Page Two
ORGANIZATIONAL NEWS
All addresses will be found in the “Home Schooling Groups” list at the end of this issue. New groups on the list include: LEARN, which publishes the Rainbow Review, Bloomington IN ($5/yr); MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF HOME EDUCATORS; SAN FERNANDO VALLEY HOMESCHOOLERS ASSOCIATION.
ARIZONA: According to the ARIZONA FAMILIES FOR HOME EDUCATION newsletter ($4/yr), the group will have a convention July 16, at Centennial Hall, 201 N Center, Mesa.
ARKANSAS: From the CHRISTIAN HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: “We have a fast-growing group across our state at the present time. Several families have been challenged in various cities at the municipal court level, have appealed the unjust rulings to Circuit Court. None have reached Circuit Court trial yet… We have also had to fight proposed legislation this spring which would have defined private and parochial schools and placed several state “standards” upon all education, effectively shutting down home education. House Bill 554 ended up being referred to an Interim Education Committee between now and the 1985 legislative session … We have published two issues of a statewide newsletter ($10/yr).”
CALIFORNIA: Last year John Boston (CA) began organizing a “telephone network” across the state which was useful in alerting home-schoolers about legal news and events. If you would like to take part, write him or phone 619-749-1522.
FLORIDA: We have received information from the ADVANCED MINDPOWER INSTITUTE, 12522 Holyoke Av, Tampa FL 33624, a non-profit organization and church with home education as a major religious principle.
ILLINOIS: Deborah Martin of HOUSE wrote, “You recommended that if home-schooling groups form, they stay very informal … Our HOUSE groups have varied. The Chicago and the Lake County groups have usually had very informal meetings without an agenda or meeting topics. However, I found our DuPage County group needed to take a more formal approach or people who had previously attended meetings, or people who were actually home schooling, would not return … I have found it helpful for myself to have an agenda of group things to discuss. However, this has taken an awful lot of energy on my part … I am looking forward to this summer as being a time of more informal meetings, possibly an open house …
IOWA: Barb Tetzlaff writes, “Our group O’KIDS (Organization to Keep Iowa Deschoolers Strong) is really growing … At our first meeting we had 49 adults and their children in attendance. It was really beautiful to see all the children socializing so nicely’ Our son, Josh, said that it was the best day of his life’ … We’re planning a picnic for Independence Day …
NEW YORK: Peter Ackerman, now in Connecticut (RFD 1 Box 306, Kent 06757; 203-354-7003) says he gathered a great deal of information about the New York City school bureaucracy, regulations, etc, that should be most useful to would-be home-schoolers there, and he hopes they will contact him.
OREGON: From HOMESCHOOLERS OF LANE COUNTY: “We have formed a homeschooler group here in Eugene, involving about 10 or so families. It is a very informal and loose-knit gathering which we hold once a month … At these meetings we share our homeschooling experience and any information involving legal or public school issues and whatever else people want to discuss. We also form field trips … Each family will share with other families, one or two days a month, their particular field of expertise or interest. So far we have families willing to share home computer courses, first aid, goat care, typing, chemistry, nutrition, Spanish, bread dough art, baking, sewing, building, and farming…”
UTAH: The UTAH HOME EDUCATION ASSOCIATION’s Third Annual Convention will take place June 23-24 with guest speakers Raymond and Dorothy Moore, and Richard and Linda Eyre (advisors on President Reagan’s Committee for Financing Elementary Education).
WASHINGTON: A group of homeschoolers, with the assistance of attorney Michael Ferris, have started the HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION (PO Box 1219, Olympia WA 98507). According to its brochure, “In the event that any legal action (or threats of legal action) are brought against a member family, the association will furnish free legal representation through the attorneys on staff or retained by the association … Basic cost is $65 per year…”
WISCONSIN: Sue Brooks writes, “Chris Mayou and I are going to publish the Wisconsin Regional Coalition of Alternative Community Schools Newsletter beginning sometime in July … I only hope it works - organizing has been difficult here due, in part, I think, to great differences in philosophy which seem to keep folks at arms’ length … Folks can send legal info to Chris (W8229 Tower St, Onalaska WI 54650) and general info on meetings or short paragraphs describing their dealings with their school district (please name that district) to me. Subscription orders ($10) can also be sent to me (Rt 2 Box 230, New Auburn WI 54757) … ” - DR
AN ALLY IN COLORADO
Was delighted to hear the other day from my old friend Edward Pino in Colorado. Ed was for many years the Superintendent of the Cherry Creek School District (suburb of Denver), known nationally as one of the most innovative and by any measures successful school districts in the entire country. He retired from that post ten years ago, but is still active, energetic, and very interested in home schooling. I asked him to find out for us what he could about the legal and administrative situation in Colorado. He very quickly replied with the following useful and encouraging information:
1) The Colo. Dept. of Education “Monitors” home schooling families, currently estimated at about 114, but essentially the Board’s function is simply to provide information.
2) “Colo. law leaves responsibility to local boards, both authority and responsibility. Colo. law is very flexible and open to home study…” The State Dept. of Ed. has no authority either to permit or forbid home schooling, though of course they can always try to influence local boards to move one way or the other.
3) “Six boards out of 181 districts in the state have chosen to disapprove of home study for various reasons … if you want more help on this, let me know.”
Since Ed is very well-known and highly respected among Colorado educators, his advice and help are likely to prove very helpful. Perhaps together we may before long find ways to bring around those few presently hostile school districts. A useful first step might be to put into the hands of the superintendents and board members copies of the Phi Delta Kappan article and our legislative proposal. - JH
SUPPORTING PUBLIC SCHOOLS
From Pamela Pacula (CA):
… Not knowing that I would not be sending my 4-year-old son to the local public school, a neighbour called and asked me to help a group of mothers in their fight to keep the school in our area open.
The public school facility near us is in a very beautiful, serene location, surrounded by rolling hills and trees. The buildings are fairly new, and the children can see the lovely surroundings from inside their classrooms. I thought it was a shame that the children in our community might not be able to spend the better part of their days at this particularly beautiful school site, and was more than happy to help the other mothers take a survey to present to the school board.
As I called people from the list, some asked me as many questions as I asked them. When they found out that my son would not be going to public school, they invariably asked: “But why are you helping with the survey? Why do you care if the school remains open or not?”
I told them that I cared very much! I reminded them that the children who go to public school are part of the same society my-children live in. They will become the adults my children will encounter when they enter adulthood -so how can I not care about their education, their health, and their happiness?! The people I spoke with were very pleased that I was willing to help.
I want others to know that I’m not being “elitist” or saying “To heck with society” by choosing to home school my child. I’m merely exercising my right to choose how my child is educated and raised. While helping with this survey I made some new friends in the non-home-school community. They saw that I was eager to help their children and they were supportive of my right to home school my child.
… Four and a half years ago … I decided that when my youngest went to school, I would volunteer to teach French in his class … Although I have since become firmly convinced that home school is best for Brian, I still intend to volunteer (with Brian) to teach French at a local elementary school. I love the French language, I enjoy teaching young children, and feel it would be as beneficial to Brian and me as to the children … _____
[JH:l Many thanks to Pam for this very important letter. We are of course very eager to hear from parents whose local schools are working with and helping them; but we are equally eager to hear from parents who have found ways to cooperate and work with their local schools. For Pam is right - for a long time, the schools are going to be there, and most children are going to be going to them, and what happens to them there is going to affect the lives of all children, including home-schooled ones. It would be very short-sighted for us to assume that the worse things get in the schools, the better it will be for home schooling. Quite the reverse.
BUYING OUR BOOKS HELPS
A reader told us that she and others she knew thought they were doing us a favor by not buying books from us - they thought we didn’t make any money from the books we sell and so they were saving us time and trouble. Well, let’s clear this up without further ado. We do indeed make a profit on sales of books, and even at present levels of sales this profit makes a useful contribution to our total income. If we could double, and then double again, our book business, it would go a long way toward making GWS self-supporting, instead of depending very heavily, as we do now, on the uncertainties of the lecture and publishing business. There is no reason why we should not do this, since the list is already good enough so that many people, if they knew about it, might order many books from it even though they had no particular interest in home schooling. Many people have told us that even though the Boston area is a great educational center, we offer a more varied and interesting set of books for and about children than they can find in any local bookstore - and we have many more good books and materials that we plan to add to the list as soon as we can.
In short, one of the easiest and most useful things that people can do to help GWS is to put our book list into the hands of as many people as possible, or otherwise make it known to them. To save on printing costs, we are designing a special short version of our list that will include descriptions of our most popular books. These will be ready by the time you read this, and you could help us a great deal by ordering a quantity of these short booklists (20/$1) and giving or sending them to people you know or with whom you have contact.
One possible thing to try - put classified ads in small local papers or magazines, asking people to send you a self-addressed stamped envelope and perhaps a small sum, 25c or so, to help cover the cost of the ad. For anything you can do along these lines, thank you very much - and if you find some particularly effective ways to distribute these lists, please let us know. Another reader wondered how long after we reviewed a book in GWS could she still buy it from us. We continue stocking all titles as long as we can get them from the publishers, and only a few have gone out of print. Of course, many of the current prices are higher than what you’ll find in the back issues of GWS. You can always get a free copy of our latest booklist by sending us a self-addressed, stamped envelope. - JH & DR
LIFE AT HOME
Kathy Lorimor (IL) writes:
… We are now home-schoolers, and each day I think of a new benefit to our chosen course. Since Lisa is only kindergarten age now, she will not be required to enter school for two more years, when she is 7 …
This past summer Lisa taught herself to read and do math problems. In the past month she got interested in sign language, so we found a book at the library, and she is teaching herself. She has learned how to look words up in the Table of Contents and then find the page that she wants. She spent most of her birthday money to purchase the book, since the library couldn’t let us keep it indefinitely. Her main desire for her birthday was a world map puzzle, since the US puzzle she received at age 4 is too easy. She daily practices 1-1/2 hours on her cello with me, and then does up to an hour of piano on her own. Heather and Heidi are now 3 and watch Lisa very carefully.
… My husband and I have noticed that the girls have stopped asking, “What can I do?”, but more often say “May I … ?”, “Will you help me…”, and “Where can I find … ?”. They have become self-motivated in the home environment … _____
From Connie Colten (CA; GWS #29):
… A few months ago, Shawn (8) is riding his bike on a weekday when two policemen stopped him and asked why he wasn’t in school. He replied that he goes to home-school. The police wanted to know what that was. Shawn told them that his mom teaches him at home. When they wanted to know why, Shawn told them it was because homeschooling was better than public schooling. That concluded the conversation as they didn’t ask him for his name and address. The whole thing didn’t seem to bother Shawn at all, but I must admit that I was a little upset …
Now, as to what the boys have been doing. Chris (11) has been on a NANCY DREW reading kick. He also has read all of the LITTLE HOUSE books. He found out some relatives are making money on the stock market so he and his father read about stocks and have some pretend shares to check in the newspaper. He is still very interested in sports and spends time watching games, sorting his playing cards, reading books about sports figures and playing the various games outdoors.
Devin (4) seems most interested in numbers lately. Chris taught him to play War with cards, and he quickly learned the lower and higher values involved there. Next he watched Chris and a friend play Stratego and became obsessed with the game, wanting to play three to four times a day for two months … Now he watches the digital clock, calling out the numbers. He also bought a book that he can “read” aloud, so he trades his story for the ones he wants us to read to him. Shawn has been spending his time and money fixing up his bike. He saves and shops to get the equipment he wants. Money has taken on a value to him now that it didn’t have
We were interviewed by a freelance writer on homeschooling. Chris and Shawn were very pleased to be questioned about their opinions. So far the article hasn’t been published. Before the interview was finished Chris was interviewing the writer about being a writer!
Our homeschooling group meets weekly. It has offered an opportunity for social interaction for the boys as we moved here fairly recently. We have done some field trips with the group: visiting a vet’s office, touring a bakery, picking apples, and going to the beach.
An art project of making pinatas was a disaster. Each boy wanted to make his own. We ended up covering very big balloons, so we paper-mached for days. They dried funny and finally after a little painting, I came out on the porch to find the boys had smashed them open to get the goodies’ I was glad to see the end of the whole project.
The boys have also been involved in my prenatal care. They come to the check-ups at the midwife’s. They listen to the baby’s heartbeat, have been shown how to measure the heartbeat and how to measure my iron count. We borrowed some childbirth films from the library to view … _____
From Miriam Mangione (NV):
… Shanda (11) is doing fine at home - migraines have disappeared! We use the “open book” method for Calvert and employ other short cut methods as it’s all non-essential information. She didn’t like “learning to type”; however, she did learn the finger placement and does type when she wants to type up a play she wrote, etc. She spends most of her time reading, reading, reading; writing poetry, plays, cartoons; doing all the work in the house, yard, car repairs, fix-it jobs and child care; and just about everything else we do, she does too. The only time any of us were ever bored was when we were in school. Creativity leads to further creativity, so at home one thing just leads to another and we’re always busy - even if it’s just thinking.
Other than exceptional programs we watch very little TV. And I especially hate the Saturday fare of cartoons - I never liked them as a child - so they are never on. Shanda used to watch them years ago but I found she could not break away from their mesmerization and her temperament would change. Now she spends Saturdays at dance class and dressing up her baby sisters in costumes at home and they imitate her dancing, among other activities. Anything but cartoons!
We film a lot of their activities on our video camera and they watch themselves more than anyone else on television. Only thing is that the two-year-old doesn’t know why she isn’t on other people’s televisions when she visits. She has an excellent vocabulary for a two year-old and I think much of it came from just watching herself and the adults around her repeating their words and actions. We don’t use it for any “educational” purpose; for us it’s the best entertainment on TV! … _____
From Pam Gingold (CA):
… I have a 6 1/2-year-old son, Jeremiah, who is unschooled. I helped him learn how to read a couple of months short of his fifth birthday (I taught him phonics and he readied himself by doing jigsaw puzzles for two months straight - literally, he only wanted to do 150-piece puzzles day and night, then he picked up a second grade book and started to read). Now he reads at sixth grade level and spends 2-3 hours a day at it. We have thousands of books and magazines at home and we also go to the library every two weeks so he is free to dig up whatever information he can find. Mostly he is interested in historical fiction, biographies, and science.
He also thinks long division is nothing but great puzzles to figure out, and as far as adding and subtracting goes, he “looks it up in his head.”… He learned to write making NO NUKES signs and sometimes helps in the Alliance for Survival office doing mailings. He’s sure we can stop war, he hates racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, etc.
… I feel great about homeschooling … Now I know that if I know something I can teach it (if someone wants to learn it). It doesn’t matter that I got rotten grades in high school and I didn’t go to UCLA. I taught my neighbour’s 8-year-old son to multiply and divide in 15 minutes yesterday and his wonderfully trained teacher couldn’t get him to learn his times tables (he didn’t know what he was learning them for). I like things to make sense so I always make sense out of things for children … _____
Madalene Murphy (CT) wrote:
… We began the school year rather structured because that’s what Emily (8) suggested, and, although we hate to admit it now, we were more comfortable with that. The structure began to decay after the third day, until by Thanksgiving it had metamorphosed into a bulletin board with index cards that could be rearranged into any order and most cards were open to substitution or negotiations one of Emily’s favorite cards was a research question - sometimes very simple (”Was FDR a Democrat or a Republican?”), sometimes more complex (”How do frogs croak?”) - which would send her on a search through our encyclopedias and other available books, and would often result in her finishing the encyclopedia entry even after she found the answer, and then looking for more books in the library on the subject, or at least involving Tom or me in a lengthy discussion (”What is a Democrat, anyway?”).
…Christian (6) is beginning to read and it is a beautiful thing to watch. In one of my “What if the school board … ?” moods I’ll think for a moment that we should do some phonics exercises but then I listen to him and I realize, as he tries a new word, that he has learned a lot of phonics just by reading. Besides, we tried a beginning workbook for a while last fall until he looked up one day and said, “These sentences are really boring.” He is primarily interested in woodworking and made all the Christmas presents he gave last year, ranging from spool holders to a box for his sister’s doll clothes.
Clare (3) is involved in all the activities (even in the typing of this letter, as evidenced by the dots above). She decided that one of her goals for the next year would be to learn to read.
One of our primary sources of educational materials has been tag sales. About a month ago I picked up a “chemistry set” for $1.30 at one - no chemicals, just lots of beakers, test tubes, racks, and such. The kids have spent a couple of days, all day, messing around with them, mixing oil, water, flour, and dish detergent, recording what they observed. They want to expand this throughout the year.
We parents have found homeschooling demanding, primarily because we have had to change our value system. The more we learn about learning, the less time we spend over teaching. Ultimately, however, we are impressed with how efficient homeschooling is; in Emily’s case, the elimination of the emotional static caused by school releases an impressive supply of energy that can keep her going from morning to till night, pretending, arguing, fooling around, and even helping.
After spending a rather lonely winter in the sense that we seemed to be the only home-schooling family in the immediate area, we were quite surprised last spring to start getting phone calls from people who were interested in taking or keeping their children out of school. Many of them have now joined our GWS subscription … _____
From a New Jersey reader:
… Homeschooling has given my children (8 and 6) and me the freedom and opportunity to accompany my husband on his many business trips. This takes a lot of coordination and patience on all our parts, but what better way for the children to learn those attributes! My husband’s business plans are never set in stone, so our time schedules are always in limbo. A three-day trip can turn into a week or may be cancelled at the last minute altogether. We trail a pop-up camper behind our van and cut expenses by camping when possible. I’ve always wondered what went through bellmen’s heads when they see us to our hotel room followed by all our camping equipment. Finding an appropriate place to open up a wet tent in the middle of Chicago, Richmond, and Washington D.C. has been quite an experience, too! We’re solving that problem and other inconveniences by purchasing a small R.V.
No matter where we go we can find a museum or historical site of interest. The children have grown an appreciation for their country’s growth from visiting such places as Plymouth, Williamsburg, Old Salem, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, many national parks, and presidential Libraries … Both keep journals of their trips, and it’s interesting to note the natural improvement in penmanship, sentence construction, grammar, and especially in their desire to write in general. They now don’t think twice about sitting down and writing plays, stories, or poems.
Our trips have also influenced the children’s play habits. More times than not, they will pretend that they are inventors, presidents, or park rangers instead of always playing school or nurse in stereotypical roles… This carries over when we go to the library. Without my suggesting it, they usually seek out books having to do with a trip we just took or are planning to take. This could be anything from a geology book to a biography …
Our new TRS-80 colour Computer has taken the place of trips for the winter months. In three weeks’ time, our son has learned enough to start programming. He started learning by systematically completing a chapter a day. By Chapter 7, he decided that he knew enough for his present needs and now types to his heart’s content, and uses the index to find what specific language he needs. Our daughter’s interest comes in spurts. She often feels threatened because her older brother progresses rapidly and is a self-proclaimed expert at programming. So she sits back, watches intently, and learns by observing what we do.
Seymour Papert wrote a marvellous book in 1980 called MINDSTORMS: CHILDREN, COMPUTERS, AND POWERFUL IDEAS [DR: we sell it here for $6.25; see John’s review in GWS #24]. I strongly recommend this book to all GWS readers even if you don’t have or plan to buy a computer … Papert presents some approaches for making computers have a more humanistic relationship with mathematics. He discusses not only what the computer can do, but also offers a perspective on. the process of learning itself … _____
From Debbie Hart (MI):
… We just took a 4-day trip to visit a homeschooling family 150 miles west of us. They have six children (2-11 years). With my three we had quite a houseful, but we all enjoyed ourselves very much.
… The children are so creative and have such imaginations that I know soon they will outdo me in my artwork. They already can observe things that it has taken me years to learn, things like perspective and shadowing of their pictures. I’m finding that I am re-learning my own art skills. I was always taught to copy and do exactly like the mimeographed sheet said. If I used my own imagination I was punished for not following instructions. Now I am trying to un-program myself from these “rules”. . .
My husband, Steve, is working on a wind generator and so both boys are learning all the mechanics of that. They build their own models along with him and sometimes even give him ideas …
We have started building a passive solar greenhouse/house. It’s earth-bermed and will be compost-heated. The kids are learning how to construct a house (us, too, actually). We do a little at a time since our funds are short, but we are learning a lot …
This summer we are going to let the kids have a sort of vacation, sending them to others’ houses for a couple of weeks or so. I want them to be exposed to different environments that we can’t provide, like our friends who play piano and other instruments, just so they know not everyone is a crazy artist like me or an inventor like Steve (he likes making different energy-saving devices). Maybe they need to get away from us once in a while and find out that just about every household has some sort of chores to do. Or that you have to do a little preparation before a meal can be made. Sometimes they think they are the only children who have to pick up clothes and clean their rooms. They like helping once in a while, but if you push it, it’s “Do I have to?” Usually they come around when they tell me they’re hungry and ask me for something to eat; I just say, “Do I have to cook?” They get the idea after a while … _____
From North Carolina:
… We are entering Year Three of home school. As a single parent, sole supporter of our family and this venture, I must say home education has been difficult and terribly frustrating on many occasions … but, in the long run, promises to be well worth it! Our approach has varied from Calvert with Advisory Testing (we lasted six months), to Clonlara with whom I was completely independent (even when I should have sought assistance!), to Horizons in Atlanta for this year. Horizons offers the same type of service as Clonlara, but is only 5 hours away.
I’ve had a tendency in the past to look to unschooling as a panacea for all child rearing difficulties - thus, I’ve often become disheartened when “life wasn’t perfect” and have erroneously blamed normal disruptions on unschooling. It’s taken me two years to get over this tendency, but I think it’s perhaps my most crucial lesson - i.e., brothers will disagree, kids will have mood fluctuations, teenage years do cause more emotion, houses get very messy when occupied by active people all day, my energy does have a limit - we all need R&R, our own space, etc., at times! …
YOUNG WORKERS
Sharon Hillestad (MN) writes:
… Holly (14) visited California friends for three weeks. They took her to Mexico with them on a church trip. A group of people journeyed to Baja to work on an orphanage. Holly took care of small children, painted fences, stacked wood, and distributed clothing to some Indians. She saw some of the worst poverty on the continent. She also saw a lot of caring people trying to help. She is determined to do it again next year and has set money aside for it. She wants her 12-year-old brother to go along next time. I think it is good social studies and I wish everyone else could do this or something similar. She will never take our relative prosperity for granted again.
By the way, she had studied Spanish from the tapes you recommended in GWS #20 [LIVING LANGUAGES, available from Publishers Central Bureau, 1 Champion Av, Avenel NJ 07131]. She was able to speak the language as well as the high school students who studied two or three years in school … _____
Jenni Williams wrote in the PA Unschoolers Network, #6:
… Working at the Public Library in Gettysburg was an educational experience which boosted my self-confidence. I enjoyed helping others and the easy work. Other librarians at the library were surprised to find someone who is my age (12) being a volunteer. They didn’t know quite how to handle it. Since I had experience with the children’s librarian during the summer student apprenticeship program, she agreed to have me as her volunteer. The things I had to learn were to catalog books, put them in correct alphabetical or numerical order, how to properly check out books, magazines, etc, for others. The work involved shelving books, checking out articles, typing overdue notices and book orders, and slipping books (putting correct card in pocket when book is returned.)
I would recommend working at a library to anyone who is willing to use the time and energy … _____
From Elaine Mahoney (MA; GWS 23):
… The girls (15 and 13) have a new interest and job opportunity. They have been working part-time in a consignment shop earning $4.00 an hour. They are also helping me to landscape our lawn. We have never, ever done anything like this before but have discovered that when there is a will, there is a way. We are digging up 3/4 of the grass, planting ground cover. cutting small trees, and planting flowers. I suggested to the girls that they go into the landscaping business, but they just grinned and walked away …
HOME-SCHOOLED TEENAGERS
Vera Smith (ID) writes:
… It’s been a year now since we decided to take our two teen-aged boys out of school, and so far, so good. They seem to be learning at their own pace and with a lot more interest than while they were in school. They do the things that we feel are important to their education and then they have more than enough time to pursue their own interests, gardening, model building, and such.
… Believe me, it’s not the easiest age to work with because their interests are so wide and I’m just not up on everything they want to know and study. If it weren’t for Time-Life books, National Geographic books, and sundry others, I’d be in a fog. I’m wading through Carl Sagan and David Attenborough. I’m in a sea of English history. I’ve battled at Gallipoli, and I’ve gazed at Gandhi. I threw my tea bags into Boston Harbor and had a cup of coffee with Thomas Jefferson. If the boys don’t learn anything from this experience, I’ll at least be well-read and able to speak intelligently on a number of subjects including black holes, neutron stars, and thermonuclear fusion. Too bad such things don’t crop up in our everyday conversations.
… We have a family-owned business and each boy gets a turn at working in the offices answering phones, making out repair orders, and scheduling appointments. It’s good experience for both and they get an idea of how to deal with the public … _____
From Carla Emery in Idaho:
… It’s too bad I went through 16 years of home schooling myself without the guidance and support of your magazine. Over all those years I tried just about every variation on that theme you can imagine, including hiring a certified teacher to come to my nome every day. Technically I was supposed to assistant-teach under her supervision, but, really, she taught under mine because after all I was providing her paycheck. It’s been quite an adventure and my seven wonderful children thoroughly disprove the many bad prophecies they’ve been offered. The family is growing up fast now. Instead of alphabets, I have to worry about sex education and driver’s ed! …
ASKS ABOUT TEENS
Several readers have asked to see more about teens in GWS. In particular, one mother writes:
… We are having a good experience with home-schooling - have been doing it for about six years.
… I have noticed a growing restlessness in our 13-year-old. He’s not a person who has great social needs - needing to be with others much - but he is feeling lonely, isolated. He does city soccer, local theater, swim team, etc, etc, but still really has no friends his age. I don’t think he’d need but one… He’s always hated school but this need is pushing him toward school. He knows the need might not be filled there and yet school is a focus of activity with kids his age …
… Do home-schoolers with kids age 12 and up find the children do become more restless, more aware of their isolation? Do most homeschooled kids return to school about that age? Are we, as parents, missing opportunities to keep the momentum going for home study?
Is there anything we can do to help fill this gap? So far pen-pals don’t do it; activities like working with kids in a play for a month don’t do it. We don’t get together with other home-schoolers or have family friends with kids their age. That would help, I’d think.
… I wonder if we’re missing opportunities for participation in real-life activities like part-time jobs that the kids like, etc. (not necessarily paid).
We are apprehensive about homeschooling high school. We would do it if we had a miserable high school student, of course, but I almost think the kids should at least try high school. We can’t provide tennis team, chorus, band, chemistry lab …
It would be easy if you had a child who was sure that he wanted none of that stuff. Maybe we shall just let the kids go and find out, maybe that’s it. Maybe they’re beginning to long for school and need to go and have a basis for comparison.
I do think teens have different needs than the young home-schoolers and I wonder about ways of meeting them… I want to know more about what other teens do, have done, etc. If they continue learning at home, do they content themselves with trade-offs (”I can’t be on the tennis team but neither do I have to take tests”)? … I’d like to hear more from home-schooled kids who decided to go to school - did it fulfil their needs? …
LIFE AFTER HOME SCHOOL
Eileen Trombly (CT) wrote about her homeschooled daughters Lori (now in college) and Amy:
… Thought you’d enjoy reading an article written by Lori concerning her presence at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. For both Lori and Amy, “life after home schooling” has been super-charged with their dreams becoming realities. Lori has already been offered a position at O’Neill for next summer and was given her own studio this summer. Even though we’re minutes from the theater she sleeps nights at the mansion provided for the convenience of the N.Y. critics, etc. She often works late hours and is completely immersed in what she does. She looks, feels, and sounds totally healthy.
Likewise with Amy. She has done so well [at the school of the Hartford Ballet, a top professional company] she’s already been recommended to dance in the company class this fall.
Their self-esteem is sky high and, as parents, Spencer and I feel great satisfaction in their happiness …
WORKING WITH ADULTS
A follow-up to “Tutor in the Tropics,” CWS #17:
… To briefly refresh your memory, you received a letter over two years ago now from me, then a New Alchemist interested in, among other things, worms. My wife and I had just accepted a position as personal tutors of a twelve year old boy who resided on his parents’ privately-owned atoll of tropical islands (complete with library, tennis court, windsurfs, swimming pool, airplane, cooks, maids, launderer, etc.). You very kindly responded with a multitude of thoughtful suggestions.
… It was a time of tremendous personal growth for each of us, of meeting some of the most interesting people we’ve ever encountered, of deepening as well as heightening our sense of harmony with the natural world, and of cultivating one of the most moving relationships (with the boy) I can recall.
Prior to this mutually educational experience, I was ambivalent about home schooling my own prospective children. I am now convinced that no other form of education could be more beneficial, not only for my children but for my wife and myself as parents as well.
The educational background of the boy we tutored has almost solely been personal tutors. From the boy’s perspective, his situation is akin to home schooling; he has never known a traditional classroom, peer pressure, nor any of the other associated phenomena. It was clearly to his advantage.
… As the boy was eventually destined to attend a European international school (which he did beginning this year), we had certain academic standards to take into account. Although this had to be a major focus in our curriculum, my wife and I would also routinely invite him to take part in our own current “pet projects.” A couple examples of these were surveying and documenting the (previously unsurveyed) marine corals and fishes inhabiting the reef encircling the main island that we lived on, and carrying out some experiments a New Alchemy colleague requested on the freshwater ecology of a pond there. I believe the boy’s eagerness to participate in projects such as these stemmed mainly from his experiencing our dedication to and love for such work. I share your philosophy that a younger person will tend to “learn best and most if his/her learning grows out of being associated with someone in serious adult work, not just school stuff.” How well and much that person learns seems to me to be in direct proportion to how passionate that “someone” feels about his or her work, whether it be baking bread, building boats, or responsibly raising children …
HOME-SCHOOLING IN LOUISIANA
From a very encouraging story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, 3/28/83, sent to us by our friends Mary and Walter Marschner:
…The Marschners and the Andersons are two of 17 local families [JH:the Marschners wrote above this, “Many more”] continuing an old-fashioned practice that is resurfacing as a trend of the ’80s: home schooling.
The Louisiana legislative act allowing home education of children is now in its second year - and though some parents have tried the system briefly and declined to continue, others are sold on the living room-as-classroom concept.
“One of the prime advantages is family closeness,” says Mary Marschner. “We do so many things together as a family now.”
“It allows concentration,” adds her husband, Walter Marschner. “With 40 kids, you get one kid with a problem and you’ll have trouble meeting his needs. If one of our kids has a special need, we take all the time necessary to get it right.
“And flexibility - Jemmy was invited to a wedding in Mexico in the middle of the ’school year’ - but what a wonderful educational opportunity. She spent a month there.”…
“It doesn’t take as much time as you might think,” adds Anderson, who says her six years as a teacher were not much of a preparation for her present situation. “Now I’m not boxed into a certain time of day for a certain subject. Everything becomes a learning experience, and I’ve always loved learning. And it’s easier for parents to teach today because there are so many materials available.”
The home study movement has spawned a whole industry of support materials. Entire curriculums are available by mail. Parents can order individual texts, workbooks and tape cassettes on every subject imaginable. Guides to educational programs on TV are available, as well as accompanying workbooks. National news letters offer the latest information on home schooling legislation, civic action, and educational materials.
Jimmy and Andreas [Anderson] both say they do not miss daily association with other teens … They pursue a number of extracurricular activities that, they say, provide plenty of outside companionship …
As of February of this year, Louisiana Department of Education figures record 500 students throughout the state enrolled in home study - up from 265 at the same time a year ago … Assistant Director of the Bureau of Elementary Education Diane Reynolds … estimates that the figure will rise to 600 by the end of this school semester …
As the law currently stands, there is virtually no way to judge how well home schooling is working … The department can not oversee curriculums, review exams, test students or monitor home study in any way … “With no monitoring,” [says Reynolds] we can’t say if it’s working. Probably some parents are doing a fine job. But it certainly isn’t helping every child - I can’t say that all 500 children are getting a quality education. ”
Yet it is unbelievably easy to qualify for the home study program. Applicants simply fill out a one-page form listing the names and addresses of parents and names and grades of children. The form contains a pledge signed by parents stating that they will provide their children with an education “equal to the public system” and a school year of no less than 180 days. Parents need not tell the board of education what curriculum they will follow or what materials they will use. The application is renewed yearly and, if correctly completed, is approved routinely by the department.
Some parents avoid even that minimum of regulation by setting themselves up as private schools … Parents who wish to operate their own schools simply write to the state department of education at the beginning of the school year stating when the year will begin and the number of students enrolled …
Better assessment of the program may be possible in years to come, as children who are products of home schooling enter colleges or return to public schools. In the meantime, say educators, the movement is here to stay …
LETTER FROM MISSISSIPPI
Sandi Myers (MS) sent an article from a local paper about her family’s homeschooling (GWS #28), and wrote:
…I was surprised that we did not get any crank calls from the article. We found two other homeschooling families and have talked with them but not gotten together yet. I also got many calls congratulating us on what we are doing. Being in an area where the schools are recognized to be poor sure does promote understanding of our choice. The nicest thing by far about doing the article is feeling like we made two real friends in the reporter and the photographer. Both were young, single girls who felt that some day they might choose to allow their own children to learn at home.
Of the two families we talked to, one has eight children, ranging from about four to fourteen. The oldest children went to school a year or so, but they have been homeschooling since then. They seem to do much as we do with occasional emphasis on doing “studies” but for the most part just living and enjoying all the very natural learning that goes on.
The mother of this family and I laughed about how we encourage getting down to studying specific subjects at specific times out of pressure we feel from outside sources. My own children have gotten very good at recognizing this and they become very solicitous to me - giving me backrubs, helping with anything I am trying to do, asking if I would like to talk about it, and so on; but rarely getting down to doing whatever I had “suggested” they do in whatever timetable. And, of course, their response meets the actual need better than what I had suggested would.
… We received a call from an encyclopedia salesman who was very complimentary but was just sure she had the very thing we needed! She came out to show us her wares, and we found her to be like so many educators in that she would ask questions, but they were designed to bring about the answer she was looking for, not asking for our real thoughts. At one point, she asked if we knew the bird that flies the highest. We all thought and guessed, and none guessed right, so she astounded us with the right answer - a goose had been spotted at 26,000 feet, above the Himalayas. The kids and I immediately started to wonder about special adaptations birds in general must have to fly where people cannot breathe without supplemental oxygen, or perhaps just birds in that area, and of course she didn’t have the answer. To her, the little piece of information she could present to dazzle us was the whole issue - to us, finding out how they do it, and what species do it, and so on is the issue. I hope my children never lose their curiosity, and I have them to thank for the reawakening of mine …