Post by Charity on Feb 24, 2004 0:02:37 GMT -5
Homeschoolers Spell Victory
by Pete Winn, online associate editor
Home-schooled students scored a major coup this year by taking all three top spots in the national spelling contest and also doing well at the annual geography competition.
Twelve-year-old George Abraham Thampy, of Maryland Heights, Mo., correctly spelled "demarche'' -- meaning a step or maneuver -- to take top honors at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee on Thursday. Sean Conley, 12, and Alison Miller, 14, finished second and third, respectively. All three receive their education at home.
It's been a good couple of weeks for Thampy. He also finished second at the National Geography Bee, sponsored by National Geographic, last week. Jonathan Janus, another home-schooler, finished third.
"I'm just thankful to God that he allowed me to win," Thampy told CitizenLink. "I've been wanting to do this for almost all my life."
Thampy credited being home-schooled for giving him an advantage. He plans to give the $10,000 cash portion of this year's top spelling prize to his parents, Dr. K. George and Bina Thampy.
Conley, meanwhile, said during home-schooling he spent three hours a day to study spelling.
"I also did math, music, computer programming and a lot of other subjects too," Conley said.
Thampy's father, an accomplished biochemist and physician, said he and his wife made the decision to home school their seven children based upon their Christian values.
"We wanted Christian values to be instilled in our children," Dr. Thampy said. "We were more interested in their character, and as parents, we wanted to have a major say in their development."
The fact that home-schooled children placed 1-2-3 in the National Spelling Bee, and did well in the Geography Bee, is gratifying to Michael Farris, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association.
"It is yet another confirmation of the academic excellence of home-schooling," Farris said. "I'm just waiting until home-schooled kids start winning Oscars and the presidency."
Of the total 248 entrants in the contest, 178 went to public school, 27 were home-schooled, 24 went to private schools, and 19 to parochial schools.
Rebecca Sealfon, from Brooklyn, New York, was the first home-schooler to win the National Spelling Bee in 1997.
by Pete Winn, online associate editor
Home-schooled students scored a major coup this year by taking all three top spots in the national spelling contest and also doing well at the annual geography competition.
Twelve-year-old George Abraham Thampy, of Maryland Heights, Mo., correctly spelled "demarche'' -- meaning a step or maneuver -- to take top honors at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee on Thursday. Sean Conley, 12, and Alison Miller, 14, finished second and third, respectively. All three receive their education at home.
It's been a good couple of weeks for Thampy. He also finished second at the National Geography Bee, sponsored by National Geographic, last week. Jonathan Janus, another home-schooler, finished third.
"I'm just thankful to God that he allowed me to win," Thampy told CitizenLink. "I've been wanting to do this for almost all my life."
Thampy credited being home-schooled for giving him an advantage. He plans to give the $10,000 cash portion of this year's top spelling prize to his parents, Dr. K. George and Bina Thampy.
Conley, meanwhile, said during home-schooling he spent three hours a day to study spelling.
"I also did math, music, computer programming and a lot of other subjects too," Conley said.
Thampy's father, an accomplished biochemist and physician, said he and his wife made the decision to home school their seven children based upon their Christian values.
"We wanted Christian values to be instilled in our children," Dr. Thampy said. "We were more interested in their character, and as parents, we wanted to have a major say in their development."
The fact that home-schooled children placed 1-2-3 in the National Spelling Bee, and did well in the Geography Bee, is gratifying to Michael Farris, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association.
"It is yet another confirmation of the academic excellence of home-schooling," Farris said. "I'm just waiting until home-schooled kids start winning Oscars and the presidency."
Of the total 248 entrants in the contest, 178 went to public school, 27 were home-schooled, 24 went to private schools, and 19 to parochial schools.
Rebecca Sealfon, from Brooklyn, New York, was the first home-schooler to win the National Spelling Bee in 1997.