Knowing where it's at. (Making a Difference).

The National Geographic Society developed the National Geography Bee (later renamed National Geographic Bee) in the late 1980s after a 10-country survey revealed that young Americans were scoring lower in geography tests than their foreign counterparts. One in seven Americans ages 18 to 24 could not, for example, locate their own country on a blank world map.

Finals for this year's 14th annual bee took place in Washington, D.C., on May 21st-22nd, with Alex Trebek, host of television's popular Jeopardy! quiz show, serving as moderator. Once again, home schoolers did themselves proud.

Around five million youngsters ages 10 to 15 had entered the competition beginning in mid-October of last year. Local and state contests eventually trimmed the field to 55 contenders representing each of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Pacific Territories, and Department of Defense schools. Twelve of the 55 participants (21.8 percent) were home schoolers. This is a striking percentage considering Department of Education estimates that about 1.7 percent of the nation's school-age population is home schooled.

The May 21st preliminaries further pared the field to 10 for the next day's final showdown, when 10-year-old Michigan home schooler Calvin McCarter (youngest of the 55 finalists) became the 2002 champ after knowing that the Lob Nur nuclear testing site is in China. He received a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine.

Erik Miller, a home schooler from Kent, Washington, garnered third place and a $10,000 scholarship. Two home schoolers were also among the other seven finalists: Isaiah Hess of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and John Rice of Maddock, North Dakota.

In 1999, David Beihl of Saluda, South Carolina, became the first home schooler to win the National Geographic Bee. He also captained that year's winning U.S. International Geographic Olympiad team. In 2000, home schooler George Thampy of Maryland Heights, Missouri, placed second (he went on to win the National Spelling Bee that year). And last year, eight home schoolers reached the finals of the geography bee, with four placing in the top ten, including third-place finisher Jason Ferguson of Dallas, Texas.

Ellen Siskind, a spokeswoman for the National Geographic Bee, notes that "home schoolers tend to be in a lot of these contests, and we have found that they are very bright." Rod Zeigler of the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Association adds that their success in national contests is largely due to "the liberating aspect of home schooling which unleashes the potential to do well."