In this interview with Beth, she discusses how living life is akin to gardening; what lessons her book can teach homeschoolers; a little bit about Beth's daughter Nikki; her approach to dealing with school districts; and an essay on "special" education that focuses on bringing out the strengths in our children.

Beth is a freelance writer, editor and regular columnist with more than 20 years of experience in mental health and education. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.A. in Psychology in 1966. She continued her education at Harvard University (Ed.M. in Educaton, 1967) and Yeshiva University (M.A. in Clinical Psychology, 1976). Beth has served as Chair of the Psychology Department for the Special Children's Center in Ithaca, New York, and has worked as Adjunct Instructor at Tompkins-Cortland Community College.

Life is like gardening

Joe:
I'd like to welcome Beth Bruno to our forum. You are a school psychologist and also write a regular column. You are such a prolific person working as a freelance writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience in mental health and education. In your first book, "Wild Tulips," you draw from your life and experience with children, relatives and friends. Could you tell us a bit about how these people are "wild tulips," and how you came to write this book?

Beth:
The people in Wild Tulips are parents, teachers and children who tackle everyday problems and find solutions to them. In this collection of stories, organized loosely around a gardening metaphor, people plant seeds, nourish them, and watch them grow, while keeping pests at bay, much like gardeners do. They then reap the harvest and begin anew . tomorrow, next spring or with a new generation.

Every story in the book has a botanical title that relates to its content. "Colt's Foot," for example, takes readers shopping at the mall for sneakers with a teenager whose determination to buy the most popular brand conflicts with his mother's search for a bargain. We all know what that's like, but the ending will surprise and tickle you!

My hope is that my book will stimulate constructive conversations about parenting, provide humor and perspective about this vitally important undertaking and lead adults to understand that our children raise us, too, while we are raising them!

Joe:
How do you think this book will be helpful to people who read it?

Beth:
Reader's tell me that they see themselves in my stories, think about similar situations and compare their approach versus those taken in the story. They start telling their own stories to others, opening healthy dialogue about memorable confrontations or successes in their families.

One reader commented, "My husband and I read the stories out loud to each other while traveling. Our conversations about the different topics explored in "Wild Tulips" have been amazing."

Another said, "My stepmother adores this book and dips into it often. It's like sampling good candy."

Lessons for homeschoolers

Joe:
Are there any lessons that would be particularly helpful for people who are homeschoolers?

Beth:
Homeschoolers confront the same issues classroom teachers do, issues such as: building self-esteem, maintaining motivation, setting performance standards, dealing with real or perceived failure, recognizing achievement, appropriate curriculum choices, socialization and the like. From my perspective as a school psychologist, leading cooperative playgroups, listening to parents, consulting with teachers and directly observing children in classrooms, I have many colorful and illuminating stories to tell.

I admire parents who take on the challenges and immense responsibility of homeschooling. In Connecticut, where I live, there are two statewide organizations, CHEA and TEACH, that offer wonderful support and services to homeschoolers.

Beth's daughter Nikki

Joe:
Your daughter Nikki loves to sing.
What is she doing musically these days?

Beth:
Nikki sings with a semi-professional choral group and stays in close touch with the a cappella group, Katzenjammers, that she joined while in college. She also loves books like I do and expresses that love as an editor for Scholastic, Inc.

Dealing with school administrators

Joe:
As a school psychologist, you have experience with school administrators. Many homeschoolers take advantage of community colleges at the high school level to integrate their programs with courses that would be advantageous to their kids. Many earn college credits as an alternative path to college. On the other hand, many public K-12 programs are resistant to trying to integrate their activities with homeschoolers. Why do you think this is so, and what steps should people take to improve this relationship?

Beth:
I think the resistance is based on lack of knowledge about the wonderful job many homeschooling parents are doing with their children. One negative story about a child who is poorly educated at home can start negative stereotypes circulating around a community. To counteract such stereotypes, I suggest that homeschooling parents begin by meeting with school district leaders.

School district policies in regard to homeschoolers come directly from the top, from the office of the school superintendent. If I were a homeschooling parent, I would start there. If the district superintendent welcomes the participation of homeschooled children in special events, on intramural teams, in music and art activities and the like, that positive attitude will generally permeate the entire district. Wooing the leadership is extremely important. Smaller glitches will be more smoothly resolved once the district leaders are behind you. Thank you very much for inviting me to "homeschoolzone.com" I wish everyone a challenging and rewarding school year!

"Special" Education
A homeschooling success story
by Beth Bruno

Increasingly, parents who are disenchanted with public schools are educating their children at home. In a study conducted in 1997 by Dr. Brian D. Ray, President of the National Home Education Research Institute, data indicate there are approximately 1,230,000 American children being taught at home. To put this number in perspective, there are more home school students nationwide than there are public school students in Wyoming, Vermont, Delaware, North Dakota, Alaska, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Montana and Hawaii -- combined.

Reverend Harper, father of 11, switched to home schooling after Todd, his eighth child, ran into trouble after the first grade. In the first grade Todd brought bugs, snakes, lizzards and other critters to a teacher who loved it. She warned him that his interests might not be appreciated later and she was right. Each teacher thereafter commented about his poor attention, behavior and attitude. It was difficult to say to him, "If you behave better you will do better," because he got straight "A's."

In sixth grade problems came to a head. The teacher and principal decided to use Todd's behavior as part of his grade. If he got an "A" but did not follow the rules, his grade was lowered. Rev. Harper considered this an abusive practice on the school's part.

He took Todd to a child psychologist who completed an assessment of his intelligence, learning skills and personality. He noticed letter reversals in his writing for which he compensated well. He also said that Todd had a photographic memory and total recall, so he can remember what he sees or hears the first time. It was the psychologist's opinion that the poor school behavior was due to boredom.

The following summer Rev. Harper and his wife examined six different curricula for home schooling. They talked with other homeschoolers, retired teachers and college professors. The curriculum they chose is broken down into 10 workbook/texts for each subject for each year. The teacher's guides provide complete lesson plans and answer keys. Math guides explain how the answers were calculated.

Todd completed four full years of math and reading material at home during the next two years. His parents are meeting the challenges of high schooling with help from friends and the community. His mother has a medical background and his father taught high school music. They teamed up with a Mexican nanny in the neighborhood for Spanish lessons; took physics from a traveling missionary out of Hartford who set up all the labs; and expanded his social horizons through friends and family. Todd's social skills far exceed those of most public school children, in his father's opinion, because he has become conversant with so many different people while being educated. Todd is also able to command the attention of groups where he is asked to speak.

Reverend and Mrs. Harper have now homeschooled four of their children and will start with the fifth next year when she is three years old. Their seven-year-old, who does third grade work, has never been to school. There's no such thing as "special education" in their home school and everyone gets all "A's."

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more homeschooling articles

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Many families interweave the traditions of different religions. My friends, Scott and Deirdre, who were raised in Jewish and Roman Catholic families, respectively, combined their religions when they married and now look ahead to educating their children, families and friends through the richness each religion brings into their lives. Find out more with a wonderful essay from my friend Dierdre.

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The Girlville Diner written by Kim Bolton and Chris Wave is a wonderfully charming collection of inspiring everyday life stories from a Christian woman's point of view.   These stories bring people closer to the true values of Christianity and remind us of how good life is and what values really are.

The Grey Knit Vest
by Linda Caroll
Grandpapa always read to me.
It is my sincere hope that sharing this story with you will inspire you to share something of yourself. How wise the words, "Sharing makes everything better." The need to reach out to another human being is instinctive, and as necessary as the air that we breathe.
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