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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:08 PM CST
Home-schooled student makes the grade
Charleston teen earns scholarship to University of Chicago

By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
dfopay@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON — A book by German philosopher Martin Heidegger sits open on the coffee table in front of the fireplace at Peter Borah’s home.

It’s weighty material for someone like Borah, who’s high school age, but he says spending time poring over such works is a valuable opportunity for him.

“There’s just no time to read a German philosopher in school,” he said, explaining that having the chance to read Heidegger’s book is one thing he likes about being schooled at home. “It’s given me opportunities to explore things that I’m interested in and to work at my own pace.”

Borah’s academic work has paid off in another way, too, as he recently learned that he’ll receive a full-ride scholarship to the University of Chicago, which he got by applying through an organization that matches students with scholarships.

According to an announcement from the organization, QuestBridge of Palo Alto, Calif., Borah was one of about 200 students who were matched scholarships out of “thousands” of applicants across the country. The announcement said QuestBridge, a non-profit organization, screens students and forwards applications to 20 colleges with which it partners, and the schools make the final decisions and provide the scholarships.

Borah said the QuestBridge process let him complete just one application instead of several to different schools, and there were no fees to pay. Also, he learned of his scholarship in November, earlier than most high school scholarship recipients heard about their applications, he said.

“It simplified everything in a lot of ways,” he said. “It made it much easier to apply to those schools.”

His mother, Jena Borah, home schools her three children with help from her husband Bernard. Their daughter Meg is also high school age, and daughter Melissa is middle school age.

Two of the children take some classes at Charleston High School — art for Meg and choir for both her and Peter — and Peter also went to a private school for ninth grade when the family lived in Texas.

Mrs. Borah has a degree in elementary education and said she thinks home schooling her children gives them the best chance to succeed.

“I’ve always thought rather philosophically about education,” she said. “Just the idea of one-on-one or almost tutoring is something all educators believe is the way to go.”

The University of Chicago was Borah’s first choice for college, and he said he’ll probably study either philosophy or psychology when he starts in the fall. The scholarship comes to more than $200,000 for his four years in college, and he said he couldn’t have attended the university without financial aid.

Applying for the scholarship was a “fairly long” process, part of which was writing essays on three topics, including on a concept the applicant found interesting; Borah said he chose American politics. He also had to list his extra-curricular activities, and in addition to CHS choir he mentioned his work in community theater and time at a summer film camp at Northwestern University, which he thought gave him an advantage.

“I had a more real-world experience with my extra-curricular activities,” he said.

Borah said he thinks there are “pros and cons” to being home schooled, but it’s good overall as it’s “given me the flexibility most people don’t have.”

There are no requirements for home-schooled students, such as taking the state tests that public school students have to take, Mrs. Borah said. Still, her son had a score of 35 on the ACT, one point below a perfect score, and he’s a semi-finalist for the National Merit award, she added.

“I’m really excited for him,” she said. “When you take the home-school track, you worry, so just the fact that it turned out so well, I’m really happy for him.”

Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.

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melissamharden wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:40 AM:

" Absolutely fabulous! Congratulations to the Borah family for such an accomplishment the general public may see impossible for a home-educated young man. Again~ a most-hearty CONGRATULATIONS!
"

bob wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:58 AM:

" This is certainly a great article, and congratulations to Peter for his hard work. I disagree, though, with Mrs. Borah's statement that home schooling children gives them the best chance to succeed. That seems like a blow to all our hard working teachers in our district who believe they are teaching our children very well. It may be the best for her children, but I don't think it's the way to go for everyone. To each their own but I'm very confident that my children will succeed in our school system as well. "

melissamharden wrote on Jan 18, 2008 1:00 PM:

" “Just the idea of one-on-one or almost tutoring is something all educators believe is the way to go.” Mrs. Borah

According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the state average pupil to teacher ratio is 19 to 1.

Respectfully, Bob, who doesn't benefit from a one-on-one lesson aka tutor? Mrs. Borah is not making a blanket statement for all children to be home educated however, she is saying educators know that an individualized learning environment is ideal for both student and educator.

"

291953 wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:17 PM:

" Congrats to this student!! On the subject of home schooling, I gave my wife permission in the early 1990's to home school our two daughters still at home. We lived in the southern part of the state and the school system in the town was the pits. When we moved up here I gave my youngest daughter who at the time was 17 the option of continuing to home school or go into a regular classroom for her senior year, and she chose to remain home-schooled.

I have seen it work many times, and I have also seen some parents decide they were going to do it who had no business even trying to do it. It depends on the individual student and their abilities. It should be an individual decision, and no, it is NOT for everybody. Once again, however, congrats and best wishes to this student. "

JenaBorah wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:34 PM:

" I was interested to see the comments on this article. It might look like I was making a blanket statement that homeschooling is best for every child, but that's not how I feel. I said that most educators agree that individualized, one-on-one instruction really is the best way to educate a child. At least that's what I was taught in the Education Department at the University of Illinois in the mid 80's. Classroom teachers try to give each child as much individualized instruction as possible. It's just good pedagogy. And I applaud all those teachers out there who pour out their lives for each child in their classroom.

So, when I was considering homeschooling in the late 80's, the concept of individualized instruction seemed right. I'm glad, 12 years later, that my son benefited from my choice and is now able to pursue his dreams. Thanks for your comments! "

bob wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:48 PM:

" melissamharden, obviously you didn't read my comment very well. To be honest, that statement by Mrs. Borah was not what I was referring to or quoting from the article. What I was referring to, though, "she thinks home schooling her children gives them the best chance to succeed." I take that comment as a smack in the face to my choice of education for my children. Be that as it may children in this district are tutored, if needed, and worked with one on one every single day. I hope in her home schooling she is teaching her children how to deal with life in the "real world" also. Again, congratulations to Peter for a job well done! "

melissamharden wrote on Jan 19, 2008 11:25 AM:

" That's the pure beauty of being a parent in America; the right to choose the academic institute we THINK (key word in quote) is best for our own. In Germany and other countries you do not have this freedom.

Mrs. Borah has experience in the public, private and home education sectors. She even has a teaching degree yet with her experiences she and her husband agreed to *choose* home-based education.

"Education is too important to be left solely to educators."
-Francis Keppel
"

bob wrote on Jan 19, 2008 2:08 PM:

" You're right, that is the beauty of being a parent in America in that we get to choose what is best for our children. My problem is when others think that their choice is the best choice and seem to condemn others who don't necessarily agree with them. As I have been saying, hooray to the Borahs for what they have done. I don't leave my children's education SOLELY to the educators. I fully take part in all of their academic endeavors! I guess the Borahs may not have realized how they sounded in the article and that they may actually be offending us who do not choose to home school our children. We shouldn't ever be made to feel guilty about it. "

Dohbaugh wrote on Jan 19, 2008 3:22 PM:

" 291953 sounds like quite a generous guy, after all he gave his wife permission to home school the kids. Hats off to you for "allowing" your wife to do this. Bet your favorite TV show was Father Knows Best, huh? If I gave my wife permission to do something, I would stand back at least 20 feet or so while doing it. Billie, I hope you're still watching. LOL "

Rotty wrote on Jan 20, 2008 1:48 AM:

" Congrats to Peter & all, but, I'm with Dohbaugh, when it says the husband "allowed" the wife to do this. Good grief, I don't know if 20 feet would do it for me - the wife would get a little frisbee action going on with the frying pan, or with one good kick, you know where, I'd end up with a "one-way" ticket to the doghouse! LOL "

Rotty wrote on Jan 20, 2008 1:54 AM:

" oops oops lol - my comment above should have said "when 291953 says he "allowed" the wife to do this" "

Early Bird wrote on Jan 20, 2008 6:43 AM:

" What are the educational requirements for anyone wishing to home school their child? I would think the state would require a person to have a certain level of education to do this. "

Tom Andres wrote on Jan 20, 2008 9:22 AM:

" I was almost wearing my coffee after reading the 291953 post "I gave my wife permission ..." I've met a lot of guys in my time who thought they were in complete control, or that they should be, but this one may take the cake! // And then there's Bob (maybe he's 291953's brother). He takes issue with Jena Borah for saying she thinks home schooling her children gives them the best chance to succeed? Somehow Bob feels her personal opinion on home schooling is a "blow to all our hard working teachers in our district" and a "smack in the face to my choice of education for my children"? Give me a break! Hey Bob, ever hear of sour grapes? The kid scored a 35, for crying out loud! Mr and Mrs Borah OBVIOUSLY made the right choice! Congratulations, young man; great job!!! "

love the game wrote on Jan 20, 2008 11:35 AM:

" Early Bird....The state does not require a certain level of education to educate your own child anymore than they put requirements on citizens to parent a child. Even the most poorly educated parent can succeed in home schooling if they take it seriously enough and participate in a home school co-op. 1-on-1 attention will always win out over classroom instruction with 19+kids in the room....regardless of how educated the teacher is. The entire concept of how we educate in America is a joke. Maybe if more people took this much interest in the education of their children we wouldn't be lagging behind most of the civilized world in K-12 education. "

mlm wrote on Jan 20, 2008 10:32 PM:

" I am an educator (and grew up in a family of educators) and had very little knowledge of home-schooling. However, when my son became friends with the Borah's I learned more about the process.

I have been very impressed with the social interaction encouraged in the Borah home. In my mind the socialization of the children is a priority as they are within the school system, socialize with many local teens, are activy at the Little Theatre in Sullivan, and even have organized activities with other kids that are schooled at home. It really opened my eyes to a different way to educate! It does not seem to be at all isolating.

Congratulations to Peter and best wishes! "

toddkris wrote on Jan 22, 2008 7:14 PM:

" As a mother in the state of Ohio, I am pleased by the success that this young man has shown. What an accomplishment to score so high. Peter, you are a great example to kids everywhere. May all the children in these United States of America strive to be the best they can be. And congratulations on the full scholarship.
Learning isn't just about how and where we learn, it's about why we learn and what we can do for others. "