GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING 56 Ten years ago John Holt started W ilhout
khmlurg, not knowtng how
Grcuirg
powerful a chord he was to strike in the hearts ofparents; as our prâ‚Źsence shows, lt is a chord that resounds past hts death. It ls true tbat we are stmggling to make ends meet, but they are meeting. Operating our Book and Muslc Store as well as publishingGWS and our otherHolt Associates titles is qulte achallenge nowthat we have more young children among us. Shane (12), Lauren (9 months), and ournew friends, Vincent (5) arrd Celj,a (l5months), take up a lot ofHolfs floor space these days. I wonder if there are any other city offices that have children romping around tJreir parents
and co-workers durtng buskress hours. Our colleagues at work harrc changed several times over the past ten years, but this has never caused GWS to miss an issue. This can be directlv attributed to the efforts of DonnaRichoix, whobegan as associate editor and then took on theJob of edifing GWS, wLrlch she has done
forthe pasteightyears.
What I leamed when I first started vrcrk here is that Donna edited the maJority ofeach issue so thatJohn could spend timeon his lc.cturing, traveling and wridng (she is also the person who tweaked John to get his
ON CHANGE published an exccrpt from John HoIf s essay about AS. Neill, and I want to repeat part ofit here: 'The worst thing that can happen to anygreat pioneerof human thought is forhts ldeas to fall tnto the hands ofdisciples and worshippers, who take the living restless, ever-changing thought of their masterand trv to carve itinto imperishable graniie, so that not aword shall TWo issues ago, we
ever be lost or changed. " At HoltAssoci,ates, we stand inourown pardcularindividual and
collective relation toJohn the pioneer, and howwe interpret that relation elfects howwe
seeourdailywork. Whlle John was publtshtng GWS, clear about style, formatorcontent that he made. ButJohn's legary to us was not only these reasons and policies but trrstin ourown ability to make sense of the homeschoollng movement, the broader issues ofchlldren and society, and how GWS can best present tJeese issues. In condnuing to publish Grourirg Willwrtt Scholing, we are not merely keeping a promise or nphddbg wtatJohn believed; we are taldng those beliefs and runnfngwtth them. GWS ls not merely a monument; lt pulses with living thoughts and concerns. Some months ago, a letter from Nancy Wallace, who ls nowatrporkon a second book, helped focus these thoughts for rne; She said: "I'm ffnding that my book is dweloptqg into a sort of conversadonwith Johnwhere reErsons supported every decision
ardcles ln on time). Donna also organizd open houses, publictty and fundratshg efforts, and manyotherproJects - notto mendon pitchtng h anywhere HoIt Associates needed help when she could take a breatherfrom GWS; she has certainly packed her share ofbook ordersl Donna ls having her firstchild now, and understandabhwants to
WWffi'W.
o
lessen herworkload here. Donna'scomrnitrnent to GWS is such that she can never really leave us, and we are fortunate that she is stayingwith us as Contributing
O F
Editor. yearwe were all so busy wlth our dailywork and addidonal proJects thatwe needed anothercolleague to do some importantwork thatwas betng put on the back burners: editing a book ofJohn Holt's letters and assisting in the production of GWS. My search for the right person wErs a short one. I knew about Susannah Sheffer from her correspondenc'e with John (she first wrote toJohnwhen shewas tn the elghth grade, agreetngwith the ideas in tris books), herworkwith Clonlara's HOME BASED EDUCATION PROGRAM, and herardcles tn and editing of Tle PerrII Sharpner ln Eastem Pennsvlvanla. It ls now almost avear since she mov& to Boston to be wtth us. ihis
(
I-a.st
I'm actuallybuilding on his tdeas oron
discussions thatwe once had, so that I'm almost assuming that if hewas still around he might have said this or might have said that. In otherwords, I'm not letdng him die. I'm notletting himJust stop wtth the things he sarrl but rather tmagtning what he might now. I'm keeplng our conrrcrsadon going." Thts is what GWS has to do. We have to *dnk - for e:<ample - not only about what homeschooling has been but about what lt is becoming. If the movement and its systems of local support are growlng so strong that rnany state newsletters provide the immedi,ate news and encouragement thatwas once available onlyinGWS, we have to thtnkabout howto be somethlng that the local newsletters cannot be, so that readers will flnd both publicatlons valuable . If the rrpvement is "growlng up," so thatweare nowaddresslng the concerns of teenagers as often as those ofyoung children, sâ‚Źry
we have to think about howto malntain thls balance. These and other guesflons continue to invite and challenge us. In thls issue, several wrlters whomwe have admired but whose work does not deal dlrect$ with homeschoollng have responded to our invitaflon to address GWS's sympathedc audlenc.e. Gareth Matthews,
ttrinldng aboutchlldren's art, and Alffe Kohn, looldng at the harm.firl eflects ofexternal reurards, will (I suspect) fi nd our readersi eager to hear their somewhat unorthodoxviews. Readers, in turn, will be able to place
! o
o
E
Homeschooler Briu Bar*er writes about Frursuing adult work outside of insinrticrs in this issue's focus on the older homeschooler, page 25.
is Susannah's flrstcornplete lssue as editor, and I hope you'll agree that herwork shows a healthy respect for our past and exciting direcilons for our fu ture. --- Patrick Farenga
homeschooltng ln the richer conte><t that thesewriters' thoughts about children and societ5r provide. Also ln this tssue, we have built on the tdea of GWS as a "c,onversadon" by gtving contributors a chance to respond to each other be3brepublicatlon, so that readers are able to witness many views at once. Penny and BrlttBarker. fore:<ample - motherand daughter - each address the issues of growing up and findfng meaningful work from their own perspectives; three children comment on each other's experlenc.es with "after- school" classes; parents discuss the feasibility of having a "conflnuum" atdhrde toward household chores. In these and other instances, the feeling of "conversadon" is especially clear. In her letter, Nancy adds: "Ifwe can honestly Gel tbatJohn's work ls ourwork that we are capable of carrying it forward -
thenwe have to trustourselves to make decislons, to carryon." Ifure do something wldch is consistentwith a policyJohn set years ago, it is not "becauseJohn did it that way," butbecausewe too belierrc it is right. Likewise, as we make changes and venture into uncharted territory, it will not be out of disloyalty but rather trust in ourowrl competence and understanding. As John ahvays did, we will contlnue to quesflon, to experiment, to think about whatweVe done, and as always we will need you wlth us. --- Susannah Sheffer
\trIIAT 'S INSIDE: Discussion: Involving Ktds tn Work p. 9- lO ' Irlla Berg on Children's Questlons: p. I I Alfie Kohn & Others onThe Effect of Rewards: p. 19-20 I Gareth Matthews on Children'sArt: p. 21 Penny & Brttt Barker & Nanry Wallace on The Older Homeschooler: p. 25-28 2 Reports: 3-6 === Challenges &Concerrrs: 7-8 ===WatchlngChildren Learn fiellingTtme, karningktters, OlliceAnnouncements: -=News& Writing) : I l- 14 === Bcok& Record Reviews: 15- l8 ===JH, Nanry Plent: 22 ===VisionTtaining: 24 === Resources & Recommendaflons: 30
2
OFFICE NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS STAFF CHANGES Elsa Haas has left to work at a center for autistic children in England after being inspired by thebookBobbg,wrltten by Rachel Pinney, the center's founder. Elsahas turice demonstrated how easy lt ls to create interesting opportunlties for oneself with a little resourcefulness and a few letters: she came to Holt Associates afterwriting us a letter, and was irMted to work at the center in England after a stmilar lnqui4r. We look forurard to hearing her r,eports. Sue MoJica of Frarnlnglramhas taken on Elsa s duties, brlnglng her two children, Vincent (5) and Cella ( I l,/2), rvith her each
Cellallvenup theoflice so that a wrlter from the Xtvisaon "tidiblv *tencb Monitorwith whom I was speaking on the telephone lntermpted, "Do you have ctil.drentJ:.ere?" When I told herwe did, she said, "I think thaf s greaL" Eleanor Straus, comlng; to us after working at the Boston City Hospital, is learnfng the job ofSubscription and OIfice day. Vincentand
Manager so ihat she can be responsible for that part of our operaflon whlle Wendy Baruch assumes more administrative dufles. -SS
TRAVEL DIRECTORY CHANGES HANDS Afterayearof runntng the GWSTRAVEL DIRECTORY, Dick Gallien ts passing it on to HelenHegener (PO Box 218, TonasketWA 98855; 509-684-8955). Because the Hegeneftl own a printlng press - they publish HOME EDUCATION MAGAZINE ANd HOME SCHOOLER S WEEKLY - they plan to turn tl e Travel Directory lnto a small booklet that can be more eastly distributed . In the mearnvhile, ifyou would like to visit homeschoolers, send $2 to Helen for a copy of the current Tranrel Directory. To ho st visitors, send heryourname, address, phone, abrief
self-description, preferences, etc.
SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE: NEWS In the sixweeks slnce thelast GWSwent
to press, we have lald some of the groundwork and collected ideas forour subscription drive. Aswe sald,weneed to hrrnaroundthe gentle downward drift of GWS subscrlpdons ifwe are
everto beon asecure flnancial footlng. Our immedlate goal ts IOOO extra subscriptions by the end oftheyear. In the Ilrst two months of 1987, we had 181 new subscrlpdons and 195 renewals; durlng the same two months of 1986, rpe recetrrcd 225 new subscriptlons and 29O renewals. So we have to make up adeffcttof 139 subscripflons iust to match our performancc lastyear, ln -addiUon to the IOOO extr:awe hope for tl.is vear. Butratlrerthan let these numbers -di,r.ou-g.
rt",
ure
canlet themchallengeus
and remind us to get towork' Hereare some ofthe stePs we have
alreadvtaken: *fue have updated our subscrlPflon records so thatwe lmow howwell we are doing.
f[er
'We havebegun agatn to lnsert theGWS tn t]re tnfo packets and bookorders t]rat
we send from here. (Please pass the extras on to friends.) r We have revlsed the flyer, using the Laserwrlter, to be more eyecatctring. ' We have deslgyred a card and method to send renewal nodces to readers bJore thelr
subJect, and you're good at explaining yourself so many times. You mlght even make some mon€y atwriung ardcles - thouglr I hasten to polrrt out that not errcryJournal pays for material. I asked reader Dtane Campbell (KY), one
clear\rbecauseyoule done lt
ofthosewho had'volunteered to do ocrcasional llbrar5r research for us, to
pull together
subscriptions e4plre.
ofJournals that miglrt be lnterested irt
drive (primartly prindng, postage). 'We are desigyrir4;an lnexpensive dtsplay sign for people represenflnglus at conferences.
parttcularaudience
t We have raised almost $2OOO frrom a few friends to cover the inltlal costs of thts
a
list
arflcles on homeschooling. Please look it overand give serious conslderation towriting for these magazines. It would be best to tailor a piece for a - to
talkabout
rATexas readerran a free ad aboutus in alocalmagazine. ' Kit Finn (VA) has updated the furformation about us on the Compuserve bulletin board network. 'MarsrMaher sent asampleofGWS to author Hugh Pr:ather, who responded with great interest and says he lntends to subscribe. I A readerwrote a "Letter to the Editor" of her local paper about us and included our address, which was publlshed. t Serreralftends haveollered to take our
reladonshtps beturcen school boards and homeschoolers for the Amerlcan School futd JounaL for orample, or how llbrarlans canworkwtth farnilies for School Ubary JanrnoL Of course, lf yo:u are or hatn bena school board member or librarian, theseJournals would be ldeal foryou. But it would bejust as good to be able to report on the issues froma homeschoole/s point of vlew. Ifyou decide to go aheadwiththis, your next step would be to send a query to the publicadon - a one-page letterdescribing the story youwould like to wrtte, tncludirqg a little aboutyour experienc.e and whyyou thlnk tt would be a good story. Ask about any guidelines orrequirements they have for wrlters. Of course ttrls query should be neatly
Iterature to conferences.
tJaped.
I have also been watchtng for simple wavs ourfriends outside the office and across thd country can help publtcize us. Some we have recently heard of:
We need to muldply these small steps by many times to reach ourgoal. We will continue towork on whatwe can do from ttris olfice, but clearlywe need to contirrue to appeal to you, our frlends, to act on our b?:fialf. Give a gift subscrlpdon. Tell a fidend about GWS. Ask your ltbrary to subscribe. Represent us at fatrs and conferenc.es. Write
an-arflcle about us (see story below). We have severalhundrcd recentback lssues ofGWS that were damaged sltgltly by
water last fall when there was a fire upstalrs.
Thql are readable but notqutte of good enough quality to sell. (Anyuray, we can't sell them now because our lnsuranc€ comPany has alreadypaid for thelrrep}accment.) We would be happy to get them out ofour office and lnto the hands of prospecflve subscribers, exccpt that the cost of matltng out stn$e free samples is prohlbitfue, Howerver, if some of - say, minimum of 20 - arrd used them to generate new subscripdons, we muld alford to send them
youwanted theseklquandty
outthatway. Please conflnue to
tellus aboutyour
ldeas and your eftrts to promote GWS, and watch here for more sueg€fl
:n:
Rbhoux
JOURNALS TO WRITE FOR [DR] Serrcral ldeas about our subscrlpflon drlve (see GWS #55) had to do wlth getdng more llbrarles, school admintstrators, teachers, etc. famlliarwith
Maybe someofyouwill refrain from dotng arrythlng about ttris simply becauseyou assume that a lot ofotherGWS readers will.
Don'tl I laroqr frrom e:rperlenc"e that the number ofyou who wtll achrally have the timeand mmmltnrentto see this throughwill be srnall, and weryelfortcounts. Pleasedrop us anote to tell uswhat acflonyou'vetaken.
When you write the actual ardcle, put our name and address ln somewhere as a sourceof furtherinformaflon. Of ourse, you could list other homeschool organlzatlons as well. Someedltors maycut these references but many are happ5r to lnclude thernHereare Diane's suggesdons and cpmments. All of these are ln the ffeld of education: the same ldea mlgfrt work well for related professlons suchas lawand
psychologr:
Anerican Sbhool Board Journal,
1680 Duke St, Alq<andrtaVA 22314: hrbllshes ardcles on awide varle$r of school lssues and seems morethanwllllngto Print
dtfferent polnts ofvtew. Ifs dlrected at school board members, buthasardcles on student lssues, tapping parental talents, etc., as well.
Ghlldhood Educatlon, Assoclaflon for Chtldhood Educatlon Internadonal, I I l4l GeorgiaAve, St, 2OO, Wheaton MD 2O9O2: Features arflcles on many subJects. hrrpose ts to present lssues concerntng tnfancy throu gfr adolescence. Audience seems
matnly teachers and ctunselors.
Inetnrctor, The Instructor
Publlcadons, 7 Bank St, Dansvllle liIY 14437: Seems targeted at teachers and other school
GWS. One inexpensivewa5r to do thlswould be to Aet arucles about us and homeschooling
personnel, but has many general tnterest ar$cles on awhole array ofsubJects.
folks read.
Alto CA 9430 I : Audlence seems much llke that of Instnrctor. Feople generally interested ln educailon would ffnd a lot here. Contains arHcles cridcal ofusingjarggn, bcing too
tn6 the magazines andJournals that these
Wrttlng ardcles for such publlcaflons is somettring lhat manyofyou are crrtainly
quallfied to do. You have experlenc'e, you linowu*rere to flnd lnformatton on the
f.csrntng,
53O
Unlverslty Ave, Palo
"professlonal." GROWTNG WTI}IOUT SCHOOUNG #56
Lcernlql lbden Ubrary-College .dssoclates, Inc., Box956, Norrnan OK 73O7O: Savs ttls based on thetdeathatnrc areall unique, and harrc a rtglrt to derrclop our own
tnterests and abllltles, ard leamlng should be sef-dtrected. Ftrsttssuel plclred up had an
lntervlewwlth John Holtl
f,appn, 8th St ard Unton Bloomtngton IN 47 4O2:, Publlshed by professtonal educaflon fiaterntty. Says tt publlshes "arilcles cpncerned wlth educaflonal research, servlce Phl Dclta
Arrc, Box 789,
and leadershtp; lssues, tnends and pollcles are emphaslzed." Hnclpl' NAESP, l92O r{.seocliaflon Dr, RestonVA2209I: Says ltls "amagazlne, not a scholarlyJourmal. Use plaln Engltsh. .. avotd techntcal terms. Provtde... oramples and anecdotes wtrererrcr posslble. " Also caudons a4lalnst "e<cessftr€" documentatlon.
Schooll,lbnr1rJourad, 2O5 E. 42nd SL IIYNY lOOlT: Seems dlrected rnostly at Itbrarlans, but tsn't exba scholarly or
technlcal Today'r Educetlon' Natlonal &lucaflonr{.ssodaflon, I 2Ol l6th St l{W,
Washtngton DC 2O036: Scems general enouglr, and covers marry subJects. USA Today' Socbty for the Advancement of Educadon, 1860 Broa&ray, NY NY I OO23: Publtshes arttcles under 2O dtlferent categorles each month, and educatlonls one ofthes. ArHcles a.re serlous,
butnot scholar$. Also publlshes ashod 'Newsvled' onc.e a rnonth, whldr contalrs very short pleccs under mar5l categorles, ahrays lncludtng educadon (mlght be about college costs or ldndergarten readiness).
Otlrers whlch sound ltke they mfght be possibtlldes: Indcpcndcnt School, Naf I Assoc. of Independent Schools, lSThemont St, Boston
MA02lO8. Journal ofChlldrco ln Contenporaq/ Soclct5r, The Hatporth Press, Inc, 75 Griswold St, Blnghamton NY
13904. for
Llfclong Lcarnlng, Amerlcan,{,ssoc. and Contlrruln! &lucadon l2O I
Mult
l6thStNW Sutte
23O,
WashingtonDC 2OO36.
Rural Educator, DepL of &lucafl on, Colorado State Universlty, Fort Colllns OH 80523.
CALENDAR Thurs. Mav 14. 1987: Holtr{.ssociates Open House: 'Macturtosh Ntght " wtth gutdes Shane Baruchand GlngerFltzslmmons and farrdly. 6-8 pr+ at ouroltce. Pbone 437- 155O. Sat. rlune 13: Holtrdssoclates annual
plcnlc lnProspectHlll Park, Waltharq MA. Hildng tralls, anlrnal parh treasure hunt, panel dlscussions; beg;tnnlng atnoon. I.et us knowtfyou tlrinkyouwlllattend, and help us pay thecostofrentlngthe sttelfyou are able to {suggested donadon: $ lO per family, $5 per lrdivfdual), For more lnformadon, or lfyou would like to help organjze thls 6/ent, call Wendy Baruch at 6 I 7-,tI17- I 55O. Sat June 2O: Reglonal Homeschooltng Conferenc.e organlzed by Manfred Smnh of the Maryland Home Educadon dssociaflon (3Ol -73O-OO73) tn Columbta" MD. Workshops and display tables all day. Susannah SheIIer wtll lead aworkshop on "ContlnutngJohn
HolfsWork" We are bappy to
run noUces of maJor
homesctrooltng events, but we need plenty of noflce. Deadllne for GWS #57 (ercnts tn July or later) ls May I 5. Deadlfne for GWS #58 (orents ln September or later) ls July 15. GROWING WTIIIOUT SCHOOLING #56
NEWS & REPORTS VISITING HOMESCHOOLERS Jo*phCtoto(MQwltes: IJust ffnfshed bavellngabout TOOO mtles and encpuntered home educators almost e'rrcr5nrhere I went. I tookerery opportunity to lntroduce and rnake lorown to the general publtc thatmy sonswere homeeducated. As has been potnted out by some others, the vast maJorlty of the ctrlldren betng home educated
wererot ofschoolage. I alsomet nranyparentswbo had betn home educadng, and when thelr chlldren
reached l2+, tIe chldten u:orrtd
to
go
b
school l\{y observatlons tn these clrcumstances are that these farnlltes gener:allyfollonred a currlculum, requlred producdon flom thelrchlldren and ln many urays slmpl5r r,epltcated the publtc school system. Well, |f I wele a student at home under these condiflons, I mtght also opt for publtc school. Ifone ls golng to be lnsdtuttonallzed, whynotgowhere the gohgts easler? What I harrc observed ts that the an:dety lorcl ofthe parent(s) largsly determlnes the degree towhichafcrmal strrcture ls used. The more an:det5r, the more stmchrre; ttre more stmcture, the more ltkely the chlldren will be to go to publlc schools. I do hope that others will heed Dtck Gallfen (MN) and others who are larrrnflng the "shortage" ofteenagers amongst home educators and work at provtdlr4lmore contact between and wlth tlrern- Our home ls always open to vlsttors.
Brcrywherelwentand spoke to home educaflng farntlies, I asked the followlng quesUons: How many home educators are onyour SchoolBoard? How many home educators are on the Recreadon Commlttee? How many home educators are on the
LlbraryCommtsston? How many home educators haJe run for or applled for these posldons?
ltreansnrcrwas abtg fatzerotWe tend to forget tlrat we sflll pay taxes to support these facllities, but we do not}tlng to affect them through direct lrrvohremenl Come on, home educatorst Eltherwe act forourown berrefft, or the state wlll act for us. ISS;/Aborrt"Ios
qH s jrs t fint - Jdvt
Hdt wrcte a&out the chM wlo sald, " I$ m gdttg to lrru..z to do all tlr.ds schd. shaff, f d ratlw do X bt scrcrr-" IJ chMtenW us loroto that u:rltklrcdcs, e:datnl dbalficyl" etc. don
t
worh rre shoukl rrrt anstder X an lndirgjion tlvt thetr lwrc schal hasJailed them, b.tt ratter prwJ tlvt chlldren lotrln wFnt ttq
ned ard canteachus pag attentlon
Frcl.u
b
teach
tlea { u:e
RESEARCHER GROWING Morr RoU, uta stafid tlle Home School Researcher {n 7984, wflles wlthrews oJt}e
neatnk s gtutth sbe tlvtt:
The response to HSRwas enthusiasflc and tnterest has been groudngever slnc€. Seneral homeschool hmtlles, home educafl on organlzadons, maste/s students,
doctoral students, and proGssors subscribe and pardctpate. Itls a forum forup-to-date
analysls and revterv ofperdnent research. It also
tsaphce forpeople to publtshwell-
reasoned ardcles on toplcs closely related to home-csrtered learntng. Thtrd, it is an opportuntty for home school researchers to lrrtroduc.e themselrrcs to thereaders inbrief "autobtognaphlcal" or'btographtcal" sketches. These allorvothers to become aware ofwho theyareand to contactthemtf they so deslr,e. As a result of the acflvldes of HSR a numberof things have transplred. F'trst,
numerous home education researchers have become tnformed ofthe many others who
share thelr lrrterests and concerns. This is urcnderfirl because researchers need the most contemporar5l lnformadon arrailable, espectally tn fastgrowtngffelds such as home educatton. Second, the research inforrnation ts readtly arrallable tn a format that is approprtate to researchers (e.g. research methodologfes, statlsflcs, sampling technlques, results). In addtflon, this
lnformadon ls much moredetalled thanwhat ts typtcally found tn brlefneunletter reports or "abstract" forms. Thlrd, an lncrease fur the number of lnteracttng researchers has helped to diawmore researchers tnto the "lnteracdon clrcle."ThIs ls baslcally aresult ofthe "Dtdyou knowaboutBlrdmanwho is at Woodpecker Untver:stgr dotreg a study of XIZABC" phenomenon. Fourth, some informaflon "products" are available through HSR. such as an annotated btbltography, a 57page paper summarlzlng home education researchon home school char.'acteristlcs and learner outcomes, Flfth, and perhaps the mostexciting recent developrrrnt for me, ls that I am now aware that there ls a growtng number of otherthan-educators becomlng irrvolved in home educatlon research. For example, I'm now awar,e ofone soclologfst at each ofthree untrrersldes ln the states ofOhto, Oregonand Toras. (Are tlrere more ofyou? Wrtte soonl) It ls so much
funto sudden!meetsomeoneof
whomlouhad
no prevlous knowledge. So far, I've seen a great deal ofdescrtpdve
data comtng from "sunrey" or "quesflonnaire" type research. Those studles thataddress themselves to a speclllc aspect (e.g. standardlzed achlenement, self-concept) of home educatlon ar€ no\v gro$tlng ln number, and tt ts encouragtng to see these, especially when they harr gpown out of a careful c.onslderadon of prevlous research and a loglcal theoredcal radonale. I would llke to hale more peoplewrtte fcr HSR so that tt represents a wlder spectn-rm of e4perttse and vteupotnt thanitdoes at present. Iwould also like HSRto maintalnits placc as an tndependent source of lnformaHon that can add validity and relabtlity to the overall rcposttory of knowledge relerrant to learnlng tn general, and to homeeducadonln pardcular. Bdad s od,dtess Is HOME *HaOL RESEIIRCHER *lene, Mat]r and. hnputer GROWING WTIIIOI.rI SCHOOUNG #56, Vol. lO No. 2. ISSN #0745-4305. Rrbllshcd tt-monthlyby Holt Assoclatcs, 729 Boylston St, Boston MA 02 l 16.
$2olyr. Datc oflssuc, Aprtl l, 1987. Sccond-class postagepald at BostonMA" POSTMASTER: S€nd
addrcss charqgcs to GWS, 729 Boylston St, Boston
MAOilll6. {)VERTISEF*S: Dcadltnes arc the lSth ofoddnumbcrsd months. Contact Patrick Farengg for newly-rerri*d ratcs.
4 Mucalton Dq aturcnt, @ot State Urfixrsily, eruaIIIs AR 97 33 I : 5O3-754-4
1
5
I
or754-2511.
RESEARCH IN WA. Ftom the Washlngtnt Home xM ResearchR4tort s 7986 aatng, @dttctd W
JonWafte s ulth fuhad, Wheler ard. Henry -Reed as
onsnltants , orld.brbtd@ the
resporrses oj5 3 5 Waslfi1glbn state
lrprntr,schollets:
Summar5rofRcoultr:
Tcat Scorcc: As a group, these 426 homeschoolers lwhose test scories were avallable] scor€d aswel orbetter than thetr peers across the naflon onvlrhrall5l all of the 6 test scales measured by the Stanford ActdevementTest serles thatwere uttlized tn thts research.
Rcaronr for ltroncec,hoollng: The maJor reasons relate to rellglon or phtlosophy, a deslre to avold peer pressure,
a
preference for greater parent/child relaflonshtp, and the facilttadon ofstudent self-conllderrce,
Gencrel Ilcrcrlptlvc Inforurtlon: The typtcal honescnoomg famlty ls a twoparent famJlywhere the parents are somewhat aborrc average tn the lercl of thetr owneducaflon ISS: 1.e,, schooltrgl and make conslderable use of @rnmuntty resoulc€s ln educattng thetr ctrtldren. The typlcal student is age 8- I I , has been homeschooled I -3 years, and spends amedtanof 1 l-lShoursaweek involved ln "formal schooltng. "
Soclalbatlon: This evldenc.e
[pmvtded te the sunrcyl suggests that homeschoolers are not belng soctally tsolated.
Relctlng to Prlvatc Educadon: Homeschooltng ls not a consequence of the tnabtltty to alforrd private schoollng. Among homeschoolers, former prlrrate school students appear to be proporflonally overrepresented compa.red to formerpubllc school
students.
Rclrtlot to Rrbllc Edrrcstlon:
There ls
homechoolerlnterest ln support
publlc school dlstrtcts but lt lnvolves a Hnd irf relaUonstrtp and servlcc whtctr ls difierent from the connenflonal classroom.
appear to be related to flnances.
Some people have malntalned that tlle homeschmling phenomenon ls a reJecdon of
the publlc school system, Tlds datasuggests a wlder range of ttrlnklng. The answer rnay depend, tn part, upon honrthe publlc schools choose to respond. Fl,om the ear[er dlscusslon on reasons for horneschoollng (wherc on$r one of tlre top se1rcn reasons related to religlon or plrtlosophy), tt appears clear that homeschooltng is a reJecflon of the convendonal (publlc orprhrate school) classroomwith tts large numbers of students and 5-6 hourschool day... 14% of the sample lndlcated tnterest ln part-tlme enmllrnent ln a tradtflonal publtc school program and an addtdo r:al 2@h expressed interest ln part-ttme enrcllment ln a publtc school programdestgned for homeschoolers. 59% ofthe respondents gave favorable responses to educatlonal supportservlces on a rrutdnllg agreeaHe basis between homeschool pa.rents and the dtstrtct. An addtdonal 29% were undeclded (thus only I 2% were opposed to worldng wtth the publtc
schoolsystem). Thts data suggests that for sorr€ number, homeschoollng may not be as rrmch an ouMght reJecdonof the publtc schools as ltts an lnterest in a different ldnd of relaflonstrip and dtfierent hnd of seMce. Thls research dtd not ocarnlne further tlre ldnds of services that mlghtbe irrvolved: thts would be a topic for dtnect dtalogue betureen school dlstrlcts and thelr homeschoolers. Itts tnteresdng to note that one aspect of current thlnking on educaflonal reform ls to create more parent tnvolrrcmerrt ln tbe educaflon of their ctrildren. Homescboolers agreet It would appear that homeschml-
publlc schoolcooperaflon ls aferdle areafor creatlve exploration. The
jiltailg
anflet4 82-pqe rqot trrr/irtdes a oJtle 1 12 sutny qtestlons and
costs $ I O. 71e obbefutd rqut Is 26 pages, Is tdenfrc aI to the Jtrll rcpft ercpt that x ofifts tle talg, and osts $5. Mh ote ansallaHeJrom,-bnWaftes, 1 6 1 Og NE 1 69 H"
WdIruilleWA9&72,
fr,om
Otler ercrptsJrom tle rcpatThere tras been speculaflon aboutthe lmpact of homeschooling on tr:adtdonal publlc and prlvate schools. Of those homeschool students ln tlrts samplewhowere prevlously ln a publlc or prlrrate school, 69% had becn tn apubltc school and 3 l% ln a prlvate sdrool. Itunuld appear that publtc schools are bslng sorn€rr*rat o\rcr hvlce as marSr students to homeschooltng compared to the prtnate schools. HoyEvcr, when one constders that on} 8+% ofWashlngton shrdents are enrolled fn prfiate schools (lncludtng an adJustment for unapproved schoolg), the loss to prtvate educatlon ls almost four tlmes whatwould normally be expected, Therewas no dlfferencc between privious publlc school students and prerrtous irtrrate scl\ool shrdents on thequestlon of whetherthe tnabtlt$r to alford aprtvate school was a factor tn choostng to homeschool. Thus, thts data suggests that privaG schools are loslng proporHonally more enrollment to homeschoollng than are the publlc schools and the reason does not
HARVARD DROPS GMAT nns 8/ 12/ 85 WI story hncduP inotr t/s stdlc g .emrryleoJapres@Ia.ts schd daldtng tlnt te sthg doclsn t nwsure
..files;
uluttheyneedtolovw:
The Harrrard Bustness School has become the first maJor buslress school to drop the Graduate l\fanagementAdmisslons TesL 'Therels no relationshlp between someone's abilit5r to perform urcll on a standardtzed cstand to Performasa manager," John H. Lynch, a Harrrard Buslness &hool asststant dean and Dtrector of
admlsslons, told ?18BostonGlobe"'Thetr standardlzed tests' sctores ar€ not helpfirl to us tn selecttng from a pool of hfgfly talented applfcants, those tndMduals wejudge to have the potenflal to become outstandinggeneral mana€prs.i'
...Wthoutthe tests to chooselts MBA classes, Hanrard wlll conttnue to re$ on lts exhaustive appllcaflon, lncludlng some lO essay questions and sald to requlre up to IOO hours to complete.
I\EWS FROM OYERSEAS Anrtrallr The Honeschd Newsletter, published tn Nenr South Wales, reports tlnt the pa.ssage of a new compulsory attendance larv rnakes tt harder forAustralian homeschoolers to galnexemptions, The new law states that the Minlster "may granta
cerdficate exernpdng a child from attendance at a school...if the Mintster is satisfied (a) that the cblld re.cefues approprlate regular and eflctent lnstnrcflon at home; or (b) that condldorrs qdstwhtch make lt necessary or deslrable that such a certiffcate should be granted."The old Lawdid notsay thatthe Mnister "mag granf' an exempflon, but
rather that a "good deGnse against prosecuflon" ofa familywould be the fact that he had granted them one already. Familleswho are refused an exemption, under the new law, must put thelr clrildren in school or pay a flne of$SOO; those wlshing to appeal may do so only through aboard with three members, all appointed by the Minister. In the old law, as quoted above, simply having been granted an exempflon was "good defense": lturas not necessary to go before an Appeals Boarrd. ' In tlre Horne sclwlNewsletter, Jo-Anne Belrnewrltes that homeschoolers went to the Parliament House to Protest" gave radlo lrrtergiews and wrote letters, but were unable to prerrcntthe passage of this law.
'
Gcrmany: This issue of the Honeschd Netosletteralso prlnts a letter from Bernard Bartmann, the German fatherwho had been taken to the Supreme Court and subsequent Jailed for failfng to send h,is son to school, to GWS reader Margr Walter, who had wdtten about the Bartrnann family's case in GWS #53. Bernard urites that he emigrated to Australia ln December of I 986, and ls now working from outslde Germany to start a "people's morrcment" agalnst compulsory schooling.
STATE NEWS Fq addte s * s oJ state ard. IrcaI oryad' zafuns, se GWS * 54 q a.r Honesclwltng .tlesonre IJsd amilable Ju $ 1.
Arlanssrl HouseBill lO88 passed in House and Senateand is awaitingthe gorremof s slgnahrre at GWS pr€ss dme, ac.cordtng to Tom Hollman and Richard Zldckof tlre ARKANSAS CHRISTIAN HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. The bill allows homeschoolers to submit a "rnld-year letter of tntenf in December, prcviding another Ore
option to the August I 5th notification deadlfure requtled under the current Law. Lobbying elforts of homeschoolers helped delbat Senate Bill 4O6, wtrichurculd have required homeschool parents to have a htgh school diploma and take an academic slrdlls test, lowered the compulsory school age to 6, and mandated that testtag of homeschool shrdents be conducted at the public school which thry would be attending.
Cdifornb: In GWS #55, we reported that tlre Alarrreda Count5r Counsel had proposed a revtslon ofthe state Educadon Codewhich would have eliminated "home lnstruction of a mlnor pupil' entirely. The January/Februar5l lssue of the Northem
C alifqnia Home sclwl As sriation Neurs noli reports that homeschoolers lobbied the
assemblymanwho had beenasked to sponsor this bill and succeeded in persuading hlm not GROWING WTTHOUT SCHOOLING #56
5 to sponsor it. Northern Caltfornla homeschoolers have appointed an
"lnterim
board" toworkwith the statewldecoalldon so thattheywill be readyto oppose this bill ifit ever i:sintroduced.
Iowa:TheIOWAIOBBYFt)R
CONSTITUfl ONAL LIBERfiY reports that homeschoolers drafted abtllwhtchwas
introduced in the1987legtslattue sesslon. The bill would make "private lnstruction" explicitly legal, with requlrements for parents to submitevldence of lnstrucflon ln various subjects and agree to standardtzed testing under condldons acceptable to both the family and the school. One section of the bill allows a chtld rec'eMng prirrate instrucdon "dual enrollmenf' ln a publlc or approved nonpubltc school. Magsachuaetts: An arttcle tn the Boston Heral4 3 / 6 / ST,said, "Superintendent l-avalWilsonyesterday proposed a plan that would force Boston parents to send 4- and 5year-olds to mandatoryldndergarten - or have them barred from elementar5r school. The proposal drewtmmediate applause from the Citvwide Parents Council, but brickbats from the teachers' union head.. . Under the
proposal... all students threeyears and nine months old and oldervould be requtred to attend special'early learnlng centers' separate from regular elementar5r schools... Students would not be permitted to move on to
unfllthey passed a reading test."This proposal directly contradicts the recent findings ofthe clty's EarlyChrldhood Task Force, which recommended that the compulsory school age be radse4 not lourcred. Rep. william Flynn of Hanover has introduced House Btll9OT which proposes that no school employee shall be liable for damages in any lawsuitregardinga decision authorizinga home educaflon program. There was no testimony, pro or con, at a hearing 3/ L2, andalegislativeaide says thatasimilar bill received an unfavorable report from the Education Committee lastyear. She pointed out that the law alreadyprotercts public the second grade
employees from liability regarding dectsions made ln good faith in the course of theirJobs. Louise Taylor says that a new group, tle MASS. HOMESCHOOLERS COALITION, is forming a phone tree. To participate, contact
David Marquis at529-6977 Minncrota: House Bill 432 was voted out of the House klucaflonCommittee on March I I th and will now be debated on the House floor, accorrding to the &lucational Freedom Fund's telephone hotllne. Marry homeschoolers testtfled at the hearingon behalf of the bill, whichwould require homeschoolers to subrnit quarterly reports to their superintendents and choose between providing themwith the children's records or agreeing to home visits.
Nebraska: Homeschooler Rose Yonekura tells us that abillwhichwould eliminate the homeschoolingopdon has been introduced this session, butbecause itis not scheduled to come up undl the end of the session, homeschoolers suspect that there will be no time to vote on it. Mearrwhile, at a meeting on March6th the Board ofEducation voted to require theCount5r Superintendents to visit homeschooling families errcry four months and homeschoolingparents to send in monthly "test PaPers" lneach subjectarea. Rose said that the tests are meant to be familydesigned, not standardized, and that horneschoolers are notyet certain about the purpose of the superintendent'svisits, but they plan to lile a class acdon suit against the Board ofEducation. GROWING WTIHOUT SCHOOLING #56
North Dalotr: House Btll 1523 lostby one vote on Februar5r l9th, acconding to the newsletterof the NORIH DAKCYf,A HOMESCHOOLASSOCIATION. The btllwould haveallorred parents to qualifyas homeschoolers through one of three means: ( I) bV becomtng a "qualllled krstructor" (obtaining a teaclrtng oerdflcate, ora bachelot's degpee, orpasslng a teacher prollciency o<am); (2) by demonstratlng the studenf s "performance" uslng a standardized achievement test; or (3) by taldng thetr currlculumto the school dlstrlct, county superlntendent or Departrnent of Publlc Instrucflon for approwal. Senate Btll25z16, tntroduccd thls session but notyetrrcted on, would permlt the local school distrlct to receive ald based on a home school c.ensus. Parents, ln turn, could enrcll theirchild lnarry schml course if 30 days prior notice were $ven.
Rhodc Island: The JanuarSr/February
lssue of ?|reHorne Schod-CourtReprt published by the HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCLATION, reports that last Auqust the State Commtssloner of Educadon "reversed the declslon of the Klnstedt hmily's Iocal school distrlct, who dlsapproved the family's horrrc schoolbecause they refused to submit to periodic'horrrvisits'by the public school personnel." In tris formalwritten opinion, the Cornmtssloner sald, "lnvierv of legal and consfltudonal consldenatlons, we are unable to percelrrc any raflonale whereby a home vlsltatlon rcquirement upuld be Justiflable under ctrcumstances such as those
which are here prcâ‚Źnt'" Tennerccc: Suzy Dodd of
HOMESCHOOUNG FAMILIES tells us that next year the State Department of Education plans to allocate funds to local school districts for the administradon of the Basic Sldlls test required of all homeschoolers. In previous years, homeschoolers have taken this test at regional test centerswlth other homeschoolers. Suzy says that homeschoolers plan to oppose thls swltch on the grounds thatchildrenwill Gel less cornfortable taking the test in an unfamilhr classroom. Washln8iton: Homeschooler Peggr Renish has c.ompiled an extenslve "Home Educator's Resource Gulde forWashlngfon State. " The Guide contalns llsdngs for "learning centers, nesource oenters, homeI'currlculums," based extension prograuns,'t "children's magazlnes," "catalogs, games, and educaflonal alds" as well as secflons on "the lad' and "philosophy, rnethodologr and inspiration." Looks quite useful for local residents. Add ress is Rt I Box I 2 I , Elma WA
98541.
Weat Vlrginla: Wally Purdy of ALTERNATIVES IN EDUCATION says that HB 2781 has passed in the House and ts pending before the Senate at GWS's press dme. He says the purpose of the bil is to take authorlty for appioving homeschooling out of the harids of the local superintendents by permitting a
superintendent to deny a family's y nofiffcation of intent tdhome*-fro"t "tty he orshecan present "clearand convinclng evidence of educatlonal ne$ect." The bill also requlres superintendents to provtde families with resources avallable to children ln schools, such as textbooks or permisslon to attend a pardcular class. Wlaconeln: The Home Neft.uork Neurs reports that the WsconsinAssoclation of School Boards passed its resoluilon to seek legisladon requiring the Departrrrnt of Public Instrr.cdon to reviewand aPprove
home-based prlrate educational programs (see CWS #55). Members of theWISCONSIN PARENTS ASSOCIATION had worked hard to prerrent ttrls passage and attrlbute to their elforts the fact that more than a thlrd of the school board members voted agalnst the resoluflon. The DPI does notharrc to heed the WASB resolutlon, so homeschoolers will use the opportunlty to oorMnc'e legtslators of the wlsdom of favorable homeschool legislation.
MASS. COIJRT RIJLING Ong /2 / e7, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts lssued a22-page rullngtn the case of the Moskos famtly of Canton (see GWS #54), remandtng the matterback to the Dtstrlct Court and gtvlng some guidellnes about how homeschool cases should be handled. We quote frrom the declslon at some length, not only for Massachusetts readers but also for those lre the many other states where homeschool declstons arc madeat the locallevel. For a fr,ee copy of the full declston, c-ontact the Reporter of Declstons, SJC, l4O7 NewCourthouse, Boston MA O2LOa: 6fi -7258O74. Ask for"Careand Protecdon ofCharles & others" - the case used a ffcfltlous name
because lt lrvohrcd J uvenlles.
Fmmtherultng
Consdtuuonallqf. ,..The parents argue that G.L. c.76, S. l, isconsdtudondlydeflclent due tovagueness because ltfalls to provide ar5r standards forthe approwalofa homeschool proposalor to provlde a
procrdure through wtrich this determlnatlon canbernade. ..,1n Wanen v, Hazndous Waste Facility Stte SeQ burrd, we determtned that "[al detalled spectffcatlon of standards ls not requtred" tn orderthat a statutewithstand our scrutlny agalnst such a clalm. Indeed, we concluded that standards not expressly provtded formaybe found tnthe statute's necessar5r tmphcattrons. 'The purpose, to a substandal degree, sets the standards." The purpose ofG.L. c. 76, S. l, ls to ensure that "all the chlldren shall be educated...." In order to ellectuate ttris purpose, the kgislature has provtded a comprehenslve statutory scheme settlnf tlre standards for the education of the State'-youth, Thts statutory scheme lncludes standards... concerntng the subJects that must be taught in public schools and the requlrements for teacher qualiflcafl ons. lFootnote:l 'Such schools shall be taught by teachers ofcompetentabilny and good morals, and shall gpe instructlon and training in orthography, râ‚Źading wriflng, the English language and grammar, geography, drawtng, muslc, the history and consdtution of the United States, tlre duties ofcittzenship, health educadon, physical education and good behavior." [End footnotel I\rrthermore, G.L. c.76, S. I, specifically provtdes that "For the purposes of thls secuon, school cpmmtttees shall approve a private schoolwhen sadslled that the instrucdon tn all the studles rcqulred by law equals ln thorougtrness and e$ciency, and in tht progress made thereln, that tn the public schools ln the same town; but shall not withhold such approval on acrount of religious teactrlng... " Our readtng of thls statute tndicates that the tegislature intended that theapprowal ofa