txya900619/gigaword_nyt_p · Datasets at Hugging Face

text string	date string	type string
The rotation now stands at Brown, Chan Ho Park, Luke Prokopec, Terry Adams and, likely, Gagne.	20010701	story
``I've had some stiffness there, and (Friday) was worse than any other day,'' Dreifort said. ``We really don't even know what's going on. If there was some hard evidence of damage being done or if I thought I couldn't go out and help this team win ballgames, then, sure, I would have shut it down. But I didn't feel that way.''	20010701	story
Wallace and Tracy both added they weren't giving up on Gagne, 25, who is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three starts with Triple-A Las Vegas. However, Gagne's performed well in the past at Triple-A but has failed in numerous attempts at the major league level.	20010701	story
``I think if, in fact, Eric Gagne is going to get it done for us, for me it has to be done as a starter,'' Tracy said. ``That's the role he would serve best on the club, and I think that's the direction we have to initially head in and find out the answer to that question first.''	20010701	story
Their right-hander could be lost for the season, but more will be known after the swelling subsides and Dreifort is examined more closely.	20010701	story
The Los Angeles Dodgers will have to wait until Tuesday's MRI to learn the severity of the tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in Darren Dreifort's pitching elbow, but the team expects him to miss considerable time.	20010701	story
Even before Dreifort was injured, interim general manager Dave Wallace and special major-league assistant Dan Evans spoke with other clubs about obtaining another starter. But a lack of prospects in the Dodgers organization and an unwillingness, to this point, to add significantly to their $110 million payroll have been obstacles.	20010701	story
And it's Dreifort's pitching elbow, which hasn't been the picture of health. He had reconstructive elbow surgery on the same ligament (also called the medial collateral ligament) in 1995, and subsequently missed the season.	20010701	story
No matter the outcome of the MRI, Tracy said Dreifort will be lost for a substantial part of the season, making him the fourth starter of the projected five to miss time. Andy Ashby is out for the year after undergoing elbow surgery, Kevin Brown was one the disabled list twice and Gagnewas so bad - 1-4 with a 5.88 ERA - he was sent to the minor leagues June 12.	20010701	story
Those close to the situation said Dreifort's pain is extreme, which isn't a good sign. Dreifort left his Friday start after striking out Ben Davis to lead off the sixth inning. He said he didn't feel anything pop, though pitching coach Jim Colborn said Dreifort pitched with the injury for at least one inning.	20010701	story
``I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I tell you that it's going to be a little time as far as Dreif's concerned,'' Tracy said. ``When you say a sprain, there is a tear in the ligament. To what degree, that's what we have to wait until Tuesday to find out. It's a guy's pitching elbow, and there's some time involved with that.''	20010701	story
Dreifort has experienced stiffness and tightness in his elbow at times since then and has been handled gingerly the past few years because of the fear of injury. His pitch count was always kept near 100, and he was given extra days to rest when the schedule afforded the opportunity.	20010701	story
Some parents facing a truancy citation, for example, simply register their children for home-schooling, blocking further legal action.	20010701	story
But such numbers are of limited use. Maricopa County Schools Superintendent Sandra Dowling said she is not ``so naive'' as to imagine all are registered as the law requires.	20010701	story
Lewis' organization doesn't, he said. But board members must have ``a like mind-set and have a Christian viewpoint.'' Even the national Home School Legal Defense Association calls itself a ``Christian organization.''	20010701	story
But many home-schoolers say that's exactly as it should be: Because it costs no tax money, it's no one's business. ``The best laws are the ones that give parents the maximum freedom to choose the best education for their child,'' said attorney Darren Jones of the national Home School Legal Defense Association. Jones names Arizona one of the 10 least-restrictive states for home-schoolers. But what Jones calls independence a critic calls ``lax to the point of irresponsibility.''	20010701	story
``Everyone I know has their kids tested voluntarily. Some go beyond that,'' added Zowada, who said her children are staying ahead of their peers. ``I don't think most people would be concerned with legal annual testing.''	20010701	story
Arizona's lack of oversight surprised Zowada, who has a master's degree. She wouldn't mind if Arizona tested parents for basic skills or required children to be tested yearly.	20010701	story
LAWMAKERS DEBATE	20010701	story
``My husband and I aren't college-educated,'' she said. ``I don't know if that's why we don't push it on purpose. It just never enters our vocabulary.''	20010701	story
That percentage, Bennett added, is probably the same as the percentage of kids falling through the cracks in public schools.	20010701	story
Since 1995, Arizona has required nothing beyond registration, while the number of Valley kids taught at home has nearly doubled. Advocates say there are about 1.2 million to 2 million home-schooled kids in the country, a number that rises about 20 percent each year.	20010701	story
(PHOENIX) - Arizona lawmakers have spent years demanding testing and accountability in the public schools.	20010701	story
Many parents choose home-schooling to provide daily religious instruction, they say, but others simply seek higher standards. Some fear drugs, violence and bullying. Some have children who are failing or misbehaving, or whom counselors have suggested putting on medication.	20010701	story
``I think those kinds of things are just miserable,'' said Ahwatukee mom Mariana Leberknight, who dropped out of a home-school support group because she said members were more concerned with preaching than education.	20010701	story
Today, any parent who fills out a notarized one-page form is free to pull kids out of school and teach them at home. It's unlikely that anyone will notice what or whether these children are learning.	20010701	story
``I don't have any reason to believe that's happening, although we don't have a formal system to check on that,'' said Senate Education Chairman Ken Bennett, a Prescott Republican.	20010701	story
The result: Arizona has no way to gauge the quality of home-schooling. Supporters, many backed by conservative religious organizations, call that freedom; critics call it irresponsibility.	20010701	story
FAMILIES DIFFER	20010701	story
By PAT KOSSAN(a)	20010701	story
But that's not so for five-year home-schooler Glenda Lovera, who never expects to have her three children tested.	20010701	story
Neither Yale nor Harvard has numbers on home-schoolers' admissions rate or academic performance. Welner's research gives her no reason to believe home-schooled kids are doing any better or worse than kids in public schools.	20010701	story
Many states require annual testing of home-schooled students, or test parents for basic skills. Some prescribe curriculum or link home-schoolers to public or private schools for guidance.	20010701	story
Ann Beadleston, who handles registration for Dowling, said her office stopped counting kids over age 16 last year. She estimates there are an additional 1,000 children who should be registered but aren't.	20010701	story
Critics also complain that weak laws allow parents to pull their kids in and out of school on a whim and cost public districts time and money to help some of these kids catch up to their peers.	20010701	story
So how are these parents turned teachers doing? It's a hard question for researchers to answer.	20010701	story
Reach the reporter at pat.kossan(a)arizona	20010701	story
She doesn't have the $30 it costs, Lovera said, and she knows her kids have skills that tests can't measure. She's not worried about her kids' passing college entrance exams. She doesn't expect them to go.	20010701	story
``Why would you want to start monkeying with something that works,'' he asked, ``and doesn't cost you a penny?''	20010701	story
The main problem, she and other critics say, is that Arizona's hands-off approach provides cover for those parents who want older kids home to baby-sit, or work, or who just don't care.	20010701	story
It is even difficult to know how many children are being taught at home. Advocates report that 16,534 home-schoolers were registered in Arizona in 1999. This year, 6,300 Maricopa County children ages 6 through 16 were registered.	20010701	story
It's supported by the same legislators demanding more and more testing in public schools, Hartley said. But for home-schoolers, ``there's nothing.''	20010701	story
Three years ago, Zowada decided to teach her three boys in their Mesa home. She is not unhappy with local schools and expects the boys to return to high school and go to college.	20010701	story
This was replaced by a requirement that home-schooled children be tested every three years. By 1995, that law was gone, too.	20010701	story
Most state and national home-school organizations are part of the ``hugely political,'' far-right Christian movement, said Kariane Welner, a UCLA researcher.	20010701	story
(For use by N.Y. Times News Service clients)(a)	20010701	story
But at the same time, and with much less fanfare, they've been killing laws requiring the same for kids taught at home.	20010701	story
``I suspect there's a small percentage (of parents) doing it for the wrong reasons or (who are) in over their heads.''	20010701	story
``It's pretty lame, isn't it?'' Hartley asked, calling the state's lack of oversight ``very hypocritical.''	20010701	story
RESULTS UNKNOWN	20010701	story
Which leads Lewis to defend his organization's efforts to make Arizona one of the nation's least restrictive home-schooling states.	20010701	story
``They're out there,'' Beadleston said. ``A lot of people are not aware they are required to register, while others don't care. Some people object to government interference of any kind.''	20010701	story
State Sen. Mary Hartley, a West Valley Democrat, has tried unsuccessfully to tighten Arizona's law.	20010701	story
It was replaced with one that exempts home-schooled kids from ever being tested, including by the Stanford 9 or the new AIMS test.	20010701	story
PARENTS LIKE `FREEDOM'; CRITICS WANT STRONGER OVERSIGHT(a)	20010701	story
Lovera doesn't want ``home-schooling to equal anti-government, militant wackos.'' But she added that most parents she knows distrust government and are dead set against stronger oversight. In fact, Lovera sees no reason for some government agencies, such as Child Protective Services, to exist.	20010701	story
``That's just crazy,'' said Margaret Mangini, an Arizona State University research director. ``We're suppose to be caring for the children of this state, and there's no accountability.''	20010701	story
``Then they reach adulthood,'' Hartley said of the underperforming kids, ``and who knows what their prospects are for being a contributing member to society?''	20010701	story
Home-schooling began in the liberal political camps of the 1960s. By the mid 1970s, the Christian conservative movement took home-schoolers under its wing and defended parents from truancy and neglect charges as they lobbied for less-restrictive home-school laws.	20010701	story
WHY I LIKE BEING HOME-SCHOOLED(a)	20010701	story
About two months ago, I went to a football game at Maryvale High School. One of the teachers asked me what school I attended. When I told her that I was home-schooled, she and three other teachers had a good laugh.	20010701	story
I think schoolkids are subject to peer pressure, fights, abuse from their teachers, drugs, alcohol, guns and worse.	20010701	story
Adults have different views.	20010701	story
Another problem is that it's hard to concentrate when my siblings are fighting right next to me.	20010701	story
(PHOENIX) - Five years ago, when I was 10, my life changed dramatically.	20010701	story
Whenever I tell people that I'm home-schooled, I get different reactions. From kids, I usually get, ``Wow. That would be awesome. You could do school in your pajamas.''	20010701	story
The best thing is that I get to wake up at 8 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., and it takes me only four hours to do all my work. Another benefit is that my mom tailors most of my curriculum to subjects that I like.	20010701	story
c.2001 The Arizona Republic(a)	20010701	story
I'm not saying that home-schoolers are not going to run into that sort of thing. But I don't need stupid commercials telling me not to smoke pot or cigarettes or drink alcohol. I prefer that my parents tell me why not to do that stuff.	20010701	story
Due to my poor schooling at Joseph Zito School, my parents decided to teach me at home.	20010701	story
Home-schooling has its good and bad parts. The hardest part is just getting used to your own mother teaching you instead of a ``real'' teacher.	20010701	story
(For use by N.Y. Times News Service clients)(a)	20010701	story
By PETER LOVERA(a)	20010701	story
I am lucky enough to have a group that I go to every Wednesday where all my friends are. The moms talk about politics, curriculum, family problems. My friends and I play basketball, football and baseball.	20010701	story
``He will pick a subject and start working while I'm waking up,'' said Glenda Lovera, who took over the education of Peter and Grace five years ago.	20010701	story
School starts when Peter, 15, wakes Mom at 8 a.m.	20010701	story
``If you're going to be a disengaged parent,'' she said, ``you send your kids to school.''	20010701	story
(For use by N.Y. Times News Service clients)(a)	20010701	story
HOME-TEACHING BEGINS AT THE CRACK OF YAWN(a)	20010701	story
c.2001 The Arizona Republic(a)	20010701	story
``He's my most active child,'' Lovera said. ``I let him take little breaks, like 20 minutes. That helps.''	20010701	story
Peter's mother said he's doing mainly ninth-grade academics and is at about seventh grade in English composition, but is working through college-level mechanics books. Grace doesn't spell well, Lovera said, but is a great photographer and has a strong grasp of world history.	20010701	story
More and more home-schoolers are spending their afternoons out of the house, taking science or art or band classes at district or charter schools. Many take advantage of a growing number of classes offered by libraries and museums, and some form co-ops and hire tutors. Others send their kids to community college courses.	20010701	story
Nor does Lovera worry about unskilled or negligent parents hiding behind the home-schooling option.	20010701	story
The family's typical school day begins at the kitchen table with Taco, their tiny dog, curled at the kids' feet. Peter is adding fractions, Grace is skip-counting by sixes, and Richie is learning to write hundred numbers. Each week's unit of study usually begins with a related Bible story. For example, after God tells Abraham that his descendents will multiply like the stars, the Loveras launch into an astronomy lesson.	20010701	story
(PHOENIX) - School for the three Lovera kids looks a lot like breakfast.	20010701	story
Many home-schoolers begin their days around the kitchen table, where parents use a variety of workbooks, texts and informal discussion to teach basics: reading, writing and math.	20010701	story
Lovera and her husband aren't happy with their west Phoenix public schools. Among their complaints are low standards, the teaching of evolution as fact, drug-awareness training in kindergarten and sex education.	20010701	story
Children prove their skills through written work, where mistakes are corrected and explained immediately. The one-on-one time shortens classes, maybe to 30 minutes, and leaves no homework.	20010701	story
Peter acknowledges that it was hard to leave his friends, but not the stress he felt at school. Grace, who was tired of ``girls who were mean and said I couldn't be in their club,'' was ready to bolt first grade.	20010701	story
By 12:30 or 1 p.m. on most days, school's over. But Lovera sees many more days ahead.	20010701	story
That, advocates say, is one of the joys of home-schooling.	20010701	story
Then there was Lovera, who also was trying to conquer her own weaknesses: lack of organization and self-discipline.	20010701	story
``It's still hard, harder than teaching a group of kids,'' she said. ``I have to push myself to push them.''	20010701	story
Each Wednesday, Lovera and the kids head for a park, where Lovera shares tips and troubles with other home-schooling mothers, while their kids make friends. Most home-schooling families belong to support groups. But unlike many home-schooling parents, Lovera doesn't have her children tested or send them to organized classes a few times a week. But she still attends curriculum conferences, sifting through lesson plans, learning to inspire her children to do work they don't want to do.	20010701	story
By PAT KOSSAN(a)	20010701	story
Grace is working by herself on a computer program retyping spelling words into sentences. Then she drifts upstairs to the piano where she's teaching herself to read music.	20010701	story
Only Peter is still at the table, reading. State law requires him to attend one more year of school. Then he plans to pass his high school equivalency exam and learn automobile mechanics.	20010701	story
THE AIRMAN'S GOODBYE	20010701	story
Preflight check was set for 0330 hours.	20010701	story

The rotation now stands at Brown, Chan Ho Park, Luke Prokopec, Terry Adams and, likely, Gagne.

20010701

story

``I've had some stiffness there, and (Friday) was worse than any other day,'' Dreifort said. ``We really don't even know what's going on. If there was some hard evidence of damage being done or if I thought I couldn't go out and help this team win ballgames, then, sure, I would have shut it down. But I didn't feel that way.''

20010701

story

Wallace and Tracy both added they weren't giving up on Gagne, 25, who is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in three starts with Triple-A Las Vegas. However, Gagne's performed well in the past at Triple-A but has failed in numerous attempts at the major league level.

20010701

story

``I think if, in fact, Eric Gagne is going to get it done for us, for me it has to be done as a starter,'' Tracy said. ``That's the role he would serve best on the club, and I think that's the direction we have to initially head in and find out the answer to that question first.''

20010701

story

Their right-hander could be lost for the season, but more will be known after the swelling subsides and Dreifort is examined more closely.

20010701

story

The Los Angeles Dodgers will have to wait until Tuesday's MRI to learn the severity of the tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in Darren Dreifort's pitching elbow, but the team expects him to miss considerable time.

20010701

story

Even before Dreifort was injured, interim general manager Dave Wallace and special major-league assistant Dan Evans spoke with other clubs about obtaining another starter. But a lack of prospects in the Dodgers organization and an unwillingness, to this point, to add significantly to their $110 million payroll have been obstacles.

20010701

story

And it's Dreifort's pitching elbow, which hasn't been the picture of health. He had reconstructive elbow surgery on the same ligament (also called the medial collateral ligament) in 1995, and subsequently missed the season.

20010701

story

No matter the outcome of the MRI, Tracy said Dreifort will be lost for a substantial part of the season, making him the fourth starter of the projected five to miss time. Andy Ashby is out for the year after undergoing elbow surgery, Kevin Brown was one the disabled list twice and Gagnewas so bad - 1-4 with a 5.88 ERA - he was sent to the minor leagues June 12.

20010701

story

Those close to the situation said Dreifort's pain is extreme, which isn't a good sign. Dreifort left his Friday start after striking out Ben Davis to lead off the sixth inning. He said he didn't feel anything pop, though pitching coach Jim Colborn said Dreifort pitched with the injury for at least one inning.

20010701

story

``I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I tell you that it's going to be a little time as far as Dreif's concerned,'' Tracy said. ``When you say a sprain, there is a tear in the ligament. To what degree, that's what we have to wait until Tuesday to find out. It's a guy's pitching elbow, and there's some time involved with that.''

20010701

story

Dreifort has experienced stiffness and tightness in his elbow at times since then and has been handled gingerly the past few years because of the fear of injury. His pitch count was always kept near 100, and he was given extra days to rest when the schedule afforded the opportunity.

20010701

story

Some parents facing a truancy citation, for example, simply register their children for home-schooling, blocking further legal action.

20010701

story

But such numbers are of limited use. Maricopa County Schools Superintendent Sandra Dowling said she is not ``so naive'' as to imagine all are registered as the law requires.

20010701

story

Lewis' organization doesn't, he said. But board members must have ``a like mind-set and have a Christian viewpoint.'' Even the national Home School Legal Defense Association calls itself a ``Christian organization.''

20010701

story

But many home-schoolers say that's exactly as it should be: Because it costs no tax money, it's no one's business. ``The best laws are the ones that give parents the maximum freedom to choose the best education for their child,'' said attorney Darren Jones of the national Home School Legal Defense Association. Jones names Arizona one of the 10 least-restrictive states for home-schoolers. But what Jones calls independence a critic calls ``lax to the point of irresponsibility.''

20010701

story

``Everyone I know has their kids tested voluntarily. Some go beyond that,'' added Zowada, who said her children are staying ahead of their peers. ``I don't think most people would be concerned with legal annual testing.''

20010701

story

Arizona's lack of oversight surprised Zowada, who has a master's degree. She wouldn't mind if Arizona tested parents for basic skills or required children to be tested yearly.

20010701

story

LAWMAKERS DEBATE

20010701

story

``My husband and I aren't college-educated,'' she said. ``I don't know if that's why we don't push it on purpose. It just never enters our vocabulary.''

20010701

story

That percentage, Bennett added, is probably the same as the percentage of kids falling through the cracks in public schools.

20010701

story

Since 1995, Arizona has required nothing beyond registration, while the number of Valley kids taught at home has nearly doubled. Advocates say there are about 1.2 million to 2 million home-schooled kids in the country, a number that rises about 20 percent each year.

20010701

story

(PHOENIX) - Arizona lawmakers have spent years demanding testing and accountability in the public schools.

20010701

story

Many parents choose home-schooling to provide daily religious instruction, they say, but others simply seek higher standards. Some fear drugs, violence and bullying. Some have children who are failing or misbehaving, or whom counselors have suggested putting on medication.

20010701

story

``I think those kinds of things are just miserable,'' said Ahwatukee mom Mariana Leberknight, who dropped out of a home-school support group because she said members were more concerned with preaching than education.

20010701

story

Today, any parent who fills out a notarized one-page form is free to pull kids out of school and teach them at home. It's unlikely that anyone will notice what or whether these children are learning.

20010701

story

``I don't have any reason to believe that's happening, although we don't have a formal system to check on that,'' said Senate Education Chairman Ken Bennett, a Prescott Republican.

20010701

story

The result: Arizona has no way to gauge the quality of home-schooling. Supporters, many backed by conservative religious organizations, call that freedom; critics call it irresponsibility.

20010701

story

FAMILIES DIFFER

20010701

story

By PAT KOSSAN(a)

20010701

story

But that's not so for five-year home-schooler Glenda Lovera, who never expects to have her three children tested.

20010701

story

Neither Yale nor Harvard has numbers on home-schoolers' admissions rate or academic performance. Welner's research gives her no reason to believe home-schooled kids are doing any better or worse than kids in public schools.

20010701

story

Many states require annual testing of home-schooled students, or test parents for basic skills. Some prescribe curriculum or link home-schoolers to public or private schools for guidance.

20010701

story

Ann Beadleston, who handles registration for Dowling, said her office stopped counting kids over age 16 last year. She estimates there are an additional 1,000 children who should be registered but aren't.

20010701

story

Critics also complain that weak laws allow parents to pull their kids in and out of school on a whim and cost public districts time and money to help some of these kids catch up to their peers.

20010701

story

So how are these parents turned teachers doing? It's a hard question for researchers to answer.

20010701

story

Reach the reporter at pat.kossan(a)arizona

20010701

story

She doesn't have the $30 it costs, Lovera said, and she knows her kids have skills that tests can't measure. She's not worried about her kids' passing college entrance exams. She doesn't expect them to go.

20010701

story

``Why would you want to start monkeying with something that works,'' he asked, ``and doesn't cost you a penny?''

20010701

story

The main problem, she and other critics say, is that Arizona's hands-off approach provides cover for those parents who want older kids home to baby-sit, or work, or who just don't care.

20010701

story

It is even difficult to know how many children are being taught at home. Advocates report that 16,534 home-schoolers were registered in Arizona in 1999. This year, 6,300 Maricopa County children ages 6 through 16 were registered.

20010701

story

It's supported by the same legislators demanding more and more testing in public schools, Hartley said. But for home-schoolers, ``there's nothing.''

20010701

story

Three years ago, Zowada decided to teach her three boys in their Mesa home. She is not unhappy with local schools and expects the boys to return to high school and go to college.

20010701

story

This was replaced by a requirement that home-schooled children be tested every three years. By 1995, that law was gone, too.

20010701

story

Most state and national home-school organizations are part of the ``hugely political,'' far-right Christian movement, said Kariane Welner, a UCLA researcher.

20010701

story

(For use by N.Y. Times News Service clients)(a)

20010701

story

But at the same time, and with much less fanfare, they've been killing laws requiring the same for kids taught at home.

20010701

story

``I suspect there's a small percentage (of parents) doing it for the wrong reasons or (who are) in over their heads.''

20010701

story

``It's pretty lame, isn't it?'' Hartley asked, calling the state's lack of oversight ``very hypocritical.''

20010701

story

RESULTS UNKNOWN

20010701

story

Which leads Lewis to defend his organization's efforts to make Arizona one of the nation's least restrictive home-schooling states.

20010701

story

``They're out there,'' Beadleston said. ``A lot of people are not aware they are required to register, while others don't care. Some people object to government interference of any kind.''

20010701

story

State Sen. Mary Hartley, a West Valley Democrat, has tried unsuccessfully to tighten Arizona's law.

20010701

story

It was replaced with one that exempts home-schooled kids from ever being tested, including by the Stanford 9 or the new AIMS test.

20010701

story

PARENTS LIKE `FREEDOM'; CRITICS WANT STRONGER OVERSIGHT(a)

20010701

story

Lovera doesn't want ``home-schooling to equal anti-government, militant wackos.'' But she added that most parents she knows distrust government and are dead set against stronger oversight. In fact, Lovera sees no reason for some government agencies, such as Child Protective Services, to exist.

20010701

story

``That's just crazy,'' said Margaret Mangini, an Arizona State University research director. ``We're suppose to be caring for the children of this state, and there's no accountability.''

20010701

story

``Then they reach adulthood,'' Hartley said of the underperforming kids, ``and who knows what their prospects are for being a contributing member to society?''

20010701

story

Home-schooling began in the liberal political camps of the 1960s. By the mid 1970s, the Christian conservative movement took home-schoolers under its wing and defended parents from truancy and neglect charges as they lobbied for less-restrictive home-school laws.

20010701

story

WHY I LIKE BEING HOME-SCHOOLED(a)

20010701

story

About two months ago, I went to a football game at Maryvale High School. One of the teachers asked me what school I attended. When I told her that I was home-schooled, she and three other teachers had a good laugh.

20010701

story

I think schoolkids are subject to peer pressure, fights, abuse from their teachers, drugs, alcohol, guns and worse.

20010701

story

Adults have different views.

20010701

story

Another problem is that it's hard to concentrate when my siblings are fighting right next to me.

20010701

story

(PHOENIX) - Five years ago, when I was 10, my life changed dramatically.

20010701

story

Whenever I tell people that I'm home-schooled, I get different reactions. From kids, I usually get, ``Wow. That would be awesome. You could do school in your pajamas.''

20010701

story

The best thing is that I get to wake up at 8 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., and it takes me only four hours to do all my work. Another benefit is that my mom tailors most of my curriculum to subjects that I like.

20010701

story

c.2001 The Arizona Republic(a)

20010701

story

I'm not saying that home-schoolers are not going to run into that sort of thing. But I don't need stupid commercials telling me not to smoke pot or cigarettes or drink alcohol. I prefer that my parents tell me why not to do that stuff.

20010701

story

Due to my poor schooling at Joseph Zito School, my parents decided to teach me at home.

20010701

story

Home-schooling has its good and bad parts. The hardest part is just getting used to your own mother teaching you instead of a ``real'' teacher.

20010701

story

(For use by N.Y. Times News Service clients)(a)

20010701

story

By PETER LOVERA(a)

20010701

story

I am lucky enough to have a group that I go to every Wednesday where all my friends are. The moms talk about politics, curriculum, family problems. My friends and I play basketball, football and baseball.

20010701

story

``He will pick a subject and start working while I'm waking up,'' said Glenda Lovera, who took over the education of Peter and Grace five years ago.

20010701

story

School starts when Peter, 15, wakes Mom at 8 a.m.

20010701

story

``If you're going to be a disengaged parent,'' she said, ``you send your kids to school.''

20010701

story

(For use by N.Y. Times News Service clients)(a)

20010701

story

HOME-TEACHING BEGINS AT THE CRACK OF YAWN(a)

20010701

story

c.2001 The Arizona Republic(a)

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``He's my most active child,'' Lovera said. ``I let him take little breaks, like 20 minutes. That helps.''

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Peter's mother said he's doing mainly ninth-grade academics and is at about seventh grade in English composition, but is working through college-level mechanics books. Grace doesn't spell well, Lovera said, but is a great photographer and has a strong grasp of world history.

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More and more home-schoolers are spending their afternoons out of the house, taking science or art or band classes at district or charter schools. Many take advantage of a growing number of classes offered by libraries and museums, and some form co-ops and hire tutors. Others send their kids to community college courses.

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Nor does Lovera worry about unskilled or negligent parents hiding behind the home-schooling option.

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The family's typical school day begins at the kitchen table with Taco, their tiny dog, curled at the kids' feet. Peter is adding fractions, Grace is skip-counting by sixes, and Richie is learning to write hundred numbers. Each week's unit of study usually begins with a related Bible story. For example, after God tells Abraham that his descendents will multiply like the stars, the Loveras launch into an astronomy lesson.

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(PHOENIX) - School for the three Lovera kids looks a lot like breakfast.

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Many home-schoolers begin their days around the kitchen table, where parents use a variety of workbooks, texts and informal discussion to teach basics: reading, writing and math.

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Lovera and her husband aren't happy with their west Phoenix public schools. Among their complaints are low standards, the teaching of evolution as fact, drug-awareness training in kindergarten and sex education.

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Children prove their skills through written work, where mistakes are corrected and explained immediately. The one-on-one time shortens classes, maybe to 30 minutes, and leaves no homework.

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Peter acknowledges that it was hard to leave his friends, but not the stress he felt at school. Grace, who was tired of ``girls who were mean and said I couldn't be in their club,'' was ready to bolt first grade.

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By 12:30 or 1 p.m. on most days, school's over. But Lovera sees many more days ahead.

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That, advocates say, is one of the joys of home-schooling.

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Then there was Lovera, who also was trying to conquer her own weaknesses: lack of organization and self-discipline.

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``It's still hard, harder than teaching a group of kids,'' she said. ``I have to push myself to push them.''

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Each Wednesday, Lovera and the kids head for a park, where Lovera shares tips and troubles with other home-schooling mothers, while their kids make friends. Most home-schooling families belong to support groups. But unlike many home-schooling parents, Lovera doesn't have her children tested or send them to organized classes a few times a week. But she still attends curriculum conferences, sifting through lesson plans, learning to inspire her children to do work they don't want to do.

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By PAT KOSSAN(a)

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Grace is working by herself on a computer program retyping spelling words into sentences. Then she drifts upstairs to the piano where she's teaching herself to read music.

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Only Peter is still at the table, reading. State law requires him to attend one more year of school. Then he plans to pass his high school equivalency exam and learn automobile mechanics.

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THE AIRMAN'S GOODBYE

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Preflight check was set for 0330 hours.

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