[549] in libertarians
Laissez Faire Book News: Homeschooling by Llewellyn
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Chris Whitten)
Fri Jan 6 15:54:56 1995
Date: Fri, 6 Jan 1995 15:44:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Chris Whitten <lfb@panix.com>
Apparently-To: <libertarians@mit.edu>
Learning plenty and making friends without school
REAL LIVES
Eleven Teenagers Who Don't Go to School
edited and with an introduction by Grace Llewellyn
(reviewed by Jim Powell)
Mounting evidence strongly suggests that homeschooled
children perform better academically than children at government
schools. But how exactly do homeschooled children go about
learning? How many opportunities do they have to socialize? How
do they get into college, when they wish to go? What's life
really like for homeschooled children?
This book answers these and many other key questions by
gathering articles plus some diary exerpts by 11 teenagers who
have been homeschooled for years. Most had government school
experience and make candid comparisons. "The only things I was
taught in school that I couldn't have learned faster and better
outside of school," declared 16-year-old Kyla Wetherell of
Corvallis, Oregon, "were to conform, to be blindly patriotic and
accept all the stereotypes presented in textbooks, to submit to
patronizing treatment by adults, to suppress my own ideas and
dreams and go along with the norm."
Again and again, these teenagers affirm the joy of learning
when you are free to follow your own interests--without the
interruption of rigid classroom schedules. They talk about a
wide range of self-chosen activities like algebra, photography,
biology, horses, beekeeping, mountain biking, playing musical
instruments, designing computer games, working for local
newspapers and science museums. These teenagers tend to do a lot
of reading by their favorite authors including Henry David
Thoreau and Ayn Rand. And yes, one teenager was swept up by
radical environmentalism, but it's a plague in government
schools, too.
The articles tell how homeschoolers cope with practical
issues... relating to friends who attend government schools...
goverment school officials who check up on their progress...
college preparation. Finally, Llewellyn recommends magazines and
books for those interested in homeschooling. Her book can help
give young people the inspiration, confidence and knowledge to
take charge of their own education.
Book No. ED6234 (paperback) 318p. $14.95
THE TEENAGE LIBERATION HANDBOOK
How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education
by Grace Llewellyn
(reviewed by Jim Powell)
An increasing number of parents and students are concluding
that school--even an elite private school--isn't the best way to
get a meaningful education. This book provides plenty of
practical advice for taking things into your own hands
successfully. Llewellyn reviews the reasons for doing so... tells
how to find out about the legal requirements of homeschooling
(yes, it's legal in all 50 states)... why it tends to improve
parent-child relationships... why many homeschoolers report their
social life is actually better than when they attended a
school... six ways to accelerate your learning... all about your
most valuable general resource... how best to get started
learning biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geology,
history, anthropology, geography, foreign languages, English
literature and more... how homeschoolers can start a business,
get into a good college... how homeschoolers learn more than
children in school--joyfully.
"*The Teenage Liberation Handbook* is in many ways a how-to
manual, engagingly describing the myriad opportunities outside
the schoolhouse door. From anthropology to physics to sports,
teenagers will find that this comprehensive, fact-filled guide
greatly expands their sense of the tremendous possibilities
available to them. They will be inspired (and their parents
reassured) by the adventures and achievements of the currently
unschooled teenagers Llewellyn profiles. These stories tend to
corroborate her theory: 'Healthy kids can teach themselves what
they need to know.'" --Leslie Graves, homeschooler
Book No. ED5489 (paperback) 401p. $14.95
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If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know.
Thanks,
Chris
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Chris Whitten LFB@panix.com
Laissez Faire Books 1-800-326-0996
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