The first day I taught my three children at home, I cleaned up the playroom and set up three

desks.

I hung an American flag at the front of the room and led them in the pledge of allegiance.

I was shaking with nervousness.

It was 1973 and my husband Jay and I had just done something radical.

We had removed our children from school.

I was terrified, which was ridiculous.

After all, I was a state-certified teacher.

I taught public school for six years.

I'd taken postgraduate courses in education from Tulane University, the College of William

and Mary, and the University of Virginia.

One year, I'd managed 38 second graders from dawn till dusk.

No lunch break, no recess break, and no teachers aid.

Yet, I was completely intimidated by those three little children, certain that I couldn't

do an adequate job of teaching them myself.

All my teacher education had brainwashed me.

I was convinced that parents couldn't possibly teach their own children, certainly not at

home.

It had to be done in an institutional setting, run by professionals with their resources

and specialized training and expertise.

Unfortunately, the professionals had let us down.

I wasn't a stranger to failures in the system.

...