Growing Without Schooling 76 If a child crles every time her parents tr5r to leave her in someone else's care, does that mean she ls too dependent on her parents? Should they tnsist or gently urge her to become more tndependent of them novr, so that when the time comes for greater independence she
wil
be able to handle tt? Will people criticlze them for being over-protective if they don't do thls? If, on the other hand, a child - maybe the same child a few years later - wants to walk to the store alone, or travel to visit a pen-pal, or take aJob, should the parents worry that this child ls movlng too qulckly out of the protected world of childhood? Should they suggest that she walt until she's older to take these steps? Will people criUclze them for being negligent, or for pushi:rg thetr child too hard, tf they don't do these things? The strange thing ts that the same parents may flnd themselves asking both these sets of questions. When children are young, parents are pressured to wean them, to help them separate, to resist being over-protective. When those same children are onlyJust a fewyears older, parents are urged to hold back, to keep their children from venturing into dangerous territory or growing up too fast. What message do children get from all of this? It reminds me of the army's "hurry up and wait': be tndependent, we say to children, but not so lndependent that you begin wanttng to do thtngs we don't thlnk Gussie Abrahamse is among those who wrlte about How Children Becorne t: thls lssue's Focus, pages 19-24
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: News & Reports p.3-4 Tiuanry, Report on Standardized Tests, New York Clty Teacher of the Year Criflcizes Schools
Arranglng Apprentlceshlps p. s From School to Ilomeschoollng p.6-T Otder ieaders p. 8-9 Challenges & Concerns p. lo-12 Homeschooling With Little Money, TWoCareer Family, Doing Without Curriculum, Effects of Testing
Watchtng Chlldren Learn p. l2-r5 In Defense of Vtdeo Games, Joining Wrlters'Guild, Working ln a Bookstore, Silimming, Singlng ln Chorus, Exploring Book Revlews p. 16-18 FOCUS: How Chlldren Become
Independent p. 19-24 Guldance or Manlpulatlon? The Dlscusslon Contlnues p. 24-29
Addltlons to Dlrectory
p. 30-31
children should do. Homeschoolers can be caught in this double bind ln a particularly acute way: on the one hand, it seems as lf homeschoolers are encouraging dependence by not maldng their children spend large chunks of tlme away from home; on the other hand, homeschooled children are often involved ln serious work or adtrlt acttvities, and are used to making many important declsions for themselves. Knowing that homeschoolers think about how to help children move toward independence without pushtng them on the one hand or holding them back on the other, we asked both chlldren and adults to wdte about that question for this issue's Focus. Those who responded generally agreed that we should neither push the cliregl child nor hold back the one who is ready to move forward. As Cathy Rezac wrote, 'I'd say kids become independent when the parents don't try to stop them OR make them independent.' In other words, let the child who needs to cling, cling, and let the child who ls ready to move forward, move forward.
Children will tell us when they need to remain lnside the protected garden of childhood and when and ln what ways they are ready to venture out of lt. Theywill be able to tell us this ifwe don't lock them lnslde on the one hand or push them out on the other. In ExapeJrom Childhcr;d' John Holt talked about wanting to put a gate on the wall of the garden of childhood, and he was most emphatic about sayi4g that it should be a swinging gate, not one that would close behind children as soon as they walked through tt. Independence, in other words, does not come about ln one glant step, but ln a serles of forays out and retreats back in. Anita Giesy argued eloquently for the need for a swinginggate when she wrote, backln GWS #69, "Ifyou knowyou can't go back, tt's harder to go forward.'Would children step out of the garden if they knew that once they did there would be no turning back? But if they can step out now and then to look around, see what's there, tr5r vartous paths, and then come back when theyVe had enough for the tlme belng, we don't have to worry about pushtng or about holdtng back. With a swtnglng gate, and with all the lnteresting thlngs to do on the other slde of lt, lndependence will take care of itself. - Susannah Shelfer
The National Organization Question We are addtng three new organtzatlons
to our llst of homeschoollng groups that consider themselves natlonal ln scope: the Natlonal Center for Home Educatlon (PO
Euergone r:scs thc cornputcr ln our olhccl
Office News & Announcements [SS:l We are sorry to say goodbye to Kathy Munro, who has very capably run our shipplng deparhnent for over a year. Kathy's hmtly ts movlng out of our area. We welcome Janis Van Heukelon and her 2 l/2-year-old, daughter Emlly to thatJob. Mandy Maher, who has been comlng
lnto the olllcc wtth her mother Mary for the past twoyears, hasJust gotten her working papers and can now do for pay what she has been dolngvery competently as avolunteer up to now: filling out the ollice's weekly deposit sltps and helping Day Farenga with varlous clerical tasks. Mandy has also offered to take over the recelving part of the shtpping/receiving Job, so she will spend about an hour a day on that as well. Long-time homeschooler Theo Giesy, from Virg;lnla, spent a week helping ln our oflice in midJuly, and brought with her
I
l/2-year-old Ellen.
Slnce our last lssue went to press, Pat Farenga spoke at the Clonlara Home Based Education Program conference in Toledo
and the Wastrlngton Homeschool Associatlon conference in Tacoma, and I spoke at the Malne Homeschool Association conference ln Irwiston, Malne. We thank all of youwho orgarize and attend theseconferences for maliiing them so successful for us. Many ofyou have sent ln suggestions
for our fall Book and Muslc Store catalog. We appreciate these suggestions very much,
and want you to know that we appreciate them even lf we can't always follow up on every one of them ln dme for the next catalog. It can take a long tlme to get review copies ofbooks frompublishers, and longer still to read and evaluate them, so sometimes \rle have to save a book for next year. We'll try to mendon tn GWS those books that readers have stron$y recommended, even if we aren't able to add them to our catalog this time around.
Box 125, Hlghway 9 at Rt. 781, Paeonlan Springs, VA22l29l, the Nadonal Home Education Flesearch Institute (25West Cremona, Seattle, WA 981l9), and the Naflonal Homeschool Associafion (PO Box 58745., Seattle WA, 98 f 38). Readers wanting to find out more about these groups and thelr acdvliles should wrlte to them dllectly, but here are brtefdescrlpdons, based on lnformadon we have received so far. The Natlonal Center for Home Educatlon ls a rec.ently-founded non-prollt mlntstry of the Home School kgal Defense Assocladon ln Paeonlan Sprtngs, Vlr-
ginfa. Through computer lnformaflon servicâ‚Źs la the state legfslatures, the NCHE disseminates leglslative and educational lnformadon, tncludtng the group's own posidon on particular btlls. Note: the NCHE mails only to homeschooling Clroups, not to Individual famtlies. The Natlonal Home Education Research Institute, also founded thls year, ls run by Dr. Brian Ray, of the Hone Sclwl Researcher ln Seattle. Besides pursuing traditional research avenues, such as unlversldes and public and prtvate grants, Dr. Ray proposes that local homeschooltng groups hire hlm to analyze and report on the data that the groups collect under hls supervision. The groups could then present the data to local school boards and state legislatures, givtng them the demographic and educafional lnformation they need to make informed declslons about home-
schooling. The Naflonal Homeschool Associatlon has had trvo maJor organlzational
meeUngs so far, and has been operadng ln
one form or another for over two years. Because it's a grass-roots organlzation founded by a diverse group ofpeople, questions about the group's form and function haven't been fully settled yet, but a recent Ilyer g;ives some lnformatlon about the group's purpose and actlvlties: 'The Natlonal Homeschool Association ls a naUonwide non-proflt organlzatlon whoss primary aims are to advocate tndividual freedom and choicc ln educaflon, to serve families who homeschool, and to lnform the general publlc about home education." The flyer describes a newsletter, an annual confeience, and serreral programs (some of whlch weVe alr,eady mentioned or listed ire our Dlrectory): nationwlde support grouP networking, a homeschool travel dlrec-
tory, an apprentlceship/mentorshtp
About the 1991 Directory As we said tn the last issue, we are dtscardtng all the names ln our l99O Dlrectory and comptltng the l99l Directory from scratch. If you want to be ln the l99l Directory fuhich wtll be published in CWS #78), gou must lftll out a Dtrectory entrgJorm (see page 3l) wtth the complete lnformaflon. You must do thts erven lf you've been ln every Dlrectory slnce GWS #1. The deadline for l99l Dtrectory entries
ls October 15, 1990, so this ts the last remlnder we wlll be able to glrc you.
Tbc only pcoplc who do not to rcnd ro cntr5r for thc l99l
have
program, and a single Parents network. Some homeschoolers say they feel a
Dlrcctory are those whose names
aPPear
in the Directory additions in GWS #75, or tn the addtdons ln this lssue, #76. We
assume that the names ln #75 and #76 are current enough to be lncluded tn the l99l Directory, so lf you're ln elther of these tv lssues, you don't need to do anythlng else. But if you don't see your rurme ln either of these lssues, send in a form.
We hope to see lots of forms comlng ln
ln the next couple of months, so that the
l99l Dtrectory can be as complete as posslble.
need for a natlonal group - or rather, a
national group that does somethlng other than what the 26 "naflonal or general" groups on our Flesourc.e Ltst are already dolng. Other homeschoolers say they are opposed to any new natlonal orgarrJza' tions. At Holt Assoclates, we've been skeptical ofthe need for a new natlonal organizatlon, rememberlng John Holt's tnterest tn keeptng homeschoollng decentrallzed, open to all, and local, We remember how John reacted when, years ago, we recelved several letters from homeschoolers who were upsetbecause they d been shutout of local support groups because they weren't 'the rtght type of Chrtsflan.' John was angry, and proposed thatwe ldentlff such excluslve groups tn our llstlngs by prtnting a code letter, such as a capltal "C,'to Indicate that these groups would only help certain homeschoolers. After sitting with that idea for a while, John declded not to do tt alter all. He felt that such distinctions would encourage the factionallzing of homeschoolers, and ln so dolng dirntnish the impact homeschoolers need to have as a cohesive, though dtverse, S3oup when dealtng with state and natlonal authoritles. He also felt that tndtvtdual homeschoolers could llnd the support they needed by uslng our listings and other resources that are avatlable, wlthout having Holt Associates or any other group become a natlonal watchdog suggesting whlch g;roups to Join or to avoid. However, John was also fond of saying wryly, 'In a country run by c.ommlttee, make sure you're on the commlttee.' Because these natlonal grouPs cre forming, many homeschoolers are apparently feeltng that they need to decide which group to loin, or at least to suPPort. While we will keep Holt Assoclates lndependent - we have no plans to formally Join any group, although our stalT members rnay as lndividuals (for lnstance, I have advised and rvritten letters to the NFIA regarding its formadon) -'we feâ‚Źl most comfortable supporttng the Nadonal Homeschool Associa-
tion, for the following reasons:
The National Center for Home Educa-
tlon has made lt clear tl at tts political
agenda lncludes much more than home-
schooling. It acfively lnvolves ttself in politically right-wtng lssues that are not related to homeschooling, and we can't in good conscience suPPort an organizationihat seeks to tdent$ homeschooling with one par$cular polidcal group. We recognize that many local grouPs may IInd the NCHE s leglslattve informatlon useful, and we provide the address here so that those of you who want to take advantage of this lnformadon may do so, and so that those of you who want to know more about the other politlcal lssues ln which the group lnvolves ltself can lind out about them as well. We welcome the National Home Edu-
cafion Flesearch Instltute's efforts to generate more research about homeschooling, and we trust that tt wtll matntaln the research's credibilfty by not becoming beholden to any speclal lnterests of the left or the rtght. Dr. Ray has stated publtcly that he ls aware of thls obligation, and that It is not hisJob to massage data, but stmply to let the data speak. The NHERI's focus is
Growtng Wthout Schoollng #76
on research, not on leglslatlve or organlzauonal acttvtty, so lts scope ls dlllerent from the NCHE's and the NHA's. We bellerre that the Naflonal Homeschml Assoctatlon has the best chance to become a useful tool for homeschoolers, rather than a pardsan polidcal volce. Many ofthe thtngs they do or hope to do are activlties that homeschoolers have asked Holt Associates to do but that we simply cannot do glven our smdl stalf - for example, the malntenancc of the stn$e parent network and the apprenttceshtp/ mentor program. These are speclflc acdvlties that we see a need for and that urc support. The group ls unrktng to flnd a decentnltzed stnrcture - perhaps only malntatnlng a phone answerlng machlne or callforwardlng servlce based tn the D.C. area, to keep the group's bureaucracy from taktng on a Me of lts own, The NtlA has the potenttal to be a
well-tnformed, mlddle ground for the dlssemfuratlon of homeschoollng tnformation to all who tequlre. We hope tt wtll remaln poltdcally non-pa.rtlsan and wtll make the case for all types of homeschooling, referring people to speclfic organlzations that address speciflc needs or lssues. We can also imagtne the NHA making an active effort to provlde legtslators wlth informaflon about homeschoollnt and its effectlveness, or collectlng lnformatlon about whlch strategfes for tmproving homeschoollng regulaflons work and which don't work. We'd like to see it empower local leaders to handle thelr own alfairs wlthout over-rellance on 'outside experts." The NHA ls stlll open to suggesdons, so you can get ln on these declslons - you can get on the 'commlttee.' If you're lnterested, write to the NHA to Join tts Clrcle of Correspondence, whlch ls where most of these lssues are belng dtscussed, or come to the next conference (Sept. 2 I - 23 at the Natlonal 4-H Center tn Chery Chase, MD). Wrlte to these three naUonal groups if you want to know more about thelr philosophy and thelr acdvtfles; don't rely on our interpretatlon of them. Joln whlchever group appeals to you the most. Or don'tJotn any group. Or protest the existence of these groups. Or start your own. Remember that you don't haue to Joln a group to be a leader in the homeschooltng movement. By John Holt's deffnttton, all of you already are leaders. As he satd tn GWS #2: I.eaders are not, as we are often led to think, people who go along wtth huge crowds followlng them. Leaders are people who go thelr own way wtthout caring, or even looking to see,
whether anyone ts followtng them. "tradershtp qualltles' are not the qualitles that enable people to attract followers, but those that enable them to do wlthout them, They tnclude, at thevery least, courage, endurance,
patience, humor, flodbflty, nesourcâ‚Źfulness, stubbornness, a keen sense of reality, and the abtltty to keep a cool and clear head even when thlngs arâ‚Ź gotng badly. Tlrre leaders, ln short, do not make people lnto followers, but
lnto other
-
leader:s.
Patrlck Farenga, for Holt A.ssoclates
Growlng Wthout Schooltng #76
News & Reports Alterreative to Tnrancy? Flrnoln
ttre (Santa Fe) New Medcan,
5/ |e/eo:
A l6-year-old Farrntrgton boy was
sentenced Frtday to lO days teJatl for not gotlrg to schml, State Dlstrlct CourtJudge Paul R Onuska sentenccd the untdenUJled youth after ruling the boy was ln contempt of court for violattng the Judge's March 22 order to attend school. ...Deput5r Dlstrlct Attorney Darrel Jlles, who prosecuted the case, sald thls ts the flrst tlme a truancy case ln SanJuan
County has resulted tn aJall term. "It's a way to encoura4le other ldds that truancy ls a problem and that the schools are serlous about tt,'Jlles satd. 'We're helping to enforce thal" Jtles satd about a dozen slmllar cases are pendtag. FarmingSon Schools Superlntendent Jim Miller said the sentence sends a strong message.
'In a number ofcases in the past couple of years the Farmlngton schools have tried to prosecute parents,- Miller sald. "But we loeow that ln some cases kids don't attend school beyond the control of the parent, and we believe this sends a strong message to be ln school regularly meantng every day.' Theyouth, who turned 16 on March 27, h^d missed 55 full days and ffve halfdays of school between September and the mtddle of Aprtl, Jlles said. The youth had not attended school since then, Jlles sald. Jiles sald the boy had testllled durlng the court heartng that he had been in a car accldent and that hls doctor had recommended that he not attend school. The boy's mother supported his testlmony,
Jiles said. Jlles sald the school had extrausted all means to force the boy to stay ta school. "Well, we don't know what other alternatlve we have,'Jiles said. 'The school has done weqrthing tt could. I don't knowwhat cholces we have left to us.'...
otler altemaltrc? ang GWS readers haue anldea?l
ISS:I Really? No Hnaln- Do
Teacher Criticizes Schools A a uple oJreaders lnve sent us the text oJ a speech that JoturTaglor Gatto gaue when accepttlg the Neu York Cttg Teacler oJ the Year anuard- fume ercerpts: ...I've notlc,ed a liascinating phenomenon ln my 25 years of teachtng - that schools and schoollng are tncreasln$y lrrelerrant to the great enterprlses of the planet. No one belleves an5rmore that sclentlsts are tr:alned in sclence classes or polittcians ln cMcs classes or poets ln Engltsh classes. The trr.th ls that schools don't really teach anythtng except how to obey orders. This ls a great mystery to me because thousands of humane, carlng people work ln schools as teachers and aldes and adminlstrators but the abstract logtc of the instltutlon overwhelms thelr
lndtvtdual contrlbuflons. Although teachers do care and do workvery hard the lnstltutlon ts psychopattrlc, lt has no consclence. It rtngs a bell and the young man tn the mlddle of urrttlng a Poem must close his notebook and move to a dllferent cellwhere he must memorlze that man and monkeys derlve from a cornmon anccstor. Our form of compulsory schoollng ls an lrrventlon of the State of Massachusetts around 185O. Itwae reslsted - sometlmes with guns - by an estlmated 8O96 of tlre Massachusetts populatlon, the last outpost tn Barnstable on Cape Cod not surendertng tts chtldren untll the l88os when the area was selzed by mtlttla and chlldren marched to school under grrard. Now here ls a curlous ldea to ponder. Senator Ted Kennedy's oIIIcc released a paper not tm long ago clatmlng tl'at prlor to c.ompulsory educatlon the state ltteracy rate was 98% and after lt the llgure never
rt ls absurd and antl-llfe
to be part of a system that compels you to glt ln
conflnement wlth people of exactly the same 8ge and
soclal class.
again reached above 9196 where lt stands
in
1990. I hope that lnterestsyou.
Here ls another curloslty to thtnk about. The homeschooling movement has quietly grown to a slze where one and a half million young people are betng educated entirely by their own parents; Last month the educaUon press reported the newe that chlldren schooled at home seem to be flve or even lO years atread of their formally tratned peers ln thetr abfllty to
thtnk.
I don't thtnk well get rld of schools an5rtlme soon, certalnly not ln my [fetlme, but f we're gotng to change what's raptdly becomtng a disaster of lgnonance we need to reallze that the school lnstitutton 'schools" very well, but lt does not 'educate' - thafs lnherent tre the destgn of the thtng. It's not the fault of bad teachers or too llttle money spent, lt's Just lmposstble for educatlon and schooltng ever to be the same thtng. ...The datly rntsery around us ls, I thfnlq fn large measure caused by the fact that - as Paul Goodman put tt 3Oyears ago we force chlldren to grow up absurd. Any reform tn schooling has to deal wtth tts
absurdltles.
It ls absurd and antt-ltfe to be part of a GROWING WITHOtIT SCHOOLING #76. Vol. l3 No. 4. ISSN #0745-5305. Publlshcd bl-monthly
by Holt Assoclates, 2269 Massachusetts Avcnuc, Carnbridgp MA ozlao. $25 /W. Datc of Issue: August l, 199O. Second-class postagc pald at Boeton, MA. POSTMAS'IER: Scnd addrass drangcs to GWS, 2269 Massachusctts Avcnue, Cambrtdge MA 02140. AIwERTISERS: Dcadllnes arc thc 15th of oddnumbcrcd months. Chtbtnas shopptng ads arc duc Scptembcr 15. e,ontact Patrick Farenga for rates.
4 system that compels you to slt ln conflnement wlth people of exactly the same age and soctal class. That system effecHvely cuts you off from the lmmense dtrrcrstty of Me and synergf ofvartety, lndeed tt cuts you offfrom your o\rln past and future, sealtngyou ln a contlnuous present much the same way televlslon does, It ls absurd and antt-llfe to be part of a system that compels you to llsten to a stranger r,eadtng poetry when you want to learn to cronstmct bulldlngs, or to slt wlth a stranger discusstng the construction of buildings when you want to r€ad poetry. It ls absurd and anfl-llfe to move from cell to ccll to the sound of a gong for every day of your natural youth ln an lnstltutlon that allows you no privary and even follows you to the sanctuary of your home demandtng that you do lts 'homework.' ...The chlldren I teach are lndillerent to the adult world. Thts delles the e:rperience of thousands ofyears. A close study of what big people were up to was always the most excidng occupadon ofyouth, but nobodywants to growup these days and who canblame ttrem. Toys are us. ...Rlght now we are taldng all the ttme from our chtldren that they need to derrelop self-knowledge. That has to stop. We have to lnvent school erperlences that gtve a lot of that ttme back, we need to trust chlldren from a very early age wtth tndependent study, perhaps arrangd tn school but whtch takes place auroy from the lnsdtutlonal setttng. We need to lnrrcnt curriculumwhere each kld has a chancne to dwelop private uniqueness and self-reliance. ,..We've got to glve ldds independent ttme rlght away because that ts the key to seU-lorowledge, and we must retnvolve them wlth the real world as fast as possible so that the lndependent flme can be spent on somethlng other than more abstractlon. Thls ls an emergency, lt requlres drastic acflon to correct - our chlldren are dgng lfke llles ln schoollng, good schooltng or bad schooltng, lfs all the same.
Irrelevant.
Report on Standardized Tests F\om anaftIcle f,r.'Ilre Boston Globe,
5/rt/eo:
StandardDed tests, Mdely used by schools and tndustry, are deprtvtng thousands of Americans of opportunides in classrooms and on theJob because the exams are culturally btased, too narrow and admlnlstered too frequently to young chlldren, an lndependent commlsslon said today. A panel ofleaders tn tndustry, educatlon, buslness and labor crldclzed the use of standardtzed test scores, wtrlch are often the only measune used to determlne a chtld's placement ln school, an appllcanfs admission to graduate school or the success ofa candidate foraJob, The National Commlssion on Tesdng and Publlc Poltcy based lts report on a three-year study that recomrnends €omprehensive changes ln the use and destgn of the tests as well as an agency for monitortng them. ...Among the changes called for by the
commlsslon ls the elimlnaflon of testing for elementary school assessment. "Four
and Syear olds are stmpf tooyoung to be subJected to standarrdlzed testlng as a me€rsure of achlerrement,' the panel satd. Members also urged that govemors who have stepped up calls for more testlng ofctdldren at the earllest levels, furcludtng kindergarten, should back olffrom such
requlrements. 'When readtness tests are used to determine whether chlldren may enter klndergarten or llrst grade, up to a thtrd of the ctrlldren who liall below the cutoff score may be mtsclassiffed and tncorre,ctly denled acress to servlcc,' the report sald. ...Rather than contlnulng the use of multlple-chotcc tests, the commisslon called for alternadves, tncludtng the demonstration of skllls ln a peformance, a product or a portfollo. The report, 'From Gatekeeper to Gate-
way: transformlng testing ln Amerlca,'
sald, *Test scores ar€ tmperfect me€uiures and should notbe used alone to make
tmportant declslons about lndtviduals, groups or lnsfltudons; tn the allocatlon of opportunldes, lndivlduals' past performance and relevant experlence must be
consldered.'
State News For addresses ojstate and.lrr,al orgatdzntbns, see GWS *72 or our Honeschdttg .Resource llst, auollable Jor $2.5o.
Ilacrrll: The Board of &lucatlon's Curriculum Commlttee voted on July 5 to approve new state admlnlstratlve rules on
Compulsory Attendance Excepflons (whtch cover homeschooltng), accordtng to Linda Inouye of the FRIENDS LEARNING AI HOME newsletter. The new rules lnclude changes thatwere suggested by homeschoolers, such as allowinS parents to request an alternatlve means of waluating prng5ess ln the years when standardized tests had been nequted (grades 3, 6, 8, and
lo).
Iowa: Homeschoolers Aaron and Theresa Rlvera were found gullty of violatlng lowa's compulsory educadon statutes (a mlsdemeanor) on April 19, l99O fur Linn Dlstrlct Court, accordtng to the Aprtl-May lssue of the IOWA HOME EDUCATIORS ASSOCLATION Neurs. The FUveras were sentenccd on May 16 to serve twenty hours of communit5l servlce under the dlrection
of the Cedar Raplds School Dlstrlct, Iowa ls the only state currently requtrtng homeschoolers to be cerdlled teachers.
Mlnnceota: Homeschooler Kathy
Dolezal wrltes,'Minnesota's Nonpubllc School Councll has glven the Home Based Educators Accredtttng Assoclatlon (HBEAA) permlsslon to begtn accredittng home schools ln the state of Mlnnesota. There are several r€asons parents mtght wish to have thelr home school accrcdtted. A home school that ls accredlted reports to the accredltlng agency, not to the local schml dlstrlct. Yearly testtng begtnntng at age 7 is required by the state unless the home school ls accredlted. If and when the student enters the school system, fullcredlt ls assured. There are also network-
tng opportunides and the avatlabtltty of trained and experienced personnel to olfer
advice and enceur:rgement. HBEAA values dtversity of bellefs and methods and works to assure the ctmmunity that educadon is
posslble wtthout hornoSenlzed currlcula and bureaucratlc lnterference.
"For more lnforrnatlon contact l(athy or HBEA.{ 1983 Robln Lane,
Dolez.al
Centervllle MN 55038-977
lol4."
l: 612$53-
North Delote: In GIVS #75, we reported that on March 23, l99O the Deparfunent of hrbltc Instructlon had held a heartng on the proposed 'Qualtty Assurance' regulatlons regardtng homeschooltng. The DPI has now lssued a renlsed set of r€gulatlons, accordtrg to the May tssue of the NORIH DAKOIA HOME SCHOoL ASSOCIATION newsletter. Under these new r€C|ulatlons, homeschoolers who are ln "unsupervlsed' programs - ln other words, a.ne cerflIled teachers or have passed the Natlonal Teachers Exam - wtll not have to submtt progress reports hrrlce a year, as had orlglnally been proposed. Only those whose chlldren score below the 3Oth percentlle on the standardlzed test will have to submlt these reports. Also, the DPI added the requlrrement of 'mental abtltty testlng' to determlne reasonable academlc progress, and specllled what ls requtred for a school dlstrict to lssue a htgh school dtploma to a homeschooler, and called for a nadonally standardlzed academlc aptttute test for all homeschooled chlldren. Both the NDHSA and the HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE
ASSOCI/|TION are worlidng to oppose thls last requlremenL These rules ha'rc notyet been adopted; the DPI ts walttng for the oplnion of the Attomey General, wtrlch lt had requested, and the mles must also go to the Leg;tslattve Councll. Readers who want more detalled lnformadon about these proposed rules should contact the NDHS.A'. Tcnneeccc: In GWS #75, homeschooler Sandy Madsen wrote about the thrce famtltes who had llled sutt asktng state olllclals to stop denyfng degree waiver requests ffennessee law requlres parents who are homeschoollng chlldren tn grades 9- 12 to have a BA degree or to apply for a walver of this requlrement each yean slnce the lawwent tnto elfect tn 1985, all 36 familbs who applted for walvers have been dented them), Sandy recently sent us a matling from the TENNESSEE HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION wtrtch reports that Judge Inrln Kilcrease denled the farniltes' request for a temporar5r lnJuncdon and dented the sult class actlon status. Homeschooler nuly appeal thts declslon, or nray tqr to seek a Permanent Instead. lnlunctlon - Wlrconrln: The Legtsladve Councll (made up of legtslators from the Wsconsln Senate and Assembly) plans to study homeschoolng, whtch may lead to the proposal of a new homeschooltng bill, accordlng to the June newsletter of the WISCONSIN PARENTS ASSOCI.f(NON. WPA opposes the shrdy because lt belle',res the current law ts reasonable and ls worklng well, but tt wtll provtde lnformatlon to the study commlttee and wtll tesd$ before It. For a detalled e:rplanadon of WPA s posldon on thts study, see thelrJune news-
letter,
WPA also reports that a btll r€qulring standardlzed testtng of homeschoolers was tntroduced last March butwas notacted upon before the legtslature adJourned' The group wtll watch to see tf such a btll wtll be tntroduced next year.
Growlng Wthout Schooltng #76
Arran gtng Apprentic eship Young people often flnd that the best way to arrangc
apprentlceshlps, lnternshlps, or volunteer opportunltles ls not through a formal progran but by wrlttng letters or talklng to people who are dol.g the work they want to do. Ilere are two examples:
Helping Theater Group Errana Rofurts (MA) wri;tes:
I have been homeschooled for almost slx years. In ttrose years I have been saflsIted followtng basfcally the same routlne. ThIs fall I wtll technlcally be a freshrnan tn htgh school. Slnce thls comtng year would mark a transldon dme if I were in school, I thought I rntght ltke to make tt one for myself. At llrst I thought school mlght flnally be the answer. I wanted some place to go
wery day. I've always had most of my acdvifles and, well, my life outside my home. I am an only chlld so I don't have tJle company and butlt-ln frlends that other people wtth sibllngs have. So I talked thls overwlth my mom, and we started the lookireg Proc€ss. A school that appealed to us both was CushingAcademy. It ls very close by so I c.ould be a day student. They have a decent theater program, and lots of sports. So we got the admisslon package, and I looked through the book telltng about campus llfe, and IJustturned up my nose. I mean, ltwas really awful. All these plctures of classrooms, and the prlcc was quite trtgh. So much for schooll I don't remember how I got the idea to have a theater apprentlccshlp, The whole tdea really appealed to me. I love theater, and spendlng a few days every week worktng on tt sounded great. It would solve my problems aboutwanflng to go someplace wery day, and tt would be fun. So I began thfnldng about what would be the fdeal situatlon for me. I concluded that, say, three days a week worklng backstage, tn the box offlce, anyttrtng to do wlth theater would be great. I was sendlng out some headshots and resumes for auditlons for myself, so I sent along a cover letter sa5dng that I was interested tn volunteerlng ln thelr theater, explainlng I was a homeschooler and very flexlble. At ltrst I felt klnd of strange asking to be an exc€ptlon, but I got used to the ldea. I hadn't heard from the plac-es I had wrltten to ln Boston when one day my Mom and I were talklng to the scenic deslgner at Mount Wachusett CommunttSr College, Patrlck Mahoney. I do a lot of theater at The Mount (that's what the college ts called by weryone here), so I know everyone pretty well. Mom happened to mentlon that I nras looklng for an apprendceshlp ln Boston, and she asked htm tf he kneur of any places I could wrlte to. Patrlck sald yes, he thought he did. Then he asked tfwe had constdered The
Growlng Wthout Schooling #76
s
Mount as a possibtlity. We hadn't because It hadn't oc.curred to us as behg a real theater, but of course lt Is. I had reccntly had a chance to have a tour oftwo professlonal theaters ln Boston and Worcester, and afterwards I reallzed how really professlonal the theater at The Mount ls. Patrtck satd he would mentlon tt to Gall Steele, the head of the theater department. I called Gail after about aweek and we set
upameetlng. When I went to the meeflng, Gail and Pat asked me what I would be tnterested ln dotng. I told them two or three days aweek helplngwhere I was needed would be great.
They were really exctted. Then Gall sald she had talked to the head of the humantties department and he suggested I mlght llke to take a few courses at the college. I couldn t believe ttl We setup forme to take two classes, The F\rndamentals of Acttng and Sccne Tech, and get college crediL Going through the process of being admttted was a rlot. You could tell they'd never heard ofsuch a thlng: a l4-year-old girl who doesn't go to school wanting to come to their college and take classes. I ffnally got ac.c€pted, and I'm gotng to begin the whole thireg in the fall. They otrered for me to start the apprenticeship this sumner, but I am so busywith a theater in Wilton, NH that I told them the fall would be better. So I {Inally got a change, and lf I ever want to go on to Boston to do an apprenticeship there, I can say, look, I've already
up apprentlcesl'dps mag fitldJesse's htter
auseJulndel.
Hello. I amJesse Rlchman and I am
wrlung to you on behalf of an lnterest of mine. Before I go any farther let me lntroduce myself. I am an avld reader of the LeaderTlmes, and I am almost thlrteen. I have been taught at home by my mother all my life, and I hope to be aJoumaltst when I grow up. Early ttrfs sprlng when Pat Rlch, one ofyour reporters, was at our house for an arHcle about my brother and me wlnning on the local level of a national map competitlon, I told her about my ambition to be aJournalist. The glst of her advlce to me wErs that I should volunteer at newspaper ofllces, and try to tnrnerse myself in thatworld as much as I could. In adherence with thts advtce I am urrtting to you to volunteer to do anlrthtng, or alrnost anything, around the olffce that I could do that would help out the newspa.per olllce, and beneflt my own educatlon in the ways of a reporter. The best tlme for me to volunteer would be on T\resday afternoons. I am including with tlrts letter a copy ofa current events essay tJlat I wrote reoently, as part of my history fair proJect on the Berlln Walt I rvtll also add to that my paper on the Berln Wall. Hope you also enJoy a copy of a family newspaper I edlt. I am looklng for$Erd to your response on thls... Please don't keep mewaittngl Thank you, Jesse Rlchman
had experiencel
In a Newspaper Office [SS:] Whenl happened to b spealc@ rolth Susan Ricllurr.n (PA) qfter GWS #73, whbh hod a Focus on Voung people with bttertse frtterests, was publtslvd, she nenlloned that ltr'r son Jesse had reallzcd qfter readhg the interuieu;s in thot tssue, tlut fus fnterest in cutrerrt events and, Joumallsm could. b anntd as an ttense InteresL Jesse sent us anessag he'd wrilten about this interest, and, we Ente
patt
o;f X here:
I don't know when I began to take a large lnterest ln current events, but I know that now I c.ertainly do. Current errents have become more and more excitlng thls year with all that ts gotng on ln the world. I
GREEK ROOTS AND THEIR MODERN ENGLISH SPELLINGS
A Dictionary Of Roots Translir ated From Ancient Greek With Their Modem English Spellings
ByRaymondE. Laurita
! tr
had for a long tlme read little snatches of Tbne rnagazlne, whlch was always around
tr
the house. However, as time passed I slowly began to read a gSeater percent ofthe content. I began to subscribe to other magazlnes such as WorM Press Reuiew, a month-
tr
500 modern English roots with their original Greek meanings Thousands of modern English words with General Spelling hocesses clearly illustrated Clarifi es relationships between spelling, meaning and grammar Appendices with modern meanings and spellings of 1,000 Greek prefixes and suffixes
ly compllaUon of news articles from
papers around the world, and I sometlmes Ilnd myself in front of the magazine racks at the libnary, reading about news that
lnter€sts me. Jesse also senl us a copg o;f alefur he runntlg wrcte to tlv ed:ttor oJ ala'al
newspapen asl&tg to rnbutteer tlvre. He hasn't yet retrcd a replg to hts letter, bd { he dres end up unrldng at tle paper,
prhaps fe u:ill wrlte abut thot t^ afudue {ssue ojCWS.Int}e mearittre, others ula are thbtkbtg abri tnlurteerlng or settttg
Softcover - $ 18.95 (Add109o Postage Please Check or MO only) Name
I^EOTAIDO PTESS FO BOr {03 YOTTTOVIf HGIS, IfY ro59E
From School to Homeschooling If chlldren begln hone-
schoollng after havlng gone to school for a whtle, thc transltlon can aomettneg be
dlfflcult for the
whole
famlly. We asked a few chlldren who had been ln thls sltuatlon to tell us about lt and to let parents know what can make the transltlon easler. In each case, the chlld'e parent added some commentg as well.
Forgetting What School Taught F}om Kaffinlr Ddezal MN):
I'm l5 and wtll be ln tenth grade thls
year. I attended publtc school through grade four. When my parents declded to homeschool my younger slster, I decided to homeschool too. The flrst year out ofpubltc school, I dtd very ltttle school work, but stncc I love to read, I read many books, both fictton and non-flctlon, and I learned more than I probably would have ln school. I also watched 3-2-l Cortact and Secret CItg almost every day. I dtd do a ltttle school work, but I hated tt and protested when lt urassuggested. Over the next three years I started to
like dotng school work more and started dolng more of lt each year. For example, I dtdn't do any math out of a book the flrst year I homeschooled, but the next year I dtd some formal math work and am now golng through algebra on my orpn. I nerrer actually studied any school subJects out ofa text book, except math. I dtd get lntensely lnvolrred ln some proJects. For example, I studted holography and eventually made a laser hologram through a sclence museum class. I leamed a lot about geologr and food and nutrlflon through 4-H proJects. I eamed almost every Glrl Scout badge posslble. Sttll, someflmes, I wondered whether I was learnlng as much as schooled klds. Last year I attended publtc school part-ttme and found that I have as much knowledge about subJects taught fur school as anyone else tn my grade, Often, I llnd I know more. I think I remember thlngs I learned when I wasyounger becausewhen I leamed them I was enJoytng myself. As an example, tn phystcs thts year I had no trouble understanding stmple machlnes because I learned about themwatchtng 3-21 bntactln flfth grade. Even though I was nwer graded and nerrer took tests on anythlng I learned at home, I found htgh school classes easy last year. I thtnk the bestway to make the tr:ansltlon from publtc school to homeschool ls to be allowed plengr of time to forget some of what was leamed tn school about how vou should learn, I sflll often prefer to do school work the same way I did it when I was ln school, because they taught
me thelr way was the "rtght' way to learn. I
thlnk tt's trnportant for parents to provtde thelr homeschmled ldds wtth as many dlfferent varlefles of learnfng oPPortunl-
tles as posstble. MaHng tlre transldon from school to homeschool does take tlme and lt tsn't always easy.
Feeling Different F\om Maryrcse Ddezal MN): I'm 12 and tn serrenth grade. I started homeschoollng when I was ln second grade. My parents took me out ofschool after I started getting extremely upset every day after school. My mom tells me that at flrst I hated the ldea of homeschoolfng, but after on$ a Gw days I told her I uranted to homeschool through trtgh school. I don't remember havtng any trouble adjustlng to homeschooltng when I was 7, Howerrcr, many tlmes tn tlre last three years IVe wtshed I went to publlc school L"..n". I feel ltke the one Strtte marble tre a sack ofblack ones. There's nothtng partlcularly spectal about lt, but lt's dtfferent. I feel that way because we are the only homeschoolers ln our areawlth ldds my age who homeschool wlthout uslng a currlculum' But most of all, I Gel that way because I often am wlth publtc school frlends who talk about what ts happentng ln school. At those flmes, I feel really out of lL I don't thtnk Id be as mature as I am if I was ln school because schooled ldds bastcally have to do what they're told. They don't get to choose what they study or to pursue their lnterests. Sometlmes I wlsh I wasn't so mature because then I'd flt tn' Sometimes I also wlsh I was ln school so I would see my frtends every day. Next year I'll be taldng band and maybe art and art htstory at the publlc school. I thhk fll enJoy it.
I've contlnued to homeschool for many reasons. I enJoy staylng up at ntght and worHng on projects. I llke worklng at my o\rtn pacc and spendlng tlme on the thlngs I'm most lnterested ln ltke flute, ptano, wntfng, and arL If I need abreak, I can take one. I don't have to follow tons of mles. I can go to the bathroom when I want
tol My advlce to parents who have dectded
to homeschool ls to talk to your lids about tt. If they want to homeschool you are ln luck, but don't be surprtsed or upset lfyour chlldren change thetr mtnds and questlon the wlsdom of homeschooltng. If your chlld does not want to homeschool, suggest try'ng ft for a ccrtaln pertod of fime. Read to them (orlet them read) arttcles tn thts and other homeschool magazlnes and newsletters. See tf you can flnd some other homeschooled chlldren about the same age as yours ln your area- If posslble, get your
chtldren together at a park, swtmmtng pml, or some other place where they can play and get acquatnted wtthout havlng to talk to each other the whole ttme. Try to show your ktds that homeschoollng gtves them lots of chotces and that tt can be fun. Potet out the advantages of homeschoollng and try to elmtnate the dtsadrrantages.
Kat|'ry Me".aL Katrlna's Margrose's notllrlr, odds:
atd
I thtnk parents someflmes have a harder tlme when they start homeschooltng than the ldds do. lknow I spent lots of ttme worrytng about letttng the glrls follow thelr own lnterests and uronderlng whether they were dotng enough, wen though they obvtously do much more than most lidds and conslstently scsre very htgh on the actrlevement tests urc're requtred to gtve. Every once ln a wtrlle I'd get tnto a'school' frame of mtnd and lnelst (usually over protests) that they pracflce some speclllc ilrtll. tve seen agatn and agaln that lfs not necessary to worry. When the glrls need a sklll and-are ready to learn lt, they do. I thlnk the keys to success are provldtng lots of resourcâ‚Źs and opportunltles, rvorktng wlth ldds on proJects, sharlng your own tntercsts, and encouraâ‚Źllng the i<tds to share thetr lnterests wlth you and _
others,
"I Had Made My Own Decision" F.rom
lora
RLsleg (MO):
The transltlon from school to homeschoollngwas notvery had. I met a few homeschoolers ln thts area and knowtng that I was not the onf one made lt easler. Sometlmes at llrst I felt left out when I saw the klds get on the school bus wlthout me. But that dtdn't last too long. On the other hand I felt prtvtleged because I had made my own declslon to homeschool and they- didn't have a cholce. One of the thtngs my parents dtd that I thi:rk made my time at home more enJoy-
ablewas to let me make my own schedule. I could go outslde whenever I wanted to. I thtnk [hat helped me Gel more free than I would have felt at mtddle school. I was allowed to babystt at chlldren's homes and I earned qutte a btt of money because I was arrallable when the other babysttters were at school. My dad ls olf work on WednesdaYs so my paients let me harrc that day off, and we h"d -or. famtly ttme than I would harrc had tfI had been tn school.
Iords
rnother, Rosemary Rlsbg' add's:
lora and I had a lot of dme to talk about homeschooltng, as she started quesdontng me aboul lt three years before ri,e actually started dotng tL Shed ask me tf I'd do tt and I'd say that I dtdnt know maybe, and lt lust ktnd of went from there. Th6n when we-really dectded lt was tlme, durtng Chrlstmas rracatlon precedtng the Iia[ wf,en we started, urc talked about tt often. We talked about respecttng each otheds prlvacy so we wouldn't feel there was too-much togetherness. I'd tell her that I wanted her to be self-motlnated' that I dtdn't want to poltct her' Just any ltttle thoughts we had, we nolced. Lora always scemed to crave soclal acdvldes and frtendshtps. I'd nodce that she Aot offthe school bus on FHday ntghts acurig trrttable tf she dtdn't have plans for Growlng Wthout Schoollng #76
7 company or golng somewhere that weekend. She never really seemed to have what she consldered enough frlends, yet It seemed llke she got tn qulte a few spats wtth the glrls she nras frtends wtth. I often wondered f she wasJust hard to get along wlth, or tf ltwasJust the age, or the other gfrls. Because ofthts, I was concerned that she would feel lonely not belng ln school. My concern turned out to be unfounded. She was never antsy durlng the day when other ktds were ln school. She dldn't apect any soctallzlng durlng that ttme, and Just enJoyed worklng at her own pace, betngwtth me and theyounger chlldren I was taldng care of, and sometlmes dolng err:ands for me. She wrote to a lot of homeschoollng pen-pals, and loved gettlng mall from them. Sometlmes they called back and forth long dlstance, We occaslonally took fleld trlps wlth other homeschoolers, or planned lunch and play wtth other {amllles, lora found out for the flrst tlme that she llked betng alone. After the netghbor ktds got home from school, she'd sttll try to cook up plans wtth them, but I notlced that her soclal life was taking a btg hrrn for the better. Other ktds were calling her as much as she called them, and they were always lnterested in flndlng out what her days were llke. I'd overhear conversatlons where the ldds sald theywtshed they could be homeschooled. Other times the gtls would say, "I could never stand to be wtth mv mom that much." lora would say, "I r6aly ltke my mom." She started maldng frlends wlth other kids tn the netgfiborhood that she'd never bothered wtth before, and the frlendshlps doreloped ln a much more sadsfactory way than her school lilendshtps had. Itwas as lf now she could choose who she wanted to be frlends wlth, lnstead of betng thrown wlth certaln people and belng expected to be friends. She wasn't trrttable or havlng all the spats anymone - as lf her alone-dme and people-ttme was more ln balance for her. I could really understand that, because when I worked ln ofllces wlth people I dldn't really llke, I needed a lot of alonetime when I was olfwork. At home, IVe always felt more balanced, and enJoyed chooslng who I was wlth. Iara only read what she was forced to read when she was ln school, and I would someflmes coercc her by readlng one chapter out loud to her and then havtng her read the next to me, All of a sudden, durtng the surrmer between school and homeschool, she became an avld r€ader. ThIs was always somethtng I uranted for her, because I love to read as does her father, and I thought tt would help her when she dtdn't have soclal plans. I don't know how many books she read that summer, but I was amazed - lt was as lf now that she dtdn't have to, and she was free, she wanted to read. She has read over slxtv books in each nlne months of homeschooling. If we dtd nothtng else these two years, I conslder
that a maJor accomp[shment.
lora ls sensltlve to crlflclsm, and the
hardest part of starflng to homeschool for her seemed to be the relaflves who were so crittcal of our declslon to homeschool. She loved tt when adult frlends and netghbors showed thelr lnterest and enthuslasm and she Uked to vtstt wtth them about lt.
Growlng Wtthout Schoollng #76
Helping Kids Recover F\om Daniel Bery&r (ME): At lhst homeschoollng was strange, but then tt started to be pretty fun. I got to do more thtngs that I wanted to. Homeschmltng ls a lot better than school. And jomDantel's parents, Jrtdy Ganng andJlnrBerybv We began homeschoollng our boys, Matthew and Danlel, when they were I I and 8, and have been close enough to some of the homeschooltng famtltes around us to notlce slnllarltles arnong homeschoolers ln thls age group who have attended school before startlng homeschmllng, In no way do we want to tmply thatwe have found the answers to successfu[r homeschooltng prewtously-schooled chlldren. There are sttll many days full of chaos and worry ln our home, Erreqrthtng we can relate that works for us carne orlg[nally as suggesdons from other people who are far wlser than we are. Before chlldren go to school ln the {lrst place, all of thetr natural learnlng systems are lntact. Thls ls what we can see in famllies who have homeschooled their chtldren from the very beglnning. However, once chlldren are ln school for about three years, they are forced to shlft over to a very unnatural system to suMve the emphasls on memorlzadon and the datly stress, rigtdtty, and humtliation of classroom llfe. Those of us who bring our children home after this shift-over will not {tnd the same people we sent olf to school when they were 5 or 6, Even the most tender, loving parents cannot undo what has already been done to thelr children. Most children are very hurt and angry about what has happened to them and to thelr peers ln school. As long as they stay ln school that anger must remaln under control, When they come home, lt all begfns to come out. It may show up ln extreme htghs and lows, negatlve emotlonal outbursts, or long periods ofapparent depresslon. Mothers and fathers who feel that they might not have the dme or emotlonal resources to deal with thts should not feel gutlty for dectdlng to keep thelr lidds tn school. Homeschoollng ls rewarding and nourlshlng for parents who have never sent thelr chtldren to school. But children who have been in school for a few years cannot provtde a nourlshlng experlencc for thelr parents, because they need too much themselves. Sometlmes, mothers and fathers dectde that they have no choicc but to rescue thelr chlldren from school and attempt to change the course of thelr llves. Every chtld ls worth rescutrg, and in time can make some recovery. But an older, prevlous$-schooled child who stays around the house and trles to do the same types of activitles that seem to work for homeschoolers who have never been to school wtll be tradlng a set of school problems for a new set of problems caused by leavtng school. When chlldren have already adJusted to school, thetr tnternal, self-evaluaflon systems have been replaced by soctetal norrns. ^ds a r€sult, many of them begtn to feel llke fallures for leavtng schml. Explahrfng to them that soclety
has actually fatled them does not solve thelr problems, The one thing that seems to help ls work outslde the home. Parents of a chtld who ls lO or older can help thetr chlld to b5rpa.ss the feeltngs of personal lallure by Itnlng up a full-ttme apprenflceshlp, volunteer posltlon, or Job before the chlld Ieaves school - or lmmedlately thereafter lf the e:dt from school ls an abmpt one. This Job does not hanrc to be a paylng one, and lull-ttme can mean whatever lt takes for your chlld to be lnvolved and useful. Ttre Job should be one that your boy or gtrl desperately wants to go to each day, In other words, tt should be somethlng ttrat your child loves to do, notJust somethlng
that lllls the tlme. Substttuttng else which we, as parents, thlnk ls tnteresting, or encouraglng our child to do somethtngJust to get hlm out of the house, wlll not do the trtck. Shortly alter leaving school two years ago, Matthew began worldng wlth a man who has a landscaping buslness. He loves the work and because of trls energr and enthuslasm he has now become a real
I thlnk the best way to make the transltlon from publlc school to homeschool ls to
be allowed plenty of tlme to forget some of what was learned ln school about how you should learn.
asset. This sununer he wlll begtn earning a wage for his labors. What he has already
recelved from thls apprentlceshiP - new self-esteem, real skllls, and an awaxeness ofhow the world works outslde of school or hts famtly - could never b measured by salary. Most lmportant of all, he secms to be taking on a new dellntflon of himself to replace hls former status as chld fn school. Inttially, we worried that Matthew would be too flred orwould mlss out on other lmportant things by spendtng so much time on thls apprenfrceshtp. What we found out ts that he ts capable of knowlng when he ts tlred, and that he can make cholces about what he wants to do errery day, Over and over, when he has had to choose between working and another
option, he usually chooses work' We help htm wtth academics when he ls avallable and lnterested. Untll ttrls sununer, we dtd "homeschoo[ng' wlth Matthew untll IO:OO each mornlng, after whtch he went to hls apprentlceship. Now that hts sltuatlon has hrrned lnto a summerJob, he wants to begfun work early, so we catch hlm as we can. Many Omes we use the pre€ED workbooks as guldellnes to cover elllclently what he wlll need to
know to pass the htgh schml equtvalency exam. Chtldren who have been ln school past about the thtrd g;rade have Perrnanently acc.epted school standards such as grades and graduatlon, so lt ls essentlal that they obtaln a htgh schml dtploma as early as they can, Thls ls one more thlng that wtll allow them to feel normal.