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Growing Without Schooling - Issue #36
The Jan./Feb. issue of Mother Earth News, which should be out about the time you receive this GWS, will carry an article by me about how to home-school. It will also recommend and quote from Nancy Wallace’s new book BETTER THAN SCHOOL (see GWS #35). I will also write an article for The Progressive about what I call the metaphors of education; not sure when this will appear. And I am talking to the editors of Phi Delta Kappan about doing another article for them, about some simple and inexpensive ways to make the schools a little bit better.
On Sat. Nov. 19 I spoke to a state-wide meeting of school boards in Nevada, saying why I thought it would be in their best interests to allow and support home schooling, without imposing too restrictive conditions. The audience was polite though not enthusiastic. Later the President of the state board of education said to them that there was no longer any question of the state forbidding home schooling, it was definitely legal, and the only question to discuss was under what conditions would it be allowed. For the time being the state seems ready to tell people that they can teach their kids at home as long as they do exactly what the schools do, a condition which most home schoolers (and I) would find too restrictive and not acceptable. But it is encouraging that they are at least no longer thinking about trying to forbid home schooling altogether.
On returning from my Nevada trip, I and our friends the Maher family taped a too-brief TV show with Steve Allen, musician, comedian, and one of the big stars of TV a decade or so ago. He did not learn until he reached the studio that he was going to be the interviewer for our show, so had no time to prepare; but even on this very short notice he asked good questions and was fun to work with.
While speaking in Philadelphia, I met my hosts seven-year-old daughter, Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, who entirely on her own started and runs “A’s Bakery.” It is all her show; she makes and puts up posters, collects orders, buys the raw materials, bakes blueberry muffins and three different kinds of (delicious) cookies, fills the orders, collects the money, everything. I hope in a coming issue of GWS to tell, or to have her tell, her story at greater length.
We are happy to say that in recent weeks we have had the largest volume of book orders in our short history. Thanks for using us. As we,ve said before, one small but really helpful thing you can do is show or send our book list to as many people as possible.
I am leaving immediately for a 10-day trip to the Midwest, which (thanks to some organizing by GWS readers) includes talks at Eastern Illinois U., DePauw (IN) U., Indianapolis, Chicago, Northbrook IL, Kalamazoo MI, Ann Arbor, and Oakland U. (Rochester MI). I will be back in time for the Dec. 8 Open House, and a Dec. 12 meeting with Providence, RI homeschoolers. Ñ John Holt
GRANT COLFAX DOING WELL
From the San Francisco Examiner, 11/6/83:
SCHOLAR WHO NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL LIKES HARVARD Ñ AND IS DOING WELL Ñ It,s a long way from the coastal mountains of Mendocino County to Harvard Yard, but except for a touch of homesickness and normal freshman jitters about grades, Grant Colfax is making the adjustment just fine.
“Things have calmed down pretty much,” said the 18-year-old who drew international media attention after he was admitted to Harvard even though he had never attended school.
Colfax and his three younger brothers received all of their education from their parents at their mountaintop home near Boonville (CA) . . .
Colfax said the media blitz surrounding his first two weeks at Harvard was “embarrassing.” He went from never having watched television to appearing on “The Johnny Carson Show” (”which convinced me I don,t want to be in show biz”), “Good Morning America” and more than a dozen other radio and TV shows.
When he arrived in Cambridge, he was besieged by reporters from as far away as Australia and Germany. CBS wanted a TV crew to follow him during his first day of classes. He refused, explaining, “I figured I had enough to worry about.”
. . .”The change (from studying at home) hasn,t been that bad,” Colfax said. “There is a lot of work. . . The quantity of it. It requires a lot of organization. I have to learn to calm down at times. I have to learn I can,t learn every detail like I could at home.”
That lesson came swiftly. “After my first chemistry test I came out almost in tears because I had done so poorly,” he said. “I felt so bad I called home and told them I might not make it.” His intuition was correct. He got only 54% of the answers right. But on the Harvard curve, that was good enough for an A; 39% was worth a B on the test.
His midterm grades in his pre-med course of studies were an A in math, an A in Spanish and an A-minus in chemistry.
Colfax was one of only nine students selected for a freshman honors seminar on psychological issues in medicine. “There were 90 applications,” said Dr. David Funder, a psychology professor who conducts the seminar. “I wanted to find people able to work independently, who didn,t need to be spoon-fed, who were well-prepared.”
Colfax more than met those qualifications, Funder said. “He,s very energized and well-organized,” the professor said, describing him as a “pretty remarkable young man.”
. . .His lack of formal schooling and the social interchange associated with it haven,t hampered him, Colfax said. “I,m pretty outgoing”. .
“The main thing I miss is the quiet,” Colfax said. “It,s never quiet here. It makes you very tense. I have to get away from it a lot.”. . .
NOTES FROM DONNA
Looking back on our sixth full year of publication, I must say it was an eventful one for the staff. Two left (Peggy and Tim), one got engaged, then married (Pat), one had a baby (Mary Van Doren). Mark Pierce got pneumonia in September and was out for a week; in his absence we hired Mary Gray, who had been volunteering for us, and now both she and Mark are working on the book orders and subscriptions. Mary often brings her lively 5-year-old son Christopher to the office.
Time for a big end-of-the-year “Thank you!” to everyone who has worked as a volunteer for us. Special credit goes to: Mary Maher, for proof-reading GWS and typing letters; Marilyn Pelrine, for mailing renewal postcards every two months; Kit Finn, for proofreading the big Directory in this issue. Other local volunteers who have helped this year in the office or at home include Mary Silva, Mary Steele, Mary Pelrine, Pam Mitchell, Terry Burch, Mario Pagnoni, Ann Gilbert, Danny Desai, Fran Castelluccio, Sue Mojica, Jan Wrotnowski, and their families. Typists outside the Boston area included June and Allen Conley, Bob Post, Nanda Hills, Zeke Cameron, Cheryl Richardson, Kate Gilday, Jeanne Finan, Mary Friedl, Gary Floam, Diane Kephart. Thanks also to the families such as the Prices (Susan, Matt, and Faith) of Florida who helped while they were visiting Boston.
I was surprised at how many entries there were for our “Free Logo Drawing” Ð 78, not counting duplicates (we only allowed one entry per family). The lucky winners were: Randy Pierce, Texas; Freda Davies, Ontario; Nancy Spector, Alaska; Y. Hanus, New York; and Rebekah Cohen, CA. - Donna Richoux
A WIN IN GEORGIA…
There have been two important rulings concerning home-schoolers in recent weeks, one win and one loss. First, the win. As reported in the Atlanta Constitution, 10/26/83:
. . .The Georgia Supreme Court overturned the state,s compulsory school attendance law Tuesday, calling it an “impermissibly vague” statute that fails to define a private school.
In a 4-3 decision, the court issued the ruling in response to an appeal by Terry and Vickie Roemhild of Stephens County, who were arrested two years ago when, for religious reasons, they insisted on teaching their children at home instead of enrolling them in school.
. . .Under the compulsory attendance law, students aged 7 to 16 must attend public or private school. Although the law is clear in its definition of public school, it only vaguely defines a private school. As a result, many home schoolers have complied with the law by registering their homes as private schools.
“Although we agree that the word school, clearly puts one on notice that an organized education must be provided to the child, there are many questions concerning the scope, nature, and place of the education which are left unanswered by the state. . .” said the ruling, written by Supreme Court Justice Richard Bell.
. . .Rusty Sewell, executive counsel for the governor, said Tuesday,s decision means that the law is now in limbo. “Probably what it means is that you couldn,t prosecute under that law if someone is teaching their children at home,” Sewell
said. . .
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[DR:] The Justices, legal reasoning concerning “vagueness” drew heavily on the Wisconsin Supreme Court case Wisconsin Vs. Popanz, from which we quoted at length in GWS #34.
Connie Shaw of GEORGIANS FOR FREEDOM IN EDUCATION writes, “The overturning of the compulsory attendance law has created a mixed chorus of government and non-government reaction. A new law will most likely be voted on in this next legislative session which begins Monday, January 9, 1984. Our time is
short. . . If we are to influence our Georgia legislators in forming that new law to include home education, then we must combine forces with all home educators.” The organization urges all Georgia readers to contact their legislators.
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. . .A LOSS IN MINNESOTA
The second ruling comes from Minnesota. On Aug. 31, a District Court upheld the conviction of homeschooler Jeanne Newstrom of Bemidji. Some quotes from that ruling, written by Judge Saetre:
. . .The main thrust of Mrs. Newstrom,s defense relates to Subd. 2 of M.S. 120.10 and that her “qualifications are essentially equivalent to the minimum standards for public school teachers of the same grades or subjects. . .”
The qualifications for minimum standards for public teacher are. . . a bachelor,s degree which must include a completed course in elementary school teaching and licensed as an elementary teacher by the State Board of Teaching.
Mrs. Newstrom has the equivalent of one year of college in general courses, none of which include any courses in education. Mrs. Newstrom acknowledges her lack of formal training and qualifications but claims that nonetheless she is qualified to teach her own children and offered evidence to compare the results of her daughter,s education with the performance of children in public schools. The trial court sustained objections to this evidence on the ground that it was irrelevant to the issue of whether the defendant was qualified as a teacher. We agree with the trial court,s ruling. The comparison would best be mere conjecture in so far as Mrs. Newstrom,s qualifications to teach are concerned. The trial court construed the word “qualifications” to mean educational qualifications acquired by formal education as well as informal training and correctly ruled that (whether) Mrs. Newstrom was in fact a good teacher or not was irrelevant. . .
Appellant simply does not realize or appreciate that every parent does not have complete freedom in selecting and determining the manner in which her children are to be educated. . .
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[DR:] However, the Minnesota State Supreme Court has agreed to review the Newstroms, case, and attorney John E. Mack is hopeful that the Popanz (WI) and Roemhild (GA) decisions will be influential. Mr. Mack asked John Holt (among others) to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf on the Newstroms, and John agreed. He plans to write more about the weaknesses in this ruling in GWS #37.
OTHER COURT NEWS
Ann Mordes (FL) wrote in the FLASH newsletter:
. . .We are happy to inform all of you that the case in Monticello (Jefferson County) against parents who were operating a “623″ incorporated school was dropped due to “lack of evidence.” The attorney was informed the day before the hearing was to have taken place. . . [DR: The families involved were Gilbert and Theresa Silveira, and Ross and Gloria Johnson.] I,d like to compliment them in their choice of an attorney, Joseph P. Dallanegra, Jr. Mr. Dallanegra prepared a most thorough and truthful law brief. It was enough to educate not only the State Attorney, but also the Department of Education. . .
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A news story reprinted in the Iowa newsletter O! KIDS!:
PARENTS ACQUITTED ON TRUANCY LAW CHARGES -A Muscatine couple who withdrew their children from school to set up a home study program have been acquitted of charges that they violated Iowa,s truancy laws.
Ronnie and Nancy Shuler were accused by Muscatine school officials of failing to provide their three children with an educational program taught by a state-certified teacher and equivalent to public schooling.
But in a ruling filed Tuesday, Muscatine County District Associate Judge James A. Weaver said he was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Shulers, home study program fell short of meeting those legal requirements. . .
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[DR:] In GWS #34 we mentioned briefly that the Kirschenman family of Moorhead, MN had won their court case, but that was all we knew. Since then, the Kirschenmans have subscribed to GWS, and Shirley Kirschenman (MN) writes:
. . .I am enclosing a newspaper account of the results of our evidentuary hearing last spring. We WON! Our handicapped child was neglected and worse Ð abused Ð in the local public school. It was just awful what was going on in that classroom. . . He has improved 100% since getting him out of there. I have enjoyed teaching him. . .
At the time we had charges brought against us we did not know of your group or of others, but some of the home-schoolers elsewhere in Minnesota saw the account in their papers and got in touch with us. I must say they were a big help in helping us win the case. Dr. Moore gave us a lot of help and I also had information from John Holt which I gave to the judge as an exhibit. . .
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From the local newspaper article Shirley sent:
. . . Becker County Judge Sigwel Wood has ruled that a Moorhead couple does not have to send their 11-year-old mentally and physically handicapped son to Moorhead public schools.
. . .The Kirschenmans have been teaching Stephan at home since they removed him from public school in May 1980.
The judge also held that the compulsory attendance law did not apply in this case. Wood said the laws concerning education of handicapped children provide that parents may send a handicapped child to a school of their choice.
“In this case, Stefan is attending a school. . . insofar as he is being educated at home in all of the common branches as required for mentally handicapped child, and further. . . Mr. and Mrs. Kirschenman do have qualifications which are essentially equivalent to the minimum standards for public school teachers of the same grades or subjects,” Wood wrote.
Mrs. Kirschenman has a nursing degree, worked as an Army pediatric nurse and also taught nursing at a California college. Mr. Kirschenman is a North Dakota State University engineering professor.
. . .Assistant Clay County Attorney Cathy Mills said the county will probably not appeal the case. Mills said Wood,s finding that the Kirschenmans are qualified to teach Stefan precludes any appeal. . .
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Other news in brief:
Awaiting trial: Jimmy Wilson, Vanceboro TN; attorney, Hugh D. Cox —The Millers, Maryland Line MD
Awaiting ruling: The Wilkie family, Alpena MI
Case appealed by state: Sheridan Road Baptist School, near Saginaw MI (GWS #31 and #33).
GOOD NEWS: WA, KY, MS, FL
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/7/83:
. . .Some parents could legally teach their children at home for the first time in state history if an experimental home-study program is approved today. The state Board of Education is expected to act on the proposal. . . [DR: they did approve it.]
. . .Parents from the Stillaguamish Learning Exchange [see “Helpful Schools”], a two-year-old education cooperative headquartered near Arlington, said they would like to take part in the experiment. They said they would expect to be evaluated like any private school.
About 150 Stillaguamish students are taught at home by their parents who are assisted and supervised by certificated instructors. The program was approved by the state board in 1982, but when the board learned this summer the program was a home-study project, it withheld approval.
Under the state,s attendance law, children from the ages of 8 through 14 not enrolled in either a private or public state “approved” school are considered truants.
The home-study proposal from the state Superintendent of Public Instruction would establish two one-year experimental programs administered through a public school and a private school.
The parents would tutor their own children under the supervision of a certificated teacher, who would be hired by the school.
Teachers would train parents to be tutors and monitor no more than 20 children. Each parent and student would meet with the teacher for at least one hour per week and keep daily progress records. The state superintendent,s office would audit the program annually. . .
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From Barb Soper (KY):
. . .I had been told that the process of becoming a home school might take some time and trouble, so I immediately sent for your back issues (to glean all pertinent information) and called Mr. Pat West, Jr., the Superintendent of Non-Public Schools in Frankfort. Within a few days, I was shocked to receive all the necessary information and an application form!. . . I immediately called the local health department and the district fire marshal,s office to request that they inspect our designated school area. Although I had been told that the officials who would be certifying (or, Lord forbid, not certifying) our school were very hard to please and downright rude, I was thoroughly impressed with the courteous, helpful and supportive response from both offices. . . By the end of July, I had received a 100% rating from the health department and the approval and commendation for cooperation from the Fire Marshal!
By the second week in August, our school had become approved by the State Department of Education, and my only other obligation was to notify the County Superintendent of Schools of the children,s names and addresses by October 1, which I did.
Our school was sent data bank forms (which are sent out to all Kentucky schools) inquiring about our curriculum, schedule, philosophy, materials, etc., which I had been told by another home-school family to expect [see GWS #35]. They had told me that I only needed to write N/A across the forms and return them or even throw them away! As I read through the forms, however, I realized that it might be helpful to the State Board of Education if I took the time to reply and to write down the philosophy behind our family,s decision to learn at home. . . As I counted the number of books in our home and listed all of the wonderful things we have been learning together, I became more and more aware of just how committed we all are to our home school. I felt very proud of my children as I reviewed the many accomplishments they have made already. For example, the 7-year-old has taught himself to read with confidence; the children save their own money to help support their new Mexican foster brother, with whom they correspond and have decided to learn Spanish for; the children help teach art classes at a local nursing home and have “adopted a wonderful gentleman to be their “grandfather”; we have taught ourselves the rudiments of Cuisenaire rods, and are learning Latin; the children are carefully raising gerbils and keeping records of the successive generations, eating habits, and all pertinent information that they can gather to go into a book they hope to publish. . . and on and on!. . .
My proudest moment came when I received a phone call from Mr. West only a few days after I had returned the data forms. He was kind enough to call me personally to commend our family on the fine program we had developed and to offer encouragement, praise, and any help we might need in the future. I nearly wept with gratitude for his kindness and understanding, and I realized that the many negative responses to our decision to try home-schooling must have been hurting me more than I had realized. . .
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[DR:] Becky Howard (AR) sent us a copy of the new 10-page Mississippi compulsory education law, and marked the sections related to home schooling. Looks like the Mississippi legislature went out of its way to protect the rights of home-schoolers. (Does anyone know why? Someone must have put a lot of effort into getting these favorable passages included in the bill.) The relevant parts:
. . .SECTION 21. . . (2) The following terms as used in this section are defined as follows:
. . .(e) “School” means any public school in this state or any nonpublic school in this state which is in session each school year for at least 155 school days, except that the “non-public” school term shall be the number of days that each school shall require for promotion from grade to grade. . .
(i) “Nonpublic school” for the purposes of this section shall mean an institution for the teaching of children, consisting of a physical plant, whether owned or leased, including a home, instructional staff members and students, and which is in session each school year. This definition shall include, but not be limited to, private, church, parochial and home instruction programs.
(3) A parent, guardian, or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child in this state shall cause such child to enroll in and attend a public school or legitimate nonpublic school for the period of time that such child is of compulsory school age, except under the following circumstances:
. . .(c) When a compulsory-school-age child is being educated in a legitimate home instruction program. . .The parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child attending any nonpublic school. . . shall complete a “certificate of enrollment” in order to facilitate the administration of this section.
The form of the certificate of enrollment shall be prepared by the State Board of Education and shall be designed to obtain the following information only:
(i) The name, address, and date of birth of the compulsory-school age child;
(ii) The name and address of the parent, guardian, or custodian. . .
(iii) A simple description of the type of education the compulsory-school-age child is receiving and, if such child is enrolled in a nonpublic school, the name and address of such school; and
(iv) the signature of the parent. . .
For the purposes of this subsection, a legitimate nonpublic school or legitimate home instruction program shall be those not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compulsory attendance law.
. . . (9) Notwithstanding any provision or implication herein to the contrary, it is not the intention of this Section to impair the primary right and the obligation of the parent. . . to choose the proper education and training for such child, and nothing in this section shall ever be construed to grant, by implication or otherwise, to the State of Mississippi, any of its officers, agencies or subdivisions any right or authority to control, manage, supervise or make any suggestion as to the control, management or supervision of any private or parochial school or institution for the education or training of children, of any kind whatsoever that is not a public school according to the laws of this state; and this Section shall never be construed so as to grant, by implication or otherwise, any right or authority to any state agency or other entity to control, manage, supervise, provide for or affect the operation, management, program, curriculum, admissions policy or discipline of any such school or home instruction program. . .
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A home-schooler in Florida wrote to Ann Mordes of FLASH:
. . .The day after I talked to you, Mr. Jones (Health and Rehabilitative Services intake counselor) called and said that I had to have a certified teacher in order to be operating legally. I, of course, told him that he was misinformed, which he very heatedly denied. I asked him where I could see that requirement in writing, and he said Chapter 39. I asked him what it said exactly and he replied that all children must attend school between the ages of 6 and 16. I asked him where it said that any private school had to employ or have on its staff a state-certified teacher, to which he replied that he did not know right off but that he would find out. We ended our conversation with his assurance that he would let me know where to find a statute supporting his statements. I had also during the course of the conversation mentioned the H.R.S. manual,s definition of “truancy” which he said was not accurate. I asked him to please look it up to make sure. He said he would. He also said that we were definitely going to (you guessed it) COURT! I was chagrined. Immediately upon my hanging up the phone, I started to worry and wonder what I was going to do.
Not fifteen minutes later the phone rang. It was Mr. Jones who told me, very nicely, that I was right about everything that I had said! The definition of truancy, that there was no requirement for any private school to have on its staff a state-certified teacher, and very few other requirements. He went on to say that as far as he could ascertain I was operating within the law (I had mentioned that I was open to the public and that we are supported in part by tuition and/or gifts) and that as far as he was concerned the case was closed and his report to the State (?) would say just that. He asked for a copy of my attendance records and said that was all he needed. . .
A few minutes later I received another call, this time from the school social worker, who apologized for all the trouble and frustration I had been put through. She said that it had been equally frustrating for them as they have received no help or legally-supported information from either the school board or the Dept. of Education. She asked me to send her copies of the papers I have and said that she would be very grateful. She also said that she hoped the role of the school board would be a more supportive one in the future. She also assured me that if she learns of anything I need to be doing to be in compliance with the law she will let me know.
I am taking your advice to get everything in writing. . .Thank you also for putting me in touch with Mr. Dallanegra (attorney). We are arranging for him to conduct a seminar in this area soon. He gave me some advice also and even dictated the affidavit he advised me to send H.R.S. instead of the attendance records that they requested. . .
[DR: See also “Success in Florida,” GWS #28, page 4.]
INFORMAL SCHOOL IN CALIF.
Karen Olin Johnston (CA) wrote:
The SAN FERNANDO VALLEY HOMESCHOOLERS, of which we are members, has really been growing! At recent meetings we,ve had as many as 13 mothers and 23 children. . . Over the summer we met a few times rather informally, at parks and at the beach. As the school year approached, some of the older children expressed the desire to go to school, to be with kids their age. We decided to organize something among our own children to fill that need. So at present we are having these things happening:
Once a month we meet at a park, all ages welcome; and also famlies just considering home-schooling are welcome. While the children play and get to know one another, us mothers give each other moral support, share resources and news info, discuss GWS, swap stories, etc.
Once a week, part of the group (mostly 7-12 years old) meet at alternate houses for a more formal “school day.” Everyone involved agreed that they were much more eager to sit down to do math or writing if there was someone to do it with. The first week, one mother led singing and beginning music notation lesson with the whole group; then one group worked with Cuisenaire rods while another group solved math problems with some Montessori materials. After lunch the whole group played a game to open them up to creative writing, and on the side there were one-on-one experiences going on with a home computer, the piano, and puzzles. Two babies and two four-year-olds just merged right in alongside the older children.
We,re also planning “field trips” once a week. . . Last week we visited a park which was the estate of a silent-movie star. It had farm animals, old western-style home, nature trail, etc. . .
One thing we,ve all noticed is how well these kids play together. There is virtually no whining, tattling, or fighting. . . One time you,ll see a 10-year-old playing with a 22-month-old, and the next time you see her she,ll be involved in a game with an 8- and a 12-year-old. . .
Our only level of organization is a telephone tree, which operates in a complete circle, so that anyone can instigate communication with the group. Also, as one family had already set up their home as a private school with an affidavit last year, many of the older children are “enrolled” in it this year, as some sort of protection. . .