Homeschool Spotlight

Great article at CNN.com by Stacy Conradt

Homeschooled Celebrities


"Agatha Christie was a painfully shy girl, so her mom homeschooled her even though her two older siblings attended private school

Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia, but her family moved to China when she was just three months old. She was homeschooled by a Confucian scholar and learned English as a second language from her mom.

Alexander Graham Bell was homeschooled by his mother until he was about 10. It was at this point that she started to go deaf and didn't feel she could properly educate him any more. Her deafness inspired Bell to study acoustics and sound later in life.

If Thomas Edison were around today, he would probably be diagnosed with ADD -- he left public school after only three months because his mind wouldn't stop wandering. His mom homeschooled him after that, and he credited her with the success of his education: "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had something to live for, someone I must not disappoint." Mental Floss: Jefferson vs. Adams and the birth of negative campaigning

Ansel Adams was homeschooled at the age of 12 after his "wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers" disrupted the classroom. His father took on his education from that point forward.

Robert Frost hated school so much he would get physically ill at the thought of going. He was homeschooled until his high school years.

Woodrow Wilson studied under his dad, one of the founders of the Southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS).

He didn't learn to read until he was about 12. He took a few classes at a school in Augusta, Georgia, to supplement his father's teachings, and ended up spending a year at Davidson College before transferring to Princeton.

Mozart was educated by his dad as the Mozart family toured Europe from 1763-1766

Laura Ingalls Wilder was homeschooled until her parents finally settled in De Smet in what was then Dakota Territory. She started teaching school herself when she was only 15 years old.



Louisa May Alcott studied mostly with her dad, but had a few lessons from family friends Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Can you imagine?"



Entire contents of this article copyright, Mental Floss LLC. All rights reserved.

11 comments:

  1. I homeschool, so this was great! Thanx for posting.

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  2. Excellent list! Thanks for sharing it! Did you have a website where you found all of them, or did you find them in a book?

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  3. You make an excellent case for homeschoolling. That is a fantastic list of people.

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  4. I homeschool too. This list is marvelous. I understand the sentiments of so many of those listed. Not everyone is cut out for school. In fact, I think a lot of people are not cut out for school the way it is now.

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  5. This post enrich and encourage me beyond words. It adds fuel to my burning desire working toward my destination. BIG THANKS. Grace and peace to you all.

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  6. Homeschoolers do a good job!!! Not everyone is sleeping in and letting their children watch t.v. I'm always impressed by the topics you post that you're covering!!

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  7. How inspiring - especially the Edison info, since my youngest daughter sounds like that. Tempts me (once again) to homeschool her!

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  8. I liked learning about all the famous people who were homeschooled. Some had more opportunity than others. Louisa May Alcott was exposed to some amazing minds!

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  9. My daughter has homeschooled her four children. They are brilliant. She still homeschools the younger two, but the two older are in college. The 15 year-old is in a dual enrollment program and making straight A's. The 18 year-old is in her third year of college at University of Florida and is also making straight A's.

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  10. *low whistle* Wow. I never knew that. I don't think homeschooling is possible/done where I live, but I think I certainly would have loved it and benefitted from it.

    I was lucky enough to attend a primary school where I could work at things at my own pace (well, eventually), but secondary school was... Well, suffice to say that it was a shock and rather ruined my ability to study. Being forced to study at a pace that's either too fast or too slow for you is a nightmare. *shudders*

    Thank you for sharing that list! It's truly inspiring to see!

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  11. T.Anne - You are very welcome.

    Jody - It was actually an article on cnn. And yes, I fact checked, plus I've reading about Thomas Edison. He was a very spirited kid.

    Margot - It is a great list and many brilliant minds.

    Lotusgirl - Yeah for you. Yep, James doesn't fit into the school box - much too inquisitive and squirmy. I'd hate to see that drilled out of him.

    Hi James: Welcome and so glad you found it inspiring.

    Staci - Thanks. It is alot of hard work, but so rewarding to see those shining eyes when he gets it.

    Susan: Tempting! If you have any questions let me know.

    Beth: Alcott was very fortunate to have some many inspiring minds. We should be so lucky.

    Smilingsal: That is wonderful. It always makes me happy to hear the successes of homeschooling.

    Libri: Studying at your own pace does have merit. And you are welcome.

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