Homeschooling - Kansas city week in review

ON KCPT'S LOCAL SHOW, YOU EXAMINED THIS WEEK ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENTS OF AMERICAN EDUCATION, HOME SCHOOLING, WHICH IS ATTRACTING LOTS OF NEW CONVERTS. BUT AS YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEE, REMARKABLY, THERE IS VERY LITTLE REGULATION. I'M NOT A RADICAL EXTREMIST HOME SCHOOLER. I COULD INTRODUCE YOU TO LOTS OF THEM, LOTS OF MY FRIENDS, BUT I'M NOT. FOR AMY BURTON, HOME SCHOOLING, SHE SAYS, IS MOSTLY ABOUT PROVIDING A ONE ON ONE EDUCATION FOR HER KIDS. SO IF ANDREW IS STRUGGLING WITH MULTIPLICATION FACTS, FOR EXAMPLE, THEN WE'RE GOING TO SIT AND DRILL MULTIPLICATION WORK AND GET THROUGH IT ONE-ON-ONE. THE PRIMARY FOCUS WAS JUST TO INSTILL LOVE IN OUR KIDS AND TO PROVIDE A SUPERIOR EDUCATION THAN WHAT WE BELIEVED THEY COULD GET ELSEWHERE. INCLUDING HERE IN THE RAYMORE PE -- PECULIAR SCHOOL DISTRICT.   I ALSO TEACH A SURVEY COURSE IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. WHERE AMY'S HUSBAND JOB TEACHES, AND WHILE BURTON SAYS HEEN JOYCE TEACHING IN IN -- ENJOYS TEACHING IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL AND PRAISES THE RAY-PEC DISTRICT, IT'S BEING IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL EVERY DAY THAT MADE HIM TURN TO HOME EDUCATION. I'LL WALK THE HALLS HERE, AND YOU KNOW, YOU LISTEN TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON, SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS AMONG STUDENTS AND WHAT THE STUDENTS TALK ABOUT, AND YOU REALIZE, YOU KNOW WHAT? I DON'T WANT MY CHILDREN EXPOSED TO THAT. THAT'S NOT UPLIFTING. AND THIS IS THE MAJORITY OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT GO ON, AND SO IT JUST ACTUALLY AFFIRMS WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR OUR KIDS IS THE RIGHT THING. NOBODY IN TRADITIONAL EDUCATION DISPUTES HOME SCHOOL PARENTS CARE A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN, BUT THERE'S NO WAY TO TRACK THAT IN REAL TIME WITH REAL DATA. IN MISSOURI, HOME SCHOOL PARENTS MUST PROVIDE A THOUSAND HOURS OF INSTRUCTION DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR, KEEP A LOG TO SHOW SUCH INSTRUCTION HAPPENED, AND HOLD ON TO A SAMPLE OF THE STUDENTS' WORK. IN KANSAS, THERE ARE EVEN FEWER REGULATIONS. THE PARENT MUST REGISTER AS A PRIVATE SCHOOL, AND THE STUDENT MUST HAVE 186 DAYS OF INSTRUCTION. RARELY, IF EVER, DOES EITHER STATE CHECK ANY OF THIS. AND YOU CAN SEE SAM'S FULL REPORT ON HOME SCHOOLING DURING THE REBROADCAST OF THE LOCAL SHOW THIS SUNDAY AT 5:30. BUT IT IS KIND OF REMARKABLE THAT NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT HOME SCHOOLERS ARE DOING. WELL, NOT IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI. THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF STATES, PENNSYLVANIA AMONG THEM, THAT REQUIRE PARENTS TO SUBMIT THEIR LESSON PLANS AND BE APPROVED BY THE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT. IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI, IT IS A VERY HANDS-OFF APPROACH, AND THAT'S THE WAY HOME SCHOOLERS LIKE IT. BUT REMEMBER, THOUGH, IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR, MANY OF OUR VIEWERS WILL REMEMBER THE TEENAGER THAT WAS FOUND IN A NORTH KANSAS CITY BASEMENT HANDCUFFED TO A STEEL POLE, AND HE WAS TAKEN OUT OF SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER IN THE NORTH KANSAS CITY DISTRICT AS HIS PARENTS ALLEGEDLY SAID, I WANT TO HOME SCHOOL THE CHILD, AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SAID, WE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. IF A PARENT WANTS TO REMOVE A CHILD JUST BECAUSE THEY WANT TO HOME SCHOOL THEM, THERE'S NOTHING -- NO FORMS HAVE TO BE SIGNED? NO. YOU DO HAVE TO ALERT THE DISTRICT OF THAT. BUT ONCE THE CHILD IS TAKEN OUT IN MISSOURI, THERE IS REALLY NO OTHER CONTACT THAT THE PARENTS HAVE. SOME EDUCATORS LAMENT THAT. ARE THERE NO EFFORTS TO TRY AND INCREASE REGULATION?   NO, ZERO. IN FACT, HOME SCHOOLERS, AND ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE MAKEUP OF THE LEGISLATURE IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI, THEY WOULD BE MORE INCLINED TO BACK AWAY FROM THE REGULATIONS THAT THEY NOW HAVE, BUT THERE IS CERTAINLY NO MOVEMENT TO TRY TO IMPOSE MORE REGULATION IN EITHER STATE. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A CHILD GOES TO COLLEGE? WHAT IS THE VERIFICATION THEN OF HOW WELL THAT CHILD HAS BEEN LEARNING IF IT'S ALL LEFT TO THE SELF-MONITORING OF THE PARENTS? ONE OF THE THINGS THEY FOUND OUT IS THAT PARENTS -- HOME SCHOOL PARENTS WHO SEND THEIR KIDS TO COLLEGE ARE REALLY QUITE HONEST ON THE TRANSCRIPT. AND SO COLLEGES MORE AND MORE, AND IN MISSOURI, THERE IS A LAW THAT SAYS THEY HAVE TO ACCEPT THE HOME SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT. BUT MORE AND MORE COLLEGES ARE LOOKING AT IT AND SAYING -- AND KIDS ARE COMING IN, AS WE SAID IN THE REPORT, AND DOING QUITE WELL. YOU FIND OUT IN THE REPORT THAT WHILE RELIGION IS THE MAIN REASON WHY STILL PARENTS ARE HOME SCHOOLING, THE PROFILE IS CHANGING. IT IS. A LOT OF PARENTS ARE DOING IT SIMPLY FOR EDUCATIONAL REASONS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE PARENTS OUT THERE, EDUCATORS AND HOME SCHOOL PARENTS WHO ARE SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT, SANDY HOOK, OTHER SAFETY ISSUES MAY LEAD PARENTS TO TAKE THEIR KIDS OUT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND HOME SCHOOL THEM SIMPLY FOR SECURITY AND SAFETY REASONS. SO WE MAY SEE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE OF THAT? ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, SAM. YOU CAN SEE THE FULL REPORT ON THE LOCAL SHOW, THE REBROADCAST SUNDAY AT 5:30 RIGHT HERE ON KCPT. SAM, THANK YOU. NEXT, A TONY NOMINATION FOR THE KANSAS CITY REP. THE FIRST TIME IN THE THEATER'S 49-YEAR HISTORY. YOU'RE WATCHING KANSAS CITY WEEK IN REVIEW. CHRISTMAS ARRIVED EARLY THIS YEAR FOR KANSAS CITY'S REPERTORY THEATER.   A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL, WHICH HAD ITS WORLD PREMIER AT THE REP IN 2009 THIS WEEK WAS NOMINATED FOR THREE TONY AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST MUSICAL. IT'S THE FIRST TIME THE REP HAS EVER BEEN NOMINATED FOR A TONY IN THE THEATER'S 49 YEARS OF EXISTENCE. WITH US IS THE REP'S PRODUCING DIRECTOR JERRY GENOCHIO. WHAT WAS THE SCENE AT THE REP WHEN THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE, JERRY? JUST SHORT OF PANDEMONIUM.   IT WAS VERY EXCITING. WE KNEW THAT THERE WERE RUMBLINGS THAT THERE MIGHT BE A NOD TO THE SHOW, BUT NO ONE WAS EXPECTING IT. YOU JUST DON'T EXPECT THAT. AND WHEN IT CAME OUT WITH THREE AWARDS, JUST SHEER JOY THROUGHOUT THE COMPANY. NOW, WHAT I'M AMAZED OF, BECAUSE I WAS ONE OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS OUTRAGED IN 2009 WHEN YOU REMOVED THE CHRISTMAS CAROL FROM THE OFFERINGS AT THE REP TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS SHOW WORK. THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT. SO THAT HAD TO HAPPEN AS A COMPROMISE TO ALLOW A CHRISTMAS STORY, AND YET IT WAS THE HIGHEST GROSSING SHOW IN THE THEATER'S HISTORY, REALLY? THAT'S RIGHT. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. 31,000 TICKETS, AND JUST SHORT OF $900,000 IN GROSS REVENUE, WHICH PUTS IT FIRMLY IN FIRST PLACE, HAD 36 OF THE 48 PERFORMANCES SOLD OUT. 3,000 STUDENTS CAME TO THE STUDENT MAT -- MATINEES. IT WAS JUST AN UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE THE WAY THAT IT WAS RECEIVED. EVERYBODY LOVED THE MUSIC -- THE MOVIE AND HAD SUCH FOND MEMORIES OF THE MOVIE, AND IT WAS A VERY TRUE TRANSLATION TO THE MOVIE, AND PEOPLE JUST REALLY EMBRACED IT, AND IT WAS A HUGE HIT. HOW WAS THE SHOW DIFFERENT FROM THE SHOW THE PEOPLE SAW IN KANSAS CITY TO THE SHOW THAT PEOPLE WENT TO SEE THEN IN NEW YORK ON BROADWAY? I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IMPRESSED ME THE MOST, SEEING IT OPENING NIGHT IN NEW YORK WAS THERE WAS 70% OF THAT SHOW THAT DIRECTLY TRANSLATED FROM OUR ORIGINAL PRODUCTION, OF THE PHYSICAL PRODUCTION. OUR COSTUME SHOP BUILD COSTUMES FOR THE SHOW. OUR WORK WAS ON THAT STAGE. AFTER IT LEFT HERE, THEY DID CHANGE COMPOSERS, SO THE MUSIC WAS REWRITTEN, BUT ALL THE BOOK SCENES WERE EXACTLY THE SAME. OF COURSE, IT WAS NOMINATED FOR ITS BOOK AND ORIGINAL SCORE, AS WELL. ONE BIG DIFFERENCE, I'M ASSUMING, THOUGH, WAS THE PRICE. IT PROBABLY COST THREE TIMES AS MUCH IN NEW YORK. THAT'S RIGHT. THEY ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT US ABOUT BUILDING THE SET, AND WE LOOKED AT BIDS, AND THEIR BIDS WERE -- IT WAS AT LEAST 10 TIMES MORE THAN WHAT WE SPENT ON THE PRODUCTION HERE FOR ALMOST THE SAME THING, BUT THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS. NOW, 49 YEARS, WHAT TOOK SO LONG? I THINK IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIMING. IT WAS THE RIGHT TIME AND THE RIGHT PROJECT. THERE WAS A PRODUCER THAT CAME TO US WITH A DREAM. HE GOT THE RIGHTS TO DO THIS AS A MUSICAL AND KNEW THAT IT WOULD BE ATTRACTIVE AND LOOKING FOR A THEATER TO TAKE THIS RISK WITH HIM, AND HE APPRECIATE ERIC ROSEN, AND ERIC AND I TALKED AND THE COMPANY TALKED, AND WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A FANTASTIC IDEA, AND IT HAD THE SUPPORT. THE THEATER WAS READY TO CREATE A MAJOR PROJECT LIKE THAT THAT HAD OUTSIDE INTERESTS AND OUTSIDE PRODUCERS WHO COULD DRAW ATTENTION TO KANSAS CITY AND TO THE REP AND TO THIS PRODUCTION, AND IT DID, AND IT WORKED MARVELOUSLY. NOW, A THEATER IS BUILT ON MORE THAN ONE SHOW. HOW IS THE REP DOING? YOU'VE GOT TWO THEATERS NOW BASICALLY GOING, TWO STAGES. SIX YEARS AGO, YOU OPENED A DOWNTOWN STAGE. SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT, WOW, THAT'S RISKY. HOW ARE YOU DOING IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE? WE'RE DOING REALLY WELL IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE. EVERYBODY WAS HIT A LITTLE HARD IN THE FINANCIAL MELTDOWN OF 2008. BUT THE ATTENDANCE IS PICKING UP. WE HAD A LITTLE SLUMP AND THE ATTENDANCE IS PICKING UP, WHICH IS VERY POSITIVE, BUT ARTISTICALLY, WE'RE GETTING FANTASTIC RESPONSES TO THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING FROM OUR REGULAR SUBSCRIBERS AND NEW PEOPLE WHO ARE NEW TICKET BUYERS COMING TO SEE OUR PLAYS, SO WE'RE DOING PRETTY WELL. NOW, YOU WON'T KNOW UNTIL JUNE 9th WHETHER YOU'VE ACTUALLY WON THE TONY. THAT'S RIGHT. HOWEVER, A TONY NOMINATION IS A HUGE DEAL. BUT WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY MEAN NOW TO THE KANSAS CITY REP? CERTAINLY A HUGE PAY RAISE FOR YOU, JERRY? THAT'S HOW I CAN AFFORD THESE LUXURY SUITS NOW, THE PAY RAISE. WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE REP IS EVERYONE WATCHES THE THEATER COMMUNITY NOW UNTIL JUNE 9th. , AND EVERY TIME THE CHRISTMAS STORY IS MENTIONED, KANSAS CITY REPERTORY THEATER IS RIGHT THERE WITH IT. SO IT'S DRAWING A LOT OF OUTSIDE ATTENTION TO KANSAS CITY FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS. WHEN THE HIGHEST QUALITY BEST WORK IS DONE, THAT ATTENTION IS NOW BEING PAID TO KANSAS CITY FOR THE THEATER COMMUNITY, WHICH, AS YOU KNOW, IS INCREDIBLY VIBRANT AND GROWING STRONGER EVER DAY HERE. CURRENTLY AT THE REP IS DAVID MAMET'S TALE OF THREE SMALL TIME CROOKS, AMERICAN BUFFALO, DIRECTED BY AN EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED MAN. OH, IT'S YOU JERRY. IT'S ME. THAT RUNS THROUGH MAY 19th. THAT'S CORRECT. JERRY GENOCHIO, PRODUCING DIRECTOR AT THE REP, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US ON KANSAS CITY WEEK IN REVIEW. NICK, THANK YOU. I'M NICK HAINES. THAT IS IT FOR THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM. FROM ALL OF US HERE AT KCPT, THANKS FOR SPENDING PART OF YOUR   Captioning provided by Caption Associates, LLC www.captionassociates.com