GROWING
wrTlr0ur SCHOOLING
51 got word Ehat Ehe first child of Pat and Day Farenga was born last nighE (Vay 27 ) : a girl Ehey are naming Lauren PaEricia. We are happy to hear Ehat moEher and child are doing welI. We are looking forward with Pleasure Eo new helpers in the office' Susannah Sheffer wilI be joining our scaff in June, wiEh Ehe parficular goals of working on GWS and organizing John HoIt's papers. She just graduated from SwarEhmore CoIlege where she was also ediEing Ehe eastern Pennsylvania homeschooL newsLetter PENCIL. AIso in June, we expecE the arrival of Elsa Haas, a college studenE who offered to work here as a volunteer for Ehe summer. Elsa has arranged Eo sEay with GWS reader Maryann Mclntyre and family. In ApriL Patricia Lines, a Iawyer with the U.S, Dept ' ot Education, phoned to inviEe a represenEative from HoIE AssociaEes Eo attend a homeschooling session at a WashingEon, D.C. conference on public and private schooL relationships. This was an ouEgrowth of Chuck O'Malley's "coffee klaEches" Ehat John HoLt had attended once or twice. So I went down for the day, and after the meeEing sPent the evening $rith Theo Giesy and her daughters Susan and Anita. (On chree occasions now, Ehe Giesys have come to Boston and heLped in the office.) PaE Lines is doing some good work in trying Eo make homeschooLing a betEerknown alEernaEive. Gi fced Ch i ldren's Monthlv gave usa@6issue, and the November Country JollrnaL should have an articTe--6i--fi6frE1s-dFooling (and GWS) by Becky Rupp. FurEhermore, the alumni magazine of Bryn Mawr published a homeschooLing arEicle wriEEen by GWS reader Nicky Hardenbergh, and Valerie Vaughan has iusE toLd us that her alumni magaiine, Vassar Quarre-ify, is Paying her for an-?iEftTd-6Fl?E-iill appear in November. We encourage any and all of you to think of wriEing abouE homeschooJ:ing for other magazines, large and small - we couLd never afford Eo buy Ehis kind of good publiciEY. Fairly ofEen, we get calls asking if people can order our caEalog iEems over the phone and pay wirh a credit card. After severaL monEhs of searching, Pat Farenga thinks he's found a reasonable way to arrange this. Look for Ehis service later in Ehe year. We were saddened Eo hear of the death of homeschooling ParenE Ann Levine of Upton, MA. You may have noticed her ad in Ehe IasE issue, about finding heLp to continue homeschooling her 6-year-old twins. At thaE time, she knew her cancer was Eerminal, but hoped she might have a year left to her. In Ehe notice in We jusE
the BosEon Globe, her family was kind enough co piin-E-a request that donaEions in her memory be made to GWS' which has indeed generated some response, Missouri is Ehe second state Ehis year Eo pass a homeschooLing law - deEails inside. Missouri homeschoolers fought Long and hard to get a bilL wiEh no regulation, and aLmost succeeded:-the new 1aw allows for opEionaL regisEration of home schooLs, and no tescrng. --- Donna Richoux "HOMESCHOOLING IN THE NEWS" Jon and Wendy WarEes sold 62
cooies of our new booklet HOMESCHOOLING IN THE f985 NEWS at the Washing-
ton Home School Convention May 3. This atEracEive 40-page publication consiscs of actual reprinEs of many articles about homeschooling, and features names thac will be familiar Eo GWS readers - Joyce Kinmont' Kate Kerman, Theo Giesy, Nancy tlallace' John and Peggy McMahon, Mario Pagnoni, Grant CoLfax, John HoIt, and more. We even include Ehe photos Ehat ran with Ehe articLes. The thoughtfuL and open-minded Eone of Ehe wriEing makes this a great gifE for skeptics. And conErary io what some of our publiciEY said, none of these articLes have been quoEdd-or reprinEed in GWS, so all of you have iome good reading to look forward to. To order, send us $2.50 Per copy, plus posEage ($I.20 for L, 2, or 3 copies; 4 or more, 401 each) HOW MANY HOMESCHOOLERS?
At Ehe U.S. Dept. of Educa-
Eion conference in Washington ' D.C. Aoril 29. several state educaEion o'ffi"irls who work with homeschooLers sooke for a few minutes abouE the
siEuation in their sEates.
Barbara Mertens of the Education
Dept, of the srate of Washington said
that 1500 homeschool studenEs had registered in her state since the recenE law was passed. Although Ehe educators had opposed che bill when iE was being considered, she said, once it became Iaw the agency was ursed Eo work with homeschoolers and scFools, spr-a"I@ information about the legal changes. Marie DeLla BeLLa of Ehe StaEe Dept, of Education in Hartford' CT said thac in comparison, ConnecEicut had a smalL number of homeschool sEudents in approved programs: Il8. She also said she saw a large Eurnover among these familiesi over a 3-year oeriod iE seemed to her thaE abouE iralf of the families were no longer homeschooLing.
=
"Friendly Lawyer" Waltham,
Gene
M talks with
Burkart of GWS. Page 8.
"It's very flexible," she said. "One of the greaEest advanEages is thaE the child is on a one-Eo-one basis" with his or her teacher. She said that most PeoPle who chose Eo teach their children aE home weren't upset with Ehe public schools as much as they just wanted to be more flexible or Ehat Ehev had special needs. . . IDR:] And I recentLy taLked with reporter Pat Il I ich ( I probabLy don'c have that speLled right) of the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-SenEinel, who was wriEing a scor/-Z-66It-E6fr6schooLing. She said she had Learned that L267 homeschooL students were registered under the new Florida 1aw, and another 400 or 500 were registered through privaEe schools.
MOM LEARNS A LESSON FROM ILLNESS
Kathv McAlpine (TN) writes:
...My son Nathaniel (8) and I last SepEember, after a triaL run during the summer months . l^le sEarted out in real Ly high began homeschooLing
^^ tsL-j r 1 ^r F^ be liberaEed xcdr ! 5u from public school that hle imagined I drew uP a we could do evervthinq. detarled curriculum pran, wnrcn I've since come to reaLi.ze was absurdly over-ambitious. But there we were. Than
c"drtanl
v
Fara
nrr'l lari
l-hp
rug out from under me; I learned I needed major surgery. The operation S I NSI DE - Sci enti st : vaid:--Z ---Terti f i cate : 2 --- Donating JH books: 3 --- Tapes/b1 ind: 3 --- Local news (TX, tnV): 4 --- Court news (ND,
lll-iAT'
The Orleans, VT ChronicLe, 186: ...CharloEte VioIette, execuEive secretary for Ehe VermonE Department diviof Education' s homeschooling sion, said Monday that- many more people in VermonE are choosing homeschooling Ehan ten years ago. Ten years ago 40 or 50 people taught Eheir children aE home, she said, and this year there are 175. AlEhough several peoPle have chosen homeschooling over the public schools beause of religious convicEions, Ms. VioLette said t.haE she wouldn't say Ehat the majoriEy chose it for that reason. 3
126
FL, KS,0H):5 --- Calendar:6 --- Calvert:6
--- School age: 6 --- Research: 6-7 --- Lawyer:8 --- Te.achers/families: l0 --- Neighbors: ll ---.Travel network: 1 l --- Single parents: ll --- Kids working: l2-'l3 --- Home business: l2 --- Young reporters: l2 --- JH/teacher role: 13 --- Life at home: l3 --- Richman/ process: l4 --- Teen's interests: 14 --- Giesy /dependence: I 9 --- Bi kes/Europe: 9 Baruch/tolerance: l9 --- M0 law: 20 --- Miss'ing kids: 2l --- Queries: 2l --- Slow reader home alone: 22 --- Correcting mistakes: 22 --JH/tension bljndness: 23 --- Fami.ly newsletter: 23 --- t4aking books: 24 --- Reading: 24 --- Foreign language:25 --- Rocks:26 --Puzz1es: 26 --- Freebies: 26 --- Songs: 27 1
L
had no idea what a "whuDDin" but he knew iE was something bad. ) My explanaEion Eo the policeman , that my son was homeschooled, caomad nrafrv mus t hrrro ecry susprcrous -JSplcrous and slipthere I was, in my bathrobe ar pers, at it rwo in the afternoon.
recovery Look a couple of months. I'm a singLe parenc, so there was no
was,
rhe rhnrroht nf hi q onino h:ck in school, though, and we decided we'd
WeLl, it came to nothing, and by the next day Nathaniel and I were laughing abouE it. Still, ic's not an avnorianna Itd cqra _ t_o rePear. so
other adult to help out, excepE for a who cared for NaLhaniel during friend L^^^i F^l TL ^F^., rnere wenc my caremy nosplLar sLay. -.. fully pLanned curriculum; NathanieL was lefE to his own devices much of the time. Neither of us couLd stand i,,JusL
F
F^,,-h LUu6"
i F
we could.
--d dL'u
^,,F
oot 5e!
hrr uJ
rho LilL
hoci vLJL
got by just fine. Nathaniel read for his usual 2-3 hours a day, watched pubLic TV, nrr.finod hic rrinl in rrn orrrndc fn the corner sEore (handling money, groWel1, guess what?
.af\/ !er)
I i crc rrJLr
an;
arron
We
^^,,^^-LUuPUrr5
,,i wrL'lFL
aplomb). and learned the muLtiplication tables from some cassetEe taDes
I'd made for him. I couldn't drivb for six weeks, and we missed our cus,,i^iFF^ FL^ I ik-^-., ^-l ^^: Lw,,'d!y rlurdry ence museum. Although I ofcen feLt (I tired and frustrated wanted Eo be aLl betEer immediateLv). it was hearEEiTng co waEdh-NiEhEiTei actually blossom under the extra responsibiLiF' Ly,
H^ ,rc
ts^^l/
.,,^h
^ri.lp P!!u!
in !,,
halnino
with househoLd tasks, showed such tenderness and sensiEivitv Eoward me. and developed an indepindence I hadn't known he had in him, I'd hardly recommend having an l-^--i-^
iorri€ia
^n6rari avnari6h^6
l-.',F
i F L
*nrso,!j/ 11.,
r-"dhF Ldu6rrL
n^
something important. I Learned - ",c because I had to learn - co Erust. mv own child E-n-d my own instincts, to sEop being so uptight about curricula and "basic skills" and other peopl e's
expectations. It was a real turning point for boEh of us. And whaE changes we've been through since chen! In Ehe beginning, Nathaniel couldnrE function nithout workbooksi we've now abandoned Ehem as hopelessly boring. In first grade h^e^1" ircf rrorr hic '.i-^rinrin^ 'llroPllLlL!l'}3wd5UdlEIy year he's taughE hi mIegi bIe; this col
f
nrrrcirra
rnd
hi.
h--i'.'-if
in^
i.
beautiful. He has recenEly resumed wriEing poetry, which herd abandoned in
rpcnnnce
r^
a
roa.6ar
urhn
omnhr-
sized "creative expression" with alI the iron joylessness that term implies. An exciting project for both nf ,re fhi hrc hoan rn in-rlonfh sEudy of ancient history. We use a couple of high school Eextbooks as chronological guides, then supplement with Iibrary books, National Geographics, maps, and everything else we can find. We plan to spend the whoLe summer reading about ancienE Greece rrq,,n6r_har^'l l\l-Fh^hi^1 ,,h^r^ rh6 -r JuPc!-'rL!v stage, finds Odysseus as enLhralling r^rninnf rh^.o Qat"+l-.' ^.v toon characEers ) . Best of all, he is himself .d-in |, o5d ' --,,-1. sPurr^! him fn cnhnnl
home
F,,ll Fh^ ^l.l c;;;ET;-"..1 ^f rF L^^ r^1,^^ almncr a va^t F^t Ld^Yrr d!,,rvrL 06t rha oFfonrc n€ nrrhl ia ^\'6r hhr r Faal 1 ike we're finally
free.
By Ehe way, lve had an encounter with Ehe police, amusing in reErospecE but not so funny at the Eime. It was during my iLLness, and Ird
sent NaEhaniel to the sEore for a few groceries. To my horror, both he and his bike arrived home (sans qroceri^^\ i^ ^^F-^t ^^LighEs and -... radio going, the whole scary bit. EvidenEly someone at the store, seeing Nathaniel ouE of school, had called the cops. EiEher nobody ever boEhered to ask NaEhaniel for an explanaE i on, or didn I t be I ieve h im, or maybe he was just Eoo terrified at Ehac point to speak. I do know chat the cop told him, all the way home, about the "whuppin" he was probably going to get when he goE there. (NaEh-
anie
L
Nathaniel just doesn'C go off on his
during schooL hours. It's its|dreo end - ninnr I'd just as soon noc jeopardize our homeschooL staEus or Dut mv child through throush anocher anorher coiTronta coiTrontacion witrh the Iaw... fsee "Preventing Truancy own anymore ^
A---
h,,F
Harrassmenc,"
CWS
#50.
]
HOMESCHOOLER BECOMES SCI ENTIST
article on homeschooLing in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, 4127 /86:. From an
by George Monaghan,
...John M. Dolan, a phi losophy nrntoccnr suLdt
rha IIni\roreitrr ^r Li-,,iF^ a^comrfio rrrs wrrE
dLru ^-i
af
Minnalirro
in a turn-of-Ehe-century house off Lake of Ehe IsLes. Years ago he read and reread HOW CHILDREN FAIL by John Holt, who argued that aImosl every child goes inEo schooL smarter and more curious Ehan when he comes out, unless he is very lucky.
...His son, Sean, was 14
when
Dolan urged him noE Eo go to junior hj^h
rr-ril
-^h^^l
rhon
hic
J
narfnr_ t. PL
I
mance in grade schooL had been unimnrcqqirrp
af
hpcf,
Hp.lidnrf
oar
hiq
work in on Lime, teachers complained, He didn'E DarticiDaEe in cLass. DoLan'and hi3 son worked out
university professor in socioLogy. And Garth, 10, has a deep interest in ceramics and painCing. "l Ehink Ehey're very bright and very motivated, bu! I donrt think Ehey' re parEicularly.gitted," Micki Colfax said vesterdav of her sons. A Harvard spokeswoman, Margery Heffron, said accepting someone who was taught at home isn't unique, "but itts unusuaL. t' ALI four boys have been virEualLy self-educated, Mrs. Colfax said in an inCerview beEween goaE-keeping chores at their ranctr. Mountain School is Lhe famiLycoined name for the informal school and that's how i!'s registered wiCh the state t.o alLow homeschooLing, "There really isn't any format Eo it," said Mrs. Colfax, a former tt^fFor Fnnl i -h F6^^hd, rho hnrrc learn to read and write and do maEh rrn
tn
nrp-aloahra
much on their
lhorrrra
nralrv
own.rl
The do-it-yourseLf schooling
-f -+?^A
1 ? ,,^.-LJ yedL s
--^ dtiu
r.'han wilurr
iho
Frmi
l.r
moved here to creaEe a homestead. Frmilrr
momharc
c,'nn^rf
fh6n-
selves by growing their own food, breeding prize-winning goats and operaEing a bed-and-breakfast inn. MotivaEing Ehe boys to teach themselves has never been a problem because "what Ehey're doing here is
very real,rr said Mrs. CoLfax. "For i nsEance, " she said, "chey buiIE their ov,/n sheds to house their animals. That means designing and consEructing, and you have Eo know not onLy carpentry bul maEh, And they puE in Ehe plumbing, laid Ehe Eiles and did the elecLrical sysEem for Ehe L^l L-^^l.F^^r ll --l
a
curriculum for home study: reading, writing, and arithmeEic, making potEery. The boy got into physics and mathemaEics. WiEhin months he was Learning the eLemenEs of differential calculus, DoLan said, and aL I5 was taking math courses at the University of Minnesota. By f6 he was doing math research with a team at MassachusetEs InsEitute of Technology (MIT). Now, at 23, he is a research scientist at Ehe Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory in New York, on leave from MIT. He never graduated from grade school. junior high, high school, or college. Yet, Dolan said, Ehere was no evidence in Seanrs schooL records of remarkabLe abilities, specificaLly
HOMESCHOOL COUNTS FOR CERTIFICATE
Muriel PaLko (MI): .. .A few years ago I wroEe asking about t-eacher certification. In order to mai nEain my cerEi fication, I had to be abLe Uo prove I had three years of Eeaching experience in-E-Eubllc or prlvace school. I got my eIemenrar\/ .otr; F;.aro F^t rho n',rnnco of homeschooLing my son, so I have never taught in any school. I Eaught my own son and, oE[ and on, supervised the education of oEher homeschoolers. I did not exDect three years of this kind of "teaching experTh^ r.^i i L'i rh rac^o.r t^ c.i6n^^ icncc" fo he accFnl-abLe to the univerhe said, Ehat "a kid who works at sity where I got my degree. T expecthome has a potential to do remarkable ed a fLat-out denial. or aE LeasE a things, maybe not in mathemaEics and loE of investigaEion inEo my homecompuEers, but in cther chings..." school Lng arrangemenE. So I was very happy and very surprised when the university notified me that my application had been accepANOTHER COLFAX GOES TO HARVARD ted and the state \,rouLd be sendine me l^le Eold the sEory of Grant my Michigan Continuing CertificaEE in Colfax in "HomeschoolLr Goes to a macEer of weeks. I suppose Ehey Harvard," cWS #35 & 36 (and also a really didnrt know whaE else to do. repr i nE we selL separately ) , Here' s After aLL, according Eo the local the Iatest development, as reporEed superintendenE, I am my sonts Eeacher in an AP story, 4128186: and I am doing an acceptable job. I donrt knolv if the university BOONVILLE, Calif. - ...Two gradu- automatically accepued my appLication ates of David and Micki CoLfaxrs or if my leCEer arguing my poinE had home-based school for their four sons an infLuence on their decision. I have won scholarshios to Harvard Unipointed out Ehat I goE my Eeaching vers r ry. cerEificate in the first olace in This pasE weekend, Drew Colfax, order Eo satisfy Ehe Iocai super's 18, decided Eo accepE an offer from request Ehal homeschooLed children Harvard and turned down Ehose from have a cerEified teacher. Now thaE YaLe and Princeton, he said yesterday. I 'm experi enced i n Eeach ing homeDrew will join his 2L-year-old schooLers, it would be ironic (and hr^Fhar avant .h^n.rc nro-mod cfrrdrr rrv'rv! unfair) to deny me the opporEuniEy to , u!drrL, dent at Harvard. continue Eo do so, for lack of I'experDrew's younger brother Reed, 16, ience.'r I also indicaced thaE I felt is rrmathematically precocious rrl my inEensive one-on-one teachine aaanrAi u! nc €arlhor F^.-.r u lvil,'L r deev! rr5 rn fhai"ei<perience would be of great vafue r " dLL
From
lJ,
GROWING |^J]THOUT SCHOOLiNG
#5I
3
were I ever to teach in a regular school. If there are any other homeschooLing teachers out there who need credic for their Eeaching experience, I hope they, too, have no hassles. Now Ehat I know I am stiLl certified, you can puc me on your ljst of "Teachers wiLLing to help" ' . . FRIENDLY DISTRICT IN MINN.
the MINNESOTA HOME SCHOOL newsletter' 4/86 ...Rosemary Nelson of WoodburY, MN recenEly moved to Minnesota from Des Moines, IA. In 1983, she approached the elementary superintendenE of the school system about homeschooling her kindergarten age child. The man was interested. He had heard rumors of people keeping their children home, but the Nelsons were Ehe first famiLy to inform him of their pLans. Mrs. Nelson advised him Eo read books by John Holc and Dr. Moore. In August Ehe school sysEem hired a Eeacher for the express purpose of assisting homeschool famiLies. The NeLsons put Ehe news on Ehe grapevine and by September there were 15 homeschool children to assisE. The following year (85-86) lhere were 45 children wanring Ehe services and the schooL hired 3 teachers, Next year there will be 60 students learning at home and the school wilL hire an additionaL ceacher. This cooperacion r,riEh the schooL system has worked out very weII because it is an OPTION' The farniLies who take advanEage of Ehe teachers may or may not use the school curricuLum. The sEudents may or may noE use oEher services at the schooL, such as music, gym, art, etc. There are fami1i^^ i.--', v! ^iF.,.,L^;^r Ly L uJ< drt/ r lI FL^ Ltlc u I les ^F the services provided by the school. arrangeEverybody is happy with Ehis ment. The children get the freedom to From
NETIdORK
:
homeschoolers and libraries of each oEher. PeopIe are Iinding Ehat librar-
ies are ofEen willing co order requested books and pay for Ehem out of cheir own budgets; she says the JanesviLle Library has been particu-
Larly responsive in this regard. And one of the Madison branch libraries has offered space to homeschoolers for educational get-EogeEhers. Candace said Ehat several Iibrarians commenEed on whac a nice touch the bookolates are (pictured in GI',IS #50). Reirember EhaE ire will send Ehese free Eo anyone running one of these sEate campaigns, or on requesE if you buy TEACH YOUR OWN, HOW CHILDREN LEARN, or HOW CHILDREN FAIL from us (oEherwise, 50( each). - DR
comet
has s6ia-ei-d we need-E6 clear out. the remaining copies of this excellent
booklet. So we're offering a special deaL: only $L each, plus 251 posLage.
And if you order in quanEiEy, we'Il even waive the posEage. SEill a chance to find answers to Ehose ques-
tions you have! John Holt ObiEuary - We have pa s ced-TE6-f6i!--T6?TE and phoEos that appeared in Ehe New York Times and Boston GLobe, as well as TTiiE-rE "Milestone"--iGtTce, onEo a sin[I6 sheeE. ReprinEs are L0( each (SASE required if you are not ordering other materiaL from us). John Used Stories - I asked in cWS #50--1--nt6frE-?Emembe red see ing che "Bridges of Konigsberg" story in one of John HoLt's books. David Kramer of CaLifornia did - it's in INSTEAD OF EDUCATION, p. 89. Also, Ehe Heseners of Home Education magazine tound a passage ln {-napcer o or FREEDOM AND BEYOND that is very much Like Ehe "OnIy Interested in Hot Rods'r sEory of GWS #50. Homeschooled GeolosisE is ReaL lrsqrrrt orrn lha narpntc ool- l-he qrrnnorf Areaffi thoughE Ehe Wyoming geologisE David they need, the Eeachers geE a chance Eo use Lheir expertise, and the admin- Love (GWS #50) was a characEer in a noveL. Not sol John McPhee is a do some administrating... istrators \.{riter of non-f iction. - DR DONATING JOHN HOLT BOOKS
Here's Ehe latest news from the campaigns Eo donaEe John HoIt's books Eo Libraries. Candace Syman Degler o.[ Oregon says she and Sheri Clemen got
requests fron 28 libraries for free copies of TEACH YOUR OWN, in response
Eo Ehe noEice Ehey wroEe for Ehe Oregon StaEe Libraryrs newsletter. In April, the two sent L00 leEters to homeschooLers requesting donaEions of
48.72 ner.onw fo fill Chese requests. AE press time, Candace says they have filled 12 of the 28 requests, and a Little money is stiLl coming in. Perhaps some GI,JS readers in nl-hpr nlaces can send donaEions Co help them filL Ehe resE? Candace's address ts 16409 VaIIey View Dr' Cheshire OR 97419; phone 503-998-2115. Donna Mahr of Wisconsin (608835-3436) says that half a dozen libraries in towns surrounding Madison resoonded to the notice in a regionai library newsleEter. In both Oregon and Wisconsin, Ehe simPlest arransement seems to be for the libraiy Eo order Ehe book from Ehe publisher, with Che homeschoolers giving the money to Ehe library either before or after the order. n^--an i nforpcli no --"- y J th-F uurrila rd side effec! has been a general raising of Ehe leveL of awareness of GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING
#5I
you guidelines on how best to make a Eape (for example, readers sometimes
foigeE Eo announce quotation marks) and will keep track of who tapes what. She can reimburse you for the
cost of the blank Eape. Naomi says t.haE in general there is a dearEh of alternative publications for bLind people. You wouLd be doing her (and perhaps other blind peopLe) a great service, allowing her access to Ehe suPport and encouragement Eha! many of you have said you find in these pages. - DR WHAT VOLUNTEERS COULD DO
NOTES
Mr. Halley's Cgmet - The
read in fuLl, while oEhers are sumarized or merely Iisted. Any volunEeer readers should caIL Naomi Rice aE 503-287-1828. It is OK to call coLlecE' She will give
TAPING GWS FOR BLIND PERSON
I have been in Eouch with Naomi Rice, a politicaLly active blind woman in Oregon who is very interested in John Holtrs books and the issues of aLternaEive education, children's rights, homeschooling for disabled children, and the damage done Education." bv ' "SDecial ilowever, Naomi has only been able Eo read a couple of issues of GWS because it is hard for her to find readers. I asked, "[,JouId iE help if someone were to read aloud arEicles from GWS onto a casseEte EaPe and send iE Eo you?" She agreed with relief and excitement. Furthermore, she said, if we arranged such an ongoing service, she could make sure we were Iisted along with other periodicals thaE provide srrch fanes for the bLind. She felt sure thit other blind people would be interesEed in our work. ea ie rhoro anrr rpndor wifh a t-rntr rFcordcr and a few hours Eo spare who would be willing Eo do chis? lf there's more Ehan one, you could work on various back issues. IE looks as if there is more material in a single issue of GWS than wiLl fit on a 60-minute cassetce. Perhaps some articles could be
More ideas of ways that voLunteers could help us: TRANSCRIBE TAPES - We have a dozen or so cassetEe tapes here in the office, tapes of John's taLks, radio interviews, etc. We need EYPisEs Eo transcribe these. A 60-minuEe tape is often about 20 Pages of
cyping.
OTHER TAPES
- FurEhermore,
do
any of you have tapes You made when John spoke in your area? What we would really Like is a Een!!4P!:en :..^F r^6rP ^c oI
FL^+
Lalier LnaL F^^^
i F -.^.. yuu Ju5L uvrt uuL lr
h,'F
have the Eime, you could still
L
send coPY it and
us Ehe Eape and we could arrange for someone else to transcribe it. PHOTOS - We have surPrisinglY few good photos of John' Do you have any you couLd give us? PLease mark info on Ehe back such as occasion, names, date, etc. SEND US NEWS - There are over a dozen staEes where we hardly hear any news abouE homeschooLing, either from an individual or an organizacion' Such staEes are: Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Norch Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, SouEh CaroLina, Tennessee, Wyoming. There are other states, like Iowa and Ohio, where we donrt hear as much news as werd like. Please' keep us informed - dontt assume someone will do lhis. LIBRARY WORK - Sometimes we need someEhing looked up in a IibrarY, such as whecher a book is in Print, or the biographical sketch of a famous homeschooLer. It would be great to know. of one or two PeoPle who would be willing to do a little of Ehis work now and then. UPDATE 'IINSTEAD OF EDUCATION'' APPENDIX - This book may soon get reprinted (we're working on iE) and uE 5^ood Eo have the MUt IL Wuuru ' '^ appendix updated. Many of Ehe books lisEed musE be out of Print, and I know most of lhe organizations have di sbanded.
DO INTERVIEWS
- OEher readers
can follow the exampLe of
SandY
Kendall, who interviewed a "friendly school officiaL" in GWS #50 and a "friendlv lawver" in this issue. Once you have'a goird idea for a subject, GR0WING l^,ITHOUT SCHOOLING
#51, Vo]. 9 No. 3. bi-monthly by Holt
ISSN #0745-5305. Published
MA 02'l.l6. Associates, 729 Boylston St, Boston '1986. Second$20lyr. Date of Issue, June. I, class postage paid at Boston MA. P0STMASTER: Send
Boylston
St,
address changes
Boston
to
G}iS, 729
MA 02'l16.
Deadlines are the lsth of oddnumbered months. Christmas Shopping Ads due (GliS Sept. 15 #53). Contact Patrick Farenga.
ADVERTISERS:
L
you need to do a little preparing and arranging, do the interview, and Cype it up (double-space) afEerwards. We would clear the final version of the story with the subject before printing. A good format for some stories. REPRESENT US AT CONVENTIONS _ Every few weeks now, we gef an invitation Eo exhibiC at another homeschooling fair or conference. Sometimes we can think of a GWS reader in the area who mighE run a table for us, but not always. If you hear of a such an event, why noE write us and offer to do an exhibit? Although the best we have done in these events is break even ( after paying exhibiLor's fees ) , we generalLy feel that Ehese are worthwhile for us. - DR
Legal opinion from Ehe Texas Legislative Council said the board did not have the power to wriEe a definition. ...The resolution approved SaEurday contained guideLines EhaE school may follow in deEermining districEs may districEs deEerminins whaE constituEes a privaEe schooL ,,rhila
thorr
if
ins
f6y
fhp
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office as law and send leEters to all Exemption K schooLs (since he can't distinguish homeschools) telLing homeschooLs Eo go to Eheir Local boards. Obviously we will fight this as hard as possible. Our district, for example, says there is NO homeschooling in f hi q .61rnf w Far CraAo ,R nr rhnrra that my children had to take standardized tests four Eimes a year,..
lature to act. IDR: These optional guidelines say thaE a private schooL is either one that thaE is accredited by a recognized agency,. or complies with ParE of Deirdrers letter to local fire and saniEation codes, has McNee L : wriEten regular plan a of instruction and annualLy gives studenEs a nalion,..I was shocked Ehis mornine Eo aI sEandardi zed achievement test. ] learn in Ehe Charleston Gazette EEaE Board members Geraldine Miller you bel ieve "pE?Eits:-ie-TilTi[ to of Dallas and Volly BasEine of Houshide the fact that they want to teach ton argued against adopCing the guide- their children at home" by applying lines. Miller said the suidelines for alternative school staEus under will be considered an iiformal rule Exemption K,.. 4OOO PROTEST TEXAS PROPOSAL and urged the board to do nothing There is no need to hide this Vicki Denni s senE this arEicle until the Legislature gives iE direcfacC because neither ExemDEion K nor from the Austin American-State sman, tion, state Iaw on privaEe, parochial, or 4/LL/86: BasEine said, "I believe we church schools makes any reference Eo should simply tuck our tails on Ehis whether the schooL is taughE at home ...Most of Ehe estimated 4.000 one and say we were wrong" Eo have or abroad, whether the teacher is Ehe people,.. began arriving ac the LBJ raised the issue. "We have nothins to parent, wheEher the studenEs are the Library complex at daybreak to oppose do wiEh privaEe schools," he saidl teacher's children, or any orher qualEhe rules being considered by the ...But Jack Strong, a board memification.,. State Board of Education [cWS #50]. ber from Longview and author of the I can find nowhere in the WV ProCesters attended a raIIv. car- resoluEion, said the board's credibilCode that you have authority Eo deny ried pickeE signs, sang hymns and ity with school officials would be Exemption K status to any school. decried government inEervention in shaken if the board took no action... Rather the requirements of Ehe law their Iives before going inEo the seem limited Co the schoolrs ooerator nearrng. providing a 'rnoEice of intent to operBecause the LBJ Library audiCorate, name and address of school, and TROUBLE IN WEST VIRGINIA ium seats onLy L,000, the crowd name of the schooLrs chief administrajammed the building halls and lobbies From Deirdre Purdy (ALTERNATIVES tor. rl and spilled into the parking lot. IN EDUCATION, Rt 3 Box 305, Chloe WV ...WV Code l8-28-1 to 18-28-6 Those inside listened to speakers' 25235) : concLudes: rrNo private, parochial, or comments piped lhrough a speaker syschurch school... which complies with tem into the halls, ,..Unhappy developmenEs on the the requiremenEs of this aiticle . ..The initial proposal considWV legal scene... Since L983, Wesf shall b'e subject to any oEher proviered by the l5-member board IasE Virginia has had a power.lul freedom sion of law relaLing to educaEion month recommended that privaEe of educalion law, Exemption K Eo Ehe excepE requirements of law respecting schools meet standards such as hiring Compulsory Education Laws, which fire, safety, sanitatjon, and immunionly college-educated teachers, fo1-- allowed formation of a schooL with zation. " Lowing staEe-prescribed curricula and minimal oversight by the staEe. The ...[,Je are proud Eo be an Exempoperating in buildings that meeE main requirement is administration of tion K school, operating under one of local fire and safety codes. standardized tests once a year. the finest of West Virninia's laws. ..,Jack Strong,- chairman of the Apparently, State SuperintendenE tle whoLly agree with WV Code 18-28-I, education board's student committee, Thomas McNeel received notification which begins: "In confcirmity with Ehe suggested an alEernative that would of Exemption K school formation from constitution of Ehe UniEed States and require unaccredited private schools someone who made it clear Ehey were of West Virginia, it is Ehe public Eo have students perform satisfactorihomeschooling, Asking for a ruling poLicy of the State in matEers of eduLy on nationaL standardized achievefrom the AEtorney General's office, caEion that no human authoritv shall. ment Eests, follow course goals simiMcNeel received a letter from Deoutv i n any case \arhatever, conErol or lar to Ehose of accrediEed Drivate AtEorney Ceneral Marianne Hoover, interfere with the riehEs of conscischools and meet IocaL fire'and safestating that homeschools should oper- ence or wiEh religiou; liberty..." Ey codes. ate under Exemption B, which places We do not "claim to be a The only current state regulasuch schools under the oversighE of schoolrtt hre are a school, operaEing Eions of private schools is a require- county school boards... This nas a under Exemption K... ment Ehat Ehey teach a course in good shocking bLow to many people. citizenship. SchooL district offiDespite Ewo requests, I have not cials have Eold the Texas Education received a copy of this letter from OTHER LOCAL NEWS Agency Ehat they need a more explicit the AtEorney Generalrs office. Howdefinition of a orivate school if ever, I spoke to Hoover who basically For addresses of homeschool they are to enfoice the state aEEenargued that since there was a law organizations, see GWS #48, or our j6^ yFFarr;no .^h^^1 dironrl\r dance law. -r ,J r^ Lv DeiluuLrrrt6 dL "Homeschooling Resource List," $L. .,.SErong said no politicians home, those schooling at home should Again we would like to Ehank have called him in support of the pro- ha a nrro rarl hrr i I those groups fhat send us newsletposal, although he has heard from We immediately sent a leEter Eo ters. IE's an easy way Eo share your dozens who oooose it. Dr. McNeel outlining what we see to news, problems, and ideas with the He sajd,-"No one is trying to be the extremely strong protections rest of us. puLl any sneakies," and added that he of the law. The relevant sections of CALIFORNIA: The May Home Educaand the education agency never imagEhe law are: WV Code L8-8-l (the Comtlon Magazlne ran an Ltem whlch read ined the kind of public interest the pulsory School AEEendance law), parin iEs enEiretv. "CALIFORNIA - School proposal would arouse. He invited ticularly Exemptions B and K, and districts are ipparently warning homeseveraL speakers to meet wiEh him to r8-28-l Eo 18-28-6. If all of rhis schooling families that onLy persons Ery to draft compromi se Language for concerns you, and you have not done certified under the private tutor the law... so before, you should go to your staEute may fi I I out privaEe schooL local library. ask for the WV Code, affidavit forms. Uncertified home Iook up these sections, read them, educators who fill out the forms can The same paper, fwo days later: and make cooies. be charged with violating the compulsory attendance law.r' I have asked -.-:CoFfes of letters should go ...The State Board of Education to AtEorney General Charlie Brown, the Hegeners for the source of this voted l2-2 Saturday to urge the Texas and Deputy AEEy. Gen. Marianne Hoover statement, as none of the active Cali(Office of the AG, State Capitol, LegislaEure Eo either define a "prifornia homeschoolers I reached by vate school" or give the board the CharLesEown t^lv 25305 ) as well as to press Eime knew anything about this. Dovrer to do so. the StaEe Superintendentr s office. . . Jane Williams called the StaEe DeDt. The hoard drnnnpd a nlan i^ At this Doint. McNeel insists he of Ed. official who currently hanilles define private schools iEself after a will foLLow the leiter from the AGrs homeschooling, Dr. Fred Fernandez, GROWING t,llTHOUT SCHOOLING
#5I
5
and he knew noEhing eicher. John
Boston sent us a copy of the state
law regarding private schooL affidavits, and iE clearly has no such requirement. GEORGIA: From Georsians for Freedom ifr-EdilEdt ion, 47Sfi-'TEE-TeorETi DeDa;t-meft=T-E-ducat ion has accumulaceb a large number of complainEs from school superinEendents and visiting Eeachers concerning lack of compliance by parents with one or more of Ehe requirements for home study programs... Towards Ehe end of che I986 Legislative session, Senator FosEer told some of our lobbyists Ehat because of che many families who are reporting aEcendance buE are noE really teaching their children, Ehe suoerintendenEs and oEhers have documented Ehe DrobLems and will be acEively woiking to change the compulsory attendance law to make the paraccountable. ents more rr...We must put togecher our own set of records and documentaEion; then when Ehe educaEion departmenE gets ready to present Eheir acEual number of complaints, we can whip ouE a professional file of reports by parenEs - showing that Ehe number of problems is very small in comparison f^
rho
laroo
t:
le
nF
onnd
rpnorfq
Ehat we will have gaEhered.'l HAWAII: Eleanor Ortiz of Kauai says Efiet-E bill now before the legisLaEure would alLow parents wiEhout a college degree to teach Eheir own chi ldren.
IOWA: A Missouri reader senE this 5?Ticle from the Des Moines Resister. 4/4/86: "Iowa lawmakers +' wTTf-drop the issue of homeschooling for this year and will conduct a study instead... The SenaEe had aooroved a bill that neither senators no? home-schooling backers Liked. The Iowa House Education Committee passed an amended version of that biLl thac called for home teachers to consuLE wich certified Eeachers, . . " MARYLAND: Manfred Smith of the MARYLEND--trOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION reporEs that Ehe favorable home education biLl faiLed in the last hours of Ehe IegislaEive session. AfEer passing the fuIL House, and the SenaEe Economic and EnvironmenEal Affairs committee, it was amended heavily on Ehe SenaEe floor, and Ehen Eime ran out. Manfred says that homeschoolers hope Eo meeE with the Stace SuperintendenE and work on modi fying the
by*laws.
NEW YORK:
Seth RockmulLer
schoolers Exchange that the oltlce oI Ene sEaEe IducaEion DepartmenE EhaE is responsible for providing informaEion about homeschooling has been changed. The person now Eo contact is Carl Friedman of the Attendance Unit, Rm 362, Ed. Bldg. Annex, ALbany NY 12234; phone 5L8-47 4-6943 . OREGON: Jane Jovce sent a clipping Trom the Oregonian that said Rep. Bruce Hugo, R-Scappoose, was offended by the low sEandard (l5th Dercentile) Ehat the staEe set as the minimum Eo show 'rsatisfacEory educaEional progress" for homeschoolers. He said he regreEEed that his commiEtee had passed the homeschooling law in iEs present form and promised to work for a revised law in 1987, VERMONT: Patti Smith writes, "FirsEl-I would like to add a bit about the Forum in Randolf thaE was held in October Ehat was conducEed by Ehe Depr. of Education Icws #50]. of' Ehe 55 folks presenE, there were about five Dept. of Ed. folks, only I superintendent, and Ehe rest were reoortT-Tn-EFe
Home
homeschoolers. The superintendent GROWING l^l]THOUT SCHOOLING
#5I
Supreme CourE afflrmed che convlcclon of Ehe parenEs (the PaEzerg, Larsen!, Reimches, and Lunds) on charges of violating Ehe compulsory school
came prepared with a Z-page ouEline on 'why he objected Eo homeschooling' EhaE he passed out Eo folks as they came into Ehe audiEorium, At the end aEtendance laws. AE present, North of our meeting he sEood to comment: Dakota only allows parents wlth teachhe learned a lot about homeschooling, ing certificaces co educate thelr what it is, and who is homeschooling' children ac home. that his negative opinions changed' What is inceresting about the and chat he wished Darents aE his PTA ruling is EhaE Che courE seriousLy meetings were half bs enthusiastic as considered the parenEs' argument Ehat Ehe homeschooling parents are. the cerEification requirement "The biLL thaE was passed by the inf ringes unconsE ituEionally upon House Education CommitEee is now their religious beliefs' Buc in the dead. However, some folks, home sEudy end, it concluded Ehat a requirement parents and Dept. of Ed. people, are for a Eeacher's certificate is ttamong meeEing the end of May to deEermine wheEher or not a new bill will begin." the Ieast oersonally inErusive methods now availabLe to sa-Cisfy Ehe sEaters WASHINGTON: From Wendy Wartes: prime inEeresE in seeing that its "Our WEsFTngt6n Homeschool- ConvenEion children are taught by capable was a tremendous success, May 3rd. persons . " I,000 homeschool parents, Ewo state The familiesr attorneys filed an legislators, and several school administrators attended, One of the legis"Appellant's Petition for Re-Hearingr'r poinEing out EhaE "least inlaEors and several educators commenEtrusiverr is not the same as trleast ed that it was a wonderfuL experience restrictiver" which is supposed to be Eo meet so many educaEion-oriented the standard. Also, since honeschooland caring parents. The day included ine families are inviEing che legisa very good curricuLum fair, and 40 lature Eo adopE alEernatives to the lvorkshops on a wide varieEy of copics. Our main guest speaker, Donna Eeaching cerEif icaEion requirement, such alternatives could noc ProPerly Collett, from Arlington, WA, spoke be cal,led "intrusive." The lawyers abouE her homeschooLing exPeriences are considering taking the appeal Eo wiEh her now teen-aged sons. She the supreme court. received a standing ovation at her conc lus
ion
!
"It was mosE gratifying to see An undated UPI sEorv from so many homeschoolers feeling confiTallahassee, FL: dent enough in our newly-won legal F^ -FF^-i .hrro rnd I oern 5LdLUs , . . In a victory for the "home from each oEher. I doubt Ehe convencion could have succeeded so well had school" movement, an appeal court Wednesday overruled a Bardford CounEy iE noE been for a genuine Pulling iudge- who declared four children togeEher of many diverse homeschoolitards of the sEaEe because Eheir paring organizations... Debra Stewart fTom FAMILY CENTERED LEARNING ALTERNA- enEs chose to teach Ehem aE home. The lst DisErict Court of ApPeal TIVES flew back from Utah where she is caring for her critically ill moth- refused lawyer Robert Edewaard the er, to lead two workshops... The sup- ruling he sought on whether the U.S. ConstiEuEion guarantees parents porting groups voted unanimously to right Eo Eeach their children at leave money in Ehe bank for an even home, A chree-judge panel of the Iarger convention in the spring of court based iEs ruling on staEe lal^ts 1987 in the SeatEle area," on home schools. !,IISCONSIN: From the WISCONSIN The appeal judges said the origiPARENTS-FSSOCTATToN newslett er, 3 I 86 ; nal judge ignored 1984 laws Ehat say "The Cashton public school board school officials musE meeE with paradopEed a resolution in November 1985 concerning students in home-based pri- ents before bringing truancy charges. They also noEed the LegislaEure sPecivate educational programs. In Feb' fically auEhorized home schools lasE 1986, Ehe Sparta school board considyear. The new law, approved for a ered a proposal that is modeled nearly word for word on the CashEon reso- two-year trial period, allows home education as long as public school Lution." One of Ehe clauses says a officials are noEified of che stuhomeschooled student \,nho wishes co dentsr progress. enroll in public school may not be Edewaard said Ehe constituEional placed higher than 9Eh grade. The WPA issues the case raises mighE scill be newsLeEter wonders whether, to be answered if the Legislature a1lows fair, this same policy will apply Eo Che home school law to exDire in all transfer students, from other 1987. . . oublic and Drivate schools? WPA warns homeschoolers to "take diplomatic and consEructive action to ensure that unreasonable policies are noc established in your communiEy.r' - DR THE BEST ARGUMENT I
FOR
COURT NEWS
Rev. ClinEon Birst of the DAKOTA HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
NORTH
sent
the t\ro recent State Supreme CourE rulings mentioned in GWS #50, along v,/ith a copy of the proposed homeschool Legislarion. The case that was decided in favor of the homeschoolers, James Twomey v. F.S., G.S., and C.Sll--G'as + @y.rhe chiLdren had been declared "unruly" in juveniLe courE; the N,D. Supreme CourE said Ehat was inappropriate because the children had been complying wiEh their parents' wishes, noE actins in defiance of them. In the other case. the N.D.
HOMESCHOOLING IS
WELL-EDUCATED HOMESCHOOLERS. Games designed to tnnke
learning fun
for the whole fumily!
SEND FI)R A FREE INtr1ORMATION PICXTCE ASSOC!|frES, PO, DOX 2r2, flEl4' IiOPE, PA ltvJt
sL.L.
The 3/86 EDUCATION
KANSANS FOR ALTERNATIVE
newsleEter reports a
home-
school vicEory, at least for the
first
round:
may be purchased by Marylanders who
...GIen and Peggy Hardon went Eo courE Ehe middle of January. Their superintendent had begun to inquire about their plans last summer, before the school year had even started. He inforned them EhaE they could noE homeschool and that it was ilLeeal in Kansas. The school year began, Ehe superintendent meC with the Hardons, filled out a report, and affer a dr^-r
A^-1
was seE.
ur ^f
ti---1 rrlrdtsrrrrts,i--
d^
ts-: ^1 LrLdr
A^F^ udLe
After hearing the prosecution's side.and onLy parr of rhe defense,
Ehe judge ruled that they were indeed a Drivate school. The sEate had failed to show that the Hard.onsl school did not meet the recuirements q
year ago, CaIverE ended its prior policy of withholding macerials in situations where Local board approvaL had noE been obtained. Now materials
check a box on the CaLvert Application Forn stating they believe they have complied wiEh aECendance laws, OR wish to use the materiais for
enrichment, OR have some other reason for studying at home... The Application simply contains a bold print statemenC that parenCs teaching aE rrshould
check sEate aEtendence laws and be in comoliance. ". . , Is this chanse true elseIDR: where in the U.S.?] home
/-oMpULSoRyScHooLAGE
NEWS
PhiL and Lee Gonet wrote in
Ehe
May ALABAMA HOME EDUCATORS newsLeEter:
..,0n Friday, April 26... there a bill pending in the House (HB 260) aimed at lowerine the age ac which children are REOUIRED to aEtend school. A similar bilL had passed the Senate. And I heard Michael Farris, pres..,A series of phone calls were idCNE O[ ThE HOME SCHOOL LEGAL made by a coupLe of local homeschoolDEFENSE ASSOCIATION, make an interesters Eo their representaEives on Sâ‚Źturing point aE the Washington D.C. con- day and Sunday. This revealed that ference Apri.L 29. In the SchmidL case most of our elected officiaLs evidentHSLDA is bringing before Eh-6-TFTo ly don't read the bills they voLe on, state supreme court, Ehey argue that as rras Ehe case wiEh the two local public school districts should not Senators, neither of whom had read have the power to approve and reguthe bilL, but BOTH of whom had voted Iate private - i.e., home - educafor passage tion, as Ehey have a financial stake ...It soon became obvious thaE in the ouEcome of Eheir decisions. the biLl had been misrepresented in Farris ciEed the U,S. Suoreme Court the commLEtee hearings as being aimed Case Tumey v. Ohio (273 US 5lO, 1927) at allowing six year oLds to go to in which the court ruled that a town school (this is currently the case) mayor could not arrest, try, and .[ine rather than serving Eo require the bootleggers, because he was directly aLtendance of rhosE chilcl?Ei:-tnrhen enriching the coffers of Ehe town he Representatives SEarr. Hooper and governed and was Eherefore not an McKee realized thaE they had been misimparE i aI judge. It wiIl be i nteresEled by the Dept. of Education in this ing to see how a courE interprets matEer, they agreed to objecE to the this argument, - DR bill.., Since this was the Last day of the regular session the biLl died, and wili have to be brorrqhf rrn in both chambers again to get passed... CALENDAR Everv leqislafor we Ealked Eo Two special evenEs repLace Ehe from alL areas of the State (with cne usual 2nd ihurs. HoIr Oo6i-E6il3e: excepEion of one) said Ehey voted for Thurs. Julv I7. t9tl6: HoIE Ehe biLl because Ehey Ehev didnrt kno\t know .# Assoc. Open House.-618--TM. Wendy there was any oppositi6h-!--OiEE--6ilr Baruch will teach baskeE-making for represenCaEives repre represencaEr-ves s enCaE ive s knew parents were conDarents were aIl ages. Call first so we'll have cerned, they listened and agreed and enough supplies (437-f550). supported our views, BuE we came danSaE. Aus. 9: Homeschoolers gerousLy close to a six year oLd man,............'...',.+ Picnic, Lars Anderson Park, Brookline datory attendance law, MA. Sponsored by Holt Associates. ll Who was that one exception? Roy AM. Bring Lunch. For info contact Johnson from Tuscaloosa. He was office, 6L7-437-1550, or send SASE. already aware of Ehe issue because Aug. 22-24: Clonlara Jamboree the Tuscaloosa support group, headed -,,+ Home tor Schoolers. Hovt Center. E. by Barbara Brasfield, invited him to Mich. U., Ypsilanti MI: Contact Cionspeak at one of their home meeEings Lara School , L289 JeweEt, Ann Arbor and the homeschoolers \rere able to MI 48I04; 3L3-769-45L1. \/oicp fhoir nnini 6rri\, .hil.iWe wilL be happy to run notices hood educaEion. He listened.., of major homeschooLing evenfs, but we need plenty of notice. Deadline for GWS #52 (events in September & later) From the April SOUTH DAKOTA HOME is July 15. Deadline lor GIJS #53 SCHOOL ASSOCIATION newsletter (events in Nov. & later) is Seot, 15. .,.Less Rensink iust haDpened to be in Pierre Iin febrrlary] aird CALVERT RELAXES POLICY learned through hi s Representative, Ray Fidler wroEe in the MARYLAND Gary Bender, that the education bilI, HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION newsHB 1296, was soon to be in commitEee Ietter, Spring 86: and we would have opportunity to :mcnd i1- pqno.iellrr in rpoar.le l^ Unknown Eo many Maryland homethe lowering of the school entrance schoolers, the CALVERT SCHOOL of Bal- a8e. timore quietly changed its policy After successfully amending Ehe regarding nhat statements must be bill so the enErance age was back to 1/ ,,^ 1^^*-^r made by homeschooling parenEs concernwE !tsdr rrtsu FL^F LrrdL FL u,re bill supposed, ing local schooL board approval ly made kindergarten mandatory for before obEaining Calvert's home the child as well as Ehe districE. instructional maEerials. Nearly one The biLl was definitely unclear on fnr
nrirrrfo
<ahanl
The State has decided to aooeal the decision to Ehe Kansas Court of Appeals. . .
was
!
:
this maEter... We then had to DroDose another amendmenE Eo cause kindergarten to again be optional for Ehe "
child. Dr, James Hansen (State School Superintendent ) and several oEhers tried Eo block our efforts but the Lord saw us Chrough again and $re succeeded. HB 1296 successfullv oassed both houses and has now been bisned by Gov. JankLow...
L DR: I Ihree oEher sEaEes where educators have recentlv nronoqcri
lowering che mandatoi;'.!;;5i";;. "r" North Carolina, Arizona, and Arkansas. On the other hand, Illinois is gradually RAISINC the age for kinder-
Sarten entrance; eventually, an enrollee wiII have to be 5-when school starts instead of the presen! 4 years, 8 monEhs. From the Chlcago NorEhwestside Press, 4 /2/86 :
...For the 1986-87 schooL vear. children wi I I be el igibLe to enter kindergarten if they are 5 years old by Nov. I, f986, instead of the previous Dec. I cutoff daEe. The cutoff date was chanped in compliance with the Education-ReEorm Act passed by Ehe General Assembly Iast year. The date will be moved up Eo Oct. L for the 1987-88 school year and ro Sept . I for rhe 1988-89 school year. According to the StaEe Board of Education, the change was made because of evidence Ehat older chiLdren are more successruI In scnool.., IDR: I Raymond Moore rnade a nice analogy on the subjecE, quoted by
Molly Farrington in Ehe Connecticut homeschooling newsletter Hearth Notes. To say thaE Head SE-a-F-rs experience rnith poor children means that all children should starE school earIier, is "Iike saying, if you can hel n a chi ld* hw frlrino him nFF th'"" "j coLd streeC and housing him in a vnarm tent, then r,Jarm tents ihouLd be provided for a1I children - when obviously most chil?Iren already have even more secure housing." RESEARCH ON HOMESCHOOLING
Here are reports of research
on
homeschooling thlc we have received
over the last several months.
Remem-
ber that we have a reprint on the subject which we offer for l0f (SASE required if you are noE ordering oEher maEerials from us). Before Washington State passed iEs present homeschool Iaw, it briefIy oFEered a I'piloE program" in whjch sEudenEs could register with one of two private schools, FAMILY CENTERED LEARNING ALTERNATIVES (FCLA) or the CENTER FOR CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SERVICES (CCSS). Brian Ray wriEes in his newsletter Home School Researcher (OSU Sci. Ed@7331; 503-754-4L51 or 838-1248) : n,,,i6- +L^ c1I1 of 1985, the State of WashingCon Superintendent of PubLic InstrucEion made availabLe a report ent i t I ed "washington sEate ' s Experimental Programs Using Ehe ParenE as TuEor Under the Supervision of a WashingEon StaEe Certifjed Teacher I984-85.rr The information in Ehis article comes from thaE reDorE. . ..A core group of I00 sEudents were identified as havinq been in the experimentaL program froi the pretesting Ehrough the spring of 1985. This core of sEudents were DosEtesced in April of 1985. Srinford GROWING t^lITHOUT SCHOOLING
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A: There is considerabLe anecdoinq a score on such a test "seLforron cilliar rhrn nel'lino tal evidence (case histories) in the ^^iao^tt'ic homeschooling literature thaE homethe score on an IQ Eest "intelLisence." And what are unschooled child- schoolers do weLI. But it is in the nature of such things thaE good case ien suooosed to make of such items as hisEories are IikeIy to be reported and in Ehe majority of cases were "My clissmates make fun of me" or "I and bad ones won't be. AnecdoEal eviweLl above Ehe national average... hate school'r? NeverEheLess, Wesley dence has shown that homeschooling The median scores in Language/EngLish Taylor feLt that this was the best can work but it does not give informafor most grades fell beEween the insErument for the purpose, as iE is second and third quartiLes (above wideLy used and accepted among psycho- Eion--a6out how often it works. ThFrc ;TA-;;;T-studies that show average)... In nach, Ehe median score I ogical and educational c i rcIes, and that tutoring is more effective Ehan for grades 2, 4, 6, and 7 for boEh that the results would be usefuL, the conventionaL classroom. There is l^locl orr ro.onrl rr i ccrrpd a 2-naoo sites feIL at or above the nationaL no reasonable debate on this. Howaveraqe. while the math scores for summary of his findings, and says ever, mosc of these studies relate to & FCLA), 5 that a complete copy of the study sradei i tccss), 3 (ccss tutoring by a "qualified" teacher. (330 pages) wilL soon be avaiLabLe in fCCSS A FCLA) and 8 (FCLA) [elI below ParenE luEoring (homeschooling) is Ehe national average. In summary, the book form from University Microfilms generaLly regarded as a very dif[ermajority of the scores were average, Internationaf, 300 N Zeeb Rd, Ann ent question because of concerns or above average, in reading, langArbor MI 48106. abouE the "qualificaEions" of Ehe uage and math. Amone hi s concLusi ons: parenE. Thc rcnorf emnhasizes that fewer The self conceDt las measured h., rhi c cnal o I nf rha' hnmpcehnnl i no StatisticaL studies of homeEhan 100 sEudents in each grade LeveI school students do exist but Ehere Iowers Ehe reljabi I icy ot Ehe data. higher chi Idren was signiIicanrly Mncr af tho or:de cemnleq are noE many. (I am alwaYs Looking c ont a ined than Ehat of the conventionally fewer Ehan L6. . , schooLed popuLation. Half of the home- for more if you know of any. ) While almost aLl such studies show homeschooLed sc6red aE or above the 9LsE rrlncnFer qc col f-.nn.anr narnanfi I a schoolers do better Ehan average, few have involved a good sampling. For Jon Wartes (WA) writes, "Here is is a refLecEor of socialization, it exampLe, if only 5O% of a group of some information on a L984 study of would appear that few homeschooling homeschoolers provide test informahomeschoolers in Alaska - this is a children are socially deprived. Eion and the average score is high' different sEudy than Ehe 1981-82 CriEics of the home school shouLd not it is very reasonable to wonder if report mentioned in GWS #44." urge seLf-concept and socializaEion the low scorers were Less likely Eo The report was prepared by the rationaLes. These factors apparently submit their resuLts. If Ehey had parstate correspondence school, CENTRALfavor home schoolers over the conventicipafed, the average score would be IZED CORRESPONDENCE STUDY, Pouch GA, tionaLly schooled population. " lower. The foremosE challenge to homeJuneau AK 998lli 907-465-2835. From facEors of gender, number - The i-^l^nr'la nF zoci;anno school researchers on Ehis Eopic is -ikl the cover lelEer titled "Summary of r!u!rL't3r u, ^l to obtain a good sampling! It.is not SRA TesEing for CenEralized Correspon- prior convenEional school ing, educaeasy. dence SEudy, ApriL/May 1984": tional leveI of homeschool oDerators, _ Las L'( a homeschool _ q. wd5r'It,BLU,' ^. r.r^^L .. .A total of 53"L of the sEunificantly reLated Eo the seLfing law. Why do we need to Prove dents enrolled in CCS during ApriI concepE of homeschooling children. anyth ing ? 1984 were tesced. 40% of the studencs - The best predictive modeL of A: tJhat the legislature creates enrolLed are reflected in the sel E-concept in homeschooling chi 1dthe legislature can change. I have attached comDosite daEa. ren is related to Iower grade equivavirtualLy no reason Eo believe that .,.The differences between the lence, higher years of homeschooLing, major changes are contemplaEed by anyscores of studenEs tested on siLe and higher socioeconomic staEus, higher one. However, minor adjustmenEs are those Eested aE home may be due to number of homeschooling chiLdren in rne IDesE way Co prellKeIy 1n Llme. TL^ comfortable home setfollowing: the and higher beginning the family, tsi--. c^-:r:^-iP.. !L) vent unwarranted changes is to have ^F home Eeacher/ v! rd"'r!rdr Lrr16' school age. the best informaEion. A study such as proccor; group EesE scores increase John Wesley Taylor can be h^.^F 4,,this could be very heLpful. ^F when given on an individual basis... u! vurreached at Andrews U., ucPL, I do have one potentiaL concern. Program Evaluation: In reviewing riculum & Inscruction, Berrien Spgs It is logical Eo expect (and this the test daEa one will note rhat even MI 49104; 6L6-47L-3514. research can help verify) that homein the limited sample (227.) using schoolers who do welL are more likely only studenEs tested onsite, overall to conEinue homeschooling and those theqc srudenrs nerformed wel I above RESEARCH NEED FOR THE who do poorly are, as a group, more average, 9 of the 12 grades feLl likely to discontinue. Some school From Jon Wartes, 16109 NE 169th above Ehe 75th percentiLe in reading' superinEendents will probabLy start 8 oF 12 grades falling above che 60Eh Pl, Woodinville WA 98072: keeping documentation on returning percentile in language, 9 of the 12 homeschoolers. How Ehese former home...AEEached are explanatory grades falling above 60th percentile schoolers wi11, as a group, compare materiaLs regarding a homeschooL in math. rocoqreh nr^ iF.f Trl l ha condrrcl-inq wiEh Eheir conventionalLy educated When one includes the Itested-] peers is yet Eo be seen. If it turns the summer of '86 and '87. Irve at-home sEudents, Eheir composite out thaE there is a problem, iE could always felt that information breeds test scores are even higher... become the basis for Ehem to ask for acceDEance and svstematic studies are Summary: For mosE groups who some change in law. But note Ehat Ehe the best kind of information. were tesEed during Ehe sPring of superintendenEs wiIL noE be sampling When I showed Ehe drafts to my 1984, their performance indicates a significant porEion of homeschoolown superintendent (Northshore School Ehat the CCS curriculum does a good i^h f6..hino fha fect-< .nncenl-q ers (those who don't enter PubLic District), he became so interesEed ^f school,) Because Ehis project EhaE he donaEed the printing! and skilLs Ehat are tesEed on the SRA attempEs to sample the whole range of ,,.If homeschoolers in other Achievement Test. . . homeschoolers, it will provide more states wouLd Like Eo uEilize Ehe compLete information. cuestionnaire and oEher rnaEerials dhat Richard WheeLer and I developed IDR: ] The third study reflecEs for this project and conducE a siminot academic achievemenE, but the Q: If my child scored low lon a standardized testl and I respond to lar study of their own, they would be issues of socializaEion and selfEhis project by filling out an answer most welcome to do so... concept. In January, 1986, John Wessheet, won'E I be hurEing homeschoolLey TayLor of Andrews University, MI ers by lowering Ehe average scores in senE a questionnaire and a psychologiEhe results? cal test to a random selection of subIDR: elong with the four-page A. Two comments: questionnaire, answer sheet, "Project scribers to GWS and to the Moores' I ) I c may Lower the average Descriptionr" and instructions Eo Parent Educator and FamiLy Report. We scores sIighEly buE it i s sEi 1I prelocal coordinators who are helping Eo do not release our marrrng rl sc Eo ferable to respond. The reason reothers, but we agreed to do the mail- conduct the study, Jon also senE a lates Eo the suspicion that low scorsheet he wrote called "Questions and ing here if we were reimbursed for ers wiLL be less LikeLy to respond Answers About the Project." Some alI costs. than high scorers. If your child interesting excerpEs : l The'rPiers-Harris ChiLdren's scored aE the I07.iIe but you do not Self-ConcepE Scale" consists of 8O respond, the hard line critic mighC ...Q: I have heard that there is Yes/No statements such asrrl am a a lot of documentation that homeassume that the child was at the happy person," "It is hard for me to schoolers do well. Whv do more 5"Ai,Le. make friends," "I am ofEen sad," eEc. 2) We genuinely need information re s earch ? Personally, it seems to me that call-
Achievement TesEs were used. TesEing was done in three subjecE areas: reading, Ianguage/English, and math/mathematics. The median reading scores were above average
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING
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