European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday. February 18, 1990 Home schooling addressed by readers regarding the recent article. Parents who teach their own  i Felt that the Overall tone of the quotes of my com ments generally made it appear that i am a bigger adversary of Home schooling than i actually am. I do appreciate the fact and believe that in an Impromptu Telephone interview it is possible to be misunderstood in unprepared and consequently unchecked com ments. Although i cannot ascertain my exact comment. I do know that my intent in the quote a properly motivated stimulated child has the capability of learning almost As much As in the classroom had to do with children Over the age of 12.1 do feel thai the older Home schooled Chil Dren do suffer academically because of the Lack of shops and labs in addition to the possibility of an inadequately pre pared Parent to teach the full Range of disciplines at the higher Levels. However. I also know and feel that schools for the lower grades As we now know them do destroy a child s natural curiosity and learning because of the need for conformity. Some Homeschool arc actually Superior to Public schools. Therefore my total feeling was not fully expressed in the quote of my comment. It did seem like the intent there was to represent me As a balanced View but be cause of the word almost without clarification i have received some no Gnativ and undeserved criticism. Overall. I thought that coverage of the subject was fair but in my Case because More of my critical comments were quoted than my positive ones i ended up appearing More of an adversary of Home schooling than 1 actually am. Robert a. Brooks Frankfurt West Germany in one of yur articles the spokes Man for do ids suggested that Home schooled children cannot communicate cooperate or be As socially adjusted As children who arc educated in Public schools. What study substantiates his opinion he also slated that Home schooled children cannot be exposed to As Many enrichment activities As their Public school Peers. I disagree. My children have been Home schooled for four years. They not Only have met four of the five Host guest speakers that or. O Gara used dancers musicians authors and Illustrator but have also met a Diplomat professional athlete movie Star radio announcer and professional people of various types. They have received lessons in horse Back Riding Ballet piano swimming German gymnastics ice skating and soccer. Certainly the Public school sys tem is providing an invaluable service to millions of children. But those of us who Are Home schooling our children arc not sacrificing academic excellence or our children s socialization skills. In Stead we have chosen to do what is Best for the individual needs of our own children. Kay Helton Bud t61z, West Germany first of All properly motivated stimulated children can learn More at Home than in a Standard classroom situation where they have to share one teacher with 25 to 30 other students. And what about the unmotivated children they tend to get lost in the Large classrooms where they just fade into the background. The overseas school system spokes Man went on to bring up the Issue of certification. Many Fine private school sin the states do not require certification of their teachers. Certification is not a magic Wand that brings or takes away Good leaching. While i agree that commitment in t enough to turn parents into Fine Home teachers. I must also say that it is a Good Start he also mentioned training. Home schooners do not have to Sutler for Lack of training. We have Good seminars books and tapes available to Aid us in our training As Home teachers. Most of us Avail ourselves fairly regularly of these different options. He was also quoted As saying that school kids Are exposed to far More things than they could be exposed to even with the Best trained Parent a a one More of the reasons we Home school school kids arc exposed to More things drugs violence and bad language just to name a few while we understand that we cannot shelter our children forever from the outside world we also understand that the firmer foundation we set for them the better they will be Able to face that world. Catherine Jaime wet Ryburg West Germany. In Oregon in 1986, 25 percent of Home schooled students test scores were above the 90th percentile in Washington state in 1987, the average Home schooler was in the 70th percent Ilc in Reading math and language and. In Texas Home schooners scored a Grade level above Public schooners. There snot a single reliably conducted study which proves an academic inferiority in Home educated students. Pastor Brooks also makes the highly subjective observation that Home school parents Are always kind of  i will offer my own observation regarding fatigue neither i my Hus band nor any of my Home schooling friends Are any More tired than my Many friends with children in the school systems. As a Home schooling Mother i can say that i consistently receive compliments on my daughters social be Havior and intelligence most frequently from people who do not even know that they Are Home educated. My children Are not restricted to socializing within a certain age group and. Consequently they feel quite Comfort Able interacting with people of absolutely any age. Home schooling is not for everyone As the families who choose to do so will be the first to admit. Those of us who have taken on this challenging and exciting responsibility arc thankful for the support of friends and family who have chosen to Send their children to traditional schools. Home education will probably never be a majority position but i believe the issues involved Mustbe presented fairly with substantiating evidence to Back up claims on either Side of the argument. Dana Ray Blanchard Raf Edzell Scotland. Granted children should be instructed so they will learn How to relate to others hopefully they will learn this from their parents anyway but the big Gest problem in elementary schools isomer socialization. When is the last time you be heard an elementary school teacher say boy i wish i could get my students to talk and play More.". Sure you will find some Home schooling parents who arc not the Best although the ones i know Are All very conscientious and work diligently with their children but you will also find some teachers who Are not in the game because they love children and want to sacrifice their time energies and emotions to make sure your child gets a Good  Point is that for the last Sev eral years the . Government has been concerned because the american Chil Dren arc falling behind in the three basics Reading writing and arithmetic. These Are areas where Home schooners have a tendency to Excel. Notice the government did not mention socialization. Perhaps the Public school system could learn something from the Home schooling community.1st u. Charles e. Denmark Raf Mildenhall England. On the contrary our children an Many others Are actively involved in learning to interact and communicate with friends neighbors adults and germans. They arc not peer dependent and their learning environment is not age segregated As in a Normal class room. True to real life their experiences help them to learn to Cope with society and be Independent. Our Home must work at cooperation and communication for peace and we value this . And mrs. Richard Good raillery Wertheim West Germany. Did t i recently read an article in the stars and stripes saying the classrooms were so overcrowded that classes were being held in the Halls let s Hope there is not an emergency evacuation. Does he really think kid learn better communication by relating on a i to 25 or 30 ratio do students learn cooperation by this or frustration. Does he know the number of teen age pregnancies drug abuse Inci dents drunk student incidents teacher assaults peer assaults vandalism theft and Truan cies in his Public school last year is this the socialization my child is missing out on to gain Mere Aca Demic excellence is this the socialization Edison. Alexander Graham Bell Macarthur. Patton. Ben Franklin Pat Rick Henry Lincoln Roosevelt and Sandra Day o Connor missed out on. As Long As there arc career moms and  boil a and breast feeders vegetarians and meat caters there will be people who consider non conformity in itself to be a criticism to those who choose convention. This Gap Between Home and Public schooners is human nature but not hopeless How about opening up extracurricular activities and things like speech therapy to parents who want to Homeschool but need extra support More people would Home school if they could be guided by a Public school on a satellite Type  Home schooler s Pat with the problems present in Public school maximizing the use of school sponsored Home schools could do a Jot to improve just about everything. With the growing trend of violence in Ameri can schools satellite Type Home schools perhaps computer centralized Are looking like a predictable part of our future. Family members of Home schools need to recognize the reality that those who Public school their children Are moral Loving caring devoted and yes Many Are god fearing Christian people. They need to communicate these beliefs to their counterparts. Tamara  West Germany. I believe this is the lord s commandment to me to Home school the children he has Given me. They Are really his children made in his image and created to serve him and bring glory to his name. And this is the Pur pose of our whole life and not Only of our Home  teach my children at Home because i do not compartmentalize life. Jesus commandment encompasses All of life without exception. To serve god with All of our minds certainly include studying. I believe All of life is religious. God is at the Center of everything for he made everything i want my Chil Dren to Sec god in every subject be cause he controls All things designed All things and planned All things. Victoria Carstens Baum older West Germany