The Plowboy Interview: John Holt

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HOLT: Yes and no . . . the legal situation is really quite cloudy. On the one hand, courts have said that compulsory school attendance laws are constitutionally valid. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has declared-in cases like Pierce vs. the Society of Sisters-that the state may not compel all children to be educated in the same way, or even in the same place.

On the whole, the trend of recent decisions has been in favor of parents. Soin most jurisdictions-a family that prepares its education plan carefully, cites enough relevant court cases, and supports its presentation with good reasons for home schooling and backup material from so-called education authorities . . . would have a four out of five, or maybe even nine out of ten, chance of winning the case either in the local court or on appeal.

PLOWBOY: But what about a familyliving in an area with an uncooperative school boardthat doesn't want to fight in court?

HOLT: Often, if you prepare your initial proposal to the local school authorities as if you were presenting a legal brief, your

Home schooling is part of our country-wide trywide movement toward selfsufficiency, smallscale activities, and indep en dence., opponents will back down right then and there. Still, if the school personnel are absolutely determined to make trouble for you, they'll do so. And I've told people who can't risk a court fight-or would obviously lose one where they live-that if moving is an option for them, they ought to think about doing that.

PLOWBOY: How does one learn enough about schooling laws and court cases to prepare a convincing legal argument?

HOLT: That's one of the services Growing Without Schooling provides. GWS is, among other things, a miniature law review-a reference book coming out a piece at a timethat is packed with legal advice and information concerning recent court cases.

The magazine also describes materials and ideas that are useful to home schoolers, reports on the experiences of people who are already teaching their children at home, and provides a directory of others who can be contacted for advice. There's no question in my mind that many people find GWS tremendously valuable. In fact, hundreds of people have written to say that they would never have had the nerve to home-school their children if they hadn't had G WS.

And as the magazine-and the movement-gets bigger, I hope to add lists of adult work places where children can visit and help out . . . families who are willing to be part of an exchange system so that their youngsters can visit in different areas . . . and school districts that are cooperating with home schoolers.

PLOWBOY: Just how big is the homeschooling movement right now?

HOLT: Nobody knows, but I'd guess somewhere close to 10,000 families.

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