Some of the inclusions in this listing stretch the definition of homeschooler, but it’s an interesting collection nonetheless, titled The World’s 15 Most Extraordinary Homeschoolers and including some we’ve covered in the past (Astra Taylor, Tim Tebow), some we weren’t familiar with but will definitely check out (Jedediah Purdy, Sho Yano), and some we were surprised to learn about (Condoleezza Rice, Julian Assange):

Boring, unathletic, antisocial, fashion-challenged, politically retrograde, culturally backward, religiously extreme…the list of homeschooler stereotypes is seemingly endless and almost entirely negative. Despite the growing popularity of the homeschooling movement in the United States and around the world, homeschooling and its graduates continue to be viewed with suspicion, and not a little condescension, by the mainstream. But as our list of the world’s 15 most extraordinary homeschoolers shows, the homeschooling population is extraordinarily diverse, defying every attempt to shoehorn them into a single mold. The homeschoolers on this list are geniuses and jocks, conservatives and progressives, fundamentalists and hippies, scientists and artists….

Continue reading at the link above.

Interesting article from ESPN:

“With action sports now an estimated $20 billion global business, and sponsors providing substantial salaries to young talent in an effort to lock up the next generation of stars, a growing number of athletes in surfing, skateboarding, BMX, motocross and snowboarding have discovered that their career aspirations conflict with school. For those who don’t drop out altogether, home school has become an increasingly handy option.”

Read the entire feature-length article (with photos) at the link above.

LEBANON, Ohio — Kelly and April Kamentz would like to see all of their six children play sports on Lebanon schools teams.

But the 19-year residents of the district may not get that chance because their children are homeschooled, and like other Warren County schools that have high “partial enrollment” requirements, Lebanon requires student-athletes to take at least five classes a year.

“As a resident, as a taxpaying citizen, I’ve invested my life in Lebanon,” Kelly Kamentz said. “I hope that Lebanon will adopt what we consider to be a more reasonable definition of partial enrollment.”

Continue reading Parents of homeschool children want sports, subtitled OHSAA’s rules leave room for interpretation; each school district gets the final say, by Richard Wilson, Staff Writer for the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio.

Two 8th grade homeschoolers from North Manchester, Indiana competed in the Wabash County Special Olympics on Saturday, May 8 and came away with gold and silver medals and a fourth place ribbon.

Isaiah Akins, homeschooler of North Manchester, brought home a fourth place ribbon in the shot put, a silver in the 100, silver in the 400 relay and a gold in the 200 meter. His twin brother, Isaac, won gold in shot put, gold in the 400, gold in the 100 meter and silver in the 400 relay.

Check out the delightful photos and video and continue reading Local homeschoolers compete in Special Olympics, bring home gold with aid of college student coaches, by Karla Akins, in the Fort Wayne Homeschooling Examiner.

From Literacy News, which reports on literacy issues which affect the workplace and education systems, one of those countdown pieces subtitled ’10 reasons why public school is better than homeschool’ starts out with:

1. Most parents were educated in the under funded-public school system, and so are not smart enough to homeschool their own children.

It gets worse. But it’s not what you think. File under satire…

Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center Director Dr. David Katz was among those honored in the October 2009 issue of Children’s Health magazine as one of 25 leaders, experts, advocates, and role models considered to be powerful influences on the lives of our children. In a Huffington Post commentary, Attention Deficit Disorder: Ritalin Or Recess?, Dr. Katz notes a recent CDC report on children and physical activity: “As often seems to be the case, modern analytic methods and systematic review of evidence landed us right in the middle of Grandma’s common sense counsel: sound mind, sound body.”

Dr. Katz continues, “Children used to play outside. They used to have physical education and recess during the school day. More and more, we take naturally rambunctious children, send them to schools from which recess and Phys Ed have been all but banished, bolt them to chairs all day long, and then watch them grow into adults we can’t get off couches with crowbars! And, alas, along the way we medicate more and more of them for attention disorders. Could it be that WE are the ones who have not been paying sufficient attention to the natural, healthy restlessness of children?”

HEM’s Closer Look at homeschooling and physical education.

Homeschooling is an option for many kids with demanding training schedules and a dedicated parent or tutor. USA Today reported in 2005 on the growing trend to homeschool elite athletes, with reporter Sal Ruibal noting that athletes who are homeschooled have the flexibility to get adequate workout time, nutrition and rest—something a traditional school would not afford. Olympic swimmer Katie Hoff and 2010 snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White are among the Olympians who were homeschooled.

The news that the Alabama Senate committee blocks Tim Tebow Bill is certainly not surprising.   You can go to the site to read more about it, but one sentence caught my eye,  Erwin said the bill would not impose a burden on schools, but state education officials said the bill is unworkable because there are no academic standards for home-schooled children.

I don’t know if all state education departments are connected to public school sports, but they are in my state.  If you want to play with a public school sport team here, you must enroll at least part time.  I don’t  know when sports got intertwined with public school academics, but it is a shame that they have, but there is no free lunch.  If you want to play public school sports in my state, it has to be by their rules.    I’m reminded of an excellent article written by my good friend Peggy Daly Masternak, One Problem… And One Possible Solution.

–Mary

Home-schoolers take the field, 2 July 2008,The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, Louisiana

[T]wo bills that would have created a similar law in Louisiana were introduced this regular legislative session, but both died in the Senate Education Committee. Even before the fate of the bill could be determined, Greg “Spanky” Arsement, began forming Acadiana Home School Athletics. Mainly through word-of-mouth, the group began to grow and after a meeting two months ago, a six-member board formed and Greg Arsement became director of the program.

Growing Cheers for the Home-Schooled Team, 16 March 2008, New York Times, New York, New York

Only a decade ago, home-school athletics was considered little more than organized recess for children without traditional classrooms. Now, home-school players are tracked by scouts, and dozens of them have accepted scholarships to colleges as small as Blue Mountain in Mississippi and as well known as Iowa State.

…

An estimated two million children are schooled at home, and only 18 states have laws that grant them access to athletic teams at public schools. So it was perhaps inevitable that home-school programs and tournaments developed.

…

Many of the best teams here were founded by some of the home-school athletic movement’s pioneers. In 1992, Tom Sanders bought some reversible jerseys and founded the Homeschool Christian Youth Association Warriors in Houston so his 14-year-old son could play organized basketball with his friends. He had to plead with small Christian schools, even reform schools, to schedule 14 games that season.

…

She has, indeed, gotten looks from college recruiters, and more than 100 Division I teams have contacted her. Still, Spani says she is in no hurry to decide between Connecticut or Tennessee. She may even join her sister Shalin at Kansas State, their parents’ alma mater.

posted by Valerie