Daniel E. Witte recently drafted new reform legislation for the State of Utah. Some aspects of the law were designed to reduce civil rights abuses by social workers against Utah alternative educators. His sweeping proposals included clarifications for the definition of child "abuse," procedural rights for accused parents, legal assistance and a jury right for parents who face custody termination proceedings, clarificaton of criminal "failure-to-report" laws, and a requirement that government officials videotape child "confessions" or "accusations" before such comments can be admitted in court against parents.
Many aspects of Witte's proposals passed this year in Utah, although often in modified form. Witte will continue to work for further reform, and has appeared in videos and on television to do so. Please note, however, that Witte does all such advocacy as a private citizen or in cooperation with other organizations. Although Quaqua resources educate the public generally and are frequently accessed online by attorneys, academics, and public officials, Quaqua resources and the Quaqua imprimatur are not used in connection with any specific legislation in any jurisdiction.
As always, Quaqua participants are not required to support Witte's legislative proposals for reform in order to receive Quaqua opportunities or awards.
The recipient of the 2003 Quaqua Protege is eleven-year-old Andrew David Hsu. Anarie White is the recipient of a 2003 Quaqua Talent Award for her musical excellence.
John W. Whitehead and Carol Whitehead recieve Elijah Award
John W. Whitehead, founder and president of The Rutherford Institute, is an
attorney and author who has written, debated and practiced widely in the area
of constitutional law and human rights. In particular, Mr. Whitehead has acted
to provide legal assistance to parents and alternative educators.
John Whitehead was the first person
to champion the civil-rights component of the "modern" home-education movement.
He was one of the first to understand that the cause of alternative education
is based not only upon free-market principles and pedagogical innovation, but
also upon a commitment to ensuring legal protection for the fundamental human
liberties of all people.
John Whitehead became the first modern "briefcase warrior" for home
education, litigating and writing to preserve parental liberty and home education.
Many attorneys in other service organizations received their training from The
Rutherford Institute. John's innovative legal and institutional paradigm, once
the target of great skepticism, now serves as the model for numerous other legal
organizations founded after 1982 (both inside and outside of the alternative-education
movement).
The Quaqua Society is pleased to honor John and Carol Whitehead with the 2003
Quaqua Elijah Award, in recognition of their innovative approach to defending
those liberties which are of such crucial importance to all alternative educators.
See the full article on the Elijah Award
Recipients page.
2003
On the September
30, 2003 Abrams Report on MSNBC, Dan Witte appeared in a debate to defend
the Parental Liberty Doctrine. Dan asserted that parents have a right to exercise
control over their child's medical care. Dan Witte regularly participates in a
variety of legal and political efforts calculated to advance civil rights and
sound public policy.
As is always the case, except where explicitly stated otherwise by Dan or on this web site, Dan Witte's remarks reflect his personal views and do not constitute an official position, statement, or requirement of the Quaqua Society. All segments of the community are welcome to make use of Quaqua resources, educate themselves about the history of the Parental Liberty Doctrine, and use Quaqua's internet legal resources for parents.
Dr. Raymond Moore received his Elijah Award before a sponsoring convention, the
7th Annual Link "Kid Comfortable" Homeschool Conference in Pasadena, California.
The Conference was held from May 1-4, and was attended by a roster of well-known
alternative educators. One of them, noted home-educator Michael Leppert, presented
the Award to Dr. Moore.
In his acceptance address, Dr. Moore remarked that home education had always been around and could be traced back to "Eden." He reflected upon the contributions of John Holt, noting that he and Holt originally had some pronounced differences of opinion about education. Dr. Moore recalled the printing of Moore's 1972 article in Reader's Digest, an event which greatly enhanced public awareness of the alternative-education movement. He also discussed the pioneering effort of Dr. Reid Benson in the 1970's, noting that Dr. Benson's involvement "changed the whole state" of Utah relative to modern acceptance of home education.
Dr. Moore offered attendees some advice. First, relative to the students, "relax, and love them to pieces." His second admonition, the largest applause line of the evening, was to see that there are "no divisions" among alternative educators, and that "everyone work[s] together -- Muslim, Jew, whatever."
Audio tapes of Dr. Moore's address, and of other speakers at the 7th Annual Link "Kid Comfortable" Homeschool Conference, are available from The Link Homeschool Newspaper.
The latest media coverage about the Quaqua Society appeared in a Jennifer Toomer-Cook article, "Home schoolers applaud their own", on page B-1 of the Saturday, April 12, 2003, Deseret News. The Deseret News is one of Utah's two largest daily newspapers.
The Quaqua Society is pleased to announce the addition of a new sponsor. The Springer Company, a Wheaton, Maryland business founded in 1947, has agreed to donate the trophies, gowns, and caps given each year by Quaqua to recipients of the Elijah Award and the Protege Award.
Springer is a supplier of gowns, caps, robes, uniforms, and badges used by home-education graduates, clergy, ushers, judges, schools, and many others. The Springer Company's generous enthusiasm for home education will allow Quaqua to enhance the Quaqua scholarship fund.
The Quaqua Society is pleased to announce that Dr. Raymond Moore will receive his Elijah Award before a sponsoring convention, the 7th Annual Link "Kid Comfortable" Homeschool Conference in Pasadena, California. The Conference will run from May 1-4, Thursday-Sunday, at the Pasadena Hilton Hotel, and will be attended by a roster of well-known alternative educators. Noted home-education writer Mary Leppert will present the Award to Dr. Moore.
The 2002 Quaqua Protege is Benjamin Crowder of Orem, Utah.
Ben Crowder achieved a perfect American College Test score of 36—meaning that he achieved 36 on all four portions of the test as well as a composite mark of 36. In doing so, Ben ranked at the very top of all ACT takers.
Ben was admitted to Brigham Young University as a Gordon B. Hinckley Presidential Scholar, a prestigious full-tuition recognition bestowed upon only 50 students annually (BYU has around 28,000 students). After one year of study, he maintained a 3.97 grade point average. Currently he is taking a two-year hiatus from college to serve a mission in Thailand for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Although Ben did not participate as a full-time high-school student or obtain a formal high-school degree, he completed enough Advanced Placement credit to enter college as a sophomore. Some of his many extra-curricular accolades included Sterling Scholar in English, Editor of the Orem High School student newspaper, Utah State Spelling Bee Champion for 1996, and Youth Mayor for Orem City.
Ben avidly studied computer technology. Since age 8, he has taught himself to be an accomplished computer programmer, software tester, and web architect. In addition to working for companies such as BestScopes.com, NextPage, and Folio, Ben ran his own lucrative computer-consulting business. He also worked as a paid author and reviewer for the Linux Journal, a computer trade journal with a circulation of 60,000.
Ben’s passions include piano, composing music, and studying foreign languages. He reads Latin, Coptic, Hebrew, and French, and speaks Thai. He fancies England and hopes to attend Oxford University for his graduate studies. His career ambition is to become a college professor of language, history, or philosophy.
In addition to his voracious intellectual drive, Ben is known for his affable, self-effacing personality. He has earned his Eagle Scout Award, participates in his religious community, and has volunteered time at home-education conventions to help other home-education graduates prepare for the standardized college admissions tests.
The Quaqua Society is proud to honor Ben as the college-bound student who has best demonstrated the excellence of home education in action during the past year. The Society anticipates that he will continue to make many important contributions to home education and the general society for years to come.
Dr. Raymond Moore and Dorothy Moore (In memoriam 1915 - 2002)
The 2002 Quaqua Elijah Award goes to Dr. Raymond S. Moore and his recently-departed wife, Dorothy Moore.
Dr. Raymond S. Moore was born in Glendale, California, on September 24, 1915. At age four, Raymond lost his devoted mother, Dorcas, to the devastating 1918 flu epidemic.
Dr. Moore attended public and church schools in California. He graduated from Glendale Adventist Academy in 1932, and spent six years at Pacific Union College. His studies were interrupted by a flood that destroyed both his home and his construction business. To persevere through the Great Depression, he worked as a handyman by logging, milking cows, firing boilers, plumbing, and concrete finishing.
Dr. Moore's first teaching experience was in 1933, when he taught remedial English at Pacific Union College during his sophomore year. He graduated and married Dorothy Lucille Nelson in June 1938.
Dorothy Lucille Nelson Moore was born on a farm in Bruce, South Dakota on October 30, 1915. She was a Methodist and Seventh-day Adventist Christian of Norwegian ancestry. She helped her father at his dairy in California almost until she finished at Long Beach California Junior College and went on to Pacific Union College.
Dorothy was California State Spelling Champion and Gregg Shorthand gold medalist. In college she admired Ellen White and became a respected student leader whose first concern was poor or troubled girls.
After graduation and marriage, Dr. Moore pursued a masters degree at the University of Southern California. He taught for two years in the public schools of Artesia, California, and was principal in Hermosa Beach, California from 1940 to 1941. On May 7, 1941, he was called to active duty in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant medical administrative officer with the Ninth Corps Area Headquarters in San Francisco, California.
Pearl Harbor resulted in a transfer to San Francisco Port of Embarkation Medical Section, where as a Captain over personnel and intelligence matters he worked in the company of a communications officer named Ronald Reagan.
His next assignment was in New Guinea, where he helped build the 47th General Hospital. He subsequently commanded the New Guinea rotation Detachment and Casual Camp, Milne Bay, New Guinea, then was promoted to Major and executive officer in the South Pacific Medical Commander in Lae, New Guinea. He concluded his 58 months of active duty by serving as general staff medical personnel officer for General Douglas MacArthur, the famed home-educated military leader, in Manila, Philippines.
After leaving active duty in March, 1946, Dr. Moore became Superintendent of Schools in Artesia, California. There he was invited to teach at University of Southern California on a doctoral fellowship. After doctoral study in college and university administration and early childhood education, he was called to Pacific Union College in 1947 as head of its graduate teacher-education program. He helped Pacific Union College upgrade and obtain state accreditation.
Dorothy, meanwhile, distinguished herself in public service in California schools as a remedial reading specialist and as a faculty wife at the University of Southern California. She then became a faculty wife and Sabbath School leader at Pacific Union College. Along with her other responsibilities, she reared and educated seven "chosen" teenagers through college.
In 1951 Dorothy moved to Japan with Dr. Moore, only a few years after her husband and brother had fought in the War to defeat Japan. The Moores helped San-Iku Gakuin College achieve status as an accredited, debt-free, senior education institution. The Moores also helped develop an Adventist school system for Japan and Okinawa. They implemented a "work-study-service" plan at the college in which all teachers worked with students, including the family of Senior Prince Takamatsu.
In 1956, Dr. Moore went to Philippine Union College. He later went on to serve as President of Southwestern Union College. His program theme continued to be work-study, debt-freedom, academic standards, social standards, and home education. Dr. Moore also worked to achieve integration of African-American into Southwestern Union College.
Dr. Moore was subsequently called to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists as one of a team of five to help pioneer what is now known as Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. In 1960, he went to Loma Linda as corporate vice-president to share leadership in the transition to Loma Linda University. After a years of raising a family in Japan, the Philippines and Washington, D.C., Dorothy became the founding director of the Loma Linda University Cerebral Palsy Clinic in California.
In 1964, Dr. Moore accepted the job of graduate programs officer with the U.S. Department of Education, a position which involved the funding and upgrading of master and doctoral programs of American colleges and universities. He helped colleges and universities save billions of dollars. The White House published two of his books.
After moving on to a stint with UNESCO, Dr. Moore he was invited to be the founding director of the International Advanced Intercultural Study Center. This consortium at the University of Chicago included member institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Southern Illinois, Stanford, Tulane and Wisconsin. The Center studied indigenous people ranging from Native Americans to tribes in Lesotho. Dr. Moore met the prime minister of Lesotho, along with Ghandiàs former secretary and the author of Indonesiaàs new language.
Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore worked about 40 years together as leaders, editors, and authors for their research foundations. They helped form the Cedar Springs Foundation, which was later renamed the Hewitt Research Foundation. Since 1983 the Foundation has operated in Washougal, Washington, near the Columbia River. The Moores focused on early childhood education, school entrance age, and teacher-student work-study programs. Along with Raymond, Dorothy served as a pioneer in the resurgence of the old-fashioned home-education phenomenon. Reflects Dr. Moore, "God, with the likes of Reader's Digest, James Dobson, John Holt, Reed Benson, thousands of media, and all of you, turned home education into a giant movement."
The Moores have written numerous books and published articles. Their most famous work, a 1979 Brigham Young University Press book entitled School Can Wait, was written during this period. This book is a classic must-read for scholars of the alternative-education movement. Raymond's authorship credits include thirty-five college texts.
Beginning in 1983, Dorothy headed a team of carefully selected educational counselors who fulfilled the dream of helping families educate their own children legally. The Moores set up individualized programs for each child enrolled, creating units of study tailored to the child's interests, aptitudes and abilities. Now known as the Raymond S. and Dorothy N. Moore Foundation in Washougal, Washington, their program works with hundreds of families every year and has formed the basis for a "Malachi Movement" stressing family togetherness and work-study-service balance in schools. The goal of the organization is to make schools, churches and families more creative, efficient and debt-free in health, education, welfare and service to their communities.
When Dorothy passed away in 2002, after a lifetime of service, alternative educators around the world lauded her contribution. We knew her voice could never be fully replaced. "I thank God, my Master Teacher," said Dr. Moore, "for giving me a special lady for 64 years who walked at my side during half of those homeschool years through sunshine and storm."
In her absence, and with the help of a new wife who "selflessly" assists him, Raymond continues to be a tireless, progressive force in alternative education. His profound reservoir of professional, cultural, religious, educational, and intellectual experience continues to inform and enrich the alternative-education movement.
For all of this, and more (no pun intended), the Quaqua Society is very pleased to present the 2002 Quaqua Elijah Award to honor Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore.
Biographical sketches for the Moores were drawn from the Raymond S. and Dorothy N. Moore Foundation memorial page, the Raymond S. and Dorothy N. Moore Foundation biographical sketch of the Moores, and electronic mail provided by Pat Wolfswinkel of the Raymond S. and Dorothy N. Moore Foundation.
2002
Inaugural Award Presentations
Quaqua was pleased to present its inaugural 2001 Protege Award and 2001 Elijah Award during
the weekend of June 7-8, 2002, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the recent host
site for the 2002 Winter Olympics. The recipient of the 2001 Quaqua Protege
Award was Indian-American wunderkind George Abraham Thampy of Maryland Heights,
Missouri. George, an Evangelical Christian and Boy Scout, recently placed first
in a national spelling bee and second in a national geography bee. The recipients
of the 2001 Elijah Award were Dr. Reed A. Benson and his wife May Hinckley Benson,
for their pioneering work in studying home education and protecting the viability
of the movement in the Intermountain West.
The Utah Home Education Association
and the Latter-Day Saint Home Educators Association conventions were held at the University of Utah and Thanksgiving Point, Utah, respectively. Quaqua
wishes to thank all volunteers and organizations that assisted in recognizing
these outstanding achievements. As recounted in the Frequently Asked Questions page of this website (under "What is the history of Quaqua?"), these events represent the exciting culmination of a dream pursued since 1991.
Extended Biographies of Quaqua
Award Recipients
Below are the more extended biographies of Quaqua's awards recipients:
The 2001 Quaqua Protege is George Abraham Thampy of Maryland Heights, Missouri.
Full Story Story & Photo During the summer of 2000 George electrified the nation by taking first place
in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and second place in the National Geographic
Geography Bee (he participated as Missouri State Geography Bee Champion).
His unusual double play received widespread attention from the major news media
outlets, particularly since two other home-educated students placed second and
third behind George in the spelling bee. George's accomplishment helped to substantially
increase the general public's awareness about the benefits of home education.
George has many other less-publicized achievements. He took first place in the
St. Louis Chess Competition for the "9th Grade and Under" category, earned magna
cum laude honors by attaining a perfect score on the 2001-2001 National Latin Exam, and
took a 560 verbal and 510 mathematics score on the SAT while in seventh grade. As
a member of Boy Scout Troop 529, George has already achieved the rank of Life
Scout and served as Assistant Senior Patrol Leader.
A Christian of Asian-Indian heritage, George has served as an usher, Sunday School
teacher, and youth-group leader for the First Evangelical Free Church of Manchester,
Missouri. After studying at home from kindergarten through eighth grade, George
now attends the Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a
participant of the Duke University Talent Identification Program and hopes to
eventually complete a graduate degree in medicine.
In response to the Quaqua honor, George stated: "Thank you very much for an opportunity to represent home school students. I am very happy to receive the annual Quaqua award."
The Quaqua Society is proud to honor George as the college-bound student who has
best demonstrated the excellence of home education in action during the past year.
The Society anticipates that he will continue to make many important contributions
to home education and the general society for years to come.
The 2001 Elijah
Award was presented to Dr. Reed A. Benson and his wife, May Hinckley Benson.
Dr. Reed A. Benson is a professor in the Ancient Scripture Department at Brigham Young University and
teaches a thousand students a semester. He has written for a national news magazine, lectured widely, and participated in numerous TV interviews and press conferences. A former
Air Force Chaplain during the Korean War, he was the President of the Kentucky,
Louisville Mission. He served as Branch President in Oxford, England and in the
Israel District Presidency. The eldest son of President and Mrs. Ezra Taft Benson,
he is the father of nine children and grandfather to twenty-four. He is the author
of the first dissertation in the nation on home education, which is still in print.
He has consistently lent his influence to support home education during its critical
years of development in the western United States.
May Hinckley Benson was honored as Homeschooling Mother of the Year in 2000. She
completed studies at the University of Utah, University of Maryland, and Cornell.
With a great display of courage, she successfully home-educated
her nine adopted children for fifteen years during the early days of the modern home-education movement. She
is a popular speaker and pioneer in the home education movement who has consistently
lent her voice of experience and support. Both Reed and May are members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The Quaqua Society is both proud and grateful to honor the Bensons for their profound
contribution to the home-education community. They have been instrumental in helping Utah to have, at least to this point, one of the most progressive environments for home education to be found anywhere in the nation. Their tireless and uncompensated
service has touched thousands of lives. They will never be forgotten.
Biographical sketches for the Bensons were drawn from http://www.schoolofabraham.com/speakers.htm.
2001
Quaqua Begins Operations
The Quaqua Society is, after a great deal of hard work and consultation with home educators around the world, beginning its operations in the State of Utah. For tax reasons, Quaqua will be incorporated under Utah law in early 2002.
Quaqua is designed to serve and include alternative educators from around the world, and is not a "Utah" organization per se. However, Utah's tradition of alternative education does afford an attractive legal, historical, and cultural environment for the situs of Quaqua's incorporation.
The Quaqua Society celebrates the new, prosperous era enjoyed by most home educators in the United States in the wake of Troxel v. Granville, 99-138 (2000), a landmark Supreme-Court parental-rights decision. Quaqua is the first scholarship and awards program of any kind open to all alternative educators throughout the United States (not to mention throughout the world). Quaqua is also the first, and only, scholarship and awards program for alternative educators which is at once tax-exempt, charitable, merit-based, procedurally controlled, participatory, and free from any eligibility restrictions based upon geographic locale, demographic characteristics, or organizational affiliation.
We are proud of our unique organizational design, which helps address a previously unmet need in our diverse community. We are excited about our opportunity to showcase the excellence of alternative educators around the world.
The Quaqua Society sponsored a Candy Cane Ball on December 22, 2008. The event was held at the Sundance Ski Resort in Utah, in conjunction with the effort to launch a spin-off new non-profit organization tentatively called “LeadersthruLiteracy.”
“LeadersthruLiteracy is designed to use family-based approaches to meet a global need that is extremely urgent, but one we felt that the Quaqua Society itself could not adequately address on a significant scale without diluting Quaqua’s unique focus on the needs of alternative educators,” said Witte. Witte designed Quaqua as a “font of ideas” with the capability to generate “spin-off” charitable organizations as circumstances warranted—including some concepts with applications beyond alternative education.
In activities conducted as a private citizen and not as an officer of the Quaqua Society, Daniel E. Witte recently helped draft and/or otherwise obtain enactment of various statutes signed into law by the Governor of the State of Utah.
The Quaqua Society is pleased to honor John and Janet Gatto with the 2004 Quaqua Elijah Award, to recognize their study of the relationship between home education, the history of religious and ethnic discrimination, the Industrial Revolution, the history of Massachusetts, and the pedagogical theories of early government-school advocates. An understanding of these interrelationships is central to an accurate appreciation of the history of education.