Homeschooler is tops among 5 million in Geography Bee

0 Comments | Insight on the News, June 24, 2002 | by John Elvin

Let's hear it for 10-year-old Calvin McCarter, the homeschooled fifth-grader from Jenison, Mich., who is the youngest winner of the National Geographic Bee, earning himself a $25,000 college scholarship. Calvin beat nine other older contestants by correctly identifying China as the location of the Lop Nor nuclear-test site. His victory was hailed by advocates of homeschooling, according to a report in INSIGHT's sister daily, the Washington Times.

"In public schools, classrooms are big and teachers can't make children listen," Calvin said. His mother portrayed her son as a regular sort of kid who likes climbing trees, collecting stamps and playing soccer. She also noted that he is "very focused." His parents decided to homeschool their children "because we wanted to provide them with a distinctively reformed Christian education, which they could not get outside," the Times quoted Calvin's father, Joseph Parnell McCarter, as saying.

Erik Miller, a 14-year-old from Washington state who also is homeschooled, came in third in the contest. An estimated 5 million kids participated in this year's event, which concluded with the hour-long contest won by Calvin.