Parents run a co-op school in Deptford
By Andrew Seidman, Inquirer Staff Writer
DEPTFORD TOWNSHIP Loren Dann began class Tuesday the way many children would like school to start: by handing out candy.
Before her students could unwrap the treats, though, they found out they had been baited into an ethics lesson. Should the 7- and 8-year-olds keep the candy or give it to a sick friend, who could surely use a pick-me-up? Perhaps more important, do they have a duty to do so?
"Today," Dann declared, "we are going to talk about charity."
Soon, the students were debating whether people had a right to health care, an education, home ownership.
Dann's philosophy and ethics class is not a traditional subject for a 7- and 8-year-old age group in most schools. But then, not much about the Academic Cooperative Community in Deptford Township, where Dann teaches, is traditional.
The secular home-school cooperative began this year and meets once a week from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thirty-two children ranging in age from 3 to 13 participate, and a parent in each of the 19 families is required to provide some sort of assistance. The co-op's six teachers are volunteer parents.
The co-op formed after a similar group in Pitman broke apart. The new group rents a building in Deptford that used to house a