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National Geographic Bee Contest Eligibility
Homeschoolers may participate! Here's
how!
Minnesota
Boy Wins 2005 National Geographic Bee NEW
The National Geographic Bee champion for 2005 is Nathan Cornelius
of Minnesota. The homeschooled 13-year-old from Cottonwood, in
the southwestern part of the state, edged out Rhode Island's
Karan Takhar, a 14-year-old eighth grader at the Gordon School
in East Providence, in a tense competition today at the National
Geographic Society's headquarters in Washington, D.C. by David
Braun, National Geographic News, May 25, 2005.
Dateline: 3/21/05
by Ann Zeise
I spoke with a member of the National
Geographic Geography Bee staff this morning. She explained
that the rules were changed last fall for the fairness to all.
It appears that the change was made to prevent "ringers,"
much as athletic competitions are organized.
Here is how homeschoolers may form teams. Actually, it seems
to be more in favor of homeschoolers than not!
By "homeschool association" the National Geographic
Society means any association of homeschoolers, not necessarily
a "state homeschool association."
The coordinator, however, must be an adult without a child
in the contest. The coordinator will receive and distribute the
contest materials and be the one to ask the questions at the
local Geography Bee, so they need to be impartial.
The winner of this local Bee will be given a chance to go
to the state level. The local coordinator will proctor the state-level
qualifying test. If the contestant is in the top 100 in their
state, they get to go on to the state-level Bee.
This rule prevents public and private schools from recruiting
"smart" homeschoolers to be on their teams and take
all the credit for their "fine education" should the
homeschooler win!
I realize that there are forwarded posts on many homeschool
lists, including my own, advocating boycotting of National Geographic.
This would be an over reaction, and would be cutting off our
noses to spite our faces. The National Geographic Society has
many resources we homeschoolers need, from free web geography
lessons to tv shows, movies and books that teach so beautifully.
I hope this makes it clearer how homeschoolers can participate.
I've arranged to have the Bee send me updates and clarifications
about the contest, which I will post below my signature.
STATEMENT FROM THE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE
March 21, 2005
We have heard from a number of people concerned about National
Geographic's treatment of home-schooled children in our annual
geography Bee competition because of an incident that recently
occurred in New Hampshire. Some correspondents are under the
misconception that the Society has "banned" home schoolers
from the event. That is not the case. This year, as every year,
the competition is open to children pursuing their educations
at home as well as in public, private and parochial schools.
Unfortunately, a home-schooled young man in New Hampshire was
disqualified because 2005 protocols were not followed in his
case. His parents, as well as the teacher who administered the
exam, acknowledge that the rules were not reviewed in advance.
Much as we regret any situation that deprives a child of the
opportunity to participate, National Geographic can't be responsible
for any failure to follow the contest's rules and procedures.
They exist to ensure that all children are treated equally and
fairly. And to make an exception after the fact could be unfair
to other students who abided by those rules.
13,000 tests have been submitted, and of those, only 32 have
been disqualified for issues related to rules compliance. Thirty
of the 32 tests were from public, private or parochial schools,
leaving only two disqualified home students. That statistic suggests
that the vast majority of students, parents and teachers understood
the process.
We have worked hard over the course of our 17 years administering
the competition to run it in a way that treats each and every
child with fairness and respect. We continuously review our protocols
for the competition, based on input from educators, parents and
the children themselves. While those changes are described on
our website and included in the entry materials, we will strive
to make any subsequent modifications and improvements even clearer
in years to come.
Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns.
STATEMENT FROM THE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE
March 18, 2005
The Society regrets any situation that deprives a child of the
opportunity to participate in the National Geographic Bee, but
it cannot be responsible for failure to follow contest rules
and procedures. The Society is consistent in its treatment of
all participants around the country to ensure that every child
is treated fairly and in the same way.
The rules
for participation in the National Geographic Bee by students
from public, private and parochial schools and home-schooling
associations have been posted on the National Geographic Bee
Web site since September 2004.
In 2004, procedures to register and participate in the Bee were
modified to ensure greater fairness to all participants. Those
rules state that for the 2005 contest, public, private and parochial
school students can only participate in the Bee at their school
if the school has registered with the Society. Home-schooled
students can participate in a Bee through their registered Home
Schooling Association.
In November 2004 all registered schools and home-schooling groups
received contest materials, which included the rules and procedures
for participating in the contest.
Of 13,000 tests submitted for the 2005 contest, 32 were disqualified
for not following the rules. Of those disqualified, 30 were from
public, private or parochial schools.
In the course of administering the Bee over the last 17 years,
the Society has learned to do so in the fairest possible way,
and all changes to the procedures are made with that view in
mind. All participants must abide by the same rules for the contest.
We regret that exceptions cannot be made because doing so creates
an unfair playing field.
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- Contest Tips from Amazon.com
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- Peterson's Winning Money for College : The
High School Student's Guide to Top College Scholarship Contests
(4th Ed)
by Alan Deutschman
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