Growing Without Schooling 80
Ollvla Basernan (centcr) ts arnong thosc who wrltc for thts lssue's Focus,
Inside This fssue News & Rcports p.2-5 In Portugal, Reachtng Out to Professors, What Teachers Can Learn from Homeschoolers, How Support Groups Evolve
John Holt Answers Teachers'[fuestlons p. 6 You llon't Eeve to Ifomeschool to ReadG'WSI p.7 Challenges & Concerno p.8-12 No LongerTeased, Shyness, Down S5mdrome, Involvlng Toddlers, Testlng, Tr5dng School,
Leavlng School
Watchtng Chtldren Learn p. 13-14, 2Lz-28 Electronlcs, karnlng Wthout Busywork, Dolng Real Work, Helpfng Sctentlsts, Ballet, Wrtting and Spelling
BooL Revlews p. 15-18 FOCUS: When
llelp ls Helpful p. 19-22
The Adventure of Self-Educatlon: Intervlew wlth Kendall Ilatley p.23-24
Hlstory Wlthout Tertbooks
p. 25-27
Regources & Reconmendatlons p. z9
What ktnd of help ls tr$ helpful to another person? What klnd ls unnecessary or even lrrltattng or confustng? Adults who want to help chlldren stmggle wltJr these quesUons all the ttme. Sometlmes when we try to help chlldren they let us know qulte phfn$ that they don't need our help, dldn't ask for lt, and don't appreclate our maklng them feel that they can't do wlthout tt. A lot of the storles ln GWS are about adults flgurlng out when lt's better not to help. ButJust as often chlldren really do want our help ln learnlng somethlng or ngurtng out how to do somethtng. A lot of the storles ln GWS are about gMng help, too. So how do we know when to help, and what ldnd of help to gtve? Perhaps more than any other, the questton of help seems to be one that adults stmply cannot answer wlthout tnvoMng chlldren ln the dlscusston. The most lmportant general potnt that comes out of the chlldren's responses ln thts lssue's Focus ls that good teachers are those who let the learners deterrnlne what klnd of help they want and when they want lt. Over and over agaln the klds say, 'Ask me lf I want help." If we do nothlng more than glve chlldren that courtesy, lt wlll go a long way toward lessentng frustratlon between adults and chtldren. Chtldren are better than we lmaglne at knowtng what ked of help would be most helpfrrl to them, given thelr parUcular styles, temperament, and needs at the tlme. OlMa Baseman descrlbes a sltuatlon tn whtch her mother was trytng to ercplain a procrdure ln artthmetic by wrlting tt down on paper. Ollvla, knowlng that she understands better lf she can hear the errplanatlon rather than see lt, asked her mother to tell her about the procedure lnstead of showlng her. It worked; OlMa understood lmmedtate$. We usually thlnk that the teacher ls the one who has to come up wlth alternatlve methods of ocplalnlrg or helplng lf the current one lsn't worhlng, but OlMas story demonstrates that the leamer can - and lndeed, should - partlclpate ln thls process. OlMa's mother dldn't have to be clever at thlnktng up new e'cplanaUons as much as she had to be responslve to what OlMa was aslidng for.
The children's vlvld storles of belng ln sltuatlons ln whlch they dtdn't understand and dldn't feel they could say so wlll probab$ evoke memorles for many adult readers. They remlnd us how damaglng unhelpful help can be. But there's a hopefi:l stde to thls, too. When the chlldren told stortes of thelr parents gMng too much help or helplng before they were asked, they also descrlbed how parent and chlld worked things out and managed to turn a frustratlng sltuatlon lnto a better one. We can make mtstakes, and chlldren wlll forglve us, as long as we admit that they urere rnlstakes and back off when we see what we've done. A btg dtfference between belng ln school and beIrg at home seems to be that tn school chtldren often don't feel they can say, That was too much help," or -That didn't help me at all," or even something as slmple as, "I don't get lt.'But at home ctrlldren do say these thlngs, elther wlth words or actlons. Let's pay attenflon so we can learn how to become better helpers. Susannah Sheffer
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