HOMESCHOOL TO HARVARD:
A Remarkable Education Story!
By Wayne Allyn Root
2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee and Homeschool Dad
This is the story that the teachers unions wish had never happened. This is the
story that proves all their hysterical demands for more money are nothing but a
sham. This is the story that makes the unions and education bureaucrats sick to
their stomachs. This is the personal story of my daughter Dakota Root.
In each of the books I’ve written, I’ve taken great care to acknowledge my
beautiful and brilliant little girl, Dakota. I often noted that Dakota and her
parents were aiming for her acceptance at either Harvard or Stanford and would
accept nothing less. The easy part is aiming for gold. The hard part is
achieving it. "Homeschool to Harvard" is a story about turning dreams into
reality.
Dakota has been home-schooled since birth. While other kids spent their school
days being indoctrinated to believe competition and winning are unimportant,
and that others are to blame for their shortcomings and failures, Dakota was
learning the value of work ethic, discipline, sacrifice and personal
responsibility. While other kids were becoming experts at partying, Dakota and
her dad debated current events at the dinner table. While other kids shopped
and gossiped, Dakota was devouring books on science, math, history, literature,
politics and business. I often traveled to business events and political
speeches with my home-schooled daughter in tow. While other kids came home to
empty homes, Dakota’s mom, dad, or both were there every day to share meals and
a bedtime kiss and prayer. Despite a crazy schedule of business and politics,
I’m proud to report that I’ve missed very few bedtime kisses with my four
home-schooled kids.
While others were out learning to drive so they could attend more parties, or
experimenting with alcohol and drugs, Dakota was practicing the sport she loves
with dedication, intensity and passion- fencing. The result? She became one of
the elite junior fencers in America- winning the Pacific Coast Championship and
representing the United States at World Cup events in Germany and Austria.
Was all the discipline and sacrifice worth it? A few days ago, Dakota Root
achieved her lifelong dream. She was accepted at both Harvard and Stanford. She
was also accepted at Columbia, Penn, Brown, Duke, Chicago, Cal-Berkeley, USC
and several more of the elite schools in America, an unheard of record for a
home-school kid. She actually had the confidence to turn down an offer from the
Yale fencing coach before she had gotten her other acceptances. The kid turned
down Yale!
Here is the most amazing part of the story: The first classroom of Dakota's
life will be inside the hallowed halls of Harvard. This fall she will fence for
the Harvard team- one of America’s best. Only an elite 1% (30,000) of the best
of the best high school seniors dared apply to Harvard. Virtually every one was
#1 in their class, or a world-class scholar/athlete, or had perfect S.A.T.
scores. Out of 3 million high school seniors headed to college, and those
30,000 applicants, only 1500 or so will attend Harvard. That is the lowest
acceptance rate in college history. To be accepted at one or two Ivy League
colleges is rare- to all, an almost impossible feat!
At a time of educational free-fall, it is a remarkable story. With America’s
public school system ranked at or near the bottom of the industrialized world
(and Nevada near the bottom of that), with record dropout rates, grade
inflation, violence, gangs, drugs, teen pregnancies, and the scandal of
graduating high school seniors requiring remedial math and reading before
starting at college, Dakota’s story offers hope. Dakota proves the American
Dream is alive, if only we’d stop depending on government to save us.
There is no one answer for education- our choice of homeschooling melded
parental education with tutoring by hand-picked retired teachers and college
professors, combined with a personally-chosen curriculum. It's called parental
freedom. The power to decide how to best educate children belongs with the
parents, not teachers unions. School choice, encouraging competition for our
failing public school system, and offering vouchers on the state level to give
parents the power (and money) to choose among charter schools, private schools,
parochial schools or home-schooling is the way to force public schools to
improve. Competition works. If it’s good enough for Coke and Pepsi, why not
public schools?
The sad reality is that teachers unions and government aren’t the solution -
they are the problem. Our public schools get worse every year, yet teachers
unions demand more and more money. They get their money, it gets worse yet, and
they demand even MORE. That is the definition of insanity. This is “Groundhog
Day.” It isn’t working- and hasn’t since the day that government took over
education in this country.
Dakota Root proves it doesn’t take a state certified teacher, or a teachers
union, or a village to raise a child- it only takes two loving parents who give
a damn. One home-schooled girl has driven a stake through the heart of the
public school education sham. “Homeschool to Harvard” is a powerful story that
every parent should be allowed to offer their children.
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