ks." He has a 2-month-old baby sis ter . .. The rest are self explanatory, though I suspect 10, 17, and 18 were included by him to please me more than a n ything else . I was surprised at the range of activity he was interested in and at the powerful desire for mastery, both of himself and the world a r ound him, t hat his list reveal ed. I' m glad 1 asked, because now I make a point to include him in ac t ivities I might otherwise ha ve felt "t oo busy" to help him l ea rn abou t. 1 could write another whole lett er on t he tempta tions of being too busy when raisin~ children ages 5, 3 3/4, 2, and 2 months, but it' s taken me four days to t ype th is much so I thi nk I'll save it for another time ... SECOND GRADE WITH J. P.
From Kath y Mingl ( IL ): ... At some point, maybe during th e summer, because we'd stopped pr3: ticing wit h him and he thought we were done, J.P. (7) had decided that since he now kn ew how to read, he should be able t o ao-it as well as Tony and I can. (He wants to read s:i ence-fiction and mystery stories the heck with Dr . Seuss . ) When it didn ' t work that way, he cou l dn' t fi s ' ure out what was wrong, and to top it off, he was shocked to discover that his friend Andy, wh o's half a year younger than he is, can read better than he can' Poor guy - when sch~~l work time came and I asked him t~ read something, he went nuts . It would be funny if he just wasn't SJ hard on himself (a nd hard to live with') when he gets t hat way . I did not laugh , and I pro~is2j to help him-g€t t o the point where 12 feels he can read as fast and as Nell as he wants to. I pointed out that reading is a skill a nd anyone can in prove - even Daddy a nd Mommy. (1 jJ all right wi th words I know, but I have a terrible time wi th foreign wo r ds and scientific terms, for in sta nce . ) That cheered him up; he al ways loves to hear abou t grownups having trouble with a nything, espe cially his mother ... Most of his trouble was just that he was up se tting himself abJut