A Deschooling Reader
published in the September 1996 issue of Home Rules, the newsletter of the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents
This is the title of a 27-page booklet produced by the Love and Rage Community Society in Vancouver, B.C. The booklet is intended to present, in a concise form, an introduction to the "philosophical and practical arguments for deschooling, 'free' schools and homelearning in a direct and open way," and does it ever succeed. Most of the booklet consists of excerpts from books and articles by well-known writers in the field. The lead article is by John Gatto, entitled "The Public School Nightmare: why fix a system designed to destroy individual thought?" In it he traces the roots of the present compulsory public school system and explains how its origin and continuing presence in our society deliberately creates within its clientele a disempowerment, a lack of the ability to think creatively, and a willingness to go along with whatever it is told is for the common good. Other contributors include Heidi Priesnitz, Grace Llewellyn, David Guterson, Matt Hern, Mimsy Sadolsky, Susannah Sheffer, and Gus & Geraldine Lyn-Piluso. This is a great introduction for anyone wanting to know what home and community-base education is all about. Copies can be ordered from Matt Hern, 1450 Venables, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 2G5, (604) 255-9603. Cost $2.50 each, $20 for 10, or $75 for fifty issues.
Editor's Note: Matt Hern has also edited a book entitled Deschooling Our Lives, with a foreword by Ivan Illich, published by New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C. It can be ordered from Parentbooks in Toronto (see our Resource Page), or from the Canadian Alliance of Home Schoolers.KG
