A Thomas Edison Education

My mother was the making of me. She was so sure, so true of me" (Edison as qtd. by Woodside, 5).

Several homeschool resources have mentioned giving your child a "Thomas Edison education." Obviously, Edison is considered to have been an extremely intelligent man by today's standards, but what does this statement really mean?

As it turns out, Edison was mostly homeschooled (as one can guess), although his mother did enroll him in public school only to remove him after a few months. His teacher believed everyone should learn in identical manners, but Edison was easily distracted and asked too many questions! Therefore, Edison spent much time on a stool in the corner, or being physically and mentally abused in front of his peers. Finally, he ran home to his mother and told her the teacher had said there was "something wrong with his brain" (Woodside, 5). Consequently, Edison began schooling at home and his mother only nurtured his innate curiosity and desire to learn. She proposed that he set up a lab in which he could perform his experiments, giving him book after book that inspired his avid interest in invention. He seemed to believe he could do anything anyone or anything could do, including setting on hen eggs in order to make them hatch! After all, if a hen could do it, so could he! He was allowed to roam on the family property, and later as a growing boy, he continued his experiments in a small lab on the train to and from where he held his first job.

Edison's mother didn't have much formal training, other than being a school teacher for a short while. Yet, she nurtured her son's education. She was able to give him more than any average public school teacher could give: love, attention, and a vested interest in his education as an individual. No matter your teaching method, couldn't we all learn a little from Edison's mother?