Teen success begins at home: adolescence is a troubled time, but home education offers benefits for young people when they need it most -- as illustrated by the success stories of four homeschooled teens. (Education).(Brief Article)

The teen years often cause parents to utter a collective shudder. The docile little boy, perfectly content playing with toy trucks, has morphed into a moody adolescent demanding a driver's license. The sweet little girl who snuggled with a cloth doll has evolved into a selfconscious teenybopper clamoring for de signer jeans. Dramatic body changes, the pop culture, and peer pressure powerfully distract young people, often resulting in unwholesome choices. Mom and Dad are frequently at their wits' end trying to cope with teen-aged angst and rebellion.

Some families, however, have discovered that homeschooling helps make this tumultuous season more manageable. Here s how four teenagers -- three from Massachusetts and one from Oklahoma -- have fared while taking the road less traveled, to paraphrase Robert Frost.

Eighteen-year-old Naomi Haqq of Belchertown, Massachusetts, is the kind of young woman that would make many parents proud. She has strong moral convictions, is employed as a hotel front-desk clerk, and is following in her mother's footsteps by studying nursing. At age 16, she was accepted into the University of Massachusetts' (Amherst) dual-enrollment program and has accrued 33 credits, earning a 3.69 grade point average.

Naomi's work ethic and faith were cultivated while she and her three younger siblings were schooled at home by her parents. Indeed, she holds to a philosophy that "homeschooling isn't for lazy people." She is among the growing number of American teenagers exchanging the dog-eat-dog world of high school and middle school for the pursuit of academic excellence and entrepreneurial endeavors, and travel. These homeschooled young people get more time with their families, participate in internships, and do volunteer work. Indeed, one of the biggest advantages of being a homeschooler is that you have more flexibility to chase your dreams and choose your interests, like Wid, my number two son (age 16).

In the mornings, Wid studies biology, grammar, Algebra II, and American literature with his dad. He often devotes his afternoons to snowboarding, riding motocross, ice hockey, or playing paintball games. Some of his other extra-curricular experiences, however, have a more educational bent.

He has shared his bedroom with boys from urban New York City through the Fresh Air Fund program and eats Cuban food with his Costa Rican grandmother in Miami. His name has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Morning News, and the Boston Herald. He helped a group of veterans hang up American flags in downtown Amherst, Massachusetts, on 9-11. Wid has worked on a roofing crew, pumps gas at a service station, and networks via the Internet with teen-aged homeschoolers from around the United States.

Naomi Haqq has also had learning adventures. At 14, she accompanied her father (Emmanuel Haqq) on an excursion throughout northern and southern India, where he engaged college-aged students in debates about science and Christianity. The endeavor fits his background. Dr. Haqq is a native of India with a doctorate in highenergy physics from the University of Minnesota. He also happens to be a pastor.