Opportunity to excel: parental involvement and the chance to work at their own speed enabled these two siblings to enter college as junior-level transfer students at the ages of 13 and 14.

In this age of falling SAT scores, alarming drop-out rates, and high school graduates ill-equipped for college, Mayumi and Charlie Pierce stand out as admirable exceptions to the rule. Not only are Mayumi, 14, and Charlie, 13, literate and articulate teenagers, they also garnered their high school diplomas before the age of 12 and in the fall of 2005 entered UC Berkeley as junior-level transfer students.

The entire family claims that there is nothing unusual about Mayumi's and Charlie's natural abilities, despite their accomplishments. "We don't think they're geniuses," says the children's father, Wincie Pierce. Nor do the children spend all their time studying--Mayumi says she goes shopping and hangs out with her friends "doing kid stuff," while Charlie enjoys playing card, computer, and video games with his friends. Also, they both participate in youth orchestras on the violin. So, if they aren't geniuses, and they do all the stuff that kids these days do, what is the secret behind their success? "Hard work and the opportunity to excel," says Mayumi.

She and her brother started their schooling in a very traditional manner. For example, Mayumi attended kindergarten and a Montessori school, while Charlie spent a year in the Montessori school. But Wincie says that when the school district refused to allow Mayumi to move directly to second grade, despite her mastery of the required material, it became obvious that "it was our daughter (and all students) who would serve school policy, and not the other way around. This was clearly sub-optimal."

There were a couple of private schools that offered attractive curricula, but logistics made attending these impossible. And as Wincie pointed out, even the best private school entailed separating the children from "their mother's loving care for most of the day.... I was reluctant to relinquish primary influence of the children to strangers for the majority of their best period of developmental guidance." So, Wincie and his wife, Qin Ma, attended a home-schooling seminar in Berkeley, talked with other home-schoolers in the area, and began home-schooling Mayumi and Charlie.

To bolster their home-schooling efforts, the family used local resources such as the library, where the children chose a wide variety of books to read, and the Barnes & Noble bookstore, where they read new books. Qin says that the bookstore is now the kids' favorite place. When Mayumi and Charlie were 11 and 9, respectively, they began attending Contra Costa Community College. Here, they met other students who had also been home-schooled, participated in the college's Center for Science Excellence (CSE), and according to Wincie, "learned how to go to college."

The CSE was particularly helpful, says Wincie, calling it "pivotal in providing a peer group and activities that reinforced their interest in science and mathematics." Other CSE members preceded Mayumi and Charlie to the UC Berkeley campus, so they already had friends on campus when they arrived. CSE also provides information regarding internships, programs, and events of interest to science majors. The CSE professors, including CSE's founder, Dr. Joseph Ledbetter, were sources of "inspiration and encouragement (as well as fun)."

Mayumi and Charlie continue their focus on science. Charlie is taking classes in philosophy, engineering, chemistry, integrative biology, and Yongmudo (a martial art), while Mayumi's schedule includes engineering and integrative biology, along with biochemistry and business.

When educating their children, Wincie and Qin didn't focus on academics alone. For instance, Mayumi has studied kung fu since she was five, and is now teaching it to others. Charlie has studied aikido and fencing. When at the library, not all the books that went home with Mayumi and Charlie were serious. Qin says that they often also read novels, science fiction, jokes, comics, and children's stories. Both kids enjoy the "Dilbert" comic strip.

As Qin told Noel Gallagher, senior media relations representative at UC Berkeley, "Academic achievement is just one part of life. To have a healthy body, an intellectual mind, and a large, loving heart is what our children were told is expected of them. These standards can be simplified into two words: responsibility and love."

Qin points out that "All school systems have their advantages and disadvantages. No matter what kind of school, the teacher(s) in the class(es) is/are the most important." She went on to say: "a lot of very good students have graduated from public schools and private schools, and made great achievements. Therefore, no one can simply criticize the public school system, or private schools, in general. For the success of children, their parents' positive encouragement and participation is very important." However, she admitted that home-schooling has an advantage in that department, since "parents are directly participating in the daily education activities."

Qin cites other advantages of home schooling, including being able to reinforce traditional moral, family, and social values; provide individualized attention for each student; and giving students an opportunity to interact with people of diverse ages. Wincie adds protecting children from "culture war battles" during their crucial prime learning years, avoiding the boredom bright children can experience in the traditional classroom setting, and being able to progress at their own pace--"no hurry, no wait."

But it isn't really the form of schooling that is important--it is whether the schooling matches the children's and family's needs and goals. Wincie advises parents to ask themselves, "What happens to most students at your local school, in terms of academics, character, physical health and happiness? Are your local teachers qualified and ready to teach children who have the particular characters and capacities of your children?" If so, says Wincie, you may not want to home-school at all; but if not, you need to help your children.