Gifted children are children first, and they have educational and social-emotional needs that run all over the map. Anyone who knows gifted children is familiar with the sudden shifts within a child who might be doing high school level scientific study, handwriting at a third grade level, display the wit and wisdom of a middle aged adult, and…

Public education focuses on the lowest common denominator; cannot meet individual student needs; teaches competition; teaches children to learn for praise, not for the sake of learning; and has a 40 percent failure rate. These factors lead many to choose home schooling, but approaches to home schooling are so varied that a common definition of…

Myths concerning home-based education in England are discussed. These include the myths that schooling is compulsory, that there is one right approach in education, that there is such a thing as professionalism, that local education authorities have the right to access and cooperation, and that there is consensus among home educators. (RM)

Participants who attended three national alternative education conferences in Japan, Indiana, and Israel report on their experiences at the conferences and issues addressed, including freedom versus license, responsibility to poor children, funding for alternative education programs, democratic education, government role, and varying and…

A husband and wife team of Montessori-trained teachers started a private school in Brewster (New York) that also serves as a home school resource center. Their practices include mixed-age grouping, learner-centered instruction, optional standardized tests, parents in the classrooms, and frequent field trips. They endured 3 years of dealing with…