Posted: 22 Aug 2010 05:15 AM PDT

Christine Pritt helps her daughter Carrie, 11, with an algebra problem while her son Noah, 13, examines mold spores through a microscope. (Travis Pratt/Frederick News-Post)

by Marge Neal @ The Frederick News-Post

Getting accepted at a top-notch Ivy League college like Harvard or Yale is a dream of many students.

When siblings Anna, now a senior, and Jacob Pritt, a sophomore, were both accepted at Harvard, it was cause for great celebration at their alma mater, the School of Mom and Dad.

Christine and Mark Pritt took responsibility for their children's education when Anna was in fourth grade and Jacob was in second, and they still homeschool their other four children who range in age from 11 to 17.

Christine Pritt said she made the decision to homeschool her children after Jacob finished first grade.

Because of Anna's experience in kindergarten at Walkersville Elementary School, Pritt said she knew a lot of class time was spent learning the alphabet and other basic building blocks.

Because Jacob could read before he entered kindergarten, she decided to homeschool him that year so he wouldn't be bored.

But that year of homeschooling just put him that much farther ahead of his peers in first grade, she said. Both children were enrolled in the gifted and talented program at North Frederick Elementary School.

"And his teachers were excellent -- this decision had nothing to do with the quality of teachers," Pritt said. "But the system has little flexibility, and the large class size prevented any individual attention to the children."

As Jacob prepared to enter second grade, his teachers were willing to bump his math instruction up by a grade level, but the principal at that time wouldn't allow it.

"That was the straw that broke the camel's back," Pritt said.

Christine Colburn pulled her daughter, Calle, out of Montgomery County Public Schools when she finished second grade.

Colburn said her last straw was being called into the school because Calle was "fidgeting" at her desk. Colburn discovered that Calle was finishing her work much more quickly than her classmates, and then was expected to sit quietly at her desk until 30 other students caught up.

"I asked if she could be given other work to do, or be allowed to take a book out of her desk and read, and I was told that wouldn't be fair to the other students," Colburn said. "I love all children, but I'm worried and concerned for my child first."

This year, Calle will be a high school freshman, while younger sister Paulann, 8, is preparing to enter third grade.

Colburn said homeschooling comes in all shapes and sizes, from rigid adherence to a curriculum and daily schedule to what she called "radical unschoolers" who let the children make every decision.

While the Pritt family follows a set curriculum, the Colburns use a type of unschooling approach.

"We do not follow a curriculum," Colburn said. "My school is child-led -- I go with what their interests are."

Colburn uses a variety of books and other resources that interest her children while also delivering the skills and information they need. The delivery mechanism doesn't matter as long as the information is learned, she believes. "There are some parents who allow a child-led life and if the kids don't want to brush their teeth, they don't brush their teeth," Colburn said. "That's not my style."

If there is a common myth or misconception about homeschooling, it's that people believe homeschooled children are being educated in a vacuum.

"I wish people would stop asking me about socialization," she said. "My answer is always, 'What about it?'"

Her children are involved in activities, including dance and musical theater, they have plenty of friends, and they volunteer in the community.

She just started a homeschool cooperative that will allow parents to educate their children in small groups. They will be able to teach together, share resources and ideas and plan field trips.

Nancie Brengle, who homeschools two of her three sons, also takes issue with the notion that homeschooled children are socially inept and don't have friends.

She admits to at one time harboring the image of the homeschooled child as one chained to the dining room table, reciting the dictionary. Now that she knows better, she does everything she can to dispel that image.

Brengle, a Frederick County native, recently moved back to Maryland after living in Kentucky for 10 years. She said she was pleasantly surprised at the resources available and the mostly positive attitude toward homeschooling that she found here.

Noah Pritt, 13, said he enjoys homeschooling but doesn't have anything to compare it to -- he has always been taught by his parents.

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Posted: 21 Aug 2010 10:18 AM PDT

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Documents 'fudged' because of concerns about Russian response

Posted: 21 Aug 2010 10:03 PM PDT

E-mails between adoption workers involved with the case of a Russian boy who was sent back to his homeland alone by a former Shelbyville woman appear to indicate that reports about the placement of the child to Russian officials may have been "fudged."

In April, adoptive mother Torry Hansen sent 7-year-old Justin, also known as Artyom Savelyev, back to Moscow without an adult escort, triggering an international uproar over the adoption of Russian children.

The boy had been placed with the Hansens by World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP), a Renton, Wash.-based adoption agency, and the family had been investigated by Adoption Assistance Inc., an agency based in Danville, Ky, on behalf of WACAP.

The adoption had been finalized last November, when Torry Hansen received the official certificate, but the boy was returned to Russia on April 8 by Nancy Hansen, the boy's adoptive grandmother.

Justin was placed on a Moscow-bound plane alone with a note that described him as "violent" and "psychopathic."

However on March 29, a little over a week before the child was sent back to Moscow, an e-mail conversation was inadvertently forwarded to Torry Hansen by Janet Anderson, the Family Finders Program Information Specialist for WACAP, which suggested that adoption workers alter information in the post-placement report that was to be passed along to the Russians.

"Fudge" visit dates

An e-mail to Lisa Mosley of Adoption Assistance from Anderson dated March 18 dealt with "the edited version of the Hansen post--placement report," with Anderson saying they "need to stick 'exactly' to the template and cannot add or subtract any categories."

Anderson stated that a work or business phone was needed for Torry, but she told Mosley that "(w)e also need to fudge on the visit date, because it's too early by Russian rules."

"Visits can't happen any sooner than 30 days before the due date," Anderson's e-mail to Mosley reads. "The Hansen's due date to our office is 3/29/2010, and that would make the earliest date the 1st of March."

Anderson also said that "(w)e had to take out the last sentence where you were describing discipline, because it wouldn't translate well."

"The sentence describing talks and verbal reprimands is enough," she wrote. "Russians are very different disciplinarians (by Western standards) and we don't want any misunderstandings."

Anderson explained that they had "edited the sentence at the beginning of Family Unit/Family History," asking Mosley to confirm if Torry owns or rents her home.

"We also edited the portion where it states the extended family, 'live outside the home,'" Anderson wrote. "When translated, this might mean that they live in a tent or something..."

When the Hansens lived in Shelbyville on Highway 41A North earlier this year, their property consisted of several homes and a horse barn that were joined together by a fence.

Home school concerns

Anderson also told Mosley to "(p)lease be extra cautious" about future reports "for any family with a Russian adoptee with regards to the family homeschooling children."

"Russia really frowns on the concept of homeschooling," Anderson wrote, pointing out that a homeschooled Russian adoptee living in Pennsylvania "was murdered by his parents this year."

"If it is mentioned, you need to elaborate that the homeschooling curriculum is being administered by the state/school board/etc., and that the child gets to socialize with other children or is enrolled in sports/activities with peers." Anderson said. "Russia does not want to see the child(ren) isolated at home, and neither do we."

Anderson concluded the e-mail stating that when the final version of the post-placement report is submitted to them on letterhead, "we need to have the notary date and signature date match the date that the report was written."

"I know that this isn't best practice, but it is Russia's rule," she wrote, adding that if Tennessee required "any extra text or questions, you'll need to leave those out of this one and create another version (sorry)."

Mosley replied to Anderson three hours later, saying "I totally understand, you know best what Russia will want to see." Mosley said she would add "the highlighted info into the report and then print it off and get it to Torry to have apostilled."

Wishes the best

On March 29, Mosley e-mailed Anderson to say that she mailed copies of the post-placement report on the 19th to Torry, adding "I have not heard from her, but she is very responsible and I am sure she will get you the report as soon as possible."

Anderson then e-mailed Torry Hansen, asking if the report had been mailed yet, but when she did this, the entire electronic conversation between the two adoption agency workers was forwarded as well.

Speaking to the T-G about Justin earlier this week, Nancy said they still care about him and that they don't want him exploited, but the Russians have taken guardianship of the boy.

The Hansens no longer live in Tennessee, Nancy said.

She said it was her belief that a suit filed in Bedford County by the WACAP was an effort "to please the Russian government so that adoptions can continue."

WACAP filed a petition in May requesting that the county's Circuit Court appoint the agency as a temporary guardian for the child at the center of the controversy. The case has since been transferred to juvenile court following an agreed order, but no court date has been set as of press time.

Nancy said she wasn't going to get into the details of the case, but said "we know what happened."

"We don't care what people think about us," Nancy told the T-G. "We do what God thinks is right."

She also said the family "wants this to go away" and wishes the best for Justin.

Bedford County investigators have not charged the Hansens with any crime due to the fact that they have not been able to speak to the boy to learn what happened, or if he had been abused.

Homeschooling

Sunday, August 22, 2010

“Students go to head of the class with homeschooling” plus 2 more

“Students go to head of the class with homeschooling” plus 2 more

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