Home Schooled Debaters Beat Oxford

Hearty congratulations are in order for the U.S. homeschoolers who beat Oxford debaters in a moot court tournament.

Four homeschooled students at Patrick Henry College went to Oxford University in December to take part in a debate with some of Oxford's best student debaters, and two of them won. Matt du Mee, 22, of Peoria, Ariz., and Miss Rayel Papke, 21, of Queen Creek, Ariz., were the winners in a moot court tournament that took three days.

The students were judged on their debating skills, presentation and courtroom demeanor. They had to argue over a fictitious lawsuit by a multimillionaire against a sculptor. The dispute was over the sculptor's statue of a purple boll weevil.

The Americans had to learn the intricacies of British contract law and a set of judicial fiats. According to The Washington Times, du Mee remarked: "We didn't really have any parallels we could work off of. We just had to buckle down and learn the material." They also learned about British courtroom decorum, addressing the judges as "my lord" rather than "your honor."

You probably won't find any mention of this story at the NEA Home Page, but to their credit, the NEA had quite a bit of information on what parents can do to be more involved in their children's education. Find that info here. What they are describing, of course, is "home schooling", but they don't refer to it in those terms. Still, what they are recommending to parents is essential for the proper development of a child's education. Parental involvement is the key.