Homeschoolers head to national robot contest

A group of homeschoolers from Oklahoma City have qualified to compete in a national robotics contest to be held in April, according to NewsOK.

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• Robot Building for Beginners: Technology in Action by David Cook
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

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The BEST Robotics National Championship is an annual event that pits student groups from at least 15 participating states against each other in a contest to see who can build the best functioning robot.

The championship features both homeschoolers and students from public and private schools. Last year, a group of Missouri homeschoolers took the top award.

The Oklahoma City group includes 30 students from grades six to 12. The group won second place in a regional competition held in Arkansas, qualifying for the national event to be held in Orlando, Fla.

The task this year was to create a robot that could sort golf balls from Easter eggs.

For more information about the BEST championship, or about starting a competition in your area, go to the BEST website, http://best.eng.auburn.edu/.

Your child might be a homeschool candidate if ...

If you are thinking about homeschooling but aren't sure yet if you want to take the plunge, there are some things to bear in mind. Above all else, homeschooled kids are unique, special, bright -- and sometimes scary smart. Here's a list that might help you decide if homeschooling is the right thing for your child. Your child might be a candidate for homeschool if ... When you watch "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," you catch him saying things like, "Ah yes, the Chronicles of St. Anselm," or "Alexandretta? Highly doubtful." He determines how much milk to pour into his cereal by calculating the ratio of Cheerios' nutritive values to his anticipated playtime energy needs in Joules. He not only understands Einstein's Theory of Relativity, but is working on a video documentary that will, quote, "blow the lid off the Einstein conspiracy." He can recite the names of all American presidents in order of height. For his third grade English essay he chose to write a 30-page report on the whimsy of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" -- in Middle English. He has nearly perfected his gourmet recipe for Beef Wellington a la Peanut Butter for chemistry class. He has ever explained that leaving the lid off the blender while making a milk shake was not an accident, but merely a test of chaos theory. The family pet has ever been an unwilling participant in your child's study of genetics. He has built a working flux capacitor into the family minivan. The United Nations has designated your child as ambassador to outer space, just in case. Light bedtime reading for your child is a chapter out of "Moby Dick." He laughs at the jokes in Shakespeare. He knows the last digit of pi. The messy piles of toys and clothes in his bedroom are actually a map of the molecular structure of a new element he calls "Madeitupium."

Homeschooling a fragile right

Earlier this week, President Obama gave a speech calling for more money for education and "innovation." He seemed to be focusing mostly on college tuition and programs, but homeschoolers may fairly ask, what about us? If you're looking for education innovation for pre-college children, it's unlikely to come from the union-ruled public school system. Homeschooling is itself a much-needed antidote to public schools' failures. But instead of backing homeschoolers, government at all levels either ignores the opportunities provided by homeschooling or even sometimes goes out of its way to put up barriers to parents who won't condemn their children to educational failure. In 2008, a California appellate court ruled that parents without teachers' credentials cannot legally educate their own children. Only the resulting outcry forced the judges to reconsider their opinion. But arguing that the court should uphold its previous ridiculous ruling was the California Teachers Association. Surprised? At the federal level, the National Education Association opposes homeschooling. While our homeschooling rights in California may sometimes hang by a thread, we can still be thankful that we don't live in Europe or other parts of the world. Many supposedly democratic countries in the EU have outlawed homeschooling altogether. In Sweden, authorities recently jailed Christer Johansson, father of 9-year-old Domenic, for taking his son home overnight from his state facility without official approval. The reason the boy is being kept separate from his family? Aside from letting the boy live with a couple of cavities and not following the Swedish government's vaccination schedule, the main complaint authorities have is that Domenic's parents were discovered homeschooling him. Now they only get to see their son for one hour every five weeks, and they can call him on the phone for 15 minutes every two weeks. The case is being appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. In New Zealand, Gerno and Andrea Schöneich are awaiting a decision on their application for asylum. The Schoneichs fled two years ago from Germany, where they faced fines, jail time and the threat of losing their children because they homeschooled. Germany continues to harass, threaten and jail homeschoolers who don't have the resources to leave the country. Homeschooling is also illegal in: Argentina, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Croatia, Greece, Netherlands and Spain. While homeschooling in America isn't currently threatened, we can't take for granted that it won't be, particularly when teachers unions hold such sway nationally and in state houses across the country. We parents owe it to our children to always be vigilant and make our voices heard. After all, our children are worth fighting for.

Homeschoolers make mark in science

People who are unfamiliar with homeschooling often have a long list of assumptions, most of them negative, about families who choose to educate their children at home. Among these is a belief that homeschoolers can never achieve in something as complicated as any sort of science. While science is probably one of the harder subjects for a parent to teach without school facilities, such as technical equipment and a dedicated lab space, it's doable, and some homeschoolers have gone on to make their marks in the sciences. Take two homeschoolers as cases in point: Francis Collins and Erik Demaine. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief Collins is the former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, which mapped out the human genome--the genetic structure of human DNA--and provided groundbreaking and crucial information for medical researchers worldwide. An evangelical Christian, Collins wrote an influential book called The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. He was appointed by President Obama in 2009 to be director of the National Institutes of Health. (Source: NHGRI, Genome.gov.) Demaine became the youngest professor ever at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he joined the staff at the age of 20. Demaine's youth was spent traveling the country with his father, who was a goldsmith and glassblower. Not only is Demaine a genius in mathematics, he has used his artistic talents to create an entirely new way of teaching. He is considered the leading theoretician in origami mathematics, which is now being used as a way to present complex mathematical concepts in architecture, molecular biology, robotics and other disciplines. In 2008, he had a show of his creations at the Museum of Modern Art, and many of his pieces are now part of the permanent display. (Source: ErikDemaine.org.) There's no telling for sure where these two men would be if they had been forced into public schooling. Through no ill intention (usually) of the teachers, public education seems designed to thwart exactly the kind of imagination that makes for leaders in science and other fields. As homeschooling parents, we need to always remember to be encouraging and never be afraid to let our children explore new ideas, because you never know where they might lead.

Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation

During this holiday, it's worthwhile reminding ourselves, or perhaps learning for the first time, our country's true history, which is so often glossed over, forgotten, or even deliberately rewritten for political purposes. Reprinted here is President George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789: "Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow. Highly recommended. The book is full of little-known facts about our first president and chief hero of the Revolution, such as a youthful, seemingly magical immunity to bullets that led one Indian chief to remark that surely God was saving Washington for a higher purpose. Also contains the true skinny on those "wooden" teeth and much more. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility [sic], union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789. George Washington" Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Written in the Stars

For stargazers, this is one of those weeks to stay up late (or get up early) for as the Leonid meteor shower is back in town. NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson, others. Nice, spiral-bound book that can lie flat for study or while you turn your attention skyward. Astronomy for Dummies by Stephen Maran. There's no shame in learning from this great series. The Dummies are always very educational and easy to follow. Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas by Roger Sinnott. Another practical spiral edition. History of Astronomy by George Forbes, Kindle edition. Get the story behind astronomy, from the ancient Chinese to modern day. And, it's free on Amazon. It's one of those impressive free shows that nature occasionally puts on. The intrepid few who are willing to get up a few hours before dawn got the best view, as they could see an average one meteor, or "shooting star," every three to four minutes in the eastern part of the sky. I'm not quite that dedicated to astronomical observation, but I did pry my family out the living room/entertainment complex long enough to go outside and take a look before bedtime. I only saw a couple of shooting stars, but we were all delighted at the clear sky, which allowed us to easily distinguish the different colors of the various stars that make up Orion (just about the only constellation I can identify with certainty). What's more, we got a magnificent example of how upper atmosphere turbulence can affect viewing as we watched two low-lying stars twinkling furiously and changing colors like a Christmas strobe. Topping off the show was an appearance by Jupiter, not far from the Moon. In looking up Jupiter, we found that this week is the last for what is called the planet's retrograde motion--that is the four months when Jupiter appears, from Earth, to move westward in the sky instead of eastward as it orbits the sun. Some of the best learning moments don't occur in classrooms.

The Procrustean Classroom

One of the subjects they used to teach in schools (and that homeschoolers can still get into) was Greek mythology.

After an exchange of Internet "gunfire" this week, I got to thinking about the old tale of Procrustes.

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MYTHOLOGY RESOURCES

• Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton
• The Greek Myths: Complete Edition by Robert Graves
• Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
• Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were: Creatures, Places and People by Robert Ingpen and Michael Page
• The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

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Procrustes was a son of Poseidon and a bandit who haunted the roads near Athens. He had a particularly nasty reputation because he was in the habit of inviting "guests," his victims, to spend the night on an iron bed he had made. If the guest didn't fit the bed, he was made to fit. If too short, the victim was stretched; if too long, his feet were cut off.

The online firefight was precipitated by a story on NPR's health blog, "ADHD On The Rise: 1 in 10 Kids Now Affected."

According to a 2007 federal survey, the number of diagnosed ADHD cases rose 22 percent from 2003. The reasons are unclear, according to the researchers. (Although the fact that the highest rate of increase was among non-whites and non-English speakers should raise some eyebrows.)

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ADHD RESOURCES

• CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
  www.chadd.org
• ADDA (Attention Deficit Disorder Association)
  www.add.org
• National Resource Center on AD/HD
  www.help4adhd.org

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The conflict was between those who were adamant that children need to be medicated in order to control them, and my examples of children I've known who were deemed classroom troublemakers but flourished under homeschooling without needing to be put into an induced coma.

Most homeschoolers probably know how this story goes. Once a child is labeled, usually by the first or second grade, that's it. The rest of a public school career will probably be spent living down to expectations.

As with the story of Procrustes, it's not the "guests" who are the problem, it's unyielding perceptions. Too many schools don't listen to the children or have any respect for differences in learning. The results are written in the newspapers every year as more and more children drop out of high school.

Yet we keep throwing tax money at failure.

Don't get me wrong. There are definitely real problems for some students who can benefit from medicine. However, there is also a clear tendency to label and dose children who just learn differently.

If schools ever hope to fulfill their job of educating children, they need to reorient themselves around the children's needs, not the needs of teachers, state education officials, the pharmaceutical industry or self-absorbed parents.

Don't Know Much About History

One of the reasons so many of us parents take on the burden of homeschooling is because we have experienced, one way or another, the biases and shortcomings of the textbooks that are used in public education. Take history books, for example. The texts being used today in most schools don't often bear a strong resemblance to what we parents were taught when we were children. And what we were taught was often a watered-down version of what our own parents were taught. I don't know exactly how it happened, but through the years, successive history texts have bit by bit glossed over key points in our history, buried certain facts that used to be considered basic, played up lesser events, and sadly come to promote a viewpoint that seems to have more to do with a political agenda than education. Going even further back in history results in an even bleaker picture, as the Judeo-Christian contribution to western civilization and the world often gets downplayed or distorted. The only real solution to the problem is to turn to different scholars and even to original sources, an intimidating task made only slightly easier by the Internet. But what sources? How do you find them? There's no way around it--parents are going to have to work to dig up the information our kids should have. We're at a distinct disadvantage as we have to fill in the gaps in our own educations. We have to play catch up so that one day our children won't have to. In an effort to help other parents, here is a list of some of the sources, both original and scholarly, that I have found useful in teaching early American history. Some of them are obvious, some might not occur to you: A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen. An engaging overview of American history. The Five Thousand Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen. Examines the founding principles of our country and where the Founding Fathers got their inspiration. The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. Reasoning and defense of American constitutional principles, from the minds of some of the Founding Fathers themselves. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Not strictly history, but in its allegorical tale, very revealing of the mindset of the Puritans who carved a country out of a wilderness. Thomas Jefferson: Writings. Any edition of Jefferson's works will be illuminating. Jefferson, of course, was largely responsible for the writing of the Declaration of Independence, which remains a fundamental proclamation of the American mind. Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior by George Washington. Full of wise sayings and observations, made all the more remarkable by the fact that the book was originally written by Washington in French when he was a young teen. The Republic and the Laws by Marcus Tullius Cicero. A bit of a hard slog, but Cicero was inspirational to the Founding Fathers for his description of Natural Law and his ideas about republican government.

Why We Homeschool

Nonconformists. Wackos. Extremists. Fanatics.

Homeschooling parents get called a lot of names in the media and occasionally to their faces. The above are just some of the few that are printable in a family environment.

As amazed as some people can be that anybody would attempt homeschooling, I'm equally amazed at how few people realize that homeschooling was the norm in this country probably until about the beginning of the 20th century.

Remember those Founding Fathers who set up this formerly great country of ours? Homeschooled, nearly all of them.

Of course, I suspect parents back then generally felt more qualified to teach their children. By all accounts, even a simple farmer in Colonial times not only was literate, but was well-versed in history and probably could have debated circles around many of our modern politicians.

There is a long list of reasons why parents abandon our modern schools in favor of the burden of homeschooling. Most of them boil down to the central failure of our public school system to actually teach children fundamental skills and the schools' abandonment of common American history and culture in favor of "diversity" and special-interest indoctrination.

I don't know if my child can ever reach the intellectual heights of a John Adams or Thomas Jefferson, but I do want him to love his country, and I want him to be able to think logically and clearly (a rare ability these days), and I want him to understand his culture and what makes America special.

I've seen hopeful signs. After years of exclusive homeschooling, my child's taking a couple of classes at the local public school. He wanted to try his hand at a more structured environment (and get to use a real laboratory). By his and his teachers' accounts, on most days, he blows the non-homeschoolers out of the water.

He's still at the age where he parrots a lot of my opinions, but he's started asking his own questions and formulating his own ideas about things, and that's something for a parent to be proud of, too.

But it's a lot of work, this homeschooling. It's early mornings, long struggles with difficult homework, responsibility for challenging a budding mind. Sometimes it means sacrificing work or social opportunities to help forge your child's future.

Ultimately, the main reason any parent chooses to homeschool is because he loves his kids. And if that's extreme, well then, call us extremists.