The chilly, wet air of Bainbridge Island, Washington, practically gusts out of this book, written with such descriptive flair that it effortlessly whisks readers into the life of David Guterson, a homeschooler who despises the word and who fell into the practice by accident after he and his wife suffered anxiety attacks over sending their oldest son to school. Guterson is best known for Snow Falling on Cedars, the fictional bestseller he wrote three years after this honest examination of the ultimate in school alternatives. Before he became a prizewinning author, Guterson was a high school English teacher. It is this contradiction--schooling his own children at home, while teaching his neighbors' children in school--that Guterson tries to dissect and defend. He does so with the same fresh, poetic prose that distinguishes his fiction. Some of the characters may sound vaguely familiar. In one chapter, Guterson is forced to defend homeschooling when he moonlights with a gillnetter who believes the practice threatens democracy. Guterson's detailed account of that night--the fisherman's cadence of speech and body language, the misty isolation of the Pacific after dark--seems like a practice run for Snow Falling on Cedars. Still other chapters get downright erudite, with references to contemporary education books by such authors as Tracy Kidder, E.D. Hirsch Jr., and Jonathan Kozol, as well as citations of important research in the field. Guterson weaves these theories and facts into his own life to support his contention that all parents should have a wealth of choices when it comes to educating their children, and that school districts should foster and assist in these choices.

As for Guterson's three sons, their days are described as rich, active, and simply fun, with trips to theaters, a sheep farm, a medieval fair, art galleries, science centers, and other hands-on experiences that ignite their passion for learning. Guterson claims he's not stumping for homeschooling and, true to his word, he devotes a chapter to his lawyer father's stance on the issue (he opposes keeping his grandsons out of school, but defends the rights of parents to do so). Still, the author makes a well-reasoned case for accepting parents as their children's chief educators. Even if you don't agree, you will enjoy getting to know Guterson and his clear-headed, lyrical look at life. --Jodi Mailander Farrell


From Publishers Weekly
Despite the paradox of his position as a public high school teacher in Washington State who advocates home schooling (and provides it for his three sons), Guterson mounts a strong challenge to "the doctrine of school's necessity." He profiles the home-school movement, which encompasses more than 300,000 families in America, and probes the wide variety of motives behind its growth. The most common, he finds, is parents' dissatisfaction with the mass, prescribed and other-directed nature of public education. Guterson argues that properly practiced home-schooling produces academic success, lessens peer pressure and allows children to become independent. We see these benefits in his depiction of his own family's experience, but he scants the commitment in time and resources that home schooling requires of parents. He covers legal obstacles and community resistance that await those who embark on this traditional undertaking today. While not a panacea for America's educational malaise, home schooling as presented here should prompt educators to reflect on their own approaches. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Guterson brings an interesting perspective to the question of homeschooling. Although he teaches English in a large public high school, he and his wife prefer to instruct their own children at home. Here, he articulates many of the problems of the American education system and, to a degree, makes a strong case for the role of homeschooling in contributing to the solution. The strength of his argument is the importance he attaches to the involvement of families in the education of their children. The weakness is in the idea that homeschooling might work for every family. Particularly effective is his clear presentation of the legal basis for homeschooling (the author's attorney father, though personally opposed to homeschooling, has helped many families in achieving their right to teach their children at home). This book is a useful contribution to education literature. For public libraries.- Hilma F. Cooper, Cheltenham Twp. Libs., Pa.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
A wide-ranging look at the benefits of parents educating their children at home. Guterson (The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind, 1989) teaches English in a Washington State high school, but he and his wife school their own three boys at home. The boys are among an estimated 300,000 or more children nationwide who learn the three Rs--plus science, geography, philosophy, literature, and more--at the dining-room table instead of at a school desk. The boys also roam far afield, visiting workplaces, museums, libraries, and nature centers; joining peers in Little League and swimming lessons or for art, music or drama; spending time with other adults in the community, including a home for the elderly. It's the flexibility to make use of the rich resources of the community that Guterson counts as a plus for homeschooling. But more important, he asserts, is the opportunity to guide children in learning at their individual paces, impossible even in so-called child-centered public schools with their crowded classrooms and mandated curricula. Here are thoughtful and well-documented answers to most of the questions asked about homeschooling. Is it legal? Yes. Some states, in fact, give strong moral and even financial support to homeschoolers. Do the children learn? Overall, they do as well or better on standard tests as children schooled in classrooms--no matter what the educational level of the parents. Are they socialized? This question, says Guterson, has many layers but, yes, homeschooled children have friends and playmates; yes, they learn- -perhaps better than peers who are isolated in classrooms--what society expects of them. Homeschooling is not for everyone, but Guterson sees it as a growing and worthy alternative in an educational system badly in need of fundamental restructuring. A literate primer for anyone who wants to know more about alternatives to the schools. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


From Book News, Inc.
Guterson, a high school English teacher who teaches his own children at home, examines life at school as well as the opportunities offered by learning outside it. He also provides a broader context: the remarkable academic success of homeschooled children, the history of public schools, philosophies of education, psychological research on learning, and education in other societies. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Book Description
An honest, perceptive discussion of children, education, and our common life as a nation by the bestselling author of Snow Falling on Cedars. A high school English teacher, Guterson and his wife educate their own children at home. “A literate primer for anyone who wants to know more about alternatives to the schools” (Kirkus Reviews). Index.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Education begins in the home" - how many times have we heard that well-worn adage from teachers, parents, social workers, politicians? Yet how many have taken it seriously? While David Guterson teaches his neighbors' kids in his high school classroom, he teaches his own at home. With one foot in each world, he examines life at school and the inexhaustible, inspiring opportunities offered by learning outside it. The most important lesson he has to teach is that no matter where education takes place, family matters; homeschooling is just one way of embodying that neglected truth and reaffirming the bond between parents and their child. Addressing the questions that any parent would ask - "What about your sons' socialization?" "Aren't you abandoning the schools?" "Is it legal?" "How can you afford it?" - Guterson also provides a broader context: the astonishing academic success of homeschooled children (regardless of their parents' own educational background), the history of public schools, philosophies of education, what psychological research tells us about learning, and how other societies have handled the teaching of children. He makes concrete proposals for cooperation between families and schools, giving examples of successful programs already begun. Throughout, he evokes the priorities and values that should be at the heart of any discussion of education: family life, individual fulfillment, democracy, community.

FROM THE CRITICS

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