This time, they weren’t rooked
Homeschool champs score 3 firsts
Ray Parker
The Arizona Republic
May 3, 2006 12:00 AM
Given the chance to play, they proved they were champions.
A team of 16 homeschool students from the Southeast Valley, entering the Arizona Scholastic State Chess Championship for the first time, took first place, the first state title by a homeschool team.
Called the Chevalier Noir (Black Knight) Academy, the players were among about 750 players who competed for the state championship in Gilbert.
“We’re hoping to pave the way for other homeschool teams,” said Joan Harmonick of Mesa, whose team included students from Mesa, Gilbert, and Queen Creek.
The competitors, as young as kindergartners, played on 375 chessboards inside the Gilbert High gymnasium last weekend.
“Everybody was really excited about having it at Gilbert High, . . . and there were about 2,000 people overall,” said Lynn Schucker of the Gilbert Parents Chess Alliance, which sponsored the state tournament.
Harmonick, a home educator, has been petitioning for years to allow homeschool teams a chance to compete. She said she’s made progress with both the Arizona Chess Federation and the U.S. Chess Federation, the largest chess organization in the nation, with 90,000 members.
Those organizations’ rules essentially said team members had to come from the same school, which excluded homeschoolers. But Harmonick argued homeschoolers should be allowed to form teams because other schools take students from anywhere, such a private, parochial or magnet schools.
“We’ve been allowed to compete as individuals . . . but this year we became the first homeschool team to win a state team championship,” Harmonick said.
To read the rest of the article, please click here.
I see similar successes with the homeschoolers in Austin, TX and other parts of the country. I think scholastic organizers should start to allow homeschool teams to compete. I urge the USCF to do the same with homeschool teams as well as club teams. The children should not be penalized because they are homeschooled or because they attend schools with no chess programs. The best interest of the children should always come first!
I agree that homeschoolers should be allowed to compete. Seems to be more fear on the part of organizers and schools that they will make the publicly “educated” look worse than they already do. My wife is a public school teacher and believe me, if either of us could stay home with our kids to educate them, we would. I would do it in a second.
Susan, I like your sister Sofia’s drawing…very talented!
I like Sophies drawing! To me she reminds me of John Lennons drawings! ; )
TFK
The issue of whether homeschooling is on a par with public and prive education is best left out of a team sport/game discussion.
On the other hand, proponents of public and private education are quick to point out that when a child receives concentrated instruction in a game at home TO THE EXCLUSION of virtually all other curricula and thus achieve expertise, or even greatness in that sport/game (please take no offense, Susan or Nakamura]. This, of course, greatly weights the child’s odds of success in that sport/game.
If true, that impies that public schools promote homogeny over excellence
Susan, 100% agree with you.
The phenomenon of home schooling is a threat to many in the public education system. Imagine being a professional, proud of what you do, and you are confronted with the fact that “amateurs” (i.e. parents) are able to produce better results than you can in your system. There is immense pressure within the public education system to downplay and even ignore the success that homeschooled children have. The exclusion of such students from formal competition can be one way to minimize publicity about home schooling and how successful it can be. As Susan says, the best interests of the children should be put first, not the preservation of a system that tends to value uniformity rather than excellence. As an educator, I am sad that public education does not embrace some of the ideas utilized in home schooling (chess can certainly be one of them) in order to improve itself.
The issue I have with the situation (I’m from Arizona also, although my school competed in different sections.) is that the team was formed against current Scholastic Regulations.
The USCF Regs state that a home school team may compete, but that the players must all live within the boundries of the same public school. As stated in this article the players came from 3 different cities, let alone school districts. When they tried to play in the State Grade tournament they were denied eligibility (as a team) to compete. They appealed to the State Affiliate (ACFI) who agreed that the team is not eligible under the current guidelines.
However (in my opinion) ACFI is a weak board and very political. Rather than upholding the rules, they bent and tried to avoid a problem. Although they agreed the team was ineligible they awarded the Chevalior Noir team a First Place trophy (separate from the one the tournament awarded) for the State Grade tournament and granted the team an exemption for this year’s State Scholastic Championship while they reviewed the regulations. Which they later determined were interpreted and applied correctly.
In my opinion this is not an issue of public vs. private vs. home education. It is an issue of a chess team being formed with players without limits to boundary. Public schools have obvious limits to their pool of students. Private schools can have players from a larger area, but at least the students go to school together. A home school team that can pull players from anywhere, any school district, any city has an unfair advantage. Would this be acceptable at the National Championships if the team was formed from players in different states?
There is a difference between forming a team out of students of a school and forming a team out of school-age students. These are scholastic tournaments were schools compete against other schools, not where teams compete against other teams.
– Enrique
Let me also add a Congratulations to Chevalier Noir on their State Title.
Although I disagree with allowing them to compete as a team I do recognize that they played the same game everyone else did and that their players deserved the wins that they earned. Given the chance to compete as a team, they made the most of their opportunity and for that that their kids do deserve to be congratulated.
– Enrique
Dear Enrique,
Thank you for your post. Chess is a game for everyone and everyone should be able to compete on a fair basis.
I hope your state federation and the USCF can resolve this issue ASAP. I agree that this is not an issue of public vs. private vs. home education. There has to be a fair system for everyone.
My suggestion to the USCF last year is to have another few categories such as top homeschool teams (for kids who are homeschooled) and top club teams (kids who attend schools without a chess program but play together in a USCF affiliated chess club).
Perhaps someone can suggest more or even better suggestions. The bottom line is we must protect the best interests of all children.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgarFoundation.org
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Our State makes a compromise. Homeschooled kids can either compete with the school that they would attend if they were in school, or they can form a homeschool team of kids that reside in the same school district. Our districts are rather large, so, while not ideal, this seems equitable. It avoids teams that are recruiting an all-star team that the public schools can’t do, but it still allows them to compete as homeschoolers.
So, my son competed with the public magnet school he would have been. However, had we chosen to, he could have competed with the other homeschoolers in the school district.
Actually one of his biggest concerns when we decided to homeschool was what team he would be on for chess.
chesschick,
Thank you very much for the information.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgarFoundation.org
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
USCF had club teams in the past at the State and National level and it lead to abuse of the system. Strong players that were attending without a team could “form a club” can thereby avoiding playing eachother because of the teammate vs. teammate pairing rules of these tournaments.
ChessChick, your State’s compromise is exactly what is in the Scholastic Regulations and I applaud it for following them. I think it is a fair rule and you seem to be happy with the options available to you.
– Enrique
Effectively, the home school parents assembled a “super team” of strong players from various towns.
The real issue here for the event organizer is: do we, or do we not, allow people to put together “super teams” under any circumstances.
If the organizer allows “super teams,” then any chess club, group of buddies, or bunch of networking home school parents can put together a team. It’s really up to the organizer.
Home schoolers, who intentionally choose to school their children individually, rather than as part of either a public or a private school group, might consider accepting one consequence of that choice: that their children should also forego the option of competing as part of a team in competitions that are structured along local scholastic lines.
Or, put another way: homeschoolers insist on being schooled as individuals, so why would they expect to compete other than as individuals?
Why is homeschooling something to debate? If you want to homeschool your kids, do so. If someone wants to waste their day being upset over how you raise your kids then let them. I personally dont care if others dont like how I live since its not their decision.
homeschoolers do not insist on being schooled as individuals, they insist on being schooled
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eiez guwd…..derrn duwd
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anonymous –
You state that homeschoolers choose to school as individuals, so that is how they compete. I very much disagree with that statement. Many, if not most homeschoolers are actively involved with other students. There are many homeschool groups and co-ops, where the kids get together to do everything from field trips to science projects, to chess lessons. It is almost like a co-op private school. The homeschool group I coach is no less a team than the public elementary school club is.
So, why should they not be allowed to compete as such?
Chesschick….
The real issue here is club teams.
If children do, in fact, train together, then they are a club team. That being the case, you advocate to your state tournament organizers that club teams be recognized.
A state tournament organizer will have a hard time distinguishing between true club teams whose members train together, and all-star teams, namely cherry-picked kids who may barely know each other.
That problem has nothing to do with homeschooling, but it remains a problem for the organizer who is trying to create a true team competition, rather than a contest about who can put together the best group of free agents.