At last, the anticipated update to my Dec. 13 story about the Huntsville, Ala., home-schoolers in the Lego Robotics competition. The state competition was held this weekend, and the Huntsville Homers finished second in the state, scoring perfectly in the core values/team cooperation event and beating many other public and private schools from across Alabama. They did everything from build a bridge, complete with landscaping, ships, buses, land, and water (in 7 minutes no less), to researching and designing an ozone filter to be attached to a water-filtration system that could be used by missionaries in Haiti. One judge was particularly interested in their real-world water-safety project, as he had nearly died from an under-boiled cup of tea in India.
One of the parent coaches observed that it was no accident that the children scored so well in the First Lego League Core Values competition. The Core Values listed in the competition, including “gracious professionalism” and “cooperation,” aren’t just good business practice. They exemplify the Christian values these parents try to teach their children as well. The parents of the team were very pleased that their youngsters displayed those “core values.” Just another sign that home-schoolers can show better “socialization” (a concern I saw expressed in some of the comments to my prior story) than students in traditional schools.