GROWING WITHOIJT SCHOOLING 69 x
WeVe devoted a lot of space ln recent issues of GWS to the question of communitlr - what ts tt, how can we lind or make it, what would we want it to a be like lf we could have it? For this issue, we decided to take the discussion d one step further and ask, 'How can we make our communitles - the ones we o have and live in right now - more welcoming of and accessible to children? What sorts of changes might we actually consider making?" In inviting several readers to think about these questions, I gave them explicit permisslon to be speculaUve, wishful - to write about what they would like to see happen even if they could not always see how to make it happen. This is unusual for GWS; we tend to be stron$y biased in favor of storles of what has happend., what people have tried or done or experienced. But the departure from this blas was deliberate. GWS reader Peter Making our communtdes more welcomlng to children is the subject of thls l*sue's Focus, pages Bergson, who has for many years helped adults recover and children t9-22. maintain thelr creaflve problem-solvtng abtlities, says that the htstory of inventlveness, of creativitSr, shows that trt. ly new and workable ideas come INSIDE THIS ISSUE: to people only after they have allowed themselves this kind of wishing. To invent something new, we have to be able to think in farfetched, even crazy NEWS & REPORTS p. 2-a terms, to say, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could have something like this?" We Victory ln North Dakota, The Right wouldn't have airplanes if people hadn't been able to say, "Imagine someto Participate ln AcUviUes, Homething that would allow us to get from place to place bylyfngl" - which must schooling "Challenged" Children have seemed a pretty far out idea at the time. Of course, really making change does very deflnitely lnvolve thinking CFIALLENGES & CONCERNS p. 5-7 about how to put ldeas tnto practice. We can't generate ltsts of wild ideas and then stop there. But we can't get anywhere untrl we generate those lists, Doesn't Mind Isolatlon, Inquiring so with this issue of GWS we're taking the first step toward thinldng about Adults, Wanting School, When how to make accessible, welcoming communities for children and, by Mother ls lll extension, families. And in fact, even within the context of these wish lists, WATCHING CHILDREN LEARN the writers in this issue have come up with many practical ldeas about what we can do to make those wishes real. Sometimes they offer o<amples of p. 8-l I what has already been done as well. History, Museum Volunteers, AdvanA few words about why we spend so much time talking about commutages of Being an Older Reader, nity in a magazine that's ostensibly about education. John Holt wrote in Spelling, Becoming a Writer 1971: 'l do not think we can treat as separate the quality of education and the qualtty of life in general... I am saying that truly good education in a bad LEARNING FROM CHILDREN'S societ5r is a contradiction in terms. In short, ln a society that is absurd, unPLAY p.1l-12 workable, wasteful, destructtve, secretlve, coercive, monopolistic, and generally anti-human, we could never have good education, no matter what RETHINKING''SCHLEPPING kind of schools the powers that be permit, because it is not the educators or CHILDRENAROUND" p. 12 the schools but the whole societ5r and the quality of life in lt that really educate. This means that whatever we do to improve the quality of life, for anyone, and in whatever part of his life, to that degree improves education... CHILDREN IN THE WORKPI.A,CE The best and perhaps only way to prepare the young to work for a better p.12 world is to invite them, right now, to join us in working for it. We cannot say, "\Me will concentrate our efforts on maldng nice schools for you, and after FOCUS: MAKING COMMUNITIES you get out goucan tackle the toughJob of remaking the world.' ...What WELCOMING TO CHILDREN p. relpeople] need above all else is a society in which they are to the greatest 22 possible degree free and encouraged to look, ask, think, choose and act; and... making this society ls both the chief soctal or polittcal artd educaLTVING WELL WITH CHILDREN : tional task of our time.' INTERMEW WTIH MARC McGARRY If society as a whole is what educates, we cannot think about working p.22-23 for better education without thinking about working for better communities in which to live, work, play, teach, and leam. In a way, this makes the task OLDERHOMESCHOOLERS p. 2a seem blgger, more tmposlng. But defining it thts way also gives us a great range of possible courses of action, a great many things we can actually do. HOTWADULTS LEARN p.25 Of the many possible ways to work "in the field of education,' I suspect that working for stronger communities will be not only the most effective but GEORGE DENNISON ON FREEDOM also the most satisSing. Susannah Sheffer
p.25
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2
OFFICE NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS [SS:l Merloyd l^awrence tells us that her collection of John Holt's writing about
young children learning, now dtled Learnbtg AU
Tle
?trne,
will be out this fall.
Addison Wesley's tentatlve publicadon date ls November 1989. Merlovd has done an impr€sslve Job of maklng d book out of these varlous pleces of writing (many of
which were llrst publtshed in GWS). Ohio State Universlty Press will then bring out the collectlon I've been editing, Life Worth Uuing: Sebcted Letters oJ Jotn HoLL In the spring of 1990. Since our last lssue went to press, we've had some nice publtctty - a couple of good articles in local newspapers, which led to an invltadon to speak on a radio show and several lnquirles about homeschooling and our work. Pat Farenga spoke at the CONNECTICUT I{OMESCHOOLERS ASSOCIATION conference on April 29th, and I led workshops at the MARYI.^AND HOME EDUCATION ASSO. CIATION conference on Aprtl lSth, where I was able to see many GWS friends. The MHEA conference, organlzed by Manfred
Smith, successfully incorporates workshops for chtldren lnto lts program each
books, and we don't want to lose these people, so please conslder helptng us by asldng us for address labels and then putting them in your library's copies of
the books. Massachusetts reader Daphne Slocombe writes: "l would like to stmngly recommend to anyone who ls dtthertng about whether to buy the back lssues of GWS to gettlern They are irrvaluable. Most of the material ls not in the least out of date, and won't be ln the future -
get together the money for the back issues,
but l'm so glad we did." Excellent advice we couldn't harre said lt better ourselvesl
NEWS & REPORTS VICTORY IN NORTH DAKOTA On April 7th the govemor of North Dakota signed House Bill l42l tnto law, making lt possible for parents who are not certified teachers to homeschool there. North Dakota had been one of the three
states that requtred homeschoolLng par-
ents to be certlfied teachers, but ln rec€nt months the requirement was suspended ln the other two states, Mtchigan and lowa (see GWS #67, #6ar, and with the passage of North Dakota's HB l42l there is now no state with this requirement. (But this could change - see Minnesota news, this issue).
yea4 others lnterested in organizing that llnd of event might want to use this
The new law, whlch will go into ellect on July l, says that a parent ts qualifled to supeMse a program of home-based
conference as one model. We appreclate the inquiries about posslble spealdng engagements that weVe received as a result of our mentlon of this tn GWS #67. We hope that stlll others of you will take us up on this as well, We were lucky to have the very valuable help of Kim Kopel (MO) in the olllce for a week tn Aprtl. Klm had never
"the parent is certifled or certl8able to teach ln North Dakota: has a htgh school education or has received a general educational development certillcate [GED] and ls supervtsed by a certillcated teacher employed either by the public school dlstrlct in which the parent resides or, lf
worked ln any lidnd of ofllce before helping out in ours, and her week here made her think that she might ltke to do this sort of work ln the future - another reminder of how important it ts for young people to have a chance to see adult work from the lnside. Several ofyou seem to be using GWS to make connectlons wlth others these days, which is always very graurying to see, We've been forwardtr:rg a lot of letters, passing on a lot ofresponses, helptng people get ln touch with one another. Beth Kaseman (WI) wrttes about the Focus on "What Teens Want From Adults" tn GWS #68: "We, as homeschooled teens, are a small number of people, but we seem to share a lot, and it's gr€at to read each othet's stories tn GWS.- Communlties aren't always made up of people who are all in one place. A plea from the Directory department: If you're enterlng your name into the Directory, please take care to fill out the enthe form. We're getting entries that give the parents' llrst names but not last nEunes, or street addresses wlthout the city, state, and zip code. Sometlmes we're able to look thls information up, but it takes tlme. Other tlmes we have no way of looking it up at all. We sttll have many labels with our new address available for sticking in copies of John Holt's books in local libraries. We get qulte a few inquiries from people who have read John's earlier
wonderful stuff about how people (of any age) leam, soclallzatlon, approaches to dlflerent specl{Ic subJects, use oftelevision vs. dolng wlthout, choosing work, and so on. Best of all are the lmages of the lives of homeschooling families. Often these famllles have evolved an unusual, lvely, healthy unity of learnlng, work, frlendshtps, and play. It was hard for us to
instrucdon if
requested by the parent, by a state-
approved private or parochial school; or has passed the national teacher exam glven in North Dakota, or in any other state lf North Dakota does not offer such a
test.' The NORTH DAKoTA HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION comments that there ls no definition of "certlllable" in the law.
The law requlres homeschooling parents to teach the state's required subJects at least four hours a day, I 75 days a year, Parents must keep an annual record of the courses the child has taken, academlc progress made, and any standardized tests results. Parents lile an annual statement of lntent with their local superintendent at least thirty days before the beginntng of the semester during whtch the family plans to homeschool, The statement must include the names and addresses of the parents and chlldren, the chlldren's blrth dates and grade levels,
'the lntentlon of the parent to supeMse home-based instrucdon," the parent's
qualilications, a list of courses or extracurricular acdvitles in the public school district in whlch the child will pardclpate, and an oath or alfirmadon that the parent will comply with the provislons of the law. Annual standardlzed testing ls also required. From the law: "A standardized achievement test
used by the school district tn which the child resides or, ifrequested by the parent, a standardized achievement test used by a state-approved private or parochial school must be g;iven annually to each chlld receivtng home-based lnstruction. The test must be given ln the child's leamlng environment and must be adminlstered by a ccrttfled teacher employed by the public school dlstrict ln which the parent resides or, if requested by the parent, employed by a state-approved private or parochial school. The cost of such testlng must be bome by the local school district ln which the child resides if the test is administered by a c'ertified teacher employed by a publtc school distdct or by the parent of the chtld lf the test ls administered by a certllled teacher employed by a state-approved Prlvate or parochial school. Results of such testing must be provtded to the local public school
superlntendent. 'If a chtld's baslc composlte score on a standardized achlevement test falls below the thtrtteth percentile nationally, the child must be professionally evaluated for a potentlal learntng problem. If the multidisciplinary €rsisessment team erraluatlon determines that the child is not handicapped accordlng to the eligibility criteria of the department of public lnstruction and the child does not require speciallydestgned lnstruction according to the rules adopted by the department of public tnstruction, lthe Parent rnay contlnue to homeschooll, upon flltng with the superintendent of publlc lnstruction a statement, from an approprtately licensed professional, that the child is currently maldng reasonable academlc progress..." Parents who don't llle that statement cases won't be homeschooling
in such
legally. If the 'multidisclplinary assess- ment team" does determlne that the child in quesdon is handlcapped, 'but not dwelopmentally disabled,' the parent may contlnue to homeschool if he or she flles an "indlvidualized education program plan, forumulated wlthln rules idopt6d by the department of public tnstrucdon, tndtcadng that the child's needs for speclal educatlon are being appropriately addressed by persons qudilted to provide special education or related seMces.' F)nally, if a local superintendent determines that a child ls not'rrlaking reasonable academic Progress consistent
wtth the chlld's age or state o[ development," the parent must be notllled of this conclusion and the basis for tt, and the parent must "make a good liaith effort to
GROWING WITFIOUT SCHOOLING #69
3 remedy any deflclency.' Fatlure to make thls effort constltutes a violation of the
law.
The lawalso has a clause about state aid which may lnterest those ln other states: 'For purposes ofallocatlng foundation aid and other state asslstance to local school dlstrlcts, students recetvlng homebased instruction shall be deemcd enrolled tn the school dlstrlct ln which they restde lf the student ls supervlsed by a certillcated teacher employed by the pubItc school dtstrtct ln whtch the parent
resldes.' Clinton Birst of the NDHSA tells us that sevenal factors contrtbuted to the passage of the btlt nadonal publicity gliven to homeschooling court cases in the state and attempts to deny homeschooled chlldren the rtght to partlclpate in the state spelllng bee; support from homeschoolers at a rally on February 28th; effectlve testlmony from Joyce Swann, a homeschoollng mother of ten wlth only a ltgh school educadon, and Carl Flnboe, former presldent of the Washlngton Educa6on Assoclatlon, whose testimony was about the academlc performance o[ homeschoolers; pressure from the Home School kgal Defense Associatloni legislators' concem about flnes that had been imposed on homeschooling famlltes; the fact that the Attomey General's o{Ilce drafted the origtnal version of HB l42l; and the lobbytng elTorts of homeschoolers. Readers wantlng more detailed informadon should wrlte or call the NDHSA, PO Box 539,
T\rrtle l"ake ND 58575: 70 l -
448-9r93.
MANDATORY KINDERGAR. TEN IN ARKANSAS The February-March lssue of LJpdate, the newsletter of the ARKANSAS CHRISTTAN HOME EDUCATTON ASSOCIATION. reports that homeschoolers were unable io defeat two ldendcal bills making klndergarten rnandatory ln Arkansas, The bills
passd, and the new law lowers the compulsory school age lnArkansas lrom 7 to 5. Parents who choose not to send their
chtldren to klndergarten at age 5 must sign a walver wtth thetr local school dlstrtct, and chtldren who turn 6 on or belore October lst of a glven year will be waluated (by the school dtstrict) to see whether they should attend kindergarten or llrst grade. Tom Hollman of the ACHEA writes that it is not yet clear what that last clause wlll mean for homeschoolers. Thev are particularly concemed about whe[her it will allect the part of the current homeschool law which says that homeschoolers do not have to be tested unfll age 7.
INDEPENDENT STUDY IN CA Ellzabeth Hamill wrote In the April/
May tssue of the NoRTIIERN CALIFORNIA HOMESCHOOL ASSOCIATION Neurs: 'Homeschool Independent Study Pro-
grams (lSPs) cpnducted by publtc school dtstrlcts tn Californla are ln lmmediate danger of betng ellmtnated by the governor's budget next year. In a reaction to perc€lvd mlsuse of state apportionment atd and htgh studentr/teacher ratlos, the Legfslatlve Analyst has recommended
that language be added to the I 989-9O State Budget Bills (SB 165 and AB 25O) to cut funding and eliminate ISPs for most
homeschoolers currently enrolled.' Enrolling ln a publlc school Independent Study Program is now one of four available ways to homeschool in Californla. Elizabeth Hamill writes that she and Roy Hanson of the Chrlstian Home Educators Assocladon met wtth Dr. Lynn Hartzler of the Alternative &lucatlon Untt of the State Department of Education to ask how likely lt was that the leglslature would approve the Analyst's recorrunendatlons, Hartzler told them that the Department of Educadon clearly opposes these recommendations, and that he didn't think educational reforms should be made through the Budget Bill. Senator Gary Hart, chair of the Senate Educadon Committee, has lntroduced Senate Bill 1563, whlch would also allect Independent Study Programs by tlghtentng some of their requlrements, Districts would have to set limits on student-teacher ra$os, for example, and would set up screening criterla to determine whether the ISP is the best placement for the pardcular child. Ellzabeth Hamlll comments: 'While these more stringent guideltnes mlght make particlpation ln the ISPs less appealing to some homeschoolers who preGr more freedom and less structure, the passage of SB 1563 might make it less Itkely that the leg[slators would approve the Analyst's recommendatlon that many of the ISPs be eltminated altogether... According to NCFIA's 1987 suwey of California homeschoolers, about I 196 are participattng in public school ISPs. There are several reasons why we all need toJoln ranks and support these programs whether we are participating ln them or not. If the state sees that ISPs can be easlly eliminated, then they might get the idea that other types of homeschooling wtll be even more vulnerable. We need to show them that we are unified and willing to support each other..."
GROUP FOR "CHALLENGED'' KIDS Martlyn Conotxr (HCR #1 fux 98, Stulftwater PA | 837O: 7 17-A39-9972)
rrrites:
My husband and I have four children, the youngest ofwhom has Down Syndrome. T\vo months ago ln the Pernsglvania. Homeschmlers newsletter, a mother wrote in wanting to contact parents of EMR (Educable Mentally Retarded) and TMR firainable Mentally Retarded) children who were homeschooled, We started corresponding, and found others who were doing the same, and others who were considering it, l"ast month ln Tte Teactnng Home magazlne, ther€ was a letter from a farnily of a young child with spinal bilida who wanted to homeschool, and several families around the country contacted them. Things took off from there very
rapidlyl
One woman from Detroit suggested a name for our loose-knlt but growing group - CHICKS (Chrtstian Homeschoolers Instructing Challenged Kids for His Service). Right now, we are Just a tele-
GRO\I'ING WITHOLTT SCHOOLINC #69
phone and letter support and informatlon group. We don't have any meetlngs, or print our own newsletter, but we can help others who arc gohg through what we did, and oller suggestlons relevant to our chlldren's speclal needs ttrat more general support €iroups may not be able to deal
wtth.
We re sure that among your readers are people who could benellt from lorowlng that others are dolng the same thing. Parents ofchildren ofany age or disabilt$ are welcome.
[SS:l I asked Marilyn whether the group's name meant that tt was limited to Chrisdan homeschoolers. and she said that it did not the group is open to all.
OTHER LOCAL NEWS For addresses oJ state and.lrr'al orgonlzntions, see G![4S #ffi or orlu. Homeschmlttg Resource Llst, auailahle
Jor $2.
Ecntucly: Homeschooler Libby Morley tells us that truant ollicers clalm that some truants are htdtng behind the cover ofhomeschooltng, so to speak - that some people are nelther sending children to school nor complSrtng wlth the home school Law. A group calllng ttself the Kentuc$ Homeschool Congress (c/o JeIf Sanford, Sutte 7OO, IOIOI Linn Station Rd, Louisvllle 40.223) met ln March and set up commlttees, wtth the goal of presenting a posltive tmage of homeschooling to the truant olficers and the leglslators who may be monltorlng this sltuadon. Mainc: A note ln the March lssue of the Re.lt4AINELrg at Home newsletter says that two homeschooling btlls have been tntmduced this leglslatlve sesslon. LD lO8
would make it posslble for homeschoolers to submit their applicadons to elther the
state or the local superintendent, rather than to both as is currently required. The other bill would make into law the current guldelines for non-approved private schools (including home schools). In the Aprll tssue of the newsletter, Steve Moltozo writes that LD lO8, the bill they are currently focuslng on, has been heard before the Educatton Committee. and that when he testilied at the hearing he focused on the discrepancies between school distrlcts' requinements. Steve
wrltes that he has recelved almost ninetv local school dlstrlct pollcles from homel schoolers around the state (he had requested copies so that he cluld prepare his testlmony) and dlscovered that most differ signtllcantly from the state's homeschoollng law (Ch. l3O). Many have no written pollcles at all, which is a vlolation of the law, and some make demands - such as the submission of weekly lesson plans that the law does not require them to GROWING WITHOUTSCHOOLING #69, Vol. l2 No.3. ISSN #0745-5305. hrbllshed bFmonthly by Holt .{.ssoclates, 2269 Ma"sachus€tts Avenue, Cambrfdge MA02l4O.$2Olyr. Date of Issue: Jr:ne l, 1989. Sccond-class postage pald at Boston. MA. FOSTMASTER: Scnd addrcss changcs to GWS, 2269 Massachusctts Avenuc, Cambridgc MA O2l4O. ADVERTTSERS: Deadllnes arc thc
l5th
of odd-
numbcrcd months. Contact Patrlck Fareqga for rates.
4 rnake. Steve says that these discrepancies make the need for uniform. statewide standards all the more apparent. Minnegota: HF 928, a bill that proposes to restore the teacher certification requirement to Minnesota's homeschool law, has been lntroduced into the legislature this session, according to the Spring issue of Tle Hone School Court Report, the newsletterof the HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSoclATIoN. The bill also requires the person providing instrucfion to submit iniormation to the superintendent by October I of each year, including evldence of state certificatlon, an annual lnstructional calendar, and a quarterly report card for each child. HSLDA adds: 'According to the author of the bill, it was drafted in response to some homeschoolers who refuse to give noilce pursuant to the provisions of the extstlng law." If the bill Passes, it would make Minnesota the onlg state currently requiring homeschoolers to be crrtified teachers. Y". finnpshlre: In GWS #67, we wrote that the Department of Education was reviewing the current homeschooling regulations, and that several grouPs were working on drafting new ones. The proposed new regulations, at that time, were
very restrictive, requiring that parents be certified and that children be tested, and allowing for home vlsits from school olllcials. Elaine Rapp of the NEW HAMP-
SHIRE HOME EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION now tells us that the drafting of new regulations has been postponed because of objections from homeschoolers, and that some new legislation is likely to be proposed next year. Meanwhile, the old
regulations are stlll in elfect. New YorL: Katharine Houk wrote in the April issue of the Home Schoolers' Erchonge: "Home education representa-
tives have been meeting with Deputy Com-
missioner Lionel Meno and Assistant Commissloner Joan Bourgeois once a month at the State Education Dcpartment in Albany to revlew the current home lnstrucflon regplation... At the meeting on
April fO, much discussion was devoted to settlng up a fiamework for submitting informadon to the local district. Because
some superintendents either don't want to have to deal with homeschoolers or have trouble accepting home education as a legal and valid form of education, we also discussed ways to remove the responsibility from the shoulders of the local school district.'When this group comes up with a proposal, they wtll present lt to representatives of school boards and superintendents, who wtll be able to make revisions. The final draft will be presented to the Board of Regents. Ohlo: Pat Montgomery wrote in the April tssue of The Learning Mge, Clonlara's newsletter, that the Standards Committee, a group of school officials, state heads, and homeschoolers that had been appointed in 1987 to establish a home education sectlon in the Ohio Revlsed Code, met for a llnal dme on March 7. The commitee will present its 'Rules or Excuses from Compulsory Attendance for Home Educators" to the State Board of Education, and there will be a public hearing about lt tn May or June (check with the Department of Education, or Ohio home-
schooling groups, to see whether the hearing has already taken place by the time this issue of GWS). -vou receive The cornmittee's rules allow Parents to oualifu as homeschoolers in several way's: Uy trotaing a hlgh school diploma or a CED, or by working with someone who holds a bachelor's degree. Parents can also choose among several methods ofevaluation: standard?ed tests, a written narra-
tlve (written by someone else) sa5dng that the student has made progress, or some other form of evaluation that both the
parent and superintendent agree upon. Tenneeeec: The TENNESSEE HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION has introduced two bills into the House and Senate, according to lssue #16 of the HomeschmlingFa'r:rilies newsletter, HB I3OO/SB 34 would allow homeschoolers to take the GED or the state's high school proficiency test at any age, and upon passing it be exempt from further homeschooling
requirements. Currently, students in
Tennessee are only eliglble to take the
cED tf they have legally withdrawn from
school, are 18, 17 and Pregnant, inJail, or the job corps. Homeschoolers in other states have written about this problem of ineligibility for the GED, so we are interested to see what happens in Tennessee. If any other states are making Progress on this front, please let us know. HB l30 I /SB 36 would allow churchrelated schools to act as umbrellas for home schools through l2th grade, instead of only through 8th grade as is currently the case. Church-related schools would then be allowed to grant high school diplomas to home school students who complete their requirements.
in
THE RIGHT TO PARTICI. PATE: IN A GEOGRAPHY
like Anne, have written letters questioning homeschoolers' eligibility for these sorts of activldes.
...AND IN SKIING MEETS We've recehrcd setteral atticles abut attemPt to fu allnued to porticipate equally {n an out' side actiuitg. hom tle 3/6/89 Burlington
atatler lomeschdef s [V!l
Free Press:
A l6-year-old homeschooler and his family have launched a camPaign to change a Vermont Headmasters' Association rule. Peter Johnson uses running and skiing as his physical educatlon program in his home school. This is the second year he has competed at local public high school meets after getting permission from coaches apparently unaware of a rule against his partlcipation. Home schools and reporting private schools are not allowed to compete on the grounds that the home schools might provide unfair competiflon tf they had intensive training Programs.
...Uohnson hasl found suPPort among high school coaches in his effort to change the rule. A cross country subcommittee of the association voted to ask another committee to look into changing the bylaw excluding home schools. And Essex coach Rob Powers invited Johnson to ski at the Vermont Classical State Championshlp Feb. 24 in Stowe. Powers said that although the event was sPonsor€d by the Headmasters, he and the other coach organizing the event decided to open a special Euest cateqory for Johnson. ' ,.. [Fo*.t"] sJa he could understand that thev want c.ompetltion to be fair' but h John5on's case tre felt the rule just didn't apply. He said homeschoolers should 6i illowed to petidon for membership, and then each case could be reviewed
individually for'lfairness.
BEE... Awte Brosnrrn (NY wriles: I saw an article in the APril 1989 issue of National Geographic magazine about the National Geography Bee, a geography bee lor school kids to help them leam geography. I was really mad because I thought homeschoolers couldn't enter it,
and I wanted to because I like geography. So I wrote them a letter saying I dtdn't think it was right (or flair) to try and teach all the kids in the United States geography through the schools, because every kld in America isn't in school. And I thought that there was no way a homeschooler could ever enter the bee, because, for one, the linal level of the bee was done in the schools. But they wrote me a letter back saying that the l99O bee would be open to 'siudents being taught at home' and that
they had put me on their mailing list. I am sending you a copy of the letter I received because I thoughtyou might be
interested and because a lot of other homeschoolers might want to know about it and get on the mailing list. ISS:I The National GeograPhY Bee is open to children ages 8- 15. For more information, write National Geography
Bee, National Geographic Societ5r, Washington DC 20036. We'd like to hear from others who,
... The Johnsons argue that their arrangement does not provide unfair competltion, especially when weighed against some o[ the private schools that specialize in athletics' Approved private schools can join the Headmasters'Association and compete in its toumaments unless they comPete in other circuits. 'If we're legal academically in Vermont' wblch the state says we are, why should we be discriminated against athletically?" asked Nancy Johnson, Peter's mother'..
CALENDAR July 14. 15. 16. 1989: Naflonal
Organic Farmers Association Summer Conference in Williamstown, Mass. GWS reader Luz Shosie will be doing a home-
schooling workshop. For information: Julie Rawson. RFD #2, Barre MA O1OO5;
s8-355-2853.
September 23: I-a Leche kague of
Kentuclry area conferenc'e. May include a speaker from Holt Associates. For
lnformation: Jennifer Nunn, RR #2 Box
9l l, Hawesville
I(Y 42348' We are happY to run notices of major homeschooling and related events, but we need plent5r of notice. Deadline for GWS #7O (events in September or later) is July lO. Deadline for GWS #71 (events in November or later) is September lO'
GROWING WITHOI/T SCHOOLING #69
CHALLENGES & CONCERNS none ofyour businessl" I don't say that, of
DOESN'T MIND ISOLATION More Jrom Arvte Brosnan:
I am writing to you about isolaUon
since I know lt ls an issue you talk about in GWS sometimes. A lot of people would
think that when we lived in a cabin in the Minnesota woods with our neighbors a
mlle away we were more isolated than where we llve now, ln the suburbs. But it's
not true. Marla, my frlend tn Minnesota, two years older than me, is sUll my best friend, even though there are a dozen girls my age around here. I know the girls ln my neighborhood here, yet we hardly ever seâ‚Ź each other, Ofcourse we say hi to each other and wave, but, except for one glrl, we never call each other up to play or anything. We don't 'not like- each other; I guess it's Just because I'm different from them, but I don't really lorow. I don't mind being different and isolated (l know I am), in fact, I kind of like it. I have my friend Maria, my sister, and all my pen-pals. I don't think it would make a difference lfl started going to school, either, because the klds and I are different in other ways, too. Instead of talking on the phone and talking to each other in person, I find it easier to write. I'm not saying I can't talk to people, tt's Just l'm better at wridng lt out. That may be one of the reasons I have better frlends ln pen-pals. Another reason is Just difference in tastes, They'd rather listen to rock music while Id rather listen to classical, etc. Theyd rather watch movies while I'd rather read. Even when they do read, their taste ln books is different. Once when we went to the librarv we asked the llbrartan to help me tjnd a good book. So she started finding all the books someone my age ls supposed to llke, and I waited pattently for her to flnlsh because I knew these books weren't good books, they were the books everyone else was reading because they wanted to be llke everybody eIse.
I don't understand why they are afraid to be dlfferent. They'd probably like it if they decided to like what they, themselves, like, instead of what somebodv else does. I'd like to say to them, 'Hey, look at mel I'm differentt I like itl I have friendst It's OK to be differentl"
AN OPEN LETTER TO INQUIRING ADULTS
Aruteke Chcd.an (NY writes:
It seems ltke hardly a day goes by without someone asking me, "And where do YOU go to school, child?' At lirst, when asked, I'd say,'You tell them, Mom.'Now,
I Just answer with some variation of, "My parents teach me at home.'The reaction is almost always â‚Źyebrows shooting up and the quesdon, 'You mean you don't go to SCHOOL?I''No," I respond, "l don't.' Then, almost invarlably, the interroga-
tion follows. 'Is that legal?' 'Are your
parents teachers?" "Do you have any friends?" and on and on. It's come to the point where I feel like saying, 'It's really
course. How I would love to be able to wrlte a letter that would be seen by weryone ln this country, if not seen and understood by
the entire world, that would explain about homeschooling and put these silly questions to rest, It would be something llke: Dear Everyone, Being homeschooled for a fourth year,
I have heard every conrmon quesfion and comment about homeschoolers. Whtle I am sure you mean no harm, I am starting to feel like a broken record. Perhaps all your questions will be answered in thls letter. Maybe, as well, the comments about homeschooling and homeschoolers will stop because of this letter. I slncerely hope so.
Many families, such as our own, homeschool because they believe that stupidity is in either individual schools or the entire system. For example, while I was still in school. there was a teacher who sent home a noUce with mistakes in it that my mother would never have let me get away with even when I was in second grade, That teacher was the one that I would have had for third grade. Several other similar things had happened and my parentsJust dectded that they had had enough. After that school year, I was
taught at home. Homeschooling parents are not shelterlng their children from the socalled 'real world." After all. what is the real world? Certainly not being cooped up in a room with twenty-five other kids your age for about six hours, having to wear the most up-to-date clothes, people not speaking to you because you don't have a Cabbage Patch doll, writing in math workbooks, or everyone uslng the same handwridng style. These are all part of school, and while there is nothing truly wrong with anything I have Just mentioned, they do little or nothing to prepare kids for the real world. Another group ofpeople that I wouldn't mind seeing less of are those of you who say somethlng that boils down to, "Your parents will get in trouble for thisl" or'That's impossible, you FIAVE to go to school." These comments are foolish and I am tired of them. Nevertheless, I have to keep explaining that no, it is not against the law. In fact, it'is not only legal, but
surprisingly comnon. There are several local support groups of homeschoolers, each containing many members. In addition, there are some who, like my fanily, Just stick lt out without belng part ofany group at all. On this subject, children do not need school to live or to be successful adults. An education, yes. School, certainly notl In fact, some of the school 'education' is totally worthless. Furthermore, I have seen that manv children "educated" bv schools are qu-arrelsome or snobbish.' The last ofthe annoyances to homeschoolers, also the most common, is the well-meaning people who ask, "But, what about the socialization aspecf?" or 'Who will take her to dances and parties?" This is irritating for four reasons. The Iirst is the fact that the law never said that
GROWING WITHOUT SCHOOLING #69
ctrlldren must be taught reading, wrlttng, and socializaflon. The second ts nobody wlll dte from not gotng to every local social event. The thtrd is that half of the soci,alization ln school ls either negafive or the foolish sort of thing that I mentioned earlier ln this letter. The last ls that there are rnany people in the schools who have less of a soctal ltfe than I do and are never quesdoned, Wh5f Because, of course, they're in school. Yours Truly, Anneke Chodan
WHEN THEY SAY THEY WANT SCHOOL Susan Pitrnon (NB) urttes:
Hansi Whitelaw's 'What tf She Wants to Go to School?' (GWS #67) sparked a memory for me. My daughter Sarah has always been a very social person, and when she was 5 she said she wanted to go to school. I got her to talk about why she wantd to go. Her maln reason was that she wanted to have lots of friends to play with. I recogntzed her social needs but I
honestly dtdn't thlnk the playground at school would meet them ln a constmctive, posltlve, growth-enhancing way, So I told her, after listening to her pleas and demands to go, that she could not go now and that I did not want to dlscuss thls agatn unul she was lO. Sarah Is now 8, and I feel she has
grown in self-awareness and self-conlidence, Now I am ready to say yes to her if she wants to go to school. She could now handle a school situation and make the declslon for herself about whether to go or to remain at home. She has had more chances to discuss with other children what school is like. She has visited the school building after hours, but whlle there were still students having to llne up or stay
fur
rooms etc. One day we were
walking down the corrldor of an elementary school and a teacher was yelltng pretty nasdly at a boy. Sarah got quite upset and wanted to knowwhy she was talking like that to hlm. I said maybe the teacherwas tired, had had a hard day, etc. Sarah turned to me and sald, 'Mom, I wouldn't want to be him. He must Gel awfull" I agreed with her. I wouldn't have wanted to be him either. But a little voice inside me rerninded me that I had been him once and that tt did feel awful. It made me feel that I have given my chlldren quite a gift even tf tt tsn't always perfecL Last year was the flrst year Sarah had to be registered wtth the Department of Education. When the representadve came to our house for the yearly visit, Sarah monopolized her tlme for well over half an hour discussing books, math, trips, stories, her personal file, etc. When she was asked about belng taught at home she very promptly and confidently spoke up and said that she always wanted to stay at home and have Mom teach her. This response was good for me to hear, but it also made me think about how I would have felt if she had said tJle opposlte. Would I let her, or any of my children, go? I found I had to sort out what was mine
6 and what was theirs, and it was a very beneflcial exercise for me to do. And
that's where her frlends were. We started a homeschooling group that met once a week and Theresa dectded to stav home. She may or may not stay home riext year. I certainly want her to stay home and will try to convince her that staylng home wtll be ln her best interests. In December, Katrlna started attending public school part-time. Origtnally, she wanted to take clarinet lessons and pardcipate ln after-school activitres. The superintendent told us this was possible. We discussed the subjects shewas interested in taking and talked to the public school teachers. Some of them were much more open to having her in their class than others. Some of their teaching methods were more to Katrina's liking than others. She ended up taking science (which she's always liked but hadn't pursued much on her own) and art, For the second semester she chose science and ltfe skills. She's also taldng clarinet lessons and hasJoined the eighth grade band. I think the fact that she freely chose to take these subjects is signillcant. The public school has become a communitv resource
$om Kath? Dolezal (MN):
This is ln response to Hansi Whltelaw wants to go to
(GWS #67) whose 5 year old
school, and Susan Wetntrob (GWS #62 who wants to hear about children participating ln school programs. Our famtly started homeschooling when my children were lO (Katrina), 7 (Maryrose), and 4 Fheresa). Both Katrina and Maryrose ltked public school and were "very high achlwers.'But Bob and I had seen a surprising change in Maryrose in lirst grade. She had always been a soclable, carefree, happy, and creative child. As the year progressd, she became more and more nervous, always strlving for perfection. She did not want to homeschool. She uranted to be ln school with her frlends. Bob and I slmply told her that she had to tqr homeschooltng for one year, and after that we would review the situation. Our children, also, are used to maldng their own declslons, but In this case we felt strong$ that Maryrose could not see what was happenlng to herself. After one weâ‚Źk at home, she told us that she wanted to homeschool through high school. Katrlna made her own decision to homeschool that year. Each year since then Katrina and Maryrose have made the decislon to school at home, I agree that children often do know what's best for them. However, lt's virtually tmposstble for declsions to be made wlthout being tnfluenced to one degree or another by peers. Adults (sometimes) have a background ofexperience in dealing with peer pressure and a comprehensive view of society that chtldren Just don't have because they haven't been around as long. Children need to hear adults' oplnions and somedmes they need us, at least temporarlly, to make decisions for them. Theresa had been wanting to go to school "ltke her blg slsters" from the time she could talk. We sent her to preschool two mornings a week hoping lt would satisS her desire to go to a real school. It didn't, She was adamant about wanting to go to publlc kindergarten. We compromised. She went to public school kindergarten, but stayed home for flrst grade. As second grade approached she "sort of wanted to go back to public school because Do
you
for her.
Since she started part-time school, Katrina's contact with school friends has increased. She now has more in common with them. This has met another need that surfaced this year - more contact with agemates. In short, I believe every situation and
wery child is unique. If it's working, pursue it: if not, change lanes. We try always to leave opdons open. It helps to remember that no decision ls irrerrersible.
Maryrose is now I l. I asked what she thought about our decision to keep her home ln second grade wen though she wanted to go to public school. Here ls her reply: I'm glad my parents made that decision for me because I don't thtnk that at the time I was capable of maldng that choice. I was only looking at a few advantages and looking at one big disadvantage of homeschooling - not seeing my friends every day at school. Also, I thought people might think I was silly or stupid for dotng something different, like (as my friends called it at first) 'not going to school.' Nextyear, or maybe the year after, I might go to school part time llke my 13year-old sister. This year I went to the public school for one day with a friend. I
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homeschooling. As far as friends go, I have two best friends who are really nice. I have many other friends. too. Some of them even home school. None of my good friends minds that I home school. They'd like me
to come back to echool, but they'll be my friends and like me even if I don't, For some people, homeschooling might not be right, but for me it is. I'm glad my parents made that first decision because otherwise I mtght still be struggling in the public school system. I enJoy working at my ovrrr pace and making my own decisions about what I'll leam and how I'll spend my time.
WHAT TO DO WHEN HUSBAND DISAGREES Argela Decoteatt oJ Inutstana
u.rrites.'
I have seen many letters in GWS concerning children who wlsh to attend school. I wonder if this is truly a desire of these children or a concern that they will become misflts, dummies, or what have you tf they remain at home.
My own son Dean, who attended
kindergarten in public school, has now been homeschooled for two years, free to learn, dream, and play to his heart's content. Although I have trted to keep my c,omments about school posltive, he has repeatdly told me how much he hated tt. When he announoed his deslre to attend school this coming year, I was surprised, to say the least, Further questloning soon revealed the truth behind hls declsion. It turns out that my husband had promised him a gun (something hs has been wanting) if he went to school, and told him that he would be a dummy if he stayed home. Homeschooling has not been well recelved in my famtly, tncludlng my husband. I have offered them llterature, told them of Dean's progrless and his status on the last standardtzed test, but they all shrugged lt olTor made some excuse about why it wasn't as good as public school. For instance, Dean took the CAT but the publtc school gave the SAT, destroying any chance Dean had to show them how well he was progresslng. He has also leamed many things not on these standardlzed tests, but this is considered nil since he hasn'tyet learned to read and wrlte proficiently, We have trled to have 'school' wtth workbooks ln math and Engltsh, but I have found that he does not (and who does) learn that rvay. He would also become very frustrated tf he dtdn't know the materlal belore worldng in the
grour to hate educatlon
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Specify level or levels and send check or money order to: N ational W riting I nstitutc, 794 6 W r ig ht Rd, N iles, M I 49 I 20
it
some stupid rules. Itwas OKbut I prefer
book. I am concerned about Dean's psychologtcal well-betng and fear that he will
writlng pnogram designed especially for homeschoolers l,evels 2, 3,4: $lS.9S erch or all threefor t42.00 L,evels 5,
found
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lfhe
goes to school.
I feel my husband te fightlng with hts own feelings of having wasted his school years. He was often told he was stupid for not dotng as well as he could have. He ls also
under great pressure from hls father for not forcing me to send Dean to school. I would llke to hear fmm other homeschoolers who have had similar problems.
GROWING WITFIOUT SCHOOLING #69
7
BAD TEST QUESTION Charbtte Mon'tson wrote in the February-March f:ssue oJ tle Tennessee rvusletter, Homeschooling Families:
Chrlsdne Wilkie's letter about testing ['Strange Answers,' GWS #66] reminded me of a paper my son brought home from public school kindergarten. It was a picture ln whtch they had to mark all the round obJects. There was a round sun in the slcy, a van with round wheels, and
some other round obJects all dutifully marked, He had also 'lncorrectly" marked the van's steerlng wheel, which was shown as a half clrcle in the windshicld. Everv steering wheel in hls experlence was round, so his tmagtnation had lilled in the unseen portlon, To be fair, his teacher marked it right after lirst marking it wrong. But I started thtnklng. IJow many other teachgrs would mark it wrong simply because the "experts" said lt was? And what about a chtld with even morâ‚Ź imaglnatlon than my son who might try to mark the van's two other lnvisible
wheels?
and dlsappointment on his face and he said to me, 'You're acting Just like a teacher and I'm supposed to be your student." He was rlght. Although I hadn't consciously meant it to sound that way, the words had Just popped out. I was exctted to see that he had accomplished a goal of his own maklng. In reality, though, I had pr ing to pracnothing to do with him dectding rble to say it il tice that rhyme or his being able fast and correctly. correctlv. It was oof his own choo choosing and dotng and I had unlntentionally
DIFFICULT SCHOOL EXPERIENCES We don't usually devote much GWS space to school horror stories, altttough our mail is full of them, believing that it's better to use the magazine to talk about positive and constructive altematives. Sometimes, though, stories about difficult school experiences remind us of what it is that we're trying to live without. Also, the stories below are from people who have notlet the difficult experiences slop them from trusting their own judgment about what is right, and, ultimately, from hnding an alternative.
BULLYING ON THE SCHOOL BUS
HOMESCHOOLING WHILE MOTHER IS ILL Paula Hehtbach (PN wrtles: As a homeschooling mother of three children (2, 6, and I l) I was asked the questlon, 'What do you do if you get sick?' How do I teach tf I'm ill, in other words. I never really thought about lt until I had my wlsdom teeth out recently. I think when the parent is temporarily unable to perform his or her dally tasks, having the chtldren home comes in handy. They have a sense of prtde ln being able to help.
When I came home from the oral surgeon's, my famlly was instructed not to leave me alone for the next several hours. My husband had to go to the store, so he told our I I year old, Jeff, to sit by my bed. Jeffwas reading for a while, then he oflered to play my Tchaikovsky tape for me. He knows I enjoy it and don't have much chance to llsten to music. Later, he practlced some math. I thought that if he was ln school, he would miss the chance to mlnister to members of his familv. FIe ls in the real world here at home. and leaming important lessons in liG. I think school tends to cut children off from family life. Everything revolves around 'what do I need for school'instead ofthe f;amIly's needs.
SPOILING THE MOMENT Wendg Wendt MN) writes: While riding ln the car yesterday, I llstened as my 9 year old son practiccrd a tongue tu/ister over and over again to himself: 'How much wood would a woodchuck chuck ifa woodchuck could chuck wood? Hewould chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck ifa woodchuck could chuck wood.' After several trles, he said it perfectly and I immedlately said to him, -That was goodl" Fjght away I could see the surprise
spotled the moment for him. He had practiced that rhyme for himself, not for me, and I took the joy of it away by implylng that I had something to do with lt. I apologized, but how I wish I could take the words back. I Msh I had not said anythlng and Just let him enjoy the moment for himself as John Holt talked about in GWS #4 ("Batttng PracHce'). Like John, I hope I, too, can remaln quiet the next time.
Monica Green (ON wrXes:
When I was 8, I went to public school. Everything went fine except for the bus ride when some girls got on board and decided to pick on a little kid. The llttle kid was me. The girls were about as old as I .un now (12) and I was pretty little. On the way to school, thts big girl sat behind me and started bopping my head, and threatened to beat me up. I was really scared. And a big boy in front (about 14 or l5) satd gross and disgusting things and asked me dirty questions. Just to be safe I had to answer them, or else he would also, I guess, beat me up. I had to put up with this on the ride to school and back every day. It was getung so bad that I was also failing my school work, and my second grade teacher kept saylng, "Oh, she's doingJust flne," when I wasn't. I got really mad at the teacher and talked to my mom about it, I went through so much stress that I got earaches, headaches and stomachaches. I couldn't eat or sleep and wery mornlng I would wake up crytng and screafidng. I got so stck that I missed a
whole lot of school. Mom found out about all of what I told you and my mom and dad pulled me out of school. That was when I started homeschooling. Then in thtrd and fourth grade I went to a Seventh Day Adventist school. It wasn't so bad but in fourth grade the teachers got too strtct so I was pulled out of there and in fifth grade I did homeschooling again. It worked out great, but I dtdn't do so well on the test I had to take. Now I'm ln stxth grade and tt looks like I won't have to take the test, so I'm more relaxed. I'm glad I can homeschool, and I have penpals who are glad to homeschool also.
MOTHER TAKES RESPONSIBILITY Tracy Creker o-f Calirfornia urltes:
I found that when I relinqulshed my daughter Michelle to public school
GROWING WTFIOLN SCHOOLING #69
education, I lost too much control of her upbringtng. Her formal educafion began at a very early age, with a combination kindergarten and daycare center. I remember hating to pick her up each day because I felt that the teachers were lying ln wait to tell me the horrtble thkrgs my child had done that day. Her most often repeated and worst o{Iense was t}rrowlng up her lunch. She didn't like the heary starch-based food this daycare center served. It took me some dme to determlne, though, that the vomldng occurred because the teacher forced Mtchelle's food down her throatbecause she refused to eat It. When I learned thLis, I told Mlchelle not to be disrespectful, butwhen she didn't want something on her lunch tray she should say, "No thank you.' The next day the teacher confronted me, looking like Michelle had committed murder. 'Do you know what Michelle did today at lunch? She pushed her plate away and said, 'No, thank you.'' I was young, meek, and a total cowand. I stmply shook my head and said, 'You're ktddtng," effectively leavtng my daughter alone to flght her lunchtime battles. One afternoon I was handed a permlssion sllp when I came to get Michelle. Clearly, I was expected to sign without quesdons, but I asked some anyway and determined that it was for Michelle to go to speech therapy. When I asked why Mtchelle needed speech therapy I couldn't Iind anyone to give me an answer. I flnally tracked down the speech therapist herself and was told that Michelle had trouble saying her'S's.' F\rrther prodding produced the informatton that Mtchelle would most likely outgrow the problem. In a rare moment of parental asserdon, I refused to sign the permission slip for speech therapy. A week later when I picked Michelle up she was alone in the huge playroom, and in tears. 'Mama, I have to stay in here while everyone else gets to go to speech therapy.' I tried to undo my mlstake, but no amount of pleading could get Michelle into speech therapy at that point. Homeschooling for me, then, lb about parental empowennent and the taktng of
responsibility.