Growing Without Schooling 53

renrs items - have asked us Eo sell our mailing list to them, we have always refused, out of respect of Ehe privacy of our subscribers. And we IeeL strongly EhaE thi s privacy should conEinue to be guarded. Howcver. it (lops seem nrobable Chat some of you would like to get catalogs and Literature from these oucfiEs; and it rdould be relatively easy for us Eo disEinguish, on our mailing-house computer records, those of you who are willing from those who are not.

So, we will start putting thi s question on our renewal clip-out and other order forms. If you are willing to help us raise money by seIJ ing or exchanging your name, please send in

GROWING

WITHOUT SGHOOLING

53

rho

After Chree years wjth us, SEeve Rrrnnrechf is leavinc fc work for another comDanv, Steve has done a

fine job handting all the complex decalls and probLems involved in runni.ng our book order and subscripEion department. and we wi.ll miss him.

Wendy Baruch wiLL take on that role, wirh the help thi s fal 1 of E1 sa Haas, who had been working here as a volunteer, and occ:rs i ona I ) y Sandy Kendal L Between now and Christmas is our busiesC cime an<l we'11 work hard to keep on top of things.

Sandy, by the way, has just rerrrrned Irom England, where her rowing tcam won first place in this year's WorJ d Champi onsh i ps, wonen's I ighcwei ghl rii vision.

Lots of radio show acc ivity.

Wendy spoke for a few minutes on a local show, which brought several dozen inqrriries ancl led to Susannah Sheffer speaking on another show,

Wendv and Susannah s6iT-E-Fress

release ro 50-60 talk staEions around Che country, which so far has resulted i n six interviews New EngLand Monthly interviewed rrs Ior a J-page sr.orv ln Lnerr 5epcember i sstre, and Becky Rupp' s art i c,e .

i s scheduled for an rrpcoming CountrV Journa I t Novembe r? ) . !,/e werd DTe-tsEa Eo=-iEe-Penny Barker's p i ece, i'The

Homeschooled Teenager Crows Llp," in the Summer i ssrre of ltlothcring, and hoDe thaE oIhers of voi-wJl-f-write foi other magazines.

Our friend and Board

member

that her book BETTER THAN SCHOOL is beine transI aLed i nto .[aDaneser The tianslator is a Japanese homeschooler who is married to an American ancl lives in Ehe Midwest . Larson Publ icaE i ons has signed a contract wich a Japanese pubLishing house. Nancy's son Ishmael, Nancy Wallace says

bv rho wiv-

roaenflv -J

nerformpd F' '

fnr

a

Drosram of nrrsi c from Lhc YelIolv Barn

Festival on National PubIic Radio. our fulL catalog is conEained in this issue, including many new tiEles not yet reviewed in GWS, and some old favoriEes, like THE EDIJCATION OF LITTLE TREE, that are now back in print, Please order earLy and avoid disaDDointment. --- Donna Richoux SELLING A MAILING LIST

In our

constanE search Eo find

ways Eo break even Iinancially, some of our Board members suggesCed sell-

ing our mailing Iist to other cornpanies and organizaEions, Apparently there is quite a brisk business among mail-order firms in buying and sellinq meilino licfc elca nnn-nrafir organizations sometimes Erade LisEs in order Eo reach possible new members.

Whenever oEhers - usuaLly suppliers of educational materials or child-

nl i^-^,,f

f^rm

^n

rho

hack

naoe

or tel I us tithen you renew or move .

Please include your subscriPtion Label or a copy of it. We will code this informarion on your records, and only make avail.able those names that are so coded.

If you do not wish Your name co be made ava i Lable , do noth ing. the For group subscriPtions, question only applies to the name on the labeL, as the others are not entered on the computer. - DR HOW MANY HOMESCH@LERS?

articLe in the Raleigh, NC about the SutTEs Taffift-Tome school says it is "one of 400 home schooLs that have sprouted across North CaroLina since !he state Supreme Court decLared Lhem legaL in May 1985." The story goes on to sav, "ALL but 13 counEies have registered home schools, In a1l, about 1,000 to 1 ,500 Tar Heel children may be getring their educations aE home, out of 58,000 pr:lvate-school students An

News and Observer 7127186

s

tatewide, "

From che MS Clarion-Ledger:

ers' Picnic, sponsored by Holt Associates on Auq. 9. Over 75 adul ts and ch i l dren parti ci patei in tne day's activities: volleyball, basket-makin9, a music jam, face-painting, and the biggest hit, a non-competitive treasure hunt. l^/endy Baruch, who organized the event'

thc Deputy Minister of Education.

Rbports from B.C. indicate about 2,000 deschoolers. If these figures are accurate, chey have doubled in Lwo years, from rhe 1,000 estimated by the Director of the Correspondence hldrrcation Branch in August of 1984.

In Ontario, the MinistrY of Education estimates are in the 500 student range, again much increased over the past few years...

L.D. BOOKLET IN THE WORKS

PaE Farenga and I have decided to put together a booklet on the myEh Many converoI learning clisabilities. sations and Letters have convi.nced us that there is a need for such a collecfion oI sEories. We PLan to use materiaL that has already appeared in GI,JS, buE we ' re eager co hear new scories too. l^Je welcome anyching you have co say aborrt your child's experiences in or out of schooL, and we're especial ly interesEed in examples of children who turn ouc not to be "disabled" aIter all. We'Il be putting this together just afcer you receive Ehis issue, so write soon if You'd Iike to be inclrrded. - Susannah Sheffer

A 31 percent increase Last Year' in the number of 6- through 9- Year olds who received education ac home may Lead to a push for more strict home education Iaws in 1987, saY state education Ieaders ' ...According to year-encl reports filed by Ehe sEate's 98 school aEten-' dance o[[icers, 209 children ages 6 Ehrough 9 were listed as receiving Cheir education aE home, said ALfrenetr Johnson, special pro iect officcr DONATING HOLT BOOKS IN GA. of rhe governor:'s commission on ChiLdFron Rebecca Mcchee, RE I Box ren and YouEh. ThaE's up 31% from the 221, Coward Rd, Waleska GA 30I83: 1 59 I i sEed in home i nstrucL i on programs in September 1985. . , . Rea I i-z,i.ng I had wa i Eed Iong However, Boyd I state Supr. of enoLrgh . I dcc i ded to start running Ed. ] isn't sure how significant the (:ooro rhp i, cAmn, i on for John Hol C's increase reallv is. books to be in every public Iibrary.

"It's a case of you don't know I'm verv excited about it. I've if it jumps because people keep already put an announcemenE in Conrtie betrer rec()rds than chey d id before." he said,.. |^]HAT'S INSIDE

PLav, the newly-revived newsIeEE6i-6F

l.lurphy/Direction: 2 --- Working full-time: 2 --- Single parents: 2 --- How interests devel-

Efi"--CNNNOTEN ALLIANCE OF HOMESCHOOL_

op: 3 ---

ERS:

Cther local news: 5

HI, PA):6 --- Calendar: 7 --- Teen's

t",iendy

.

Priesnitz wrote in ChiId's

..The DirecEor of PublicaElon

and Reference for the Nova Scolia

of Education reports that t-herc arc I ikel v around 30 "home schoIars" in thaE province, wi ch "12 to 15 in the Halifax-Dartmouth area."

New Brunswick's Assistant Deputy Minister oI Education reports approximaEeIy 38 children receiving thei r education at home-in 1985-86. During thaE o ^^-^ -^L^^r ..^^r.L E, l. had about 25 y<dr ! home educated students. according co Deparcment

Germany:

3 --- California: 4-5 ---

--- Court news (TX, AL, phone business: 7 --- Audubon program: 7 --- lllork & travel : 7 --- Working visit: 8 --- SS/0ffice worker: 8 --- High G.E.D. score --- Teen s',udies, l,4om works: 8 --- 0nly child: 9 --Clder mom: 10 --- Catalog: ll-26 --- Spicer/ l'lanaging stress: 27 --- DR/Cart & horse: 27 --- Importance of Play: 28 --- Sensible question: 28 --- PFlJuries: 28 --- lnterview/ Arons: 29 --- Truancy harassment: 3l --DR/Leoal contracts: 3l --- Math: 32 --SS/lmiosing: 32 --- Storytelling:32 --JH/l,4usic as adults:32 --- Pianica:33

2

Shaw's

GEORGIANS FOR FREEDOM

IN

EDUCA-

TION newsleEEer,.. Irm going on whaE

I've read in GWS #48-5f on following Ehrough with the ideas, making chec[s payabLe to GFE (HoIE books)... Am also asking owners of John Holc books who would like to donate fo coordinale so we know which Libraries...

LDR:.1

Louise MacDougall-DelgaEEy

long Eime readers will remember her as Louise Andrieshyn) has Eaken over (

Ehe British Columbia campaign from Sandy Hanson. Anyone who would like Eo donaEe money, books, or help can

reach Louise aE Box 390, Errington

VOR

lVO; phone 248-2987.

BC

GWS NOTES

New Indexer Needed: Novr Ehat the sE--IitlE;--i3-6ilt-rto- cl"]s #4 I - 50 and YC:NL), iE's time to Ehink about who will index #51-60. Any of the peor a Ee

ple who have indexed GVJS fhus far can EeIl you it's a big and Eime-consuming projecL, so donrt offer Iighfly.

Any volunteers?

Gt{S Taoes for the Blind: Naomi

Rice @aders

who

for her and possibly other blind people. So far she has received three tapes; iE turns ouE Ehat a 60-minute cassetce holds roughly 12 pages of CWS. Naomi was discouraged Eo find Ehat the National Librar), Service will only IisE publications whose tapes are professlonally recorded in a sEudio, but she is looking inLo other ways of alerting the bLind community about us. If you are willing Co make a Eape, conEacE Naomi aE 503-287-1828 for instructions.

Cift Subscription Fund: I wanE co re@a small fund of money donaEed by our readers for giff subscripEions. Sometimes we hear from people who could really benefiE from receiving GWS, but they are on weLfare or oEher limited income.

V^.'l^*^^ F^ +Li^ --^t1 rvUl6rlL'Ld!Eg ^^iFF fund will provide these people wiEh the information and encouragement of GWS. - DR volunEeered Eo record

CWS

HOW MUCH PARENTAL DIRECTION?

From Madalene Murphy (PA): . .,Your response Eo Ruth McCutchen's arrd Mike Kearn's comments abouE a school-like aDDroach vs. a more reLaxed approach'to learning at home (GWS #52) inEerested me a sreat deal because it is an issue EhaE Tom and I have been discussing a loE wiEh each other and wiEh other homeschooline families that we know. One thing EhaE often boEhers me about some discussions of Ehi s topic is thaE it is Eaken for granted that iE is an eiCher-or situation: eiEher one mainEains a highly regulated "school" aE home with the parents firmly in charge directing Ehe day or one "relaxes" and, for some, a "relaxed'l approach means no inEerference at aIl in the chi Idrs experiencing of Ii fe and Ehe auComatic re iection of anv materials Ehat might-be remotely LonnecEed wiEh a traditional schooL experience. I have found EhaE, while a very few can and do mainEain these exEremes for several vears. for Ehe majoriEy of homeschooiers, going to extremes in either direction can racrrr r r--FE;-=;;*-;=--;-EFE- kids giving up anel the kids returning to scnoor.

I know of one family where the

narant<

falf

fhaf

l{l-rr uruil

fh^.' !,,s)

La.'6

f^

do anyching wiEh Ehe children, that thev would iusE absorb aII sorts of wonierfuL riings from Life even

iE was not convenienE Eo involve Ehem in Ehe parenEs' busy world. AfEer Ehe couDle of vears the children were so borbd they'begged co go back !o school, This, of course, is an extreme example of an exEremet and I know John never believeC oarents should jusE step out of thbir chiLdren's lives and leE them grow up on their own. . . . Emilyrs school experience had evidently been so negacive in Ehe area of writing that she actively avoided even writing her own name and wouLd automaticalLy reject getcing involved in an activiEy if iE meanE L^.,i-^ +^.,*iF^ A-l ^F ^ll ^^ ^aF^two years of writing \rhat she dictagentle ted to us, offering sugg,estions and providing lots of good examples on our part, we began Co feel something had to be done ro help her break through this arEificial barrier. The problem was noE Ehat she was not ready Co srite but that she had been actively caught that wriEing was a horrible exercise. We didn't care whelher or not she ever made ,,-iFi-^ ^^". of her Ii[e buE we wanted her to do enough lrriting to see thaE it was not someEhins that somebody would immediacely swoop down upon with commenls abouC sLoppy handEhough

wri t i ng and oEher ino

cfAfpmcnfs.

se I

f-esteem destroy-

so fhaE

She waS nOt

cutEing herself off from a vaLuable

EooL. We insisted Ehat she write several nights a week - while Tom wrote, too, so Chat it was not as if we were Laying some kind of punishment upon her, but more like she vJas participating in a fami 1 y activiEy... tC seemed to us EhaC in Ehis insEance, firmly insisring was the best way and, although it was a slow process, Emily does wri te wiEhout di fficulty now .

We have found EhaL there is an ebb and flow to Ehe amount of strucEure and to Ehe amounE of direction we provide in our children's learning, but we are always involved. Many times we simply follow Ehe childrenrs inEerests, supporting Ehem by driving the kids Eo the librarv to look uo books on the subject o; buying batceries for an electrical invesLigation.

And sometimes Ehose inEeresEs are based on things we inEroduced into Eheir world. Years ago, when we saw Shakespeare plays being offered on PBS we asked Emily if she wanted Eo watch one and chen prepared her for it by siEting down wiEir her and reading through part of Ehe firsc act, each taking a couple of different roles, to geE her used to Ehe language and the pLot. She Loves Shakespeare now and we have even been able to take her to see some live performance s

.

dn,

'.,^

-l

-^

ts,., ry

l^ Lv

racn^n.l r !JPvL,u

ts^ LU

particular needs. CLare (now 7) was moving gradually and naEuraLIy Eoward reading but was inEerrupEed thoroughly by our move a year ago. Her interest revived when Tom and I made sure we found time Eo have her read something to one or both of us each day (whiIe we told her any words she didn't know or didn'E wanE to take a guess at ) . Reading aloud seems Eo be a necessary part of her learning to read.

And we do use Eextbooks someEimes. Christi.an (10) is beginning a geomeEry textbook EhaE we had picked

up as a possibiliEy for EmiIy. lE is really tough going aE Eimes but he Ioves it. At the same Eime. I have to

be available Eo work with him on it and so Ehis brings up Ehe fopic of weekly - someEimes daily - goals.

..,For a number of years, t/e aC some Doinf on Ehe weekends and have madl goals for Ehe week. Now during Ehese years, Ehere have been many have go!Een EogeEher h/ith each child

Eimes when we dropped Ehe goal-making for a whiLe, buE we have always reEurned to iE because we have found Ehe goals Co be very useful reminders among Ehe clothes-washing, meal pre-

paraEions, telephone calls, crafE pro-

jects, bike riding, reading, thaE lhere are oEher aspects of life Ehat need to be attended Eo...

FULL-TIME JOBS & HOMESCHOOLING

From New Hampshire:

...Even as John encouraged me thaE iE WAS oossible to home school and work fuli Cime, I want Eo encourage oEhers, now thaE we have done iE

for a couple years and I know ChaE iE is indeed possibLe. The key, for us, has been to find jobs thaE are not regular. Not the 9-5 office hrorkplace where children arenrc allowed (alEhough I have done Ehat for a few months). Jobs which work for children, too, are in places such as a ski touring cencer, an apple orchard, evening office cleaning, and interior L^.,^^ ^^i-r:-^ iluu5E r rrL r r16.

Pd Of course, being in a friendly school disErict is very importanE, also. You have time and energy to homeschool when Ehe officials aren't threaEening, boEhering, and tesfing you all Ehe fime. We have moved away from two unfriendly school districEs, but now we are happy and feel aE home. IE IS possible. . .

FROM SINGLE PARENTS

From Veronique LaLiberce (MD):

...Our homeschooling story may ..

When I finally was given "approvaL" to homeschooL, it remained for my children and me to decide how we would make an income. I couLd either work aE night and hire a babysitter or we could be child-care providers if Ehe children would be wiIIing to help (for a small saLary, of course).

They opced for Ehe latter.

We have been homeschooling since January and babysitting since March, and everything is working out beEcer Ehan I had expecEed. My daughEer's reading has improved 1007" due to the naEural process of developmenE.,.

MosE importantly, both my chiLdren are learning how Eo nurture Ehe children for whom we care. As a result. they are aLso learning about money how to budgeE and save for whaE Ehey be helpfuL Eo other si ngle parents.

r"ranE. .

.

Iln: ] ln cWS #51, Joseph Ciano (Rt 5 Box 120, Ava MO 65608) announced Ehe formation of a HOME EDUCATORS SINCLE PARENT NETWORK. Anvone wishing Eo conEact oEher single parenEs should mail Joseph $L plus a SASE and brief self-descriDtion.

Joseph sends Ehis update: ...The responses grow one at. a time. There are now about 10. The plight of fhe single parenc seems Eo have three main faces: (l) isolation; /?t fin^n^i^1 /1\ ctlh^^,r rrurdr ruPPUrL. !r \J' -^-.1 ExcepE for myself, Ehe oEhers are alL female single parents. Some of Ehem WITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

J

feel very Erapped by their circumstances and quiEe understandably so. I

only hope that rhere is enough energy LefE in others co give the necessary supporc. And, I hope Ehere are enough inEacE families who are sErong enough not to be EhreaEened by welcoming a single parenE inEo Eheir lives. I frequenEly feel that men do nof socialize with me for fear I will sceal Eheir wives. Well, I am noE a wife steaLer. And I am sure thaE many female single parents are isolaEed because of similar fears on the parE of married women... We'Il keep working on our netrdork buE iE will be slow as we are Eraveling.,.

HOW INTERESTS DEVELOP

From Kathleen HatIey:

...In Februaryr my husband had a difficulE surgery and was ouE of commission for a couple of months... I had Eo take a very active role in our business, while SEeve (13) and Shaman (9) cook over much of the household work and younger child care. "SchooI" was very unsErucEured as real life took overl I f horrchl- T mi pht ouEl ine the patEern of learning char Shaman folIowed last year, as some of your readers seem interested in how interests develop, and this seems a good example of how a smalL spark can seE off a real flame. We borrowed a wonderfuL mythology board game called "By Jove" from our educaEional enrichmenE co-op. It had a 64-page booklet of Greek myths vrith it. tJe played Ehe game and Shaman read the myths. Since he seemed Eo enjoy Ehe myths, I gave him Ehree differenE volumes of myths that I had, which he read cover Eo cover, and enjoyed comparing the differenE versions. He then checked ouE every book on mythology aE Ehe public Library. I gave him a hardcover edicion of BULLFINCHTS MYTHOLOGY, which he devoured. At a college booksEore, he picked out classic versions of Ehe Iliad, the Odyssey anC Ehe Aenead. all of which he has read aE least Ewice. And very unexpectedly, he picked Ehe collected plays of Aeschylus, Euripedes, and Sophocles Eo read. The interest branched into a scudy of Charlemagne, Welsh mythology, King ArEhur myEhs, and some of the Roman emDerors. Best of all, were Ehe many decailed hisEorical drawings of warriors and battles (especially the Trojan War) depicting accurate (as described in Ehe texcs) armor, weapons, and archiEecture. The younger children, Ram (7) and Chris (4), were happily drawn inEo this passion as Shaman spent hours making Ehem tunics, helmeEs, and capes from the scrap box; shields ouE of cardboard, foil, and ducE tapel swords and lances whittled ouE of cedar branches. The art work, as well as Ehe fantasy play, of my younger boys Eook on an exciting dimension as they made drawings about the myEhs EhaE Shaman and I read them - Medusa, Hercules and the Hydra, Theseus and lhe MinoEaur, Cupid and Psyche. This was all 1007. child-directed activity, Steve deveLoped a strong inEeresE in freshwaEer fish. Aside from acEually going fishing, which is his very favoriEe Ehing Eo do, he managed to read every available book in Ehe Ilbrary, including five volumes of a fish encyclopedia. He worked ouE a deal wiEh a friend who is a graduate student in fisheries, to supply him wiEh worms and perch filleEs for his specimens, ln return, Sceve received GROIIiNG I.IITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

a large, fully-equipped aquarium, in which to keep hls ohtn sPeclmens' A hiehlishE of Ehe year was when he goc to-"selne" a local river (drag Ehe river wiEh huge neLs to bring uP small fish Eo study) with Ehe curaEor of the UniversiEY Life Sciences Museum. NexE week, he sEarts an apprenEiceship wiEh Ehe ranger at a nlbrby lake (who happens Eo be one of

it carefully, tracing Pictures of of things he wanEed to include. I helped him s.aEher materials. He measured ou! and drew up his plans. We learned, Eogether, about cuEting balsa wood and he was off and running. One daY I lefE him for an hour while I did a few errands, and when I came home, he was beaming because he had managed to buiLd ;ll of the walls of the Eomb in Ehe most knowledgeable naEuralisEs my absence. He is now busy working on around). He will be learning' among all of Ehe Ereasure Ehat will go in oEher things, how Eo manage a camping This inceresE the Eomb. and fishing facility.

I guess what I'm saying is EhaE in fish led into many other areas' as sometimes Ehe projecEs Ehat our childa real- inEeresE always does - cliren do are not always comPleEed in maEe, pond and stream ecologY, life eEc' one sEeD. I now feel much betEer cvcLes - Myof insecEs, reabouE ChrisEooher's work habits as I older children concinually have discoveri:d a paEEern EhaE holds inforc6 mv belief thaE when a child Erue for him in other areas as weLI. has an interesL in someEhing, rhey He comes Eo something many differenE have a real need to plunge much deeptimes ilnd works it over. AE any one er inEo the subject Ehan a normal time you mighE think he is not compl-eschool curriculum ever allows.'. ting much, yet in the long run someEhing is being worked on... books and making a list

-

And from ALison McKee (WI): ...

I also, like manY readers,

wonder how it is thaE so many people have kids who do such wonderful

chinss all of Ehe time. I have always

it is that other chiLdren seem to accomPlish so much and our children seem Eo just "go along" beins kids. . . . I was busy chinking about Christopher's (8) presenc interest in King Tut and like a bolt of lightning eveiything fell inco Place. A few. years ago-ChristoPher's favorite babyiitter was doing a scene about King TuE for a social studies Projecc.

Christopher h,as very inceresced in her work and when she was done he had the honor of being one of Ehe firsE Eo see the project in iEs comPleted form. It was quiEe somethingl He wanted to do one just like itl I Persuaded him Eo do a scene about someEhine he was working on and familiar with (Ben FrankLin). He eventually did a very nice scene of Ben FrankLin flying his kiEe. This past summer I took the kids Eo Denver for abouE five weeks to house sit for my cousin' She is an EgyptologisE. Her house, needLess to say, was full of wonderful Picture. books of Egypt. ChrisEopher browsed Ehrough these books from time to Eime. I figured he was reading the capEions under Che Pictures. I did not try to get him Eo read the texc aE all as the books were noE for children alEhough the pictures were

wondEred why

excellenE. One evening while we were going

cousin's basement he Pointfrom the King Tut exhibiu on the wall. He said, "That mummy is from a king of Ehe UPPer Nile and Ehac mummy is from a king of Ehe Lower Nile. Do you know how I know?" I didn'E. He exPlained that down Eo my

ed to

some posLers

Ehe crowns Ehey wore designated where Ehey hrere from,

made a note in mY to get some books on EgyPt from the library when we got back Eo Madison. On our firsE EriP to our library I managed Co find quiEe a few books EhaE he could read or EhaE lie could read to him. I didn'E say anyEhing buE just PuE them on the Living room Eable. He found them and began sEudying them, one in ParEicular. I later read one to him thaE he was interested in but was intimidated by because it was such an adult looking book...

Aftcr finishinq Wrapped for Eternitv. ChrisEopher wanEed to make a 3EEfre of King TuE's tomb. He planned

That nighc I

noEebook

COUNTING HER FRIENDS

Katie was verY disaPPoinEed when she realized we weren't going to send her to kindergarten... She said she didn't have very many friends and she could meeE some new kids there. So I

suggested we count her f,riends; it aidi't maEter how old they \tere. As we counted and passed 20 she began to smile. She just didn't realize she had so many, That was two Years ago and Ehe Iast time she realIY taLked about school. - MARY MACHANOFF (TN) GERMAN CHALLENGES SCHOOL LAW

Margy Walter {Germanv) wriEes:

...1 want to send on this Der Soiegel. article, \7 174186 ) on cofr!illsory school ing here in Germany, along

with a quick LransLation I made oF the Eexa. Itrs one of the firsE times I've seen anything Printed on the subject here: MENTAL FORCED FEEDING

Can parenEs be comPeLled to send their children to school, if necessarv bv force?

- MichaeL Bartmann of Regensberg Eurned 6 on January 13th, 1985. He should have been regisEered for school by May /Eh. Instead, his Parents, boEh teachers, refused to comolv wich Bavarian schooL Law, giving iietailed explanations .

In answer to the official summons. Ehe father wroEe Ehat his son, Michael. had declared "of his own accord EhaE he didn'E want to go Eo school." Further, the faEher wroEe, to "I feel I'm not in the Position forcefully oppose my son in this.rl The state government senE the uncooperative Parents an exEended deadline of May 24th - without success.

Six monEhs'1ater the Regensburg court imposed a penalEy of DM 200 (ca. $100) each againsc moEher and faEher.

Since June the case has been turned r to che German GR0WING |^IITH0UT SCH00LING

lSSN #0745-5305. Pub'lished

#53, Vol. 9 No. 5. bi-monthly bv Holt

MA Associates, 729 Boylston St, Boston.l986.

$20lyr. Date of Issue,0ctober l, class postage paid at Boston MA. P0STMASTER:-Send

Boylston

St,

ADVERTISERS:

address changes

Boston

MA

to

GtlS' 729

02'l.l6.

l5th of for ads in 3

Deadlines are the

numbered months. Discount

tive issues.Contact Patrick

Farenga.

L

Karl sruhe .

The narents erpue EhaE iE is unconsEiEutional Ehat compulsory school

laws do not provide for any exception allowing individual supervision, as desired for Eheir older son. However, they add, they are noE againsE public schooLs in principLe and have registered Eheir younger son Alexander, "according to his own desirer" for Ehe 1986 school year.

The refusal of Ehe parenEs and child Eo comply wi-t compulsory schooling raises quesEions which have up Eo now not been addressed by the highest courEs in Germany. It is unconEesEed thaE Ehe constiEuEionallv DrotecEed dignity of man also appliei Eo children. But it must be now clarified wheEher and to what exEent chis basic right can be infringed for children.

UD to now. auEhoriEies such as courts have got around the question of whether or noc minors can be out under moral consErainc or Eheir basic human dignity offended. The probLem arises ofEen - for insEance, when children of divorced marriages refuse Eo comply lrith the court-imposed ruling concerning time spenE wiEh the parent who was noE granted cusEody, In such cases it is not of orimary imporEance whether childrenarrive aE such negaEive aEEiEudes all on their own or under the influence of lheir parents. When they don't wanE someEhing, for whaEever reason, Ehe quesEion arises whether their wiLl may be broken or noE, The authorities used to resort Eo drasEic measures. Children became Ehe objecEs of court decisions which were carried out by the courE marshal, if necessary wiEh police force.

There were scandalous scenes, for which the sensitized officials no longer wanted to take responsibility.

For some time now Ehe authoriEies employ a more subtle devide: they compeL the parenEs Ehemselves !o use force, Ehus keeping their hands clean in Ehe process, This means Ehat regarding visiting rights, and in this case compuLsory schooling, the parents are compeLled to force their children to do things which they possibly do not approve of chemselves. The teacher, Bernard Bartmann, considers himself brorrght to a "real crisis of conscience" here. LasE week the Regensburg courE raised Che penalty fine to DM 500 (ca. $240) and has Ehreacened a further increase.

Bartmann argues ChaE he grould have had Eo employ I'shamefuL pedagogical methods" which were'rfurthermore Legally forbidden," in order to force his older son to attend schooL, He faces the conflict of either harmins his sonrs basic human dignity or diiobeying compulsory school laws.

BarCmann. who sErives for "a new kind of manil as pedagogue and who considers Eoday's compulsory school laws as "mental forced-feeding," makes it clear EhaE his basic right of free conscience is severely infringed when Ehe state in Eurn comoels him Eo use force against his chiidren.

His experience as speciaL ( slowlearner) teacher has convinced BarEmann that todayrs schools represenE a "profound infringement to and harmful influence on heaIEhy, mentalLybaLanced development." As evidence for his Ehesis he cites the steadily increasing phenomena of "sEudenE failures" and student suicides.

"The public schooL monopoly takes Ehe responsibility for these cases of children maltreaEmenEril claims Bartmann. But of course, he adds, many young people "go the pub-

Iic school paCh wiEhout any problem."

A Large portion of studenEs suffer, though, since Ehey cannot fulfill fhe reorrired echievement standards. This resuLEs in 'rnegative selection down to Ehe Sonderschule" (soecial schooLs for "sLow learnersrr).

Bartmann would like Eo establish some sort of free school along the li.nes of Waldorf schools.

This teacher, who is Ehinking of anrreducational sysEem free from sEace monoDolies" and a "free learning culEurer" sErives to geE away from the old pedagogical vision of man, which he defines as "authoritysubject, male supremacy-female adjusEmenE, teacher-pupi1, command-obedience." He claims wiEh his consticutionaL grievance thaE'rthe staEe musE step back when a task can be fulfiILed by a smaller social uni ty, particularLy by the family."

BarEmann and his wife have hired an unempLoyed colLeague Eo tuEor Michael. Both parenEs Lay cLaim to their right of judging besE, along with their son, "in h/hat form the child will confronE educaEional concepEs, from Ehe personal as well as the professionaL Doint of view."

The theories- of this teacherneither father are absurd nor new.

AFF^* ,.^^lFL,. ^ll ^-i-*^^--Fi^ ^-l wEdr L"y families have long exercised Ehe privilege of educating their children at home wiEh a Eutor - up until welL -

insisEed Carrie seemed Eo have a good while acEualIy chere, buE mo;Ely due to "peer pressurett - mv oeers of German mother;/friends inahi neiehborhood - and my carpool duties. I had a good excuse to Let her stop going when our baby Steven was born in May, and she hasn'E gone Eime

since, and she's delighted. WhaE an reiref f6?-ETi-6i us co Erust our child's own sErong feelings. Carrie plays and works on her own projecEs marvelously by herself or wiEh her brother Ingo in the mornings, is darling with Ehe baby, and thoroughly enjoys inEense, usualLy ouEdoor play wiEh one of her several good German friends in Ehe afEernoon. l,Je are continuing Eo pay Che kindergarEen fee Eo keep her place open aE Ehe kindergarten should she choose to return Ehere, but it's going Co be her own decision and no one is going to talk us into insisting on regulariEy! Our child has blossomed again, che paLeness and scomach cramps have disappeared, and EhaCrs whaE is important .

IE's inceresting how many others commenE, "Yes, well I suppose iEts all right to be lenient nov,r, buc then again she has to learn selfdiscipline at school soon, so shouLdn't you geE her used Eo Ehe rouEine weLl ahead of time?r'But even her sweet young teacher mentioned that Carrie goE terribly upset when inr^ ihic "handicrafts Eime" was scoDDed after ^6nlilr\r 20 minuEes (here aE home sire sometimes works aE one tahrle nrniecl- for ^"' Margy Walter conEinues in her two hours at a cime)-;;; 5;;';;; Letter fo us: always eager for more read-aloud sessions than could be offered... . , . I wroEe a brief nofe to Ehe I can well imagine homeschooling German fellow, Bernhard BarEmann, and vJorking ouc well for us, and Irve just yesterday I received a fLyer come Co the point of feeling I'd like from a group which has recenEly Eo try iE if we could do so legalformed, called "Friends of B. BartIy... At leasE we have Eno more years mann,rr to support him financialLy and before Carrie reaches school agel My oEherwise in his attempt to bring his husband is more skeDtical Ehan I suit against compulsory schooling to about che whole issire, and is afraid Ehe German Supreme Court, Apparently Irve become "too easilv convinced bv he quit his job as a teacher and is a lot of gushy anecdoEes," aLEhoughworking fuLl-time on Ehis groundr^rith E ime and tacc he has sof Eened uobreaking project. I senC a litEle a loE, and he's always impressed by donaEion to their fund and ordered a anything I've reid-?Tdud to him byset of copied maCerial which he used John HoIE. IErs been comforting Eo me in his lawsuit. And since the flyer to hear thaE other mochers have exoermenEioned, among other Chings, thaE ienced similar hurdles i it's clear Eo I'conone of the grouprs goals was to me ChaC homeschooling must be a famiEact foreign groups or organizaEions Iy af f air, and I 'd n6vE?j-ush ic all wiEh similar philosophies in order Eo a lone. share ideas and experience,t' I ...For Ehe presenE, werve regisoffered to be a kind of "contact per- Eered Carrie for evenEual enErance at son" for the USA... I $rrote a bit the nearby Waldorf school, which is about John Holt (and photocopied GWS certainly better than the stricELy perusal) for their his and books #44 structured public school. . . and about GWS, and offered to take If any GWS readers ever make it ouE a giff subscripEion of Gt'lS for Eo Germany and happen to be in Ehe Ehem if they think Ehis makes sense, SEuttgarc area, they are welcome to ^-^"-L ^' -\em in Ehe ini Eia- stop over wiEh us - we'd love to have group can read English fluently ting -F morâ&#x201A;Ź conEacE with families rdiCh actual homeschooling experience...

- which I suspect they can... Irll keep you posted on developments...

Our oldest chiId, Carrie (5), eagerly starEed morning kindergarten PROGRESS IN CALIF. COUNTY...

(Ehe german equivalenE to nursery school - noncompulsory for ages 3-6, IDR: ] In clJs #52, we reporred buc everyone goes) lasc fall, and thac Ehe Superincendent of Schools of months.

Then, enjoyed Ehe first few Alameda County, CA declared Ehat priaround Christmas, she rapidly began vaEe schools in homes are not legitiEo fade on it (r'I went to kinderearmate and that such studenEs would be Een Eo learn better German, and iow I considered Cruant. Here's Ehe latest spkeak fine and donrE need Eo go anyprogress on the situation, as reportmore.") and soon declared she "hated" ed by ElizabeEh Hamill (CA) in the going: coo many children, Eoo noisy, September newsleEter of CONTRA COSTA Eoo boring, not enough "Eime to do HOME EDUCATORS: anything." We were distressed but encouraged and even insisEed she keep ...0n AugusE 23, the ALAMEDA going. FinaLly, it became a greac COUNTY HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATON meE daily baEtle, with tears and constanE Eo discuss Ehe need for homeschooling sEomach cramps, and I began fo legislaEion... Dr. Vlilliam Berck, the realize that I was sticking with Ehe County SuperintendenE of Education, just pain, not because her Eeacher said in a letEer to some DarenEs: enormous

GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

5

"..,Seeking a legislative resolution on Ehe maEter of home schooling has the greatesE poEential for success..." ...On August 25, six Alameda County homeschooling parents meE with Dr, Berck to discuss Ehe currenE legal situaEion. He said aE the meeting that he would not be disEributing the affidavit forms Eo private schools with an enrollmenE of four or less, However, two days laEer, Dr. Berck called me to say he had consulted again with Ehe county counsel and since Ehe forms are a pubLic document, he has no righE to wiEhhold Ehem. ...Dr, Berck advised us that if $/e wanE our disEricts Eo offer Independent Study Programs, we should work through Ehe school boards, preferably by identifying one sympatheEic board member to sponsor a proposal' We asked Dr. Berck if the county considered a legal opEion to enroll children in Ehe independenE sEudy programs of private schools. He admitted that he did not have enough information Eo give us an answer. l"le gave him what informaEion we had (e.g., the 1983 Hackecc case in L.A. ) and asked him Eo contacE us when he has consuLted with his legal advisors on this ouestlon. .'.,On Sept. 3, Ginny Schwingel, Connie Pfeil. and I meE wich Dr. Fred Fernandez of Ehe office of Non-Public Schools ac Ehe DepE. of Education in SacramenEo, Dr. Fernandez said he hooed Dr. Berck would indeed maiL out Ehe affidavits, bu! if not, his office wouLd suppLy us with a sEack of Ehe forms. He said he had seen many instances of zealous superinEendenEs deciding to "Eake you folks Eo courEr" and EhaE he usually tried Eo warn Ehem ChaE iC wouldn'C be as simple as Ehey thought. He explained that before a family is turned over Eo the Districc AEEorney for prosecuEion, they aEtend a hearing before Ehe School AtEendance Review Board.

If the SAR Board determines that che children are being educaLed in a saEisfacEory manner, the D.A. most likelv- wilL noE Drosecute...

Dr. Fernandez offered Eo speak at one of our meetings, and also advised us to conEacE Scate Superintendent Bill Honig, who has made private schooLs a priority on his agenda. We asked again abouE Ehe option of enrolling in a private school independent study program, and Dr. Fernandez said that alEhough he is concerned abouE parents being defrauded L,.

L., ^LFrl -i vy rltt.,rry-uy-rrr5'rL , L^r,c iisruI not think EhaE such an action was againsE the law. Like Dr. Berck, Dr. Fernandez felt that a LegisLative resoluLion clarifying the legality of home education would make his job easier.

After Ehe two-hour meeEing with Dr. Ferndandez, we went Eo the CapiEol and hand-delivered basic information packets on home edr:caEion, and the problems vre are having with the vagueness of the law, Eo Ehe 24 members of the legislature's Education CommitEee. None of the legisLators was available to meet with us since the end of the session has been exEended, but severaL expressed supporE or inEeresC. we met with Dede HeiEman, an aide to Assemblyman Bob CampbelI. She feLt that a simpLe resolution mighE not be enough Eo protect us, and suggested we Ery Eo seE up a task force Eo sEudy che issues of home educaEion (this seemed Eo work well in WashingEon SEate) before drafting a new law... The legisLaEure will noE open Ehe nexE session unEil December...

6ROWING l,llTHOUT SCHOOLING #53

At this poin!' it seems most meda CounEy to let Ehe school officials see thaE we are acEive' organized, informed, and determined ' . . We hoDe EhaE anv familv who is contacted or' Ehreaienei by scirool auEhoriEies will notify us immediacely so we can help.. imDortanE for home educators in Ala-

IDR:

] Nancy Wallace (NY) told

us

thaE Ehe OakLand Tribune's editorial in suDDort of homF6E6Tfers (GWS #52)

was wriEten by her brotherl Also, MargareE Arighi (CA) told us of her soLuEion Eo Ehe Alameda

County probLem:

.,.I have aoolied and been the Mt. oiablo Home SEudy Program (GWS #52) in neighboring Contra Costa Country. My iniEial requesE was refused, buE chaE led to research which proved indeed EhaE slrch a program was not offered in Oakland'.. acceDEed bv

their portfolios examined, and of those who did, none were ju<iged inadequace. No superintendenE judged a homeschooled child's progress inadequate during Ehis year' and no family'who did noE comply wiEh Ehe '85 AcL was takei-Eo coirr-t, either.

Some suoerinEendenEs Eried Eo imI'exEralbqal requirements" on the oose ^families' endlof-che-year evaluaEions, such as having Ehem consist only of standardized cest scores, but wheh challenged, a1I suPerinEendents withdrew Ehese requests.

The FPEA is collecting Florida end-of-che-year evaluations to use as evidence thaE homeschooling works.

Send a copy of your child's annual evaluation to Dr. Larry Walker, 9245 Woodrun Rd, Pensacola 32514.

GEORGIA:

Homeschooling ParenEs

in CliiEon-County have been senE a leEEer telling Ehem to bring thei r diolomas to Ehe DepE. of Ed. to be xeroxed and placed-on file. The Dept. wiLl not give families the forms for filing the annual decLaration of ini:enE unless they comply wiEh this according to Ehe June/July request, ...AND STRUGGLE IN ANOTHER issue of Georqians for Freedom in EducaEion.G@ From Cecile Van Hudson, PO Box ionfit needing assistance should call I04, Gerber CA 96035: Jennv Henderson ac 471-4719. The GA comoulsorv actendance Law does not re. . . After much strugg Ie I I Years quiie dipiomas to be shown co the ago (and continuing), Tehama CounEy 16IucEantIy provided a Home Study Pro- Dept. of Ed...the Attorney General is looking into the matter"' gram as an-aiternacive. The teacher In CWS #51 , we rePorted that the iisits every two weeks or once a monEh, depending on how rural the scu- sEate was considering Eoughening the dent. ALI school supplies, books, and recenE homeschool law because of a field crips are provided. "large number of compLainEs" from couniy superj.ntendents. The "large Twice now, che home teachers' number" is acrually a toEal of two, contraccs have not been renewed. The according to the Governor's office! teachers worked hard ro make the proIOWA: Gregory Nichols wroEe in iE should be... "sram what ThC IOfiT-LOBBY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LIB_ Please help gec the word out ERTY newsletter thaE three sEate thaE it is here as I am tired of the groups have joined to work for new struggLe co help Ehis grow.. ' We need Iegislation. They have appoi nEed a more sEudents and dedicated Parents as or the program wiII fade awaY and "IegisIaEive liaison" who will acE a full-time lobbyist, coordinate homedie... The newspaper in che area is schoolers' efforts, and teach educanoE interesced... tional seminars, The group plans Eo raise $10,000 ro pay Ehis Iiaison.

The ILCL decided they needed OTHER LOCAL NEWS Ehis liaison during the pasE legislaFor addresses of sEare and Local Eive session, according co Gregory Nichols, when "Senator Taylor's amendorganizaEions, see GtiS #48, oI 99r ment Eo the Senate EducaEion CommiE"Homeschooling Resource List," $1. tee bill, an amendmenc EhaC wouLd ARKANSAS: ThC ARKANSAS CHRISTIAN have Lined Ehe bill up with Ehe GoverH0ME EDUCATToN ASSOCTATION reports nor's Eask force proposal, faiLed by thaE the SEace Dept' of Ed. recenEly four vores. Senator Taylor told us released the results of sEandardized thaE, had we had someone Ehere Ehat Eests given Eo homeschoolers, but week, that amendmenr would probably thaE it gave so litEle information have oassed. because some oi Ehose that the resulEs may be misleading. who vbced againsc iE were SenaEors we The state said Ehat 887" of the 317 had counted on, but the education homeschooLers in grades 1-6 "passed" Iobby gor to them and Ehey changed as did 6l"L of studenEs in grades their minds. We cannoE afford for 7-12. ACHEA complained that no menthis to hapPen agai n: " Eion was made of Ehe unusual definiMARYLAND: M-anfred Smith wrote in Eion of "passing," Ehe high average che sififrar-IIARYLAND HOME EDUCATION scores, progress from last year's ASSOCIATION newsLetter EhaE aLthough EesEs, or comparison to Public school home educaEion LegislaEion recenEly scores.

COLORADO: From the Ausust ColoFor some hands-on education... racio fi6frECth6oi i ns ;\e cwork-i\ews--HO}IElIADE Ietter: "1ne 5c, Vrarn scnoor Doarc IN A 'TOIIEY THE DEF I ]I ITTI_I-GNTDE-TO'-SUCCESS has-Etrned down the requests of all HotlE BUSINESS--by Barbara Brabec 18 members of Master Sfudies lhome Exoanded and reyised 1987 edition. New school program] in an aEtempt to chaDter on uses of a conputer in a honeforce the CO sEate board co take a based business. UDdated RES0URCE secIook at iEs 'liberalr sEance on hometi on. Advi ce on getti n9 started, seschooling. DirecEor of Master Studlecting the right business, p'l anning for ies, Mike Moore, plans co aPPeaI to profits, and much nore. Reconuended by the state board of education, where the Snall Business Adninistration and all requests are expecEed co be used in college classroons! ! 304 pages approved. " SATTSFACTIOI'I GUARANTEED !

FLORIDA: The newsleEter of the JUST t12.95+ 13.00 p/h! !

FLORID'FE.RENT_EDUCATORS ASSOCIAT I ON (ltA residents add 7% tax please) r6^^ric rhar lho 'R5-'R6"- /-*_ vear uaq re1 I.'RITE FOR FREE CATALOG..IIA},IY IIEU ITEIIS atively Erouble-free for homeschoolTHE TII,IBERDOODLE ers in Ehe state. Few who complied El6l0 sPEilcER Lk. Rd. , SHELT0N llA 98584 with the '85 Home EducaEion Act had !

o

failed to pass, a local. delegaue told him Eha! "never in recenE years has Ehere been a grassrooEs movement wiEh as much energy and effort as the home education efforE. One influenEial Senator was heard saving Ehat he had never seen a more weLl-organi.zed and

senEaEion, and many ocher parenEs

aLso spoke... They voiced sErongesE

opposifion to SecEion II, Teacher QualificaEions, which would require the Eeacher Eo have a college degree.

The chairman of uhe SchooL Board commiEEee... asked for a show of hands from Ehose who wouLd be prohibited well-lobbied grassrooEs bill. . . " MICHIGAN: PaE MonEgomery of CLON- from homeschooLing by Section III and my impression nas thac aE least one LARA SE]FT6EE Rep. Walberg's HB 5356 (GWS #52) is in Ehe final sEages of Ehird of Ehe families raised a hand." pubLic hearings, MeanwhiLe, the Super- Anne says the proposed regulations intendent of Public Schools and a com- will probably be sent to Ehe LegislaEure in January mitEee of five Intermediate SuDerinVIRCINIA: In a few staEes, incLuEendents orooosed EhaE home schools ding ilAl-iEi-home school laws were be considbreil private schools and be interpreEed Eo the same regulations, strictly to mean chat if subjecc a home school family failed Eo notify including strict curriculum requirethe auEhoriEies of its inEenEions at ments and a certified teacher presenE the beginning of the school year, ii every day. PaE Montgomery, Rep. Walcould noE starc Eo homeschool unEil berg and several homeschoolers gave Ehe following year. Now Cathy Myers Eestimony against this proposal aC a of NORTHERN VA HOMESCHOOLERS sends us meeting in September.

NORTH DAKOTA: A biLL which Ehe Ehis memo from Ehe SuperinEendenE of PubLic InsCruction Eo all Division NORTH-TAROTA_E-OME SCHOOL ASSOCIAT ION Superintendents: "Previously it was called "unacceptabLe" was kiLled in our undersEanding Ehat an AugusE deadcommitEee. NDHSA credited Ehe defeaE Line for filing notice of intenE Eo to "the strong shorring in attendance ceach a chiLd at home would oreclude of our home school supporters, coupled with the impressive testimony acceptance of such notices flom parents at mid-term or oEher times durof Mr. MichaeL Farris" of Ehe HOME ing the school year. The AtEorney GenSCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION. a homeeral has now issued an opinion which ORECON: Peggy Sawyer, :"indicaEes Chat, in appropriate cases, schoolirlg parenc, writes that because failure to file such Inotice in August Ehe new OR law requires testing of prior to the school year does not homeschool students, homeschooling necessarily preclude home instrucfamilies might wanE Eo register insread with rhe oAK MEADow scHool of tion..."

I^IEST VIRGINIA: Dci rdrc Prtrdv nf Oiai.

OAK MEADOT^I has become a cer-.:-. CA. private school in OR, and OR ALTERMFITUETTM-EDUC;i i oil ;. i i;'i,' Cified privaLe schooLs are not subjecE co that homeschoolers have filed the Eesting ;equi rements."friendly suicrr (cl.}s #51) in Circuit Court and then asked the staEe suDerPENNSYLVANIA: The stace School inEendenf to forbid countv suDerintenBoard-FiTidd-iEil-regul a t i ons a pp1 y ing denEs from prosecuEing exempcion K to home scudy scudents. The regulaschools. (ExempEion K allows schools tions list the subjects that must be to form with minimal scace overtaught and state that the Cutoring sighC.) The state superintendent "shall be subject to the annual agreed Co do this, so homeschoolers approval of the disErict superintenare safe for Ehe '86-'87 year, buE dent.'r They go on to say that the Deirdre says thaE IIEST VIRGINIA HOME approval will be based on "acceptable EDUCATORS and WEST VIRGINIANS FOR RELevidence of the tutor's ability to teach such program to the pupil and IGIOUS FREEDOM plan Eo work to make by written assurance from the parent homeschools clearly private schools that the instructional requirements under the law. listed above shall be met. If aoproWISCoNSiN: The WISCONSIN PARENTS vaI is granted, the superinEend;nE ASSOCTATfON newsletEer reDorts thaE may afEerwards also require such Ehe Sparta PubIic School iloard, which evidence as is deemed necessary to had drafted a rescrictive Dolicv demonstrate thaE the pupil is making regarding the encry or re-bnEry- of satisfactory progress..," homeschoolers into public schools Howard Richman wrote in the PENN- (GWS #51), adopted a significantly SYLVANIA HOMESCHOOLERS newsLetEer more IenienE policy. In Ehe adopted that hearings had been heLd on the version. "students from home-based programs are not restricted to encry/ new regulations and that homeschoolers obiected to them on Chree re-entry rsocial at the ninth grade or below, grounds: "(1) superintendents could and the maEuriEy' and 'approreouire home-educated children to priate social inEeracEion with take achievement tests, (2) there was his/her peers' are no Ionger criteria no clarification of whether parents for grade placement, AIso, Language had to be certificated tutors... (3) concerning the use of sEandardized there was no provision for due proEesEs appears now Eo cover oEher pricess hearings if parents are arbitrar- vaEe school students, and, Ehough ily denied permission... Several home- less clear, public schooL sEuschooling parents spoke against the dents..,'r WPA adds that this more reguLations and Ehe festimony r^rent on reasonabLe policy came about because for several hours. The regulatory com- "parenEs, friends, concerned persons, mission was amazed to hear that the and a Iawyer worked diplomatically, present law governing private tutorconstrucEively and persisEently over ing provides for no due-process hear- three Eo four months with Lhe local ings or administrative appeal. . . " school board." - SS SOUTH CAROLINA: SC Law permits homesdE66-ITi!-TF-TE i s "substanE ial ly equivaLent" to classroom education.

COURTNEWS Homeschooling parent Anne Johnson Eold us that the State Board of EducaFor many months, we heard Ehat a tion proposed reguLations which would group of Texas families, under attordefine "subsEantially equivaLent.r' On ney Shelby Sharpe, had a homeschool the day of the hearing concerning suiE pending. On August 7, Ehe judge these regulaLions last May, "the room issued a preliminary judgement in the (Leeper et a1. lTEh Judicial Diswas packed with several hundred homecase .r,+ schooling families, who had come in trict ) . Homeschoolers $re've heard opposition to the regulation. Dr. Ray- from appear mixed in their opinions premond Moor:e had fLown in to make a as Eo wheEher this judgement is a

backi'rard; steD ^ forward or

The ruling says:

.. 'The CourE declares that

a

school-aged chtLd residing- in. the , SEaEe of Texas who is regurarry.ano

dilisenELv pursuing in Ehe cnrro s a n"rn""" wricten cur;iculum of eiEher oii""c" or parochial schooL in which the child is enrolled which exisEs from Ehe child's home or which has been obtained from oEher sources' said curriculum following a regular olan of insEruc!ion designed Eo meeE basic educational goals of reading, language arEs, mathematics and a study of good ciEizenshiP, is con-a side?ed Eo be in aEtendance uPon DrivaEe or parochial school"' The borrt furthir finds that the current curricula of CALVERT SCHOOL' FIRST

BAPTIST ACADEMY OF DALLAS, CHRISTIAN LIBERTY ACADEMY SATELLITE SCHOOLS' REFORM PUBLICATIONS' and AMERICAN CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS are written curYic-

ula Iwhich saEisfy the above require. ...fn" Court also finds that if Darents or those standing in Che parLnEaL relationship Eo such a child furnish ro any public school attendance officer uPon his written request the results of a nationally normed standard achievement Eest which was given in accordance with the instrucEiotrt t..otPanying the test and was taken uithi; the preceding L2 monEhs of rhe wriEten request showing Ehat the child is making reasonable academic Droeress for chac child, then Ehis furnisEing shal I establ ish chaL thepurchild is iegularly and diligenEly suing the curricuLum being taken' "

mencs I

[DR: ] This may be fine for families who want co use a Christian corresDondence course and give sEandardized achievement tesEs' but as one GWS reader writes: ...ManY - PossiblY a majoritY of homeschoolers are finding it di fficulE to accePt this ProPosaL." It would seem Eo give over a Power co Ehe sEaEe which they never had in Ehe firsE olace.

The August 7th hearinS. broughr homeschoolers from across Ehe sEaEe; some were ready Eo accePE the proPosaI, many staEed Ehat Ehe l5 families in ArlingEon did not represenE a ma iorit.v-of homeschoolers in Texas' Afier haaring festimonies of -ProEest' Ehe judge oraered atlorneys- for each side Eo rewrite Ehe proposal clarlryins anv sEaEemenEs which would be misfe;dina to homeschooLers and school disEricfs.

AooarenElY Ehis whole Ehing will r'rb'asain bcEober l7 for a final "o.e ruling' by-the judge...

o.n"t "orrtl-Jr, In a JulY CriaL'

ALABAMA:

Don

O'BriE6--6TTef f erson CounEy successfully defended his family. The judge

dismissed the criminal charges because the sEate failed Eo prove lhaE the O'Briens even had a child of school agel Civil charges ?I9-sliI.l.

pending.-(Source:

TORS.

ALABAMA HOME EDUCA-

)

HAWAII: EducaEional neglecE charees aEaTi-sE Jeff and Sandy Baczynski iet" dropp.d in JuLy. The judge chastised thi-sEaEe for their sloppy presentaEion and IiEEle investigaEion into the case, and felt thac Mr. Baczynski hlas conscientious in the aEEeirrpt Eo educate his son' (Source: HAWAIi

HOMESCHOOLERS ASSOCIATION'

PENNSYLVANIA:

)

Judge JosePh

GROI.IING I^IITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

I

McCoskey found Rev. Robert Jacoby and

his wife not guilEy of the criminal charges of Eruancy in the Schuylkill

CounEy courthouse on AugusE 4Eh. Tom

ELdredse of PENNSYLVANIA

HOMESCHOOL-

sa!s, "The significance of Ehis case is twofold: FirsE, neither parent is a college graduate; however thev could clearlv demonsEraEe chac the'y were educatiirg their children.

Second, Ehe judge exPressed grave concerns about the law' which he said did not give any guidelines for superintendenEs Eo follow..."

ERS

CALENDAR

SaE. Nov' 1, 1986: "Learning at -I-tro-iGE6-p--T6?-tho s e Do i ng IE." 8:30-3:30. $10 per Person. wesE Madison Bible Church, Madison WI. CaIl 608-835-3436 or 231-2229.

Home

Sat. Nov. 8: Same as above, aE ChrisE-?i6s5yTE?ian Church, Janesville

WI.

Nov. I3-16: EasEern Regional Convenc i6-n-l-TF[dNAL coAL IT IoN 0F ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS. Homeschoolers weLcome. Somersec School , 4842 l6th SE NW, Wash. DC 20011. (Changed from OcEober. )

Thurs. Nov.20: HolE AssociaEes open F6u--e.-3--8-!rn Susannah Shef f er

will lead a wriEing workshop for aII members of the family, all levels of skilI. Bring wriEing maEerials. At our office; phone 437-1550.

Thurs. Dec. 11: Holt Associates Open H6Gd.-T-:8-pn "Greeting Card Experiments." Bring scissors, glue, and felt-Eip markers.

We are happy Eo run noEices of major homeschooling events, buE we need olenEv of noEice. Deadline for GWS #54 (evenrs in January and later) is Nov. 15. Deadline for GWS #55 (evencs in March on) is Jan. 15.

TEEN RUNS PHONE BUSINESS

the Oakland, CA Tribune: He installed 25 business telephone syscems, organized his own company, grossed $20,000 and graduaEed from junior high school - all in 1986.

From

i!r^ s L^^lL ucElr

Jason Mills,

d^

k,.^., uusy

L^râ&#x201A;Ź.,^^Itdr!-ycor

F^rvr

age 74.

One of his customers, insurance agenE Jim Jarnagin of Pleasanton, says MilIs is beiter Ehan his Pre-

vious Eelephone insEaller.

"Jason was sent to me by someone he had iusE worked for in our insurance building," Jarnagin explains.

"So in walks this kid, who looked Eo be about 13. I thought it was a joke.

But he wenE on to pull ouE our oLd teLephone sysEem and puc in a new one. And he did a terrific job."

Mills also installed a computer syscem for Jarnagin and business telephones for his wife's office in Oakland.

"The boy's phenomenal," says Jarnagin.

Jason Mills runs Ehe one-man or rather, boy - Livermore Telephone Co. He insEalls EeLephone seEs, control equipment and key service uniEs thaE incerconnec! with che Eelephone dial Eone provided by companies such as Pacific Bell.

Mills, who was educaEed aC home unEil Ehe sevenEh grade, learned abouE inscalling telephone sysEems by observing a few veEeran Eechnicians.

He had just turned 13, he recalls, when his parents hired conEractor Harold. PuckeyLow of San Leandro "Eo insEall radios in our trucks. My mom told me Eo watch him. (.:ROt.lING I.IITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

"WeLl, we sEarEed Ealking and soon Puckeylor^r tras telling me how he installs business phone syslems. I said I was inEeresEed in learning.

Later, he introduced me to John LaRue, president of Pac West Telecom of SEockEon. " BoEh Puckeylow and LaRue saw a special Ealent in Mil-ls and began Eeaching the rangy Eeenager.

"I'm sEill learning. I even go on job sites wiEh LaRue's workersr" Mil1s explains. "I also helP and observe him aE his office. I'll visiE him on weekends, and during vacaEion, studying Ehe new Eelephone business insta LlaEions . " LaRue and Puckeylow, friends for 25 yeats, also enjoy handing ouE EeIephone equipment Eo their eager sEudent ttso he can pracEice on iE.tt ...When he goes ouE on a job and "gecs hung up," Puckeylow says, "he phones eiEher LaRue or myself and we bail him out. IE's fun. [,le remember back when rre were Jason's age and how difficulc iE was to get information from anybody. We sympathize with his oroblems, " .

,

Jason's mother, Jeri ,

saYs

she drives her son ro his jobs and handles his finances, such as saLes of telephone equipmenc. "Jason has

the abiliEy to learn anything

he

wants Eo learn - and an incredible knack for noE knowing how fo do anYEhing he doesn't wanE to do," she Iaughs.

She

kept him out of school,

she

savs. because of the ttunrest" in the Cailiornia school sysEem. "We felt a litcle heat from che educaEors. But we Eook the proper sEeps by enrolling Jason in a correspondence school."

He mainly taught himself' she says. "He learned how Eo read and write at 5 and mastered our compucer

at age 9. He was able to pick uP lessons in geography, mach, spelling' Iiterature, social studies from the compuEer, spending 12 hours a day on iE." Jeri and Jim MiIls finally allowed Jason Eo atEend the EasE Avenue Middle School in 1984, where he recently graduated from Ehe eiShEh grade wiEh a 3.5 grade-poinE average.

Jason will enEer Livermore High School in the faII. AUDUBON EXPEDITIONS

a lecEer that Elsa Haas Eo work in our office: ,..After two years of high school, depressed and fed uP, I joined the AUDUBON EXPEDITION, a Eravelling school run by Ehe National Audubon SocieEy. We camped out every nighE for nine months; Eravelled uhrough New England, Florida, and Ehe SouEhwesE; sEudied on Indian reservations, rivers, mountains, mesas, an archaelogical dig, a Mennonite farm, and in museums, naEional parks, biological research sEations, and government offices.

From Ehis descripEion you'll probably Ehink EhaE I was set free Eo explore and Iearn wiEhouE pressure and fear. I wasn't. Our ExpediEion guides toLd us EhaE in rhis group of 20, everyone was equal, and we would make all our decisions Eogecher. One guide, in particular, insisced EhaE he had no auEhoriEy to force us Eo do anything, and said he wouLd always refuse to act as though he did, even if we wanted a leader.

But I remember che day chat mosE of us were lounging around in the sun on Ehe grass nexE co Ehe Old SturFrom

wroce us, shorcly before she came

bridge Village Parking_1o8.. t'le'd f inished eaEing lunch haLf an hour or so

before, and we had no more aPPoincor commiEments thaE day. No one had called a meeting Eo decide chac we would siE around and do nothing for a while - iE had just haPPened chaE way. SuddenlY our guide came around the side of the bus and said angriLy, "l geE so sick of always havtn[ to'be Ehe one t.hat geEs this moving. " srouD - 'So we fearned in time to gec ourselves moving - mainly because of the exDecEacion EhaE vJe would alI behave in Ehe enEhusiastic, energetic, busy' busy, busy manner thaE befilced the Expi:dicion, ALI year Iong, every discuision we had with a "resource person" (park naturalisE' poliEician, asEronomer, coal miner, etc. ) was torLowed by a meeEing abouE who hadn't asked anv questions, and who had looked U6rea. and how Eheir low level of participaEion had affected every. other member of the group and probably future members of Ehe ExpediEion as welI. ...The ExPedition did demand of me that I EaIk for the first fime to people ouEside my family about family broblems. and to a point that was benbfi"i"I. BuE Ehe Exbedi tion certainly also reinforced the Iow self-esEeem I had been schooled in for Years, both at home and in the classroom. IE was a more subcLe form of authoritarianism, and probably more powerful for precisely EhaE reason. BY making enchusiasm, and noE just achievement' a criterion for success, it killed much of what LiEcle enEhusiasm I had lef E. . .

IFor a Lecter from a ParticiPanE who enjoyed AEI, see GliS #46 ' l

menEs

the

From Frank Trocco, DirecEor of

AUDUBON EXPEDITION INSTITUTE'

Sharon CT 06069;' 2O3-364-O522:

...I've jusE had forwarded Eo me a leEEer Eo the editor that appeared in vour publicaEion IcWS #49] enEitled, "Li"ty of Audubon Travel" by MerriEt Clifton...

Mr. ClifEon writes, "Mar,'Y of rhe more bizarre guesE sPeakers LaE an Aubudon symposium] had been expedifion lead6ri or had ocher affiliations with AEI..." In facE, and I have been wiEh Ehe Expedifion InsEitute for fifteen years, previously Eo arriving aE che symPosium I knew exactlv Ewo of the sPeakers (out of over 8b Titlividuals From across Ehe U.S, and Europe): Jim Swan, Ehe symPosium coordinaEor and Mike Cohen' one of the direcEors of AEI ' . ' I found Clifcon's letEer Patently offensive, and writcen with_a vindicEiveness I cannoE comprehend...

ICIifton said: ] "If anyone else there was accively, ieriouFli-engaged in. environmental work, I didn'E meet him or her." Most of the symposium speakers have spenE Eheir lives doing Eheir besc uo heLp the Planet...

WORK & TMVEL RESOURCES

To Travel lnex

Newslett-EIl

ravel lnrorma

ree rrom

seaEEle wA 98105.

S AVAI abl

201

NE

e

45rh,

GAMES

about nature, ecology,.adventure, language, history, math, space, world problems & more.

ALL

AGES

- ALL SITUATIONS

New, expanded catalog, 25f

Familv Pastimes(GS).Perth.Ontario.Canada K7H3C6

a

This greaE 1 itEIe publicarion is filled with unusual travel books for the budgec-minded. Some of Ehe tiEles you will find here are: SOUTH AMERICA ON

A

SHOESTRING; CARIBBEAN ISLAND HOP-

PING; WORK, STUDY, TRAVEL ABROAD; and

IN EUROPE. There is a brief descriDtion of what vou can exDect co find in each book.

There are hitchhikerrs guides, travel survival kits, and books wiEh a special emphasis on camping and bicycling. Some of the books contain maps, history, and basic vocabulary of Ehe countries invoLved. One book entirled VOLUNTEER! describes t75 organizaEions "which recruit volunteers for projects ranging from building bridges in Turkey to organizing recreaEional programs in Appalachia Eo Eeaching in Indonesla. These programs can lasE from two weeks to Ewo years and involve skilled and unskilled work. " Because this is aLso a newsleEter, you will find loEs of interesting information abouE job opporcuniEies, archaeological digs, youth camp jobs, expeditions, hoscing foreign sEudents, etc., pLus Iittle known travel opportunities and helpful hinEs. ih fr.r'6llinAn\r^na inroroclni ril Lrdvsrlr"6 nrrJvrrL is sure to find a ETeaE deal of interesting reading in ihis newsletter/caECAMPINC AND CARAVANNING

arog.

ty Jobs , 1520 16th St N"t"J, sub. raEes: 12 issues - $12lindividual, $15/communiry organizations, $30/inst:tutions This resource publication Iists employment opporEunities with organizations that are working Eo change society for Ehe beEter. There are listings for nuclear power opponents, Iabor organizer trainees, family farm advocaEes, agricultural fellowships, an ediEorial internship for Greenpeace, and many more. Each job listinâ&#x201A;Źi EeIls a little abouE the organizaEion, duties and requirements, and salary and benefits.

John Holt was always Ealking about "work worth doing," and I think Ehi s publ icaEion fits that descripcion very nicely. - MARY MAHER Communi

Washington-D-m0T5- ( single issue $2, )

A WORKING VISIT

From

the Meyers, 450 Sturgeon

Bay Tr, R-1, Levering MI 49755:

,..In G[JS #48 we advertised for help on our diversified, horsepowered, organic farm in northern Michigan, in exchange for room, board and experience. Through this ad, we enjoyed a visiE by the Stone famiLy - moEher Mary, and sons TyLer (10) and Travis (12) - who traveled all the way from Oregon very economically via Amtrak and Greyhound, for a three-week stay to assist us wiEh Ehe maple-syruping season. The weather didnrt cooperaEe and so it was a poor year for syruping, but we believe Ehat they were able to learn and experience much about our way of liFe here, from coping with winter storms, log skidding, syruping, livesEock care including dairy goac kidding, eEc. lrle in Eurn en joyed the assi sEance from all of them with Ehese various farm projecEs. This arrangement also afforded an opportunity for our families Eo discuss over an extended period Ehe many concerns and issues EhaE come to mind for many isolated homeschooling families, and gave us inspiraEion, new ideas, and support for our beliefs. . .

We would really like to encour-

age oEher homeschooling families

consider opening up their

Eo

homes and

lives Eo share their knowledge, IifesEyles and skills with other homeschooLers, perhaps rhrough the exisring GtlS Travel DirecEory network, or Ehrough more exEended work-exchange EvDe visiEs such as we do... Our fhirify looks forward to our criP this fall Eo Minnesota and Wisconsin where we will be meeEing and staying q/ith fellow GWS Travel DirecEory FamiLies.

Lastly, I would like to extend an inviEacion to oEher famiLies to conEacE us for visiEs during any

such cards looked, I didnrt have to worry about how Amanda vJas doing iC. Often, having Amanda around meanE jobs got done EhaE PeEer and I might noc have gotten around Co. For

example, one day we realized how helpful it would be to have the locations of our group's families plotted on a map. Helpful, sure, but neicher of us had time to do iE. Amanda did, She spread a big map of Pennsylvania on Ehe floor and, working from our compuEer list of subscribers, found each town and marked it with a Din. Hard Eo imagine a use for schooi's "map skillsrr in the real worLd, but sea30n, . .

Ehis was one.

On anoEher day, I ChoughE of how for vreeks I'd wanEed Eo organize [DR: ] To geE a coPy of the CWS TraveL Directory, send $2 plus a long a roundEable discussion of some of the oLder homeschoolers in the area. sASE wiEh Cwo sEamps Eo Dick calLien, Rt 2, llinona MN 55987; phone 507-454- but hadn't found time to make Ehe necessary phone calls. I asked Aman3126. To be lisEed as a host, send da if phone calls were something she Dick (pLease, not us) your name, felt she could do, and she said yes, addresi. chiid?En's na;es and birthif I wrote down an outline of whaE daEes, phone, and self-descripEion had Eo be said. Here again I appreci( interesEs, occupations, preferences, aEed her self-knowledge; she figured etc.). To run an ad in GWS the way the Mevers did. see the 'rl,Jant Ad" sec- out whaE she needed Eo know before plunging inCo the job, so ch5'r-?fi-en tion in Ehe back of this issue. she was off doing it, I could turn my aEtention to something else. Amanda made the calLs, found a time OFFICE ASSISTANT AT 9 which fit the scheduLes of four other families, and helped a very enWherr I was living in Pennsyljoyable evenE Eake pLace, vania and ediEing the PENCIL SharI learned, with Amanda, how pener newsleCCer, Amanda BergS6i= much more helpful help is if ic truS6-iTEock, then 9, helped out as ly frees you to work on anoEher office assistanE. From Ehis experitask. If I'd had co think abouE Amanence I learned a great deal abouE da's work the whole time she was dohow to let a child participate in ing iE, I could have saved Eime by adult work.

Amanda's father, Peter, was gen- doing iE myself. BuE because we chose jobs which boEh she and I felf eral coordinator of the PENCIL group comfortable having her do, we eliminaE the Eime. and the office we used ated what mighE have been a big Eo put out Ehe newsletEer ldas righE source of Eension and were able to in Amanda's home, making it easy for enjoy the pleasure of working her Eo come in and help when she togeEher. - SS felE so inclined. This meant that whenever Amanda did decide to "reporE for work," as she jokingLy called iE, I knew thaE she was Eruly HIGH G.E.D. SCORE in the mood co help. But it someFrom Ehe Baldwin. MS News. times meant Ehat when she was ready 2/77 /86i and wiLIing, I had nothing for her Eo do, or that when I had a job I Jeff Larson, like many oEher needed done, she wasnrE around. Amanyoung men his age, has hopes of enrolda was used Eo work siEuations in ling in college and pursuing one of which she had to be aE a cerEain Ehe science related fields. [,ihat seEs place at a cerEain Eime - she was him apart from more 18-year-olds, howEhe youngesE of the volunEeer staff ever, is Ehat he has never aEEended at the local naEure cenEer during public schooL. this time - so I didn'c feel thaE I .,"IAE home my sister and I] had co give her thaE particular chaLstudied many of the textbooks that Lenge during our work cogether. I were being used in the schooL sysfem, had instead to see my work in cerms acquired books from book companies of jobs which she might be able Eo and pursued our natural inEeresEs. do, so that when she came inEo Ehe office eagerly I didn'E have Eo Eurn When we had quesEions, we r^7ent to our parenEs for help," Jeff explained. awav her enLhusiasm. and I had to be The system was no doubE successabLb to f ee1 EhaE someEimes, v,/hen we ful for Jeff. He recenElv comoLeEed had to do a big maiLing, for exEhe GED, high school equivaleircy ampLe, and really needed everyone's exam... wit.h the highest score of any hands, I could counE on her Eo help. compleEer in the sEaEe for 1985. Of a In time we did indeed work ouE possibLe perfecE score of 394, Jeff Ehis baLance. I believe Amanda came ro feel sufficiently parE of che PEN- scored 361. The five-Dart test consists of quesEions on maEh, social CIL Sharpener so that when it was studies, science, English and reading Eime to mail iE out. she wanted to skills. He has now b6en nominated foi more help. In fact, she was ofEen the national EoD scorer award. conscious of Ehe need co t'earn" her "I atEribute a IoE of my doing office assistant EicLe than I was. well on the GED to Ehe home environAs I learned to break down Ehe menE my parents worked Eo creaEe for tasks EhaE needed doing inEo parcs me,'r Jeff said... wiEh which she could help, Amanda made this easier by Eelling me her Limits clearly. Early on, she said thaf she didn'E uTant co type the TEEN STUDIES, MOM WORKS kinds of leEters thaE had to look Marilyn Munsey (MA) writes: perfecE, Once I knew tha!, I never asked her to do that job. InsEead, I .,.You will remember that Mike gave her the short replies, the was very unhappy wiEh the junior high brief postcards. Because I genuineLy school siEuation from the beginning. didn'E care how Che handwriting on GR0|,|ING t,llTHOUT SCH00LING #53

o

By mid-eighth grade he was absoluEely miserable and flatlv refused to

atEend school anymore' We finally goE Dermission to homeschool through the American School Correspondence Course

in June, 1982, after Mike cook an I.Q. tesE which in essence fulfilled school requirements, and he was "cested out" of eighEh grade.

Mike then starEed his college course with the American School in September, 1982, working compleEely independently Ehrough such subjecEs as algebra, Erig., physics, geometry' etc. During Ehat time he was noE tested by the Newton school system' the only requirement being Ehat quarEerly reports of grades and progress were sent from the American school Eo Ehe atEendance department. The

American School high school course was completed wiEhin Lhree years.

Mike had his diploma by Sepcember of

1985, wich grades of mosrlY all A's

and a few B's. I knou chat he has gained such confidence in his own

American School is not imPressive, mighE even be considered tacky' and

could do with

some updating. However, I am glad thaE I didn'E judge the book by iEs cover because there was a solid educationaL opportunity inside.

Yes, the Eone is definiEelY PubIic school, buE choices are offered, and the schedule can be flexibLe according to each homeschooler's needs.

ThIs means plenEy of time Eo leisurely pursue onets oi^rn interests, not like oubLic school at all. ...1n my case, I was corresPonding wiEh Ehe superinEendenE so thaE hoileschooling cbuld be approved, meanwhile insisEing that I would not send my son back Eo school during the interim. The Eruant officer did visiE my home.., The American SchooL came tb my rescue, sending curriculum information, book IisEs' eEc., Eo the school department. When the deparEment saw that many of che texcs used at Ehe American School were the same texts which were used in the ciEY schools, approval was given...

IThe address of AMERICAN SCHOOL is 850 E 58th, Chicago 1L 60637. l

not Eheir o\dn age.

As Eo our exEended family: my own is far flung but quickly inEimate when we are togeEher. And Vanessars faEher and I are divorced, but he's in steady contacE with us and has visiEed or had Vanessa to visiE him twice a year steadily over the years.

My husband's family is physically close - his three siblines have been neighbors some of the riile. And we see each other frequently. Vanessa's Er^ro cous ins , who are c lose in age Eo her, are Ehe nexE thing Eo siblings, Learning to wriEe made che most sense in Eerms of letcers wiEh whoever wasnrt Living nearby.

Then Ehere's our work: apple picking and pruning crews are like small Eemporary communiEies, and a child fits right in. So, Vanessa didn'E have siblings or schoolmates, but she beLonged co a group with a common purpose and many shared acEivicies, noE just appLe picking. We puE on plays, shared our Ieisure Eime, our skills and interests, And being on a crew with someome is Ehe perfecE setting for geEEing to know Ehe whole person, relacively quickly, wiEhout sociaL pressures. There have always been a wide range of ages and backgrounds on the crews, and Vanessa was abLe Lo Eake an active role in the work sEarting at about age 8, By the time she was 14 she was very close to being a regular member of the crew, picking more than some aduLts, I Ehink aople-crews were cruciaL to Vanessa's sitisfacCion with homeschooling. A child noc in school needs to feel she's involved in something as good or bercer. These days Vanessa feels that more on crews than she does when we're all home.

Now thaE we have Ewo smaLl boys, Ehe amount of Eime for special acEiviEies wiEh Vanessa is more LimiEed. So a big advantage of homeschooling an only child is the amount of time and energy you can devoEe to that one child.

Lest I seem Eoo glowing and as if everything is perfecE - now, at 17, Vanessa is feeling lonely and

aUitity thaE it can onlY serve him well through Iife.

Mike's study habits during Ehis time were unstruccured or self-paced, buE he did study and work everY daY while I was out of the house aE work.

HOMESCHOOLING AN ONLY CHILD He followed the school calendar for From Jenny Wright (NH): Che most part, but set his ordn variabLe daily hours. For example' many ...Here is an answer Eo the afEernoons he wouLd prefer Eo watch query abouE homeschooling an onlY the House of RepresenEatives in chili. In a nutshell: make Ehe mosE session on Channel 44. On oEher days' of your neighborhood, extended he might work on a projecE of his own familv. work situaEion, and any other such as electronics. Within Ehose ties ;ou have with oEhers.

Ehree years he had a lot of time Eo Vanessa (171r) has been homegrow, and to learn about his capabilschooled all her Life and has been an ities and his own interests. Almost only child untiL recenc1y..We. live in every day he was ouE of Ehe house a rural seEEing' buE there's been a when Ehe public schooL day was over' erouo of close neighbors who shared a seeing friends or visiEing Ehe many foc tosecher. ln ficE, mosE of her stores aE West Nerrcon square and geEher Eing to know Ehe bicycle repairman, "officlal" lessons nere noE withpeople parents but with various oEher post office cIerk, compuEer score nearby. And most of her lessons were operator - even buying lotEery paid ior by her, bY babYsiEting or EickeEs!,.. I saw his self-confidence Erading other work. She got once a reEurn once again. week lessons in French, pLant identiSomewhere along the way, when fication, flower arranging, Piano' Mike saw how rapidly he was progresssewing, weaving, microscoPe work, ing Eoward completion of the American wanEing more conEact wiEh people her and identifying consEeLlaEions - I SchooI graduaEion requiremenEs, he TLi^ :^-lF L :..^F L^^-..^^ -L^t^ rsll r lrrs dBc. JusL can't remember them alL. She kept a decided that he would compleEe his been an only child; it's more because chart of when she'd goEEen a lesson normal senior year aE NewEon NorEh o[ homeschooling - or, as we put it, High SchooL. He has always been a ser- and when she'd paid for it. So - an because of school - everyone else is aside about homeschooling in general ious sEudent, and thoughE that he in school; even Eheir leisure activwould have an easier time at college - somecimes a child prefers lessons iEies revoLve around school. We don'E with someone whots not her ParenE' if he took calculus and experienced have many homeschoolers near us. In Homeschooling doesntT-lust mean some hands-on lab work. So, Mike some ways the close neighborhood, started back at Newton Norch High 'tparent schooling. " Vanessa made some lasting friend- extended family, and cooperacive work SchooL in September, 1985, after wrapsecEing kepE us from deveLoping oEher ping up at the last minute his Ameriships with people 10 to 20 Years older chan her through Ehese Iessons. cies EhaE would be good to have now can School requiremenEs, He went as a full Eime student, carrying five subI often think kids in school miss ouE like 4-H or Girl Scouts or a church youth group. jeccs: chemisEry, physics, calculus, on close rel ationships wi th people English liEeraEure, and an engineering course, This new exoerience was immensely enjoyable for-him. IE did work ouE well, in spite of my apprehensions.

He especially enjoyed Ehe companionship of his peers again... I have Based Education Program asked him if he feels fhaL he has missed ouE on high school life Create your own home school curriculum with because he homeschooled. ApparenEly' he doesn't. He said Ehat he really the help of Clonlara School Home Based enjoyed his one year at public high Education Program, the well-balanced school because he knew that iE would only last for one year. He has no home school program offering flexible or his choice' regreEs - Tn abouE Senfemher- Mike will be standard approach. atEending Boston Universicy. He has been accepEed inEo the School of Our graduates receive our private school Engineering.

(MO) (GWS .,.Reader Janey SmiEh diploma and full transcripts. #43) once wroce EhaE she was noE Prt Montgomay. PLD. impressed with the American School l2t9 Jewctt Dlrcctor (3r3) 76$,4515 because of iEs brochures and its pubAnn Arbor, Mlchlgen 4tlOtl lic school tone, Yes, I do agree that the informational liEerature from the

c[ortLo-q-ot

Home

OROWING lIITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

l0

only one child we were able Eo do our own proiecEs while he was doing his.

I do'ne6d Eo note EhaE I have heard from friends whose children are need Eo conform Ehan I was aE her jrrspaced further apart, six years' EhaE H,,r t^ oots -Fi11 hard rruru Lv dBE, uuL 5LL it is much Ehe same. BuE don'E You beyond shyness and to find good setbeen a double-whammy, We lost, so Eo Ehink it makes a greaE deal of differEings for geEEing Eo know new people. speak, famiLy, friends, homeschooling ence whaE the parenEs' or child's emoWe're looking for teenage homeschoolallies, and Ehe neighborhood aEmosmake-uP is? Had ChristoPher ers Eo work on our apple crews, inter- ohere. We came to a neh' area wiEh few tionalanyEhing buE his gregarious'. curbeen ested in GWS Eravel network, and seek- iriends and Ehey did not have ious, easygoing self I might noc have ing ouE oEher homeschoolers near us. chi ldren. survived. Our Learning environment We're also looking into inEeresEing AfEer a year, I can finally say, wasnrE as sEructured and our ouCside things in our area - a soup kiEchen, "We are getEing it Eogether.rr Daniel communiEy/ social /rel igious activiEies eniovs Ehe chance to observe wildlife a group working against nuclear were such EhaE the intellecEual stimuon a continuing basis. He enjoys Dovrer. etc. We'd like Eo hear oEher li were.fresh, providing for continuieople's experiences abouE teens find- spending Eime wiEh the animals we are ous curiosity, . . ing niches for Ehemselves, responsibLe for. Our mosE recent addiTo a large exEent I need Eo sEep Eion, a baby goose with a broken Leg that we are nursing back to health. back and leE Vanessa make the moves.

We have only one neighborhood tJe'11 leE you know $rhat she finds...

ADVICE FROMOLDERMOM boy for a companion to Daniel.

In CWS #51. J.H. asked how oEher Because he aEEends pubLic schooL and older moms cope' From Elaine Kaplan other activities, their Eime logeEher of San Diego: From Laura Pritchard is limited, I've Eried co comDensaEe tor Ehis lack, but iE is a major . . . I am 44 years old and have a . . .l"ly son, Daniel , i s an only problem, 4!-year-old son and a 3|-year-old child, who is going Eo be 9 years old I've begun a local support group daughter. I have had co take in EYPthis falL. HomeschooLinq one seems to in order to make contacts for us ing work ever since the chiLdren were bring with it its own adv6iEages and both. We have been abLe Eo go on boin, juggle siEters endlessly before joint field trips with oEher home. oroblems chey were old enough Eo be able Eo We do have the advanEage of no schooLers in this area. I have become play Eogether without an older person one disEracting us, I can concencraEe friends wiEh and babysic for another to i'esoit Eo very frequenEly, do Ehe solclv on Danielrs interests and abil- homeschooling family. Although the housework, run aLl Ehe errands, eEc. iEies. I am noE Eorn betu,een differchildren are younger, Daniel has In earLv 1985. I filed for divorce, formed sErong aCfachments Eo both. ent children's needs. We move along DutEing new financial and career 5 PdLE. rrt In addition. I work at a small '- addiEion, Daniel p.essuies on myself and a very nasty has'ralone-time" to let his mind business in a neighboring small Eown. and ridiculous courE battle EhaE my wander.

Daniel accompanies me and rides his ex insisEed upon' As you can see' I The disadvantages are I am Danbike around Ehe neighborhood making am busy. BuE here are a few PoinEers iel's sole comoanion for much of the friends as he goes. This has been a thaE-mTght help you... great experience in Ehat many of Ehe Eime. Too much"of any one person can Exarnine your idea of "housebecome overwhelming. Daniel does noE children are immigranEs, which work." Do beds reallv have to be comhave an older sibling Eo nudge him exDoses Daniel to differenE culrural pleEeIy made every dlY? I just Pull beyond what he would clo on his own or Liiestyles. uo a sheet and blankets. If You're ...How do I handle my need Eo be exDose him to areas which he and I vicuuming frequenEly' cuE it down by would not come uDon on our own. Danoccupied elsewhere? Daniel has graduhalf. No one will care. Wash the iel does not havb younger siblings allv learned thaE I need co have Eime floors when they're noticeabLy dirEy; that he can nurture and watch develoo. for my projects, be iE my homeschoolnot accordins Eo the calendar. We How do we coDe with Ehese advaning group activiEies or craft prooLder women limply don'c have the jects. I try to incLude him whenever tages and disadvantages? Honestly, energy thac younger ones have, and sometimes quite weLl and other times possible or sEart him on his own prowe're a lot busier with other resPonjeccs. I make a point of planning I'm lefc wondering. sibiliEies than our mothers were. We From Danielrs birth to 7\ years, "alone time with me" when I know I can'E live uD Eo I'house beauEiful" a we lived in Connecticut. By exEending will need Eime for myself. la 1950. I'vi: felE embarrassed abouE our fanrily, we created a Iarge neEHow do I handle "I'm bored. this many Eimes, buE I've learned one work arcund us, I babysat for oEher There's noEhing co dol"? I cry Eo buy thing: No one cares except_me'_Everychildren (various ages) to assllre and encourage others to buy multione Ehinks my house is PerfectlY DanieL of sibLing-like relaEionships. purpose toys, in which Daniel can just Ehe way iE is... acceptable I coordinated acEivities for the enjoy a projecE he does aLone (e.g.

'ExaminS the kinds of "educaEionsEaEewide support group in order Eo Legos, Conscrux, crafE kits). aI experiences" you go to with your expose Daniel to other homeschoolers.

I keep on hand a good selecEion child, esPecially away lrom the home.

He was lucky enough to have of Eaped books. Some I've purchased, If you ar6 taking him because he ocher caring adulCs and Eheir famioEhers we borrow from Ehe library. "should" see Ehis or thaE at his curlies in his life. He seemed to funcEven small ruraL Iibraries can obEain rent age, you're using uP energy You Cion auite rdell with other children tapes through the inEer-Library loan mighc not have Eo. Both my children _ or adulEs. In addition, Daniel was system. Daniel enjoys Ehe adult Eaped arE rery bright; the house is full of books, which wouLd be above his readable to occuDv himself for reasonable toys and gadgeEs co keeP them busY, lengths of cime, which I felt was an ing ability Ehough not above his comand we have friends we visit whom I prehension Level. important trair in Chis world of â&#x201A;Źgenuinely want Eo see. So I refuse Eo mass-modia enterf ainmenE .

This is noE Eo say life goes io to ev-encs, cerEain movies, and along smoothLy aLl of the cime. For ilany "educational" exPeriences which weeks at a stretch, I quesEion if my might please the chiliiren but which I desire Eo homeschooL is takine DanT6I truLy ito not want Eo go to myseLf . t'ie EFii-Trom concacE with ocher cnitaHortensen Math live in an aee which reveres the ren, which he needs, Daniel and I ! loclll!Vl!u!l lpprooch lo notion Ehat our children will onlY talk honestly-a-E6it our re locat ion conc?9tr mort"rlng boslc mothcmollcol deveLop Eheir minds if we expose them ( x- 2 ) r COUXIING ( grllthool l.v!l ) and homeschooling - the pros and ' HUtIlPLlCAIlof, - colnlln9 t numhi I Co dozens of things all Ehe time. We coE?pt ot far, wetve come cons.

So Eo Ehe l(hnlilvin0 lvmDol! lor numbcr! a ofEen think Ehat means "children's nomDar ot ilcrDulld! comrglt ot orc!. lan! adt hunitrad! decision EhaE public school would not evenEs'rr But carrying their own licbe an answer. so I conEinue to look cLe baskets in the suPermarket is a for oEher ways for boEh Eo reach us cch logra lrltad b.lov r! I - 2 laval Th! olhcr laval! In tottl covar I Lrvrt fine experience for children' as are people. out Eo oEher IErs an ongoing Xrgh Hlli In School aourla! halhmahcal coEtll! uluall! lludrld I all | Erips Eo Ehe library, coffee shoP' processt . lrilh@lia- dhrlion, lublrftlron, the local conscruccion site to see ' ftllurah!nl- volum, dittanc!,.r!!. _ lrGrr clDrc re.lorahanlt hulliglicabon, drvrlron, fr4lion!, Ehe house being built, walks around. rl llvclr daclmalt, !!rc!nlag!!

Ehe block, eEc. I believe these co be From Beth De Roos of Calif.: 4 l!v?l! every bit as educational and a loE I Al9c!r' lrvrl!

6 4 r!v.l!

Iess wearing on me. I eiEher have Co' . Crlculut ...You recenEly asked abouE home5 laval! or wanE Eo do those things for mYschooling only child.

I really an ro. lh.

0 Wor lDool! io 0rrdultrd ditticullu Er l!v?l a I 9 95 Potl.g. 3 I 50 !9E, .o they don'E wear-me--6-ilt-doing flrll l.v!l ord!r!d, lnd t 50 for clch lddiheNl layll l&ho trlrdtd! dd 58 canrt think of anything negative. We them. noE only had more time to do things lall! llx Examine your aPPointments invoLbut we were able to get up and go, Posltlons !s S!tellllc Reprrsrntotlvrs ovollcDlr. ving your child. Does he go Eo a Prehad more money availabLe for maEerFomllU Dlscoverg Center P 0 Box 295 CONTINUED ON PAGE 27 Coeur d Alene. ldoho EJgl4 (208) 667-6215 ials, eEc., and because Ehere was Fifteen months ago, we moved

So we're working on Ehis and Ehinking abouE it, Vanessa's much freer of feeling peer pressure or the

from ConnecticuE to Oregon, We moved from the safe and friendly Eor4rn neighborhood where Daniel grew up co a rural area. In many ways, Ehis has

a

onc on

I

and

t

GRO}IING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

27

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

require @hich vour havinq him somewhere at a certain time 5n a regular basis? Unless he's going to be Ehere enough hours for you to go home and Telax' keeP scheduLed evenEs to a minimum' they are far harder on your energy level than you may realize' If the event is something your child says he reaLly likes, poinE out Eo him any fuss or resistance he gives you concerning geEEing ready Eo go Eo it aE Ehe proPer Eimes. TeIl him if he won'E cooperace Eo geE ready Eo go, Ehere's no use in your taking him. You're Eaking him for his enioyment. If he makes the prepa;Eciois- unpleasant for Ig!, leII him you won'E take him Ehe next Eime. And don'E. And point ouE Eo him that you are noE taking him when the nexE occasion comes. Give him a chance Eo be more cooperative Ehe cime afEer EhaE, and Eake him iF he is, My two kids have both learned thaE Mommy likes chings to be PleasanE for herself, They often need reminding, but iE works...

LEARNING TO MANAGE STRESS

Spicer (tJI): ...A11 Ehe kids are stiII thrilled with homeschooling. No one wants to go to schooL. Jacob (15) and Tom, my husband, are working at an outdoor Shakespeare Theater. Jacob sEarEed as an incern at $100 a week, but within Ewo weeks was filling the DosiEion of two interns and is now geccing $200 a week. (Needless Eo say he is Ehe richest Derson in the house. ) i"le gec to iee lots of plays and now Ehe kids are quoEing Shakespeare consEantly, Our house has become a very dramatic pLace lateIy.'. ...I am glad to see lots of people calking abouE the difficulE aspects of homeschooling ("DeaIing With Stress" (GWS #50). IE is stressful. I think I personally buiTt a lot of pitfalLs into the whole show.by Erying to be Ehe perfecE parenc/homeschooler. I expected too much of myself and of course became frusErated and nobody reaps any benefiEs from frustraEion. I came sLowly ro Ehe realization EhaE ic was fine for me to aE times not be interested in mY kids and to ETfow myself to be Eruiy inEeresEed in something I wanced Eo do.

I think thaE we teach our chiLdren oowerful lessons about how peopli: learn, by the way we curselves learn. If tJe Dresent to them a picEure of a harried mother, consEantly disCracted, trying to snatch liEtle moments here and there for Learning, I wonder if that's noc how Ehey wiIl approach Iearning. But if insEead we insist on quiet, uncluttered time when we have a Eask we wish Eo accomplish, I wonder if the kids won't find ways of providing chat Eime for themseLves. Not Ehat I aLways am able to accompLish chis, but I am getting betEer. I think it's a misEake Eo Iet kids drain parents emotionally (and I certainly speak from experience).

When I am emotionally drained I don'E meet anyone's needs welL. I do a sorE of superficial, band-aid job. I gec so I answer questions vaguely and sEarE making poor eye contacE. I inEeracE in a disEracted way wiEh my kids. BuE if I slow down and make sure I feel good, Ehen I listen weII Eo my kids, look them in the eye, and am really with them, noE jusE around From Gretchen

Ehem.

GROWING I.IITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

One way

that I Ehink

many home-

schooling families become emoEionaLly drained is by overindulging their

C!ro, IE has really worked for me, I enjoy my children much more now chat I feel very clearly Ehat they have no

kids and allowing Ehem to become bratty, whiney, overly demanding, and very conE'rolling. I Ehink that iE is a very simple miscake that I and many of my homeschooling friends have made simoLv from an over-concern for the weli-being of our children. Many of us not only gave our kids 100% of our !ime, aEtention, and concern, ne gave Ehem more Like 140%. How many of us have been aE a geE-Eogether with other families, where ac least one child (often the youngesE) from each family demanded constanE atEention from one or boEh DarenEs,.. I know iE got to be so bad iahen my kids were IiEEIe that I didn't feel Iike going anywhere with them. Things weren't bad at home, mosE of Ehe time, where I went about routineLy giving them 140"L ol my attention (of course, .overwhelming myself in Ehe process). But when we went outside our home and I wouLd have liked to have maybe 10% for myself, boy did they Let me have

righE to inflict lousy behavior on me. . . , lt was a hard lesson for me Eo learn (and I'm not doing it perfecEly yet) Eo let go and allow my children Eo solve their own problems, Irm afraid I have a biE of Erouble with being bossy and controlling myself. I've always got an answer for everyone. BUE I am learning, and once I stopped worrying abou! everyone eLse's problems, I sEarted having more time Eo Ehink about Ehings I'm inEerested in, Also. as Wanda Rezac mentioned (GWS #50), once my kids quiE getting Eheir emoEional "fixes" from me every time Ehey foughE with Eheir siblings, were rude to their Fri ond c I rhp i r ch^^<Lu' t Fh6r, Lrrc) ^er scarted having a Lot Iess of these problems that Ehey and I had believed needed my intervenEion...

I think the miscake comes from wanting Lo be totally accepting of and approving of our children. What we don't reaLize is EhaE by being accepting of acrocious behavior, we are real Ly giving kids the message

know sounded grateful Iy rel ieved as

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with respecE," whiLe we as parents and indeed many of our circle of friends may go r i ght a I ong accept i ng obnorious, demanding behavior as normal Sooner or later our kids will someone who have to deal it won't be any fun [or doesn't, and 'rith them. I don't think we do kids any favors by letting them get accusEomed to accing bossy and demanding.

Fortunately, I have found these misEakes easy Eo correct. I wish I could say EhaE I arrived at al1 this wisdom on mv own. but I can't. Much of it I gleined irom a wonderful book

by Foster Cline called THE YELLOW BOOK PARENT EDUCATION TEXT, availabLe for $15 from Evergreen Consultants, PO Box 2380, Evergreen CO 80439. It has the most practical, usefuL advice for parenting that I have ever found.

A lot of Ehe text deals with allowing children to reap the consequences of Eheir own acEions. Buc it also deals wiEh the issue of not allowing children to be bossy and controliing. It is written in a straisht forward and humorous manner. When-I read it, Iights went on in my head. I couldn't imagine why I hadn'E realized it be fore .

To use Che example of incessant talking) as a parent you need to sort ouc r^rhat are reaL questions for which a child desires real answers and what is jusE atEention getting behavior. l.Jhen we decermine that a child is simply demanding excessive attenEion or "jamming Ehe air waves," we say, "Honey, you're noE much fun to be with right now. When you have something you reaLly $ranE to Ealk about, why don't you come back, and t'd love to be with you, buE neither you nor I really enjoy when you jusE talk to get my attenEion or interrupt me, so why don't you go somewhere by yourself until vou are Dleasant to be with." It miy sound a liEtIe harsh, but it reaLly works. The same message can be used for Ehe whining toddler to the teasing adolescenE. My kids usually isolaLe Ehemselves for one co two minutes and come back pleasant and sunny. Occasionally rhey find something inCeresCing to do when I ask them Eo leave my presence and actualLy get involved for an hour or

THE CART AND THE HORSE

A reader writes: "One mother I she told me how glad she felt that she had recencly sEarEed her 4l-yearold using scissors, since they used

them in the KindergarEen Readiness class she would be attending. Never mind that such skills misht be usefuL in Eheir own rightI" I see this story as an example of a very importanE disEinction that we need fo kpen clpar:. On the one h:nd rhora i< I iFo rnd Fvnorianco and Reality. On the other hand is Looking Good - Looking Good in order to be allowed to continue, or Eo be allowed to move on to the nexc scep.

I see this same confusion in the exerpt we ran in GWS #50 from Joe Nathan's book FREE TO TEACH, abouE teenagers running a Consumer Aciion service. Here were kids solving REAL problems of REAL people, and iE was excicing to read. Then. near the end of Ehe section. the teacher-author can'E help but point out EhaE in Ehe

lho el -..-,-.-j |,donf were rmprovl ng their reading and writing skills.

True, they were, but how thaE paled in comparison Eo everyEhing else they were accomplishing.

Do you teach kids arichmetic so they will know how to handle money (as most teachers and parenEs see it, if they ever stop Eo wonder at aLI) or do you let them handle money so Ehey will learn ariEhmeEic (as probabLv manv alcernative school Eeachers and homeschoolers see iE)? Why not just leE Chem handle money so they know how to handle money? And if they happen Eo learn arithmeEic from it, <

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Your chlldren w111 love organizing and producing their ovn special yearbook.

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You'11 want one for each child.

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PROMPT DELI VERY. HOME CENTERED LEARNING, P.0. Box 2025, San Anselmo, CA 94960 HOME SCHOOL YEARBOOK

z6

f ine.

JusE as schooL is noE really an effective preparati on for life, neiEh-

er should Life be considered a preDaraEion for school.

Now, I know rre Calk a Lot in GWS about hon Eo speak and write to educators, how Eo describe everyday life in educaEional Eerms, because many of us have to deal with the schooLs, noE to mention an entire society thaE beLieves that Education is a Good Thing. And we're not being phony all those wonderful Ehings your kids do ARE educational. BuE let's keep as clear as we can about which is the carE and which is Ehe horse.

This confusion between Ehe real and the arEificial reminds me of something thaE happened twice after I came Eo BosEon to work with John Holt. A friend or relaEive asked me about my job, and after lisEening said, "That wiLl look good on your resume." Both times I was floored. As if I would come fo a pLace like this and do work that I thoughE was vital' in order to put it on a resume? Why? What couLd I possibly be pLanning to move on to, and would EheY think THAT was temporary, coo?

WeLL, I canrt reaLly blame them. good on your resumerl "That will look is much like I'That wiLL look good on your colLege applications." I did most of my extra-curricular acEivifies in junior high and high school so I couLd have something to LisE when I applied ior college - Ehat's what we were advised to do.

Employers, college admission, schools. even (for heaven's sake) Kindergarten Readiness class - the pressure is everywhere to look good ior rhe nexr levbl of judgEfiEnE] at the expense of truly living. - DR RESEARCH: PLAY, NOT PUSHING

From

"Kids: Are

We

Teaching

Too

Much Too Soon?" an arEicle by Glenn Collins of the NY Times News Service.

published II/L0/85:

PHILADELPHIA - As the debate over the "superbaby" phenomenon intensifies. researchers have coined a verb form to describe iE: 'rhothousing." The word was the focus of a conference here on the trend Eoward che early educaEionaL sEimulation of infants and toddlers... An array of experts gave serious atEenEion to the issue of early learning at the symposium, rrThe Hothousing of Young ChiLdren: So Much, So Soon."

Researchers described the nesative effects of inappropriate forial instruction on infanEs and their parents, underscored the value of unsLrucEured play for growing children, and placed hothousing in perspective as a middle-class ohenomenon. meEaphor "Hothousing is a useful metaphor

...offering more t'or home schooling families euerg month... /};g_

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for what's going on"' said Jeanette Mccarthy GalLagher, a research PsychoLogist Lc Temple University. "There is a naEural pace Eo Ehe developmenE of childrenr"- she said. "When we hothouse children, we suPerimPose a learning environment in order to make Ehem learn fascer." ..."We are cold EhaE the hochousing of chese children makes sense because of their naturaL urge to 1earn," said Irving SigeI I research scientist ac Ehe EducationaL TesEing Service in PrinceEon, NJ] ' "BuE where is iE written EhaE chlLdren have Ehe natural urge to learn JaPanese or Suzuki violin?" he asked, referring to some early instruction Programs.

SigeL said Ehac many skiLls hawked by the purveyors of such Programs are taught by'roEe' "You can geE a horse to do haif those Ehings," he said. ...A devasEating effect of hothousing is what a child "comes to believe about himself," Sigel said.

"Children come Eo believe Ehey are valued for whaE Ehey memorize or Produce or achieve." learn Ehe moSE "Vn"no nhildran from olav and inEeraction wiEh Lheir envirbnmint and from inceractions with people," said PaEricia Minuchin, a research professor of psychiatry aE the New York UniversiEY Medical CenEer. ..

do with the defendant? How hrere we

Eo

arrive at the cruEh? A week before rhy scheduled jury duty I $ras sent a small pamphLeE EhaE served as a reminder of my coming engagemenE and was packed wiEh juror informarion. There were Ewenty-eight pages of questions and answers about being a juror, some of which I found provocaEive, especially this one: Q. Being a juror is very difficulE. WhaE if I am not smarE enoush Eo be a good juror?

A. Remember Ehat the function of a jury is to find Ehe truth. Jurors have to decide which evidence Eo beIieve and which evidence noE to believe, It is wrong to Ehink thaE an individual who is highly educated is better equipped to determine which wiEnesses are telling fe truth and which are not Eellinq the truth. Moreover, the jury's veidicc is a group decision. It is not Che decision of any single person. You should have confidence in our Constitution which requires ciEizens. tike you, to parCiiipate on a jury.

TF r'^,' F^rd^t ,n^fhdr - n^inr juror may remember iE; and you may remember a point Ehat anoEher juror has overLooked. For many cenEuries, our jury system has worked well with ciEizens serving as jurors, Learned judges, high-priced A SENSIBLE QUESTION aEEorneys, bailiffs and clerks do noE (SPain): From Suzanne Alejandre decide whether or noE a crime has been committed; the jury does. The (7) quesamazing had an .,.Lee Eruth lies noE LriEh Ehe exDerts. who waLking [rJe were day. tion the other can no doubE be summoned fbrth bv it park he asked, and to Ehe "Was boEh sides, buE with Ehe people. like Ehis when you were born?" RichBefore and since Lauren''s birth we have been inundaEed hriEh inforup Ehe quesEion firsE and ard took mation about childbirth and raisine said, rrNo, che cars looked different, things r^rere made in a dif ferenE children. Deciding whaE to do abouE gecting our daughter immunized was a fashion..." And before Lee said more I answered, "Yes, Ehings looked simi- recenE exampLe, one that was solved lar" - I was looking at the Erees' by the same process a jury goes sky, et.c., and figured Ehings haln't Ehrough.

Like our parenEs, Day and I are changed too much - buE I added, "The After I made my vaccinated with everything the Family Erees were smaller." t'No, I mean' were comment Lee said, Doctor wanEed to givi us. In medicalEhings in color or in black and slang, all our shoEs are up Eo daEe, whiEe?" I gLanced at Richard as he But r^rhen the issue became our deglanced at me - both of us t^rith wide cision for our newborn Lauren we oueseyes, but thinking Eo scay serious tioned the Family DocEor. Most of the And I so serious. since Lee t/as books we read teLI parents Eo get ttIE in color, the same, was answered, Eheir newborn children immunized as he had thoughE why like now." I asked soon as possible, usually for Dipit could have been in bLack and theria, PerEussis (Whooping Cough), white. He said, 'rLike che Pictures Tetanus, and Polio. However, arEicles when you were litEle.rr And then it and books we read contradicted much clickLd - he had been looking aE an of Ehe informaEion we received from old phoEo album the oEher day and had our family and doctors, We starEed Eo assumed Ehat because the Pictures doubt pro-vaccine claims, noEing that were bLack and white, possibly the some diseases, like polio, have diminworld had been black and whiEe. So, ished or vanished Ehroughout other Richard expLained about cameras and modern-day countries wiEhout mass vacfilm, and then Lee understood. But a cines for them, that proper saniCafew days after chaE he asked me abouE Eion mighE be more responsible for just Eo the Charlie ChapLin movies, the lack of illness there. Our ouesmake sure, again. . . tions and objecEions were usually ignored. Vaccines are safe. a miracLe of modern science, and should not be denied your little one, we were told, JURIES: FINDING THE TRUTH someEimes angrily, by more Ehan one one of my person.

RecenEly I fulfilled civic duties as a citizen of Ehe BuE Ehose dissent.ing voices CommonwealEh of Massachusetts - I nagged us. When we found out abouE served on a jury. Once inside our the pre-vaccine consent forms you jury-room I couldn'E heLp but note sign we were more uncomforEablb; dowhat a diverse grouP we were: a ing so absolves everyone but yourself (he was our fore- for the "accidental'r problems thaE cabbie, a bartender man), a secreEary, a Law studenE, a mighE deveLop as a re'sulE of the vacconstrucEion worker, a bank EeIler, cine. We proceeded with cautlon. Our jury was roughLy various others. The docEor wanted to give Lauren all of me Black, divided inEo what seemed to Ehe shots above in one day and was Irish and ltalian backgrounds, a mix Eaken aback by our request Eo wait.

With such Boston. for noE surprising She Eold us it is our sociaL ducv to a potpourri how would we as a SrouP vaccinaEe our children since eveiyone arrive at any decisions abouE what Eo has to do their part Eo eLiminate disGRO}IING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

ta

ease. She had never heard of any of our sources of anti-immunization informaEion; she asked us to bring in a

hoops that are typically involved, nevertheless vrants Eo do whaE Ehe educaEors do, is probably going to make

too. You have to say, l,m qualified because I love rhesl childien. because Irm a smart person, I know what they need, I'm a reflective person, I'm not going to be imposing myself on Ehem, etc. They might be looking for your degrees and certificates, but you have Eo say Ehat's not Ehe right definiCion of qualificaEions.

SS: tlhat abouE Dublic reaction to homeschooLing?

feel pretty resentful, regardless of how well qualified that somebody might be. Second, mosE of the folks from whom Ehe hostilicy comes have lived their professional lives Ehe choices facing us: fulI vaccines, in a highly bureaucratized setting, no vaccines, just cercain ones. Over and when confronted with somebody who Ehe nexE few weeks we read, re-read, doesn't have Ehat burden, the resulE chought and talked about all Ehe is thaE peopLe get preEEy upseE. Mayreasons and situaEions in which to be Ehis cuEs to the core of somevaccinaEe Lauren or noE. We finally body's professional identiEy even decided to give Lauren Ewo of the SA: The minor key in lhe Dublic more than Ehe training thing does. four shoEs: fenanus and Ehe Sabin reacEion to horieschooiing is, these ( dead virus ) ool io vacc i ne .

Another answer is strictly a finanpeopLe are underdogs, iE's a David cial one. I think Ehat without parEic- and Goliath type of siEuaEion.

I can coirplain abouE informaEion Some justificacion good some supergive ularly in Eo iE, overload, buE I wonrt people have a "favor Ehe underdog" Ietting believe by a intendents Ehat the It is r,,re rarho musE sift Ehrough actitude, so Ehese people will be few peopLe educace cheir kids at home melange of information and decide preEty supportive of homeschooling Eheyrre going to be opening the flood- families. But I Ehink mosE of the-rewhat is Che truEh to act upon. Once gaEes, as if everybody could or wanEwe cave in and sEop examining our action on Ehe part of the public is a rnay be a paranoid feelings and thoughts about a parEicu- ed to, That fear hostile one, because iE's Limilar to f car - hrrl- i r 'l eads them to see Ehe Lar issue and allow someone else Eo what the superinCendenEs feel, thaE funds Ieaving wiEh the students. sift through Ehe facts and choose the if the home educating family thinks truth for us, vJe abdicate our freedom that school isnrt good enough for SS: We always encourage families and a Dart of our mind to someone Eheir kids, well,6icher th6y're to suggest a cooperat ive relat i onshi p righE - in which case what else.

Ehe heLl with the school, Eo offer to leE the The jury I was on had its am I doing with my kids in school, beschool carry them on their records momenEs when members yelled and were cause my kids are certainLy as good curt with each ocher. We examined the and stiLl receive sEaEe aid in exas your kids - or homeschoolers are use of resourchange for Ehe family's evidence, speculated on what sort of wrong, and they are jusE attacking it seems that if that were person Ehe defendanE was, argued ces, so something Ehat Ehe rest real1y their sole fear, more superin- found to be acceptable. of us have about who correcEly remembered certhat.

Eo would agree about the Eendants tain cestimony, complained attorneys and what we wanEed to hear SS: I notice thaE sometimes our SA: In a sense, if you agree to them ask. We reached our guilty vercritics don't like Eo hear examples dict in abouE ninety minutes and sent someEhing like that, you admit that of single working mothers homesthooliE was che finances in the first Ehe person to prison. When we went ing, and so on we Eake the position place Ehat led you Eo be reLuctant to that anyone who- really wants Eo, can, back Eo Ehe jury room for our persondo it, so I don't think a smart super- ano not everyone seems Eo wanl to aL items some peopLe said they hoped intendent. and most of them are they wouldn'E have Eo serve on hear thaL. preEEy smarE when iE comes Eo things another jury again, buE not me. It certainLy was noE fun Eo announce our like this, is going to buy anything SA: You're throwing down Ehe guilty verdicE and send a stranger up like that. gauntlet when you do that. What are the proverbial river, but it was a Ehey going to say? I don't really SS: If schools don'E Like familively, enlightening process Eo love my kids? No, they have to siy lies acting as Ehough they can do arrive at a verdicE we aLl believed thaE Ehe school is ok. whar the school peopLe have been in. professionally trained to do, should Our legaL system assures our SS: In your book you also Ealk palaver to debate and based on right chat aEfecE the way a family wriEes a about the deeDer American confLict the principle thaf a person can learn proposaL? Should Ehey take their Life between individuaLism and instituand understand something complex wiEh- experience and rurn that into qualifi- t ions . cations, or should they play up whatout going to school; we can bear this in mind while we Learn alongside our ever degrees they do have?

SA: I think Ehat's a sreat ambichildren and patienEly encourage Ehem valence in the American chfracEer. to become good jurors of their own SA: I wouldn'E say-that a family We're all Erying very hard Eo be indilives. - PATRICK FARENGA EhaErs trying to esEablish a coopera- viduals, buc at the same time we live tive relationship ought to pretend co in a totaLly instituEionalized socibe like the orofessionals - that dis- ety. Most of us spend most of our tracts you fiom whaE you're real ly Eime in instiEutions, The main skill TALK WITH STEPHEN ARONS all about and you run the risk of thaf lre have learn, ofEen the main getting sucked inEo doing it in a way skill peopLe Eo ISS: ] Stephen Arons is a profesLearn in school, is how sor of legal studies and author of EhaE isn't really you. I think that, to survive in and maniDulaEe a burCOMPELLING BELIEF: THE CULTURE OF as wiEh the whole business of deeaucracy. So homeschooiers come along AMERICAN SCHOOLING, a book abouE the kind that you fining the of education and make a declaraEion of their indeconf licEs beEween instiEutional and your kids are seeking, you have pendence from Ehat enEire fabric. and schools and individual dissenters. to take oossession of the definition Ehis provokes Ehat ambivalenE feeling John HolE took a great interest in this book when iE was first DubIished, and now Chat it is available in paperback we are happy Eo add iE OUR Christopher Became A Math Whiz to our catalogue (8.95 + post. ). One Iong secEion of the book looks specAnd YOUR CHILD Can Too!! ifically at homeschooling, and in preparation for writing it SEephen Arons with conducted exEensive interviews with THE HOME homeschooling families and superinEenSCHOOL dents. In September I spoke with him in his office aE Ehe University of . the ultimate whole number arithmetic learning system book on the Eopic, Ehen said she hooed for Lauren's sake Ehat we would dei:lde Eo immunize.

We caLked Eo many friends about

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Massachusetts, Amhersc :

SUSANNAH SHEFFER: Why

does

a

school feel Ehreatened when a family

asks permission to homeschool?

STEPHEN ARONS: There's Drobablv three or four differenE answbrs co that. In my judgment, probably aE Ehe Eop of Ehe List is thaE the schools really pride themselves on being professional, The idea thaE somebody not trained in educaEion, someone who didn'E have Co jump through all Ehe GROt.lING t.llTHOUT SCHOOLING #53

Ehem

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police officer, and he started out in the minds of Ehe resc of us. IE with a real traditional seE of attiEhaE myEhic individualism' Eudes abouE schools, buE when he and 5ut iE also remi.nds us !haE individualism is ouE of place and dysfunction- his wife goE into the struggle wiEh the schools, Ehey couldn'E believe al in this society. It makes You go iE. I think originalLy they were Led Ehrough Ehe same sEruggle EhaE Ehe to homeschooling by certain religious home educaEion family has gone impulses, and chey thought thac there Ehrough, only they've resolved iE, mighE be some LiEEle complications, and you're jusE sEarting out wich iE, buE Ehey certainly didn't anEiciPate or aE leasE it reminds you Ehat anyching oCher Ehan a paC on the back vou've buried this ambivaLence. Who and a litcle hslp. The worse the con;anEs Eo go Chrough Ehat? flicE goE, the mbre lucid this guy became. By Ehe time Ehe Ehing was over, SS: IE's inEeresEing Ehat PeoPle he was talking abouE how his coLcan make Ehe argument for both indileagues on Ehe police force were havvidualism and insEiEutionalism' chat ing Erouble dealing with him, and eiEher one is fundamenEally American.

Do you Ehink eiEher of Ehe two is win- people were beginning co quesEion whether he'd be a good police officer ning out, these days? because he seemed Eo have no respect for authoriEy anymore. IE seemed to SA: That's an interesting quesme Ehat he had become quite radicaltion. I think Ehat the real American ized in the best sense of Ehe Eerm, characEeristic is Eo have contradicyou know, really pursuing che truEh tory feeLings, to be hung uP about a and not being hoodwinked by more conclash between individualism and colventional wisdoms.

LecEivism.

SS: Did he ever reflect on EhaE SS: Was thac Erue from the beginchange in himself? ning?

SA: He did, because his job was SA: I think thac's certainly EhreaEened. He was saying' "What's been true since che CiviL War. In c-^F happening Eo me? WhaE is this counEry ^^^i r,, Erace it back to yuu Ldil cdsrr) rdLL, abouff I thought I undersEood and now Ehe PuriEans, right here in MassachuI'm not so clear chat I do"' So he seEEs, who were religiously very indir^ras strong but he was f righEened. vidualisEic buE aE the same time had creaEed a EocaL lheocracy lhat controlled large porcions of peopl e's SS: ALI this makes iE sound as political and social lives. So, iE's Ehough homeschooLing could actually probably a part o[ Ehe American charbe a force for democracY' which is acEer thaE's been around for a long funny because one of Ehe major argutime. I don't know if you could say mencs againsC it is Chat it's jusE Ehat eilher of rhose two forces is the opposiEe. winning out, that's a question of individual psyches in a culture, but if SA: Oh, very clearIY. Think you look aE the material nature of about the so-called founding fathers' American society, it is in facE much and how Ehey were educaEed. MosE of more insEiEutionalized now than iE Ehem were educated bY tutors' EheY has ever been. didn'E go Eo school. Thac kind of revolurionary ene:gy and recepEiveness SS: Does that make homeschoolers Ehar they had is really connecEed Eo reacEionary, or revolutionary? thac form of education, because when you're educaEed in a seEEing like SA: I think it probably makes tirac, t believe, you're much more Ehem lucid, iE means that Ehey are likeIy to become a criticaL Ehinker, probabLy less hung up on rhac dichoto think for yourself, Eo know and tomy. act on your own values. ThaErs whaE's required before you can really sEeP SS: You wrote in the book abouE inCo the poLiticaL process and become whaE being lhis kind of dissenter can an acEive participanE. When you're do for a person, how iE can make them educaEed in a gigancic school or a choose oubLic acLion where before big cLassroom or whaEever, I think they miAhE noE have. You find, among EhaE's more conducive to learning how homeschoolers, peopLe who never to play the bureaucratic game, and dreamed theyrd be involved in, for noE Ehinking for yourself because it example, legisLaEive efforts, but who doesn't pay. So I would say Ehis is are doing it noli. much better training for preserving democracy.

SA: There's nothing like one's concern for one's children to puE one SS: Several laws have changed in inco action in a hurry. BuC I think the lasE couple of years, become more Ehis, Iike Iots of other things chat sDecific and favorable co homeschooLrequire just a littIe bjt of politiing. Ofcen, these laws require the cal involvemenc, tends Eo have an infamiLy Eo submiE some sorE of affidacredibly radicalizing effecC on peovit saying thac Eheyrre teaching the ole. I don't mean in terms of their required courses for Ehe required politics, left wing or right, I just amounE of time, and so on. This tends mean in terms of the degree to which Eo appeal Eo Ehe schools, because the Ehey lose their alienation from pubfamiiy is saying iE's wiLling to be lic Life and really become fighEers, accounEable, and Eo the familY iE's really become people who have a reaactually liberating, because EheY son Eo sEruggle with Ehe public know chey can meeE Ehose requiremenEs sphere. And in a way, Ehey become by doing whaE they would do anyway. much beEter democratic citizens than Do you sense Ehis favorable change in whaE used to be called che silent Ehe climaEe? majoriEy who sort of siE back and IeE it happen.

SA: I Ehink Ehat if Ehe aEmosphere is basically a Eolerant one' SS: In your inEerviews, dici you 'chen Ehat sort: of law makes iE possiencounter anyone who'd had this sorE ble for Ehe school Eo Ehink EhaE it of Ehing happen Eo them? gets whaE iE needs and wonrt look bad, and makes it Possible for the SA: I remember the story of one family Eo do whaEever the heIL ic family in which the faEher was a srabs us,

wants because it all fiEs in Ehese re-

quired categories. But if Ehe atmosphere becomes hostile, Ehen lc becomes possible Eo use these calegories t.o give people a loE of trouble.

So, we may be in a phase chaE reflecCs a greater Eolerance for homeschooling. Perhaps Ehe school people have sEarEed Eo see someEhing which I was really surprised they didn't see a long Eime ago, Ehat Ehere are so few people who do homeschooling Ehat iErs iusE a whole loE easier for a school official Eo say, ItSure, you seem like a decenE person, do what you wantrrr than Eo puC enormous resources into a hassle Ehac the school officiaL may very well lose. BuE aIl this doesnrt mean thaE the tides can'E shifE again aE some point.

SS: I'm afraid some peopLe might be scared off by your book, mighE

think a conflicE was inevitable, SA: WeLI, one thing about Ehis book is iE's very definiEely abouE homeschooling but iE's also about a Iot of other forms of educaEional and cultural dissent. What I was geECing aE, and what I Chink probably has not ameliorated much at aLl, is thaE there is a general hosEiliEy in Ehe educaEional esEablishmenE and in che public to alternatives Eo Ehe public schools. I would say that if you Look aE the whole picture - for example, the curriculum content of the public schools - where che intolerance is aE a fever piEch, and is worse than when I wroEe Ehe book, or if you look aE the way that non-Craditional privace schools are generally treated, you see thaE Ehe hostility Eo educaEional dissent is as viruLent as ever. It may be EhaE a certain kind of Eruce has been created wiEh regard Eo homeschooling and Ehat if you jusE looked at that you'd say things are gecting better. BuE if you look aE Ehe whole aEtitude toward dissent I think Ehe picture is as grim as ever and maybe

more so.

SS: Do you Ehink home education

is a righE? SA: I think iErs very clear EhaE the Constitution provides Ehe right for people to have alEernatives to public educaEion, but lhen the question is, whaE alternatives?

SS: It's clear even Ehough iE isn't explicitly stated?

SA: I Ehink it's quite clear, noE just from Ehe language of Ehe ConscituEion but from Ehe ways in which the ConsEicution has been interoreted. The cases make it clear EhaE it's unconsEitutional for kids Eo be forced to go to only pubLic school.

So then the quesCion is, whaL else can Ehey do, and there it varies enormously from one jurisdiccion Eo another. I do think EhaE a very sCrong argument can be made that therers a constiEuEional right to home educaEion and Chat 1t's to be found in the First AmendmenE. Nornr, Ehe flip side of that is, are Ehe public schooLs as presenEly constituEed unconsticuEional? I do happen Eo beLieve EhaE the present arrangement of public schools raises very, very serious probLems and undermines the principles of the First Amendment. But thatrs not Ehe same as saying chac you could convince a court thaE Ehe First Amendment means that the present system is unconstiEucionaL, The court is not abouE to make a change in Ehe scrucEure of a Ewo hundred billion dollar GROWING t,lITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

3t

a year industry, on the basis of mere logic and principle, unless therers a feeling Ehat the public at large wants that change.

SS: That's very much in keeping with whaE John Holc used Co say, ChaE the schools won't change because people don't want Chem Eo. You were Ealking about wheEher public schooL is unconstituEional - whaE about the idea of compulsory schooLing iEself?

SA: I think the sEafe can lesiEimately require that every child bE educaEed, buE it canrf legitimaEeLy require thaE every chiLd be educated in a public school.

SS: What about in a school?

SA: Can they require thaE? I think not. So if EhaE's what you mean by compulsory schooling SS: It is.

SA: - then EhaE's quesEionable, yes. I Ehink thaE's a very good position Eo take. I think a lot of what this is about is Ehe difference between being educated in a school, of any kind, and being educated.

SS: So it's acEuaLly a good legal strategy, to put it this way?

SA: To come on and sav. the sEate has Ehe right to require educaEion buc not school, yes, I think Ehat's a very good strategy.

ISS noCe: At the Clonlara Jamboree this past August, I aftended aEtorney David SchwarEzrs presenEation on "SEate Control and Cultural Freedom," which expLored, among other things, Ehe internal confLicE Ehat people can experience when they comply with laws that acknowledge Ehe staEers power to deEermine whaE constitutes education, even though chey don't believe the sEaEe ousht Eo have this power, Such Iaws may iake it possible for families to homeschool, buE do they require an ideoLogical compromise at the same Eime? The remainder of this conversation with Stephen Arons is a further examination of chis issue, l SS: I was Ealking Eo a lawyer recenEly who quotes Emerson saying "l will noE pay for a privilege where I have intrinsic righE." If home educafion is an intrinsic righE, as you said earlier, is working for home education legisLaEion only paying for a privilege? This is what Ehe lawyer seems to think, and he worries EhaE for some people it may be Eoo big a compromlse.

SA: I Ehink that's an ideologically correct posiEion to take, to say ChaE one shouldn't compromise one's beliefs. IErs good if you're inEeresE is in Erying to move the body poliEic, i!'s good if you look aE home educaEion as a form of civll disobedience, whlch in a way lE is.

But as a pracEical atEorney making a judgmen! about how to advise a client, I'm not sure fhat's rlqh! aE aI1.

SS: Yes, because what people wanE, immediaEeLy, is !o be abie to homeschool legaIIy, Bu! I know lha!

of us who lobby for home education legislation Ehink of such laws as a sorc of second besE, or the most realistic thing we can get, since we some

GROWING |^lITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

mighr really like Eo see compulsory education laws done away with enEirely but we know we can't-geE that.

rras Cerrified,

shaking, and sobbing.

Af anrrrca Lrrr ^l^fh^, tsh6 ^l^iProru officer, who turned out to be Ehe locel irrrranil o aFFioav rrrirrorl SA: WelL, when you enEer into shortly on my doorstep, At this the LegisLaEive arena to do something point, I hadn'E even had a chance Lo Like Ehis yourre a very small parE of Ealk Eo my child, I onLy know Ehat he a very large operation, Yourre going was hysEerical and I'something had to have Eo make substanEiaL compromi- happened wiEh Ehe poLice." ses to geE anything aE all. One likes The officer knew me, but was upto Ehink of Ehe judiciary as a place seE and wanEed to know why SeEh was where principles win ouE over power, so hostile. tlhen I asked him whaE he and sometimes thaE's Erue, buL in the meant and he described Ehe interaclegisLaEure iE's rareLy if ever thaE Eion I said, "Why, it sounds like he way. was terrified."

When I was abLe Eo You do vranE to worry abouE losdraw Ehe srory ouE of Seth bit by ing sight of what your beliefs are. bit, I certainly realized EhaE Eerror Maybe you aren'E afEer a win, maybe was Ehe underlying Eheme. you wanE to sEruggle and lose for a I know that officers see lots of while. street-wise, hostile kids each day, but it concerns me ChaE they weren't SS: BuE of course rhe flip side able to pick up on how scared this of tha! is peopLe whose kids are kid was. about !o Eurn compulsory school age Certainly vre were mosC negligent donrt wanE Eo wait. John always used in noE preparing our kids for this to say we don't wanE martyrs in Ehis kind of situaEion. I think kids who movement. and in fact the ideological are on the streets durine school justification for home education leg- hours should carry some iort of islation is that once you get it, you letter or pass Ehat makes it clear to can show, for example, that people authoriCies that Ehey are not truant, can learn ouEside of schools, and so AddiEionally, parents and kids shouLd on. go over what to do in Ehe evenEual ity that they should be stopped and SA: tJeLl, ideologues arenrE quesEioned. I did some role playing always the most reliable aLlies, if with Seth to help him discover better they don'E have a personal stake in alternatives to teLling the officer it as welI. BuE sometimes the ideoloEo "shut up" and runniig otf. gy becomes the language of the strugSeth said the most frustratine gle after a whi Ie. The who I e ching be- thing for him was that before he l5st fween the family and Che school is be- his cool, he kept asking fhe first ing fought out on this incredibly officer over and over iust Eo call us principled pIane, whi 1e the reality and he wouldn'E do it, So maybe we of it is very grlEty and simpl e. need to go a step further if we want to allow our children Ehe freedom to SS: That's interesting, because be on the streeE during schooL hours, in the book you say iC looks griEEy and contacE Ehe local Dolice deoartand speciIic buE is acEually bigger, ment and inform them oF our programt deepe r. and introduce our children Eo theln in advance. I think this would be most SA: I think Ehat's what makes it applicable to people Iiving in smaIl so incredibly fascinating and rich, rural communities, . . because people are reaLly playing our everyEhing.

THOSE HOMESCHOOL "CONTMCTS'

A BRUSH WITH THE POLICE

Cretchen Splcer (WI) wrote in response Eo "PrevenEing Truancy

Harrassmentr'

(GWS

#50):

,,.My l2-year-old son, SeEh, had a parEicularLy unpleasant brush with Ehe law enforcement agencies in our smaIl town, abouE six-months after we moved from Ehe country into Eown. The older boys, 12 and 14, had been going Co Ehe library almosE every day during school hours, so I hadn'E glven Ehe Eruancy problem any EhoughE. Aq', tsh^F tsk^ nn tho nerl{nrrl uoy LilaL LLrs Hur Lrvsrdr tv incidenE occurred I asked SeLh to run an errand EhaE seemed crucial to me.

He didn't wanE Eo do lE, but I begged unEil he agreed. On his way home a ciEy police officer sEopped him and asked why he wasn't in school. Seth sald he Erled Co expLain and asked Ehe offlcer Eo call his moEher, but he wouldn'E. The officer then asked SeEh Eo go lnto Ehe court house wiEh' hlm and SeEh refused because he lhought he was going to be put 1n ja1l, Af that polnc Ehe officer "Ealked on his v,/alkie-ta1kle. " MomenEs later another person, in an unrnarked car, ln plain cLothes, pulled up, When he Erled Eo EaLk to SeEh, SeEh yelled, I'Shut up" and ran of f , trlhen I asked Seth whv he did that he sald that he thouihc the man in plain clothes was goin[ to kidnap him. By Ehe time Seth arrived home he

In GIJS #52, Connie PfeiI (CA) mentioned'rconEracEs'r becween the homeschooling families and schooL disErict, which reminded me of a point I have made to several people who have asked about this, Som;Eimes a school

disEricE insists Ehac a family sign a docum.ent thaE the district has written and thaf iE caLls a conEracE, and the homeschoolers are iustifiabLv cautious about signing uniil chey know what Ehe consequences may be.

I tell these people that they should ask a lawyer to make sure, but that, from whac LiEtLe I know about law, those so-called "contractsI are not at all whar are Iegally considered to be contracts:-T-T;6mendous number of court cases throughout Che cenEuries have deaLc with Ehe quesEion of what ts a val id contrait, and some of these educattonal documents that are belng passed 4round do not meeE Ehe deflnition in Ehe sLiehtesE. For example, the HANDBoOK OF EVERYDAY LAW

says:

..,A contracE. to be enforctble ln a court of law, must have the followlng essenElal elements : The contractual obllgaLlons musf

ENfTLESTEP tN LIVING Neart oTr+PR Hor1EgCrtooLEES 3 'r.re<rxe c.F{tgtr'l; A Nr{rc'.{A|NEIWO:K OF arrERs \]\'t+O A.|RE, SEr.rp sr.se ro !5rt) E.BcllErdElTi

5l

by one parcy and an "acceptance" of thaE offer by Ehe parE to \rhom iE was made. This is called consenE, "mutual assenEr" or, popumade

larLy, "a meeting of the minds."

Each oarEv musE have conEribuEed some coniidei:aEion coward the creaEion of the contract. There musE be a quid Dro euo. a somethins in exchanPe lor somechrng else co maKe cne dear a Dlnorng one. A mere graEuitous promise, not made in reliance upon a reciprocal promise, is noE binding and noE enfor:cible...

The word "consideration" in the

above paragraph does noE

mean

"thoughE," but an actual, Eangible benefit, such as money paid or a ser-

If I have a valid coniGErformed. tract with a carpenter to build a porch, the "consideraEion" Ehat she gets is money, and the "consideration" I get is a po::ch. BuE if for some reason, the carpenter signed a paper saying she would buiLd a porch for nothing, no courE would consider thaE a binding contract.

Now in a case like Connie describes, where homeschooLers agree Eo do cerEain Ehings in exchange for Ehe avai labi I ity of certain services, there's aE least a chance of Ehis fitEing the description of a contract (though you could easily argue Ehac Ehe school receives no benefi.t directIy from the family - indirectly' yes' if their attendance provides sEaEe aid money). But some of the oEher cases I have heard of. where a schooL district insists Ehat a family promise co do this, EhaE, and Ehe ocher in exchanse for noching aE alI, no beneti ts, no servrces - welL t EhaE t s exactly whaE a legal contract is noE. Cbuld Ehe diatricE say, "What-Te are giving in exchange is approval?"

Maybe, but it sounds fishy Eo me.

What does iE mean Eo give approval to an acEion, any\,iay, excepc Eo promise thaE you won't try to prevent it?

Going back Eo the porch example, what if Ehe contract said that Ehe carpenEer makes me a porch and in returnr I merely agree not to stop her? HardlY rewarding to the carpenter, is it?

No, I think "approval" caLIs into question the entire volunEary naEure of Ehe contract.

I believe this new meaning of Ehe word (a conEract that is not a legal contract ) came abouE through psychologicaL circles, behavior modification, eEc. Counsel ors, Eherapists, and others recommend "conEracEs" between husbands and wives, parenEs and children, Eeachers and sEudents, as a way to change or manipulace behavior. So itrs not surprising thaE educaLors mighc slip the word, full circle, back inEo Ehe Iegal domain, wiEhouE even realizing that it has changed si gnificance.

Whether or not you wanE to make a fuss about this linguistic point depends on Ehe total picture. If you have no problems with whaErs in the agreement, then it probably doesn't make any difference what iE's called' mighE aE least But in some cases, you cross out the word t'conEracE" and substitute a term Like "agreemenE,tt and if asked, say poliEely thaE You have been advised that such a documenE is noE a binding LegaL contracE. And if Ehey're trying to force alL sorts of unacceptable conditions on you, you can use this point, more forcefully, Eo negoEiate a better dea1.

I happened Eo talk on the Phone with Connie Pfeil since beginning co wriEe this piece, and when I ouElined these thoughts, she said thaE someching like this actualLy took pLace

in Eheir siEuation. When she and Ehe school disErict $ras ProPosing for a contracE, the families knew enough Eo say, "Wait a minuEe, we have a right Eo have some inpuE inEo Ehis, and to get some benefits from iE." So homeschooLers and che discrict have worked for some months revising Ehe and have come up wiEh a contract, I'WriEEen Agreement" Ehat is acceptabLe to both sides. -.DR oEher homeschoolers saw what

EFFECT OF SCHOOL MATH

A story from SEephanie Judy (BC): ...An 8-year-old friend offered to pour a glass of juice for my daughter, then 2. "Just pour half a gIass," I Eold her.

ing a story.

The few Elmes I have done this, I used sCories I have heard - like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" - or EhaE I've read somewhere. Irve noE veE graduaEed to making up sEories, Ehough I know people do. I remember once when I Eold sEories to my niece, Ehen 4, she kepE saying, "Read me anoEherl'r I Chink she knew I wasnrC "reading," buE EhaE waFTEe Eerm she was used to.

I wouLd like very much Eo hear how any of you fiE sCory-Eelling inEo your lives, - DR LEARNING MUSIC AS ADULTS

From a speech John HoIt gave to a VIOLIN SOCIETY OF AMERICA conference,11/5/80: The child stiffened and a look of oanic crossed her face. ...As a teacher I am enorrnously poui half a gl-ass," she said. "I inCeresEed in doing what I can Eo haven'E had FRACTIONSI" increase adulc parEicipaEion in music. I want co see more adults sCarEing to make music, or scarting once again afEer having neglecEed iE IMPOSING VS. SHARING for a Iong time, One of the nice I've heard from some parents who things Ehat has happened to me as a worry about how Eo share their interresult of NEVER TOO LATE is that people have writEen me a greaC many leEests with gheir children wiEhouE ters to say EhaE they always wanted "imposing" those interests upon Eo study a sEring instrument, or some chem. I can'E help Ehinking of the oEher insErument, buf EhaE Ehey way my parents shared their Love of always Ehought thaE they were too Shakespeare's plays vriEh me when I old. AfEer having read my book, they was a child, Sometimes, a mood would decided EhaE Ehey weren'E too old, sErike them and uheyrd wanE Eo read have sEarEed to cake lessons, and are Ehe witches' scene in Macbeth aloud. having a lovely time. I goE one letThere are Ehree !titcheS--ii-TEls scene, so iE lras nacural Eo ask me Eo ter from a man in his 70's, who, if I remember correcEly, Eook up the cello. ioin in. I never, during all Ehe Because I love music and have lears that we did Ehis, knew what the But I been listening to iE for a long Eime, rest of the play was about. voice Eo my I hang ouE quiEe a loE wiEh musiIoved to match "cackLing" cians. Over Ehe years I've heard a Eheirs, and I loved Eo recite Ehe greaE deal of EaLk abouE how to get list of horrible ingrediencs I^/hich more children to make music and how wenE inco the wiEchesr cauldron.

Eo get music into Ehe schools. I Cend My parenEs didn'E arrange Ehis acting session so thaE I'd learn some- Eo Ehink Chat this is atEacking Ehe problem from the wrong end. There thing I ought Eo know. They didn't must be hundreds of thousands, milthink I ought to Iove MacbeEh' but because they dId, Eney hoped r wouro lions of children who learn Eo Dlav Eoo. The difference is noE in content different inscrumenEs while growing up, or in school, and often at a rath6IE in spirit. "H"y," my parents er high level of proficiency, who said, in effect, "This is something we love. and iE would be even more Ehen stop when Ehey reach the age of fun if you could be parE of iE." This 18, 19, or 20 and never play again. is the spiriE in which most of us My feeling is chat anyEhing like an equivaLent amounE of effort expended share books, movies, plays with ochers in our lives. Done this way, I in helping adulEs to play mighc very sharing wouldnrt call such well have a beEter payoff. If we "imposirron. - 5b could double or Eriple the number of adulEs making music, the chiLdren would follow along because they get Eheir ideas of h/haE is worEh doing STORYTELLING from whaE they see us do. In a communHere in New England, along with iEy in which Ehere was a good deal of adult musical acEiviEv. I do noE a growing interesE in folk music and believe Ehere would b6'much of a orobdance, Ehere is an increasing interIem in moEivating children. esE in story-telling. ProfessionaL . ..There are a number of reasons story-tellers perform at concerEs and festivals, and often run workshops why iE is difficuLt for adults to learn to play musical instruments encouraging people Eo discover Eheir wel1. Some are physical or environmenown natural story-telling abiliEy' seems taL. People say Ehey donrt have time, Story-telLing definitely Eo be a lost arc, in this day of tele- Ehat their lives are full. However, vision, VCR, movies, records, radio, iE seems to me that the number of hours Ehat people spend waEching teleand cassertes. Even Ehe poPularity vision mighc jusE as well be invesEed and cheapness of children's books means Ehat parents are more aPc Eo in music. ScilL, chere are serious reach for pre-prinEed entertainment constrainEs of time and soace. IErs hard Eo find a place Eo piaccice. than Eo do anyEhing thaf requires Many people live in places in which thinking. BuE I find Ehat sEorytelling is useful for a spur-of-thethey couldn'E play wiEhouE causing an uproar. ALso, people who might smile momenE diversion of a Eired child' indulgenEly at Ehe sounds produced by when wetre ahray from home, or when my hands are occupied. And it's engaging a young player mighE become furious for both the EeLler and Ehe lisEener. aE having Eo liscen co an adulE playing aE a comparable Level of skill.

I can get very bored reading children's books - I can disengage my mind However, Ehe more imporEant Ehe words aLl about obstacles co adulE playing are psychand not think aE if Irm tellNoE so ological or internal. These are not I am pronouncing.

GRO|^IING l,llTHOUT SCHOOLING #53

characteristic of adulEs onLy. They operate in people of all ages. I have discovered that what keeps children from learning in school siEuaEions is anxiety, fear, and shame, and these also operate with us. A considerable parc of NEVER TOO LATE is a descripEion of how these negacive factors work on me as I play by myself, or t.ry co play with ocher people, and the ways I use to try Eo overcome these feelings. I suspect that feelings of fear, shame, guilE, inadequacy, eEc., are perhaps stronger in adults than they are in young children. Not Ehe least of che exolanaEions for Ehis lies in Ehe ficE EhaE when we come Eo the making of music in the middle of our lives, we have in our ears, in our minds, the sound of whaE it really ought to be like. I Ehink that many children do noc have Ehis frame of reference. The discrepancy between Ehe sounds we produce and those we know can be produced is simply more than many people can stand. That, I beiieve, is an obstacle we can learn Eo overcome.

Another obstacLe can be summarized by the old saw chaE you can'E Eeach old dogs new tricks. The prophecy Ehat you can't do it unless you sEarE young becomes self-fuIfilling.

If you believe it's Erue, ic becomes true. lle can turn that saying around if we can convince people EhaE it l^^. icnrf r^^ lrio thar ruLL LrruL vru uulir Ldu ^li ^-t Iearn new Ericks, and thaE they will discover chat Ehey are able to learn new Ericks.

Another, and perhaps relared, problem is an idea that has a very oowerful hold on music insEruction in leneral. My knowledge in this area isnrt complete, but I live in BosCon which is a very musical community and I have many musicaL friends with whom I discuss ways of teaching. Therefore, I don't think I 'm compIeEeI y off-base in saying ChaE an idea that seems Eo run through musical instrucEion is EhaE the people who learn fasEesE will go furchest. We tend Eo make judgments about people's calenE, if not cheir ultimaLe musical caoacity, on the basis of how fast they learn, how fast Ehey get from point A Eo poinE B. A teacher may have a group of students to whom he gives a number of exercises or Dieces Eo learn. Some wiLl learn -Ehis materiaL in a week, others in two weeks, while others may need as long as a monEh. I Ehink the prevaiLing assumption is thac Ehe scudencs who learn the material Ehe fastest have the most musical CaLenC and will some day be the best players. BuE this is simply an assumpEion. I don't think it has ever been proved or Eested. tlhat happens over l-he wcars in mrrqic is what tends Eo happen in sports, and I have coached a loE of sports. It's like an eliminaEion conEest. Each year a number of parcicipanEs are cut from Ehe varsiEy squad, And, as in high school athleEics, you finally end up with a fairly small handful of very experE players, while a much larger number of participants have been convinced thar their fuEure role is EhaE of spectators.

Now I undersEand some of the conditions that bring Ehis siEuation about. If you are a teacher, an orchestra conductor in a schooL, you have limited amounEs of time and it makes a cerEain kind of sense Eo invest chat time where you think iE is going Eo produce the mosE resuLts. Yet, I chink we may lose a greac deal of very real talenE in EhaE vreeding-ouE process. This has particular reference to adult training because I think ic is almost certainly true GROIIING t.lITHOUT SCHOOLING #53

for reasons that I've given and oEhers - that adults beginning music irraarc dL ICdSL rrr Fha Fircr rL JeerJ, ^ts 1^^-f learn more slowly than most children. ,..I8 seems to me chat many of the ideas, techniques, and methods of music Eeaching have been largely designed wiEh children in mind. Therefore, Ehey may be very inappropriate for adults who have much more music in Eheir heads, so to speak. They have a more highly developed mental model of what music looks and actually sounds like. They may, as I said, be very good aE solving problems. In teaching very young sEudents it may make good sense to say: "Now do this, and then IrlL tell you how Eo do someEhing else." The child is taken, a sEep at a time, on a journey towards a desEinaEion he can hardLy imagine.

Kids like to do tricks, they donrE parcicularly care what they are. Perhaos over a Deriod of time these sEbps and tricks will add up to the deveLopment of a considerable degree of skiLl. I donrt think EhaErs che besE way to teach young children, but I have Eo admit EhaE it wiIL often work. At leasc it works wiEh children who happen to like it. But I suspecE will be much less Chat this aDDroach -fbr adulcs. An adult successful sEudenc must be - Eo a far greater degree - a partner in Ehis musicaL venture. At any rate, I know that is Erue of myself, I need to be able Eo apply my own inEelligence and resourcefulness to the Iarge problem of musicaL skiIl. What makes iE interesting Eo me is noc. just Lhe music, but the actual challenge of learning ,,i11 wIIlt

remarkable liEtle DianisE. She is a LiEtle child and Eo see these litcIe

baby sEarfish shaped hands thumping rF i--^ine the volume of tone and sound thaE Ehis LittLe mite produces on Ehe piano, when she pLays vuL-yUugoIlLr'''dts,

with spirit. She and her very EaIenEed older brother, about 4 years oLder, again experienced these feelings of exaltation and exciEement and passion, on Ehe one hand, and baffled fury. They jusC bursE out crying sometimes, they geE so furious thaE chey canrt get Ehe phrase Eo come ouE Ehe wav Ehev wanE it Co. But this liEEle 5-year-6fa is not operating on an emotionaL range wiEh "no fun" on one end of the scaLe and "fun" at Ehe oEher.

We just trivialize our work when we think in those terms. The efforE, Ehe .6n.ontrzt i rhF f?rrcirrr i lha ^n ^n doggedness, Ehe resolution, the momenEs - very considerabLe momenEs of surprise and joy, the feeLing, "My goodness, I didn'E Ehink it was going Co come out as good as that.rr The exaltation. the emotion. . , it I s anoCher kind of world.,. Let's Ery Co stop talking about "funrr or "no fun."

I don't know wheEher that's going Eo be possible...

CHEERS FOR PIANICA ISS :

]

trthen we asked Susan Shi L-

cock (PA) about how Ehe chiLdren

aE

the Open Connections Family Resource CenEer use the pianica, she responded: [,Je were initially atCracted Eo Ehe pianica because we believe thaE children most enjoy, and deserve, real, working items, rather than imicaLion toys. ln this case, "the real thing" translaEes to real music [And from a similar speech Eo a music educaEor's conference in Minne- noC the tinny music created by some apolis , 4/24/87, transcribed by volun- made-for-children instruments.

For Ehe very youngest children, ceer JaneE RoeLle: ] we think the fascinaEion of Ehe oianica Lies in Ehe sense of accomolish...I feel at Ieast as strongly menC EhaE playing it can provide. A about Ehis as anything I will say Eo child of 1-2 years may not get sound vou todav, This is another word that r ,,^-. r:, -e., y ouE of if aE Ehe beginning, but wiEh ^^r vwLduur LU 6sL ^,,F ^â&#x201A;Ź ik^ L"E ,,^^^k.,1 dr a little praccice and some easy-toof music, discussing music, etc. And give help from an older child or the word is "fun." Gee. how I haEe adult, the young musjcian can experithe word ".[un." (Laughier.) Whar you ence some sense of power over Ehis hear people say, usually with some mysterious machine. The pianica is asperity is, "Learning can't all be not as instanE as a piano in its feedfun..." The noEion of Che range of back, and consequenEiy we think it possibiLities conjures up the image actually strengEhens the connection of a scale. leErs sav of -100 to a between player and music produced, A +100, with "fun" on the +100 end of child musE consciousLy coordinaEe Ewo Ehe sca1e, and I guess, "no fun" ac actions to make someEhing happen the oEher end of Ehe scale, As in, ttGee, Ma, this is no fun." or'rGee, the sounds jusE don't happen by acciMa, why do I have Eo do Ehis?" Presum- dent . The 3-5 year oLd age group seem ably the feelings that we have vary enjoy Ehe choice involved; whether from the "no fun" end of the scale Co to to blow Ehrough the long tube while the 'rfunrr end of Ehe scale, the presiEting down (with the keyboard in a sumption being thaE if we spend 997. piano posiCion) or wheEher to use Che of our Eime at Ehe rrno fun" end of moulhpiece and play iC more like a the scaLe, eventualLy we wiLl get to Attaching either set of a poinf where we have a little fun. I clarinet. pieces is easy and young fingers can think this is a disasErously misEaken make the swiEch back and forth on way of looking at music. Nowhere on Cheir own, Ehat scale of "no fun" co "fun" can I The 3-8 year olds also Eake find any of the emotions that I feel interesE in the pianica as a puzzLe. when I am working wiEh my instrument, five pieces and storage case make which range from arduous effort to in- The for a manageable inviEation to keep Eense concenEration, great frustraEhe instrument protecEed and the Eion and exasperaEion to - I hardly parts togeEher. When we were up visicknow. I maybe conveyed a Iittle i.n my ing John Ewo years ago, he was Ehe opening remarks. I used words abouE first of many we have watched who fumexaltation, about feelings so deep ble around as they experiment trifh Ehat you can barely play the music putting the pieces back in Ehe carryfor the emotion that you feel when you play iE. You cantE use the word 'rfunrr to LOOKING FOR PRODUCTS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY? WE CARRY KNITTEO SHAWLS, SCARVES AND describe the range of feelings which BABY ALANKETS. LEATHER AILLFOLOS I observe in a 5-year-old friend of AND BELTS, HEART-SHAPEO BASKETS ANO MORE, mine who, sometime in the last year OUq SEilO A IONG E decided EhaE she was going co play TAGE. P,O, BOX 60. MONTVATE,VA24122 Ehe violin. She was aLreadv a auiEe

ffi

PLEASE

S A S

FOF

FFEE BROCtsURE

34

ing case, Since then, we have cbserveI several children who musE have decided Eo work triEh the pianica jusE for che fun of taking iE ouE and putEins iE back in iEs case!

- The case makes it not only durable, but aLlows for easy portabiLitv. Our Ewo Dianicas have found hlppy, tempoiary homes inside' outside, and on car Erips. Because it runs on wind power (noE an elecEric keyboard) it can be enjoyed almosE anYtrnere.

Tho

hiooosf

nlrrc

_r ul

!L-' Lrrs

however, has been Ehe amounE of exper-

imenfing it has inviEed, by bofh#

children and adults. Because iE is noE quite like any conventionaL insErumenE, our resiponse Eo iE may Less bounded. One who Ehinks' "I

be

have no one right answer in our mind be

played, then perhaps we are freer or more comfortable - in taking a risk to compose our own momenEs of music.

There it is - the Pianica: a real "EooL" with flexibility, decision-making, personal power' durabitity and uniqueness all builE in...

A couple of years ago, John

for

2) Ask the state Department of Educatjon

to

any laws or regulations pertaining

home-

schooling and/or starting a private school. In some states (particularly CA' iL, IN' KY) there are few regulations concerning private schools and so you can call your horne a school.

If you are concerned about revealing your name and address to the state, do this through a friend.

---

SAXMAN,

2375 E Tropicana #215, Las Vegas

9: Patl74 basebal l , nature, readi n9; Kim/70 reading, writing, music; Ted/76 drawing, 1egos, basebal I ; Nadia/79 writing, rol lerNV 89,l I

skating, biking --- RIEKEN,8231 E Plaza Av, Scottsdale AZ 85253-7349: (gir1s) Forest (8) animals, drawing, dolls; Echo (5) animals,

drawing, bike-riding --- OUNCAN, 753 E Broadway, Cushing 0K 74023: Travis (10) drums, kar-

ate, bikes; Jed (8) guitar, karate, motorcycles; Chelsea (5) music, tumbling, cats --Tom DARLINGTON (7) RR 6, Lachute QUE Canada

getting mail --- Tule McCULLUCII-T9) Star Rt, Ferndale CA 95536; art, reading, travJ8H 3t,J8;

e1

---

FAHEY, RD

2, 0xford

NY 13830: Kateri

('ll ) crafts, flowers; Guadalupe (.l0) flowers,

gardening, animals --- REYN0LDS,520i Hazel Ln, Wake Forest NC 27587: Kacey (.l2) music, writing, cooking; Carey (7) art, Barbie, horalso keep the ljst updated and sell it separmusic --ses; Wi ll (4) repti les, djnosaurs, ately for $l as part of our "Homeschooling (6) Rt 4 Box ,l095, Citra FL Resource List." Some groups have prepared hand- Crystal GRAVOIS 32627:' wildiife, art, Barbies --- MADSEN, 916 books or guidelines on lega1 matters.

Nashvi I le TN 37206: Jesse El la (6) 4) Contact other fam.ilies listed in our Bai ley St,games, drawing, swimming; Annie (5) drawing, Directory. However, they may suggest you do painting, dolls --- Nora SIMMONS ('l0) 130th & some of the above steps yourself.

Archer Av, Lemont lL 60439; horses, reading 5) In general, jt js not wise to start --- Joshua TRUETT (5) 8137 Tyree Rd, |,llhitesby asking your local school-Ti-strjct; they burg GA 30'l85; Construx, Hardy, dinosaurs usually don't know the law either. Better to --- Jesse wILLIAMS (6) 1889 H St Rd, Blaine WA gather the facts f.irst on your own. - DR 98230: trains, drawinq, wiId-Iife --- RYALS'

3) Contact state or local homeschooling groups; we printed this l'ist in GWS #48. We

can'E play the piano" may jusE find himsel'f/herself willing to-sit down to Ehe piani ca ai-il-fresi around. I i we about how the instrurnent mttsC

library or law library (courthouse, law school, etc.) Laws are indexed; try "school attendance" or "education, compulsory." l5 states have revised their home education laws since I982 (seven of thern in I985), so check the recent statute changes. t,]e have printed or summa|ized these new laws in our back issues.

had

us take the office pianica home to see how we al l I iked i t ' [.le have enjoyed it so much lhaE I keeP I think putting off returning it we're going to have to make it a permanent part of our musical life.

The chiLdren especially love the pianica. There seems co be something special about making the thing work by providing the air yourself. Thatrs the way other wind insEruments work too, but the keyboard allows very litcle children to make more of a varictv of sorrnds since it takes Iess coordination than many other instrumenEs. The only disadvantage we have found is thar you can't sing and PlaY at che same time, though Helen (3) can hum and occasionally dances while playing. A year ago lasE summer, Anna (4) insisted Ehat she was playing Bach. When I said, well, it did sound a litELe like Bach, she said, "No, iE is Bach." And when GreEa was only a f6w weeks old, Mark wouLd encertain her by playing the pianica for her so I couLd occasionally sit down at Ehe table and eat with boEh hands.

The really asEounding ching abouE the oianica is EhaE it is virtually indestructible. lE has taken almost every kind of abuse imaginabLe (mostly unintended) and has sEood up to it. Even the tube from the rnouthDiece to the kevboard is still functional though it has been sEretched, twisted, and chewed on. There are a few tiny holes in it but it doesn't seem to maLLer. For children, sLurdiness is a great advanEage. Portable eLectronlc keyboards are available aE good prices now, but they're rather delicate. Our children are generally as careful as they can be with things, but accidenEs haPPen - and wetve found we don'E have to worry abouE Ehe pianica, Even wiEh a piano in the house, tsho nlarli ?A ocf s e qreat deal oi use, lrle recommend it highly.

- MAR.Y VAN DOREN HOWTOGETSTARTED Here are some ways you can find out the 1egal situation in your state, I ) Look up the 1aw yourself, in a public

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69,

---

ADDITIONS TO DIRECTORY

the additions and changes to the last the Directory we have received since 'issue. G|.,|S #48 has the comDlete ,l986 Directory. G}JS #51 has a summary of additions for

'

oenver 80229

ADAMS

(change)

Jefferson

up) -

Connie

Tloy/74;Maggie /77, Ryan/80, Shawn/80)

747 Broadway

St, Fairfield

94533

---

Bob

&

(Stephanie/79, Jennifer/82) KRISLYNN SCHOOL, 2675 B & B Blvd, Merced 95348 --- John & Betty BRINGHURST (Sarah/80, Eenjanin/82, Samuel/84) 760 Park Glen, Martinez 94553 --- Sue & Jim C0LLINS (Katie/78, Annie/ 82, t''laggie/85) 585-35th St, Sacramento 95816 --- Donna & Tom CROSS (Joanna/78) 258 Pamela Dr #53, Mountain View 94040 --- Gina DiLEONARD0 & Brian PAISLEY (Eliot/83) 188]3 Park Tree Ln, Sonoma 95476 (change) --- Cel ia DURMAN (Breean/79) 295 Karel Av, Red Bluff 96080 --Susan

ANDERSON

Judith LOUISE (Danny/78) 7'12 M St, Eureka 9550'l --- John & Ann McCHESNEY-Y0UNG (Daniel/ 82, Amber/86) 2120 9th St, Berkeley 94710 --NORTH SANTA CLARA VALLEY HOMESCHOOLERS.

Julie/84) ---

2l'16-2 Vernal

Brian

WALLEN

is Cir,

WILLIAMS

(Melodie/74, Kirk/77\ Alameda 9450.l

(Katie/80, Annie/83)

HOME EDUCATI0N CLEARINGHOUSE,

Hills

---

Jane

&

CALIF0RNIA

3134 Strol

ling

Rd, Cameron Park 95682 (change) C0 - Conrad.l57, & Diana BISSEL (Jodi/68, Greg/73T P0 Box Guffey 80820-0157 (change) --- C0L0RAD0 HOME EDUCAT0RS'ASSOC, 16801 E I'liff Av #13038, Aurora 80013 --- Troy & Bonnie DAVIS (Heather /74, Bucky/76, Jenny/ GROWING WITHOUI SCHOOLING #53

245 May St,

01602

MI - John & Murjel PALK0 (Simon/76, Loe/ 84) 1sfE Washington, Ionia 48846 (change) --Edward & Janet R0ELLE (Matt/76, Jason/77, Ethanl80) 9300 Warwick l''leadows, .Grand Blanc 48439 M0 - Kathy & Bill ELANCHETTE (Candace/ 85) 30ZO Headland, .l6202, St Char'les 63301 --- HOME LIFE, Box Clayton 63105 --- Tom & Julie 0'DAY (Meghann/79,

Katle/81, Bridget/84)

Armitage, St Louis ti3136 (change) Gwyn PREST0N (Hannah/79, Nahum/81

,

--E)

2215

Dale

&

ias/83,

I

-

;;;ffi-" If

you would

o,"."toR; like to be included in the Directory but

I

I

ADIJLTS:

I

' I I

0RGANIZATI0N (applies only address same as family):

is

if

CHILDREN, NAMES/BIRTHYEARS:

| |

I

have not

yet told us,

form or use a separate postcard or 3x5 card (only one family pei card).

I

Ben

18061 Yosemite Rd, Tuolumne 95379 (change)

Earl & Carol

RIDGLEY (Kim/

,

Apt 2, Worcester

795

Sheraton Dr, Sunnyvale 94087 --- Ronnie & Marsha (Nova/83) FEAR N0-SCH00L, Box 78.l, Lomond 95005 --- Mary Anne & Jim SCHMIDT

(Elaine/76, Melissa/78, Annie/8'],

Craiq & l'larilie

AREA H0MESCHO0LING ORGANiZATI0N,

Jacob/85) 716 Geyer Av, St Louis 63104 (change) Rosemarie & David GRECK (Rosebud/ NH - Mona ANDERSON & Joe K0HLER (Adam/ 82, Optrel'ia/85) 3234 Naylor Dr, Ft Pierce 33482 81, Ryai/84) Box 32, Rt l2A, Surry 03431 --(Ari/ HI - Margy & Lee CAMPBTLL-MARDER Sa11y & Christopher EMBER (Merlyn/80) 284 80, Kii6'/82, lona/85) Star Rt Box 4069, Kea'au |,later St, Keene 0343'l (change) 967 49 NJ - Bob & Liz FETZKO (Holden/85) l0l ID - t"like HUBBELL & Liz CANN0N (Christo- HartfoFil Rd, Moorestown 08057 --- Diane HATpher/7{ Lori/82) Rt 4 Box 617, Bonners Ferry FIEL0, l0l Hartford Rd, Moorestown 08057 83805 --- Mark & Lori |,lILKINS (Carson/80, Bryn Nl,4 - John & Donna BOLAND (Aaron/75, Sara /8'l, Kaitlin/83) Rt 2, Box 797, Grangeville /771 Pt-Box 43, 0cate 87734 (change) 83530 NY - Sheelah CAMBRIDGE & Robin ROE (RobIL - Bruce & Sharon B0YD (Branduin/78, in/82\-214 Sterling P1, Apt. 406, Brooklyn 'l74-A, AuroraTSl, Mariah/84) l32l 4th St, l"loline I I238 --- l"laureen CONt^lAY, Rt I , Box 61265 (change) --- Kathy & Butch KRUCK (Heidj/ Spencer 14883 --- Jeff & Linda DAVIS (Al l ic'ia/ 80, Katie/83, Julje/85) RRI Box 169, Wilming- 82, Robin/86) 20 Fawn Av, Salamanca 14779 --ton 60481 --- Peter & Therese POL (Jessica/8]. Mary & Chri sti an FOKINE (Daniel /81 ) Box I 563, Stetson/83) 9958 S Hill Terrace, Apt 201, Shelter Island 11964 (change) --- Richard & Palos Hills 60465 --- Chuck & Nancy ll0LTtR Lucreti a GABRIEL ( Joseph/78, Adel e/82 ) I 2 Fai r(Christy/80, Charles/82, Stephanie/85) 1550 way Ct, Albany 12208 --- Dennis & Sharon Scottdale Cir. l./heaton 60187 GRIMES (Rebekah/79, Joseph/83) 2806 t"lidland IN - Rex & Gina ECKERT (Abby/80, Holly/ Av, Syracuse 13205-1922 --- Nancy & Gary 82) RRl3 Box 26, |,{alkerton 46574 --- GaiI & HALL0CK (Erica/80, Stephen/83) 4l Tamarack Cindi }JILC0X-CLYDEN (Stacie/72, Sara/78, Josh- Trail, Saratoga Springs .l2866 --- Gretchen & ua/80, Whitney/84) RR 3, Box 232, Veedersburg Bob K0SSACK (Matthew/79, Sam/81) 350 Dodge St, 47987 (change ) Getzville 14068 (change) --- Dan & Monica (Luke/82, lA Richard.|28, & Sharon CARGIN LARIN {Nathan/79) RD I Box 143A, Galway 12074 .-- LOVING EDUCATION AT HOME (LEAH). PO Box --Levi/86-I RR 5 Box Le Mars 51031 Mary DRENTH {Cheryl /72, Dauid/74, Apri 1 /77, James/ 332, Syracuse 13205 (change) --- Floyd & Luci 8l) RR 2 Box 16, Nora Springs 50458 REESER (El izabeth/73, Kristine/74, Catherine/ KS - Janice DAVIES, CAIR PARAVEL SATET77, John/821 RD 3 Box 203, New Berlin l34ll tlTE SCFO0LS, 913-232-9721 --- Bob REAS0NS, --- Joseph & Ilana STEIN (Daniel/82, Vivian/ I4UNCIE CHRISTIAN SCH00L, 230 S 65th, Kansas 84). 76-29 170 St, Flushing 11366 City 661II NC - Rick & Lori HAYES (Jesse/80) Rt 2 LA - Tom & Anna-Maria BRUNO (lsabella/ Box 187[:-A, East Bend 27018 (change) --- Cyd & $) 4lfiSth St, New 0rleans 70124 --- Bob & Sam REYN0LDS (Kacey/74, Carey/79, |^lill/82) Keitha |,lHITAKER (Heather/72, Andy/75, Pippin/ 520'l Hazel Ln, |Jake Forest 27587 --- Will & 76) P0 Box 2965, Slidell 70459 (change) Lori WAGONER (Braelyn/84, Logan/86) P0 Box l"lE - Scott & Mary Beth MORRISON (lsaac/ 443, 0riental 28571 (change) --- Deborah & 74, CaTe6/77, Leah/80) RFD 2 #2404, Farmington Bi I I WRIGHT (Jenny/77, Jonathan/79, Katie/83) 'l 04938 --- Rachel I,IILLIAMS (Jessica/82) RR I, 381 Fiynt Val ey Ct , Wi nston-Sal em 271 04 Box 1072, Kittery 03904 0H - Linda & Mark CLIFTON (Joshua/78, MA - Terry BURCH & Susan 0TT (Jesse/75, Rachel779, Joel /82) 5l 5 Northwood Terr, Hami l Rebecc78O, Jabari/75, Lateef/76) HC 8], Box ton 450i9 --- Chip & Lynne |.IISARD, HOME SCHOOL (change) l0-A, Petersham 0'l366 --- Linda RES0URCE CENTER, 1444 Gurley Av, Akron 443.l0 CANEPARI (Kyle/8'l ) Ed Clark Rd, Colrajn 0.|340 (Wyatt/80, Coral/83) --- Lynda & John --- Katherine & }Jalter DREW (Benjamin/81, Gita 3000 Brice Rd, BoxMcLAIN 85, Brice 43109 /85) 6l Chickatawbut St, Dorchester 02122 --0K - Bill & Jeanne DUNCAN (Travis/76, Rory & Steven MARTIN (Rhys/80, 0liver/83) 60 Jedidiah/78, Chelsea/81) 753 E Broadway, CushCongress St, Salisbury 01950 --- Susan & Bob ing 74023 --- FAMILY LEARNING CONNECTI0N, P0 RATNER {Joshua/76, Shana/79, Micah/81, Dena/ Box l2268,0klahoma City 73157 83) l8 Weston Rd, l^/ellesley 02'l8'l --- Marcja OR - LANE COUNTY LEARNING CONNECTION, WELD & Oon WHETLER (otis/80. Liam/84) RR tA 2557 Klncaid, Eugene 97405 8ox 308A. Shelburne Falls 0'l370 --- |IIORCESTER PA - Linda & Ed FINLEY (Jolene/79, FL

Joe LoNGoRIA (Alisa/74, Adrienne/77, Anthony/ 80) 249 Country Club Dr #7, Simi Va11ey 93065 (change) --- Tom & Kathy PLISKA (Paul /79, Jan-

Av,

---

Manor Rd, Newark

-

& Leah RUIZ (Megan/81) Escondido 92027 CA, North (Zips 94000 &

(John/80, Richard/

Boulder'80302 CT - l'lorgan JENKINS, CoNNECTIC H0MESCHOoLERS,4 Peck Av, West Haven 065]6 DE - Tom & Clare JOHNSON (Tormy/74, Faithf75, Joy/77,.l9702 Hope/84) 2820 Frenchtown

irst half of thiSlE'eF. Our Directory is not a list of all subscribers, but only of ti-ose who ask to be ljsted, so that other GwS reader-l-6F-o-fhEi-Th-tEi: ESted people, may get in touch with them. If you would ljke to be included, please send the entry form or a 3x5 card (one family per card), tlJe prjnt birthyears of children, not agls. If we madE--5-nrfTfdk-e when converting your child's age to birthyear, let us know.

Please tel l us if you would rather have your ohone number and town listed instead of your mal I rno aooress If a name in a GWS story is followed by an abbrevjation in parentheses, that person is jn the Directory (check here, in #48, #51, and in #52). t.Je are happy to forward mail to those whose addresses are not in the Directory (mark the outside of the enveloDe with name/descriptionl-Tssue, and page number).

When you send us an address change for a subscription, please remind us if you are in the Directory, so we can change it here, too.

AL - Linda & Ingo MEYER (Angela/75, John /79\ 916 Pineview Dr, Alexander City 350]0 AZ - Rachel GAI & John PALMER (Uri/82) 3624 N-Forgeus, Tucson 85716 --- Paul & Becky 0LS0N ( Rachel /77, Joshua/80, Amanda/81 , Zachary/82, Micah/85) 7021-A Thunderbird Dr, Tucson 85708 --- Debbie YOUNG & David TAFT (Taiowa/8.l, Drisana/84) 1628 N 24th St, l,1esa AZ 85203 AK - CHRISTlAN HOME EDUCATION FELLOWSHIP (CHEF)-, 20 Morningside, Conway 72032 --- Jim & Linda STEFANOI,{SKI (0ra/80, Adam/83) Box l6l, Tal keetna 99676 CA, South (Zips to 94000) - Daniel & Dawn FERITNT-IJoseph/8'l, Brian/84) 367 N l6th St, Grover City 93433 --- Linda INOUYE & Brad LAU (Katherine/84], 4514 Hal ison St, Torrance 90503 (change) --- Ray & Victoria KIBLER (Jonathan/77, Joanna/83) 1325 N College Av, Claremont 917l 1-3199 (change) --- David & Carol KRAJCAR, 5474 Apricot Ln, Riverside 92506 (change) --- Chuck & Cindy LEWT0N (l4e9an/80) 7957 Shantung Dr, Santee 92011 --- Joannie &

--- td

MARRS

. ,^^r ^ L0ar 5!rr Rt, 0y,5ean/ur, Laney/uJr 5ugar

f

ine/85) 150'l Hile, Long Beach 90804 .l239

{el,

teth

John & Mary

82, Matthew/83, Adam/85) 8611 Faraday St,

Here are

the

---

ADDRESS:

I

I Have been in Directory before: yes No | ,.,u,. i- ^rr-^^- change, ^L--- what was previous | If this is address

state?

send

in this

36

Col

lene/8,], Terralee/84) 792 Hazard Rd, Palmer-

ton lB07l {change) --- Brad & t.ori

H0PKINS

(Zachary/83, Skyler/85) P0 Box 219,511110* 'l7271 --- Kim f:rank LUCER0 (Lyndsay/80, & .l9551

Hill

Mari/83)

RD

-

I

Box

I49,

Robesonia

BURKE & Anne JOHNS0N (Eleanor/82;Catheri nel85 I 51 7 Denny Rd, Col umbi a CAROI.INA FAMILY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION, 29203

SC

Lewis

)

---

Rt 2 Box 17, St Stephen

-

TN

29479

MADSEN (Joshua./70,

Jay & Sandy

Jesse ETla/79, Annie/8.l, BeckyiS5) 916 Bai ley St, Nashvil le 37206 --- Karen & Michael SMITH (Alissa/79, Rhianna/83) Rt 2, Box 279, Decherd 37324 (change) TX - Sill & Suzanne l^IILLISF0RD (Mark/78, Arny/801'Rebekah/85) 57,l0 Derby Ln, Beaumont 77706

-

UT

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY,

Dept of

Independent Study, 205 Harman Continuing Educa-

tion Bldg, Provo

-

VT

84602 VERMONT HOMI SCHOOLERS ASSOCIATION,

P0 Box-T002, Middletown Spgs 05757 (change) VA - Nancy & Gregory GILLES (Jonathan/ Ln, 76, Nathan/79, Br"andon/85) 'l']230 Cranbrook']63, 0akton 22124 --- Peter G0ODMAN, Rt I Box (change) --- Cathy MYtRS, Free Union 22940

OTHER LOCATIONS

St, Falls

P0f'ltRS

Church

Donjka/83) C0NTINUUM EXPERIENCE, Camp Butler' P0 Box 1575, FP0 Seattle |,l|A 987i3-0006 (0kinawa, Japan) --- Clare HARNTY & Stanislaw KLACZANf-fPawel i 84, Stephanie/86) Vastmannag 25l1 , ll3 25 Stockho'lm, Sweden RENEWALS

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ell/82J-946 l0th Av E #5, Seattle

Cheryl & Bruce BISHOP

4ll

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(Emi I

iel80,

--- Larry &

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Matthew/82)

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(change)

---

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PEIDELSTEIN

(Alice/82) 614 Ridge St, Baraboo 539.l3 ---

John & Debbie P0LL0CK (Sarah/79, Aaron/82, Chad/86) Star Rt Box 33A, Durand 54736 t,JY - Steve & Marcia THOM (Cody/78, John/ 82, NicFolas/84) THE M0UNTAIN SCH00L, P0 Box

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t'lACD0UGALL-DELGATTY

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Sage/78,-TiTah/80) Box 242, Cornwall C0A lH0

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ample tel'ls the number of the final issue for the subscrjption. The Jones' s[6-EI!1iE-with Issue #54, the next issue. But if we were to receive their renewal before we sent our final account changes to the mailing house (early December), they would qualify for the free

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Our

tion of

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MARY JONES

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they were printed, and we do not plan to repeat the information in them.

when

rx

(Patty/80, Kristin/83) Rt 1 Box --- ,l028 Larry & Dale YEAGER (Rebec-

ca/77, Da\id/80)

I8

Engr Bde, APO 78]-C-armenr78, Skye/8O) HHC NY 09'l65 (Hanau, Germany) (change) --- Dietmar & Margy l,JALTER (Carrie781, Ingo/84, Steven/86) Finkenweg 14, 731 I Hochdorf, Germany --- Russ & Connie C0LTtN (Chri s/71, ShawnTTtr, Devin/78,

5 FAi r2204?. --- Lisa & Richard ,l25-M,

Madison 22727

HOMESCHOOL NEt,lsLETTER, NSW

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NORTH VA HOI',ITSCHOOIERS NEI^JSLETTER, 30]

mont

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Susannah Sheffer

Office Assistant - Mary.Van Doren Editorja'l Assistant - Mary l'1aher Copyri ght Hol t Assocj ates, Inc. @\ ON

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