Difference between revisions of "Homeschooling"

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(Others were taught to read at home prior to any school. For example, Ronald Reagan was taught to read by his mother before attending school.)
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[[Image:Homeschool.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A young homeschooled student]]
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'''Homeschooling''' consists of the practice of students receiving education from a parent or guardian, or instructors acting under the direction of a parent or guardian, rather than from teachers in a formal school setting like a [[public school]].  Virtually every area of the United States has local support groups for homeschooling, which often meet in church facilities.  Nearly 7% of college-educated parents homeschool their children.<ref>http://www.sagus.us/blog/blog_details.asp?ID=18&p=7&s=7&s2=7</ref>
 
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Homeschooling "has been growing at 7 percent a year for the last 10 years," and in a recent survey "the average homeschooled student scored at the 88th percentile" in the core subjects of reading, language and math.<ref>http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/200908100.asp</ref>  The most successful [[mathematician]] in contests in history, Reid Barton, was [[homeschooled]].<ref>http://www.amstat.org/PUBLICATIONS/amsn/index.cfm?fuseaction=highlights0812001</ref>  The top college football player and the first to win the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore, [[Tim Tebow]], was homeschooled until college.<ref>http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/783999/heisman_trophy_winner_tim_tebow_puts.html</ref>  A Wimbledon tennis star, Melanie Oudin, chose homeschooling beginning in 7th grade: "With how much I improved in the first year at home, I knew it was the right choice."<ref>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/kevin_armstrong/08/13/melanie.oudin/index.html#ixzz0VSMpJSxF (her twin sister remained in public school)</ref>
 
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In the [[United States]], an estimated one to two million students are homeschooled, or nearly one out of every 30 students.<ref name="USA Today">http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-04-homeschooling_N.htm</ref>  Homeschooled students make up many of the top college and graduate students in mathematics today.<ref>For example, Princeton University math prodigy Arie Israel "never attended a regular school. His parents home schooled both him and his older sister, Rachel, allowing them to work at their own pace and discover their own interests. His dad, Benjamin, a computer programmer, helped him with math and science, while his mom, Rebekah, taught him English and history." [http://weblog.science.fau.edu/info/images/israel.html]</ref>
 
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Homeschooling, like being self-employed, requires more self-discipline and greater initiative.  Many parents understandably give up or burn out after homeschooling for years, just as many people who try to be self-employed do also.  Without a rigid schedule and structure to the day, there are constant distractions and excuses to making the same effort that one makes when told to do something.  Initiative is required for homeschooled teenagers to meet other homeschooled teenagers, for example, and many return to [[public school]] in the absence of that effort.
 
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Homeschooling [[parent]]s oversee their children's education, usually providing some of the instruction themselves.  In addition, homeschooling enables them to mix-and-match other instructional approaches, including:
 
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* attending a weekly course provided in many communities by the homeschooling community
 
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* using a correspondence school (or the modern video- or [[computer]]-based equivalent)
 
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* taking classes at local museums or nature centers
 
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* joining with other [[family|families]] to share teaching responsibilities in a co-op
 
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* encouraging the student to self-instruct using library books, traditional textbooks or workbooks, knowledgeable mentor's and/or hands-on experiences
 
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* hiring a tutor for certain difficult topics, like [[physics]]
 
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* attending a brick and mortar institution for certain classes and taking other classes at home
 
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Homeschoolers often include local "after school" enrichment programs like scouts, 4-H, sports, [[music]] lessons, karate or dance classes, public library programs, and summer camps as part of their educational program. Some areas have extracurricular clubs and activities specifically for homeschoolers, some allow homeschoolers to participate in local [[public school]]'s after school activities, and some homeschoolers participate in extracurricular activities independently from their schooling through private organizations. In 2003, "76 percent of homeschool graduates surveyed between the ages of 18 to 24 voted within the last five years, compared to only 29 percent of the corresponding U.S. population."<ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35226</ref>
 
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==Homeschooling Statistics==
 
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In the [[United States]], homeschooling includes an estimated that 1.1 million students - about 2.9% of children in grade K-12 - as of 2007.  "The number of home-schooled kids hit 1.5 million in 2007, up 74% from when the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics started keeping track in 1999, and up 36% since 2003."<ref name="USA Today"/><ref>[http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/estimated.asp] Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 Statistical Analysis Report, National Center for Educational Statistics, NCES 2006-042, Feb 2006. 
 
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A 2005 estimate from the [[National Home Education Research Institute]] places the number between 1.9 million and 2.4 million while the [[National Center for Education Statistics]] estimates that the number of students being homeschooled increased by 29% from 1999 to 2003.  Christian Examiner, Sept. 2007, Vol 25, No 9, Pg 1</ref>
 
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Families who homeschool their children do so for a number of reasons.  A 2001 study by the [[US Census Bureau]] found that the single largest reason that parents homeschool is that they feel they can give their children a better education at home. This accounted for 50% of the homeschooling families; [[religion|religious]] reasons came in second at 33%.<ref>Home Schooling in the United States: Trends and Characteristics, by Kurt J. Bauman, Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2001, Working Paper Series No. 53 [http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0053.html]</ref>  Other frequently mentioned reasons include dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools, the ability to provide religious or moral instruction along with academics, the ability to control what the child is being taught, flexibility in meeting the needs of a child with special needs (such as a physical or mental health problem, a temporary illness or giftedness), flexibility in scheduling family life, and concern about safety, drugs, and peer pressure at other schools.<ref>Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 Statistical Analysis Report, National Center for Educational Statistics, NCES 2006-042, Feb 2006>[http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/TableDisplay.asp?TablePath=TablesHTML/table_4.asp]</ref>
 
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Admissions departments at major [[college]]s are now familiar and comfortable with homeschooling, according to a 2004 Boston Globe article. The article quotes a [[Liberal Arts college|Williams College]] admission officer as saying: <blockquote>"We read homeschoolers' applications just like any other application. They don't get any special consideration, but they're not discriminated against, either. Their applications are interesting, and they've certainly done independent work their whole lives."</blockquote> It notes that  the acceptance rate of homeschoolers at Williams is 20 percent,<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/03/21/schoolhouse_rocked?mode=PF Schoolhouse rocked] "home schooling has gone main stream, especially in Massachusetts. It's estimated that as many as 20,000 children here have abandoned test-crazy public schools and high-priced private schools for the comfort of the living room couch. But most surprising of all is that Harvard, BU, Brown, and other colleges are welcoming homeschoolers like all other students." Source for Williams College admission officer's quote, 20% figure.</ref> virtually identical to its overall acceptance rate.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-11-02-collegerates_x.htm College acceptance rates]: Williams, 19.2%. U. S. News and World Report</ref>
 
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In the [[United States]], some states permit homeschooled students to participate in [[extracurricular activities]] at their local public schools.
 
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The states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming in one way or another expressly allow equal access.  In most other states, participation is worked out on a case-by-case basis.  <ref>HSLDA:  State Laws Concerning Participation of Homeschool Students in Public School Activities [http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000048.asp]</ref>  In addition, some states, such as Alabama, are considering equal access legislation.  <ref>HSLDA:  Alabama - Legislation for Participation in Public School Activities[http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/al/200705010.asp]</ref>  In New Jersey, school athletic associations dominated by public schools exclude homeschoolers from participation in athletics, even though they allow students at different charter schools to participate.<ref>[[New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association]]</ref>
 
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===Academic level===
 
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Many studies over the last few years have established the academic excellence of homeschooled children.<ref>[http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp Academic Statistics on Homeschooling]</ref> Most recently, the average ACT (American College Testing) score of homeschooled students in 2009 was higher than the national average.<ref>http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090827/avg-act-score-of-homeschoolers-beats-nat-l-avg/index.html</ref> ACT-tested graduates reporting themselves as home-schooled numbered 4,593 in 2000, a 41-percent increase. Home-schooled students achieved a composite average of 22.8, 0.1 points higher than in 1999.<ref>http://www.act.org/news/releases/2000/08-17-00.html</ref> An extensive 2009 nationwide study conducted by Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute,<ref>''Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics''</ref> found that homeschoolers scored 34-39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests. The new study was described as “the most comprehensive study of homeschool academic achievement ever completed,” in which  Ray surveyed 11,739 homeschooled students from all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and drew from 15 independent testing services.  Demographically, 82.4 percent of homeschooling parents identified themselves as Protestant Christian, 12.4 Roman Catholic, 1.1 percent atheist/agnostic, 0.8 percent Mormon, 0.4 percent Jewish, 0.2 percent Eastern Orthodox Christian, and 0.1 percent Muslim. Neither the income or educational level of parents appreciably affected the results.<ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090811/study-homeschoolers-scoring-well-above-public-school-peers/index.html  Aaron J. Leichman, Christian Post Reporter, ''Study: Homeschoolers Scoring 'Well Above' Public School Peers'''] (Tue, Aug. 11 2009 09:26 AM)</ref>
 
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==Reasons for Homeschooling==
 
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Reasons for '''homeschooling''' include:<ref>For 57 unique benefits of homeschooling, see [http://capitolhillcoffeehouse.com/more.php?id=5239_0_1_0_M].</ref>
 
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*Seeking a higher academic level, and avoiding violence, intimidation, invasions of privacy (e.g., searches) and other hostile aspects of the [[public school culture]].<ref>[http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/RevealingStatistics.html#Sec13 ''Revealing Statistics: Education and Media'']</ref><ref>As an example of the violent culture at [[public school]], "parents said there have been violent incidents, mostly fistfights, at the high school every day this week. 'My daughter is terrified,' said Elizabeth Sabalu, whose daughter is a junior. 'She doesn't want to come to school any more.'" [http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/877459,CST-NWS-skul04.article]</ref><ref>"Nationally, about 160,000 [[student]]s miss [[Public schools|school]] daily because they [[fear]] being [[Bully|bullied]]," and in [[Hawaii]] students viciously fight each other and post videos of it on [[YouTube|Youtube.com]]. One victim is now "being [[homeschooled]] at state expense."[http://starbulletin.com/2008/05/18/news/story01.html]</ref>
 
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*Freedom from a culture of depression and [[Liberal_bias_in_academia|liberal]] and/or [[atheistic]] bias found in public and many private schools.<ref>http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol3/iss1/art2</ref><ref>http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/17963/liberal_bias_in_our_schools.html</ref><ref>http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/04/conservatives-underrepresented-in.html</ref>
 
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* A more flexible daily schedule, ability to take vacations and travel during the school year, less commuting, and a healthier diet.<ref>Obesity in [[public school]] students from junk food appears worse than in [[homeschooled]] students.</ref>
 
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* Avoiding the frequent illnesses, unhealthy obesity, and fatigue that result from the daily routine of [[public schools]]
 
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* Avoiding conflicts with [[public school]] officials.
 
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* More time spent by parents with their children in formative years.
 
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* Avoiding objectionable [[vaccines]], "mental health" screening, and questionnaires.
 
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* Avoiding competition between genders, including public school [[feminists]] favoring girls over boys.<ref>Nicola Pearson ''Don't teach boys to be like girls''  Times Newspapers (July 8, 2008)</ref><ref>Holly Robinson, ''Teachers Don't Like Boys, Mom'' huffingtonpost.com (June 17, 2009)</ref>
 
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* Developing the discipline to be self-employed as an adult, and to work at home.
 
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* Creating an environment in which students are less likely to pick up life-long unhealthy addictions from peers, like drugs, cigarettes, sex, or alcohol.
 
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* Having the time and availability to learn a trade or profession as an apprentice, as has been done throughout history.
 
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* Homeschooling is often an essential approach to achieve the very best in many fields, from [[mathematics]] to music to certain sports.<ref>For example, [[Jordin Sparks]] (b. 1989) became youngest winner of the music talent competition "[[American Idol]]" after she left [[public school]] for homeschooling to concentrate on her singing.[http://www.pr-inside.com/singer-jordin-sparks-12-400-video-newest-r592857.htm]</ref>
 
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* Be part of a community that has a much higher percentage of adopted children than formal school; the homeschooling community has a refreshing culture of life.
 
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* Avoiding being subjected to [[homosexual agenda|homosexual]] indoctrination.
 
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* Avoiding political indoctrination.
 
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* Homeschoolers are seen to develop independent thinking and self-reliance that help insulate them from techniques of mind control that afflict public school students and teachers<ref>This is most recently illustrated by techniques of mind control employed by the Obama campaign.[http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/0089]</ref>
 
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It should also be noted that stay at home moms, the most common teachers for homeschooling, reported having happier lives than their working counterparts.<ref>http://www.momlogic.com/2008/07/sahm_wahm_happiness_poll.php?icid=100214839x1204880052x1200231518#start</ref>
 
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==Homeschooling worldwide==
 
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A thriving homeschooling movement exists in Canada, and homeschooling also fares well in Australia and New Zealand. It is relatively new in South America, and reportedly faces strong government resistance in places such as Brazil. Homeschooling also faces significant challenges in many other counties. The governments in Shanghai and Beijing are largely opposed to homeschooling. In European countries it is sometimes more restricted than the United States, or illegal, such as in Germany. In Switzerland, many cantons still allow homeschooling, but not all. <ref>http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/Switzerland.htm</ref>Sweden recently passed legislation which is expected to ban all homeschooling, except for children with medical exemptions, or foreign workers with the appropriate work visas. <ref>Hilary White, ''Socialist Sweden Moves to Ban Homeschooling'', LifeSiteNews.com August 11, 2009 (August 11, 2009)</ref><ref>http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/homeschooling-around-the-world-europe</ref> Recently alarming in England is a June 11, 2009 report on home education by Graham Badman, former Managing Director of Children, Families and Education in the County of Kent, which would effect critical changes in regulation of homeschooling. The report, which was accepted in full by the British Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, uses the [[United Nations]] Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to militate against the educational rights of parents.<ref>http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/200906161.asp</ref> An example of such possible restriction is seen in the United States, in which a New Hampshire Court ordered a thriving, 10 year old homeschooled Christian girl to attend public school, solely in order to expose her to "different points of view at a time in her life when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior."<ref>http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090829/homeschooled-girl-ordered-to-attend-public-school-over-her-rigid-faith/index.html</ref><ref>http://onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=659638</ref>
 
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==History==
 
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In the United States, opting out of [[public school]]s is not new. When [[Thomas Edison]]'s public school teacher said he was "addled," Edison's mother took him out of public school and taught him at home.
 
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Education at public school year-round from about ages 6 to 18 became common only in the 20th century due to compulsory education laws.  The first [[law]] requiring attendance at public school passed in [[Massachusetts]] in 1852; the second such law passed in [[Washington D.C.]] in 1864; and most states did not pass mandatory schooling laws until between 1870 and 1917.<ref>[http://www.ncsl.org/programs/educ/CompulsoryEd.htm Compulsory Education], National Conference of State Legislatures: "More than 150 years have passed since Horace Mann helped Massachusetts establish a statewide system of education that eventually led to the requirement that all children attend public school.  In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to pass compulsory school attendance laws, and by 1918, all states required children to receive an education."</ref><ref>http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kellmeyer/050428</ref>
 
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But even under compulsory education laws in the late 1800s, the school year was only twelve to twenty weeks long.  Very few stayed in school from ages 6 to 18.  For example, by 1900, only 6% of Americans had graduated from a formal high school.  Moreover, these students did not learn basic skills like reading in school; they learned those at home.<ref>''id.''</ref>
 
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Baltimore's Calvert School began selling the school's curriculum to parents in 1905.  Within five years, more than 300 children were enrolled in Calvert's correspondence courses.  Over the next hundred years, Calvert served over 500,000 children from a wide variety of families nation-wide and around the world, including missionary families and those in remote locations.<ref>Calvert School Homeschooling:  A Century of Tradition and Innovation [http://www.calvertschool.org/education-services/home-school-history/]</ref>
 
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The homeschooling ''movement'' began in the 1960s from very different ideological sources.  [[Seventh-Day Adventists]] Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore pioneered homeschooling as a result of their research into education and their concern about the harmful effects of schooling on students, particularly boys, between ages 5 and 15.<ref>http://www.moorefoundation.com/article.php?id=2</ref> On the other side of the political spectrum, John Holt wrote a book critical of schooling in 1964, entitled ''How Children Fail.'' Holt was "a left-winger who regarded schools as instruments of the bureaucratic-industrial complex."<ref>Micklethwait, John and Adrian Wooldridge, ''The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America.'' Penguin, 2004. pp. 190-1</ref> More generally, millions of Americans were alarmed at the 1962 [[U. S. Supreme Court]] ruling which banned school-sponsored prayer in public schools, and many of those parents began to look for alternatives.
 
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Truancy laws brought pioneering homeschoolers into conflict with local officials. The first [[New York Times]] story on "home schooling" appeared in 1974, and concerned two parents charged with "educational neglect" by the [[Westchester]] County Department of Social Services. Tests showed that they performed at or about grade level "except for one who is a little slow in reading," and the parents received strong support from a state senator.<ref>"Parents Accused in Home Schooling," ''The New York Times,'' July 28, 1974, p. 45</ref> By the mid-1980s the ''Times'' was running articles with titles like "Schooling in the Home: A Growing Alternative" and "There Are Benefits In Homeschooling," and states were legalizing homeschooling.<ref>Belluck, Pam (1998), "Life After Home Schooling," ''The New York Times,'' November 1, 1998, p. ED26: "Some 15 years after states began legalizing home schooling in earnest, these early graduates are starting to make their way in the world."</ref> A 1997 article said "It's not only [[Christian fundamentalists]] any more" and a 2003 article noted "Unhappy in Class, More Are Learning at Home."
 
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== Prominent people who were homeschooled ==
 
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<!-- This list of homeschoolers is pretty large and may deserve its own article. -->
 
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<!-- Please note that this list is in alphabetical order.  If you add someone, please make sure you have put them in the right place alphabetically, you have included a brief description of who they are, you have briefly explained their education, and you have included a citation explaining their education.  If you do not have this information, please add your person to the list on the talk page instead. -->
 
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Throughout history, a remarkably high percentage of accomplished people were homeschooled, including many great [[mathematician]]s.  Here is a growing list of such achievers:
 
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*[[Ansel Adams]], (1902-1984), the finest landscape photographer of the twentieth century.  "At twelve, unable to stand the confinement and tedium of the classroom, he utterly disrupted his lessons with wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers. His father decided that Ansel’s formal education was best ended. From that point forward, the boy was homeschooled in Greek, the English classics, algebra, and the glories of the ocean, inlets, and rocky beaches that surrounded their home very near San Francisco."<ref>http://wy.essortment.com/anseladamsbio_rjrq.htm</ref>
 
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*[[John Adams]] (1735-1826), U.S. President.  Learned to read at home, and was then taught in the kitchen by a neighbor with a handful of children.  He matriculated to Harvard College at age 15.<ref>http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/notable.htm</ref>
 
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*[[Louisa May Alcott]] (1832-1888), the author of ''Little Women'' and other great works, was taught by her father.<ref>http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/louisamayalcott.html</ref>
 
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*[[Alexander the Great]] (356-323 B.C.), the greatest military leader of all time, was taught by his father and, as arranged by his father, by [[Aristotle]].<ref>http://history.boisestate.edu/WESTCIV/alexander/03.shtml</ref>
 
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*[[Susan B. Anthony]], leading pro-life feminist and advocate of women's suffrage.  Her father homeschooled her.<ref>http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
 
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*[[Jane Austen]] (1775-1817), one of the most popular novelists of the early 19th century, was school-educated for only a year, after which she was taught at home by her father, her brothers, and herself, using their large family library.
 
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*[[Benjamin Banneker]] (1731-1806)) wrote the first almanac by a black man and helped survey [[Washington, D.C.]].  Banneker was taught to read and write by his grandmother in rural [[Maryland]]."<ref>http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Banneker.html</ref>
 
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*[[Clara Barton]] (1821-1912), pioneering nurse during the [[Civil War]], founder of the [[American Association of the International Red Cross]]. Barton was homeschooled, and at 15 started teaching school. She later attended the Liberal Institute in Clinton, New York. <ref>White House Dream Team: Clara Barton[http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/dreamteam/clarabarton.html]</ref> <ref>Clara Harlowe Barton, Source: "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" edited by Patricia L. Faust
 
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[http://www.civilwarhome.com/bartonbio.htm]</ref>
 
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*[[Alexander Graham Bell]] (1847-1922), inventor of the telephone.  His deaf mother taught him to read and write, and he returned the favor by inventing the telephone to try to help her (and other deaf persons) communicate.
 
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*[[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]] (1906-1945), a [[Christian]] who spoke against [[Hitler]] and was martyred for doing so.
 
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*[[Mary Breckinridge]] (1881-1965), pioneering American midwife and founder of Kentucky's Frontier Nursing Service.  Mary's father was a diplomat, and she was educated in America and abroad by private tutors.<ref>Frontier Nursing Service[http://www.frontiernursing.org/History/MaryBreckinridge.shtm] </ref>
 
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*[[William Jennings Bryan]], [[Secretary of State]] under President [[Woodrow Wilson]] and before that was the founder of the modern [[Democratic Party]].  He was also the leading critic of the [[theory of evolution]] who prevailed in the [[Scopes Trial]] and was perhaps the greatest orator in [[American]] history.  He was homeschooled until age 10 as his mother taught him to stand on table to recite his lessons.<ref>http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
 
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*[[William F. Buckley]], leading [[conservative]] intellectual.  He was homeschooled by his parents and tutors.<ref>http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
 
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*[[Robert Burns]] (1759-1796) [[Scotland]]'s national poet.
 
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*[[Andrew Carnegie]] (1835-1919), the brilliant American businessman and philanthropist of the late 1800s, his father was a poor weaver and Andrew dropped out of elementary school<ref>http://www.education-reform.net/dropouts.htm</ref> and had only five years of formal schooling.<ref>http://www.carnegieinstitution.org/carnegiemedal/background.html</ref>
 
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*[[George Washington Carver]] (1864-1943) Botanical and agricultural researcher and educator.  Born a slave, Carver "learned to read, write and spell at home because there were no schools for African Americans in" his area.<ref>http://lib.iastate.edu:9060/gwc/bio.html</ref>  He did not attend school until age 12, when he went to a one-room schoolhouse in Missouri; he later graduated from Minneapolis High School in Kansas.  Became the first black student at Simpson College in Iowa, transferred to Iowa Agricultural College in 1891.  Earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1894 and a Master of Science degree in bacterial botany and agriculture in 1897.<ref>MSN Encarta Encyclopedia - George Washington Carver article [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761574196/Carver_George_Washington.html]</ref><ref>George Washington Carver, By Mary Bellis [http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa041897.htm]</ref>
 
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*[[Augustin-Louis Cauchy]] (1789-1857), one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, was taught by his father during an 11-year retreat to the country to escape the [[French Revolution]].  His father "wrote his own textbooks, several of them in the fluent verse of which he was master.  Verse, he believed, made grammar, history and, above all, morals less repulsive to the juvenile mind."<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 273 (1937).</ref><ref>http://james.fabpedigree.com/mathmen.htm#Cauchy</ref>
 
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*[[Pafnuty Chebyshev]] (1821-1894), one of the greatest Russian [[mathematician]]s, was homeschooled until college.<ref>http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Chebyshev.html</ref>
 
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*[[Agatha Christie]] (1890-1976), best-selling English mystery writer.  Christie was homeschooled by her mother, who encouraged her to write from a very early age. At sixteen she was sent to finishing school in Paris.  <ref>PBS Mystery Series "Miss Marple" site: Biography of Agatha Christie[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/christie.html]</ref>
 
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*[[Winston Churchill]] (1874–1965), [[British]] statesman.  It was at home that he was taught how to read, write and do math, and was not enrolled in a school until several months into the school year at the age of seven.  After only about two years at that school, he was abruptly pulled out and then spent several years under the instruction of two maiden sisters in a less formal school setting.<ref>William Manchester, "The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, VISIONS OF GLORY 1874-1932 (Little Brown & Co.).</ref>
 
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*[[Charles Dickens]], prolific [[English]] author who could not afford school.  His "passions for reading were awakened by his mother," who homeschooled him with a curriculum that included English and Latin.<ref>http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
 
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*James B. Eads, the greatest river engineer ever; by age 13 he spent his "time reading in his library. So began Eads' education as an engineer. He tinkered with his own inventions at home, building a six-foot long model steamboat when he was in his early teens. And he was intrigued by the inventions of others."<ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eads/peopleevents/p_jbeads.html</ref>
 
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*[[Thomas Edison]] (1804–1896), the most prolific inventor in the history of the world and considered by many to be the most influential person of the last 1000 years.<ref>http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm</ref>  His mother pulled him out of public school at age 7, after just a few months, and began homeschooling him by reading from the Bible.
 
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*[[Paul Erdos]] (1913–1996), the most prolific [[mathematician]] of the 20th century, was taught at home until college.<ref>http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Erdos.html</ref>
 
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*[[Pierre de Fermat]] (1601?-1665), the greatest [[mathematician]] of the 17th century and the founder of the modern theory of numbers, was homeschooled.<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics" 57 (1937)</ref>
 
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*[[Benjamin Franklin]] (1706-1790), a leading [[Founding Father]] and prolific inventor and statesman, only attended part-time school from ages 8 to 10.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/148 Benjamin Franklin, ''Autobiography.'']</ref>
 
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*[[Robert Frost]], the leading [[American]] poet of the 20th century and winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize]].  He "disliked school so much he became physically ill; what schoolwork he did was done at home until he passed the entrance exams and entered high school."<ref>http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
 
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*[[Evariste Galois]] (1811–1832), among the brightest mathematicians ever and the founder of Galois groups and fields and Galois theory.  "Until the age of twelve Galois had no teacher but his mother, Adelaide-Marie Demante."<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 362 (1937).  Galois' life was tragically cut short at age 20 in a [[duel]], and his work was published posthumously.[scidiv.bcc.ctc.edu/Math/Galois.html]</ref>
 
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*[[William Hamilton]] (1805-1865), the greatest Irish mathematician and biggest contributor since [[Isaac Newton]] of [[mathematics]] to [[physics]].  He was taught by his uncle, the Reverend James Hamilton.<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 340-41 (1937).</ref>
 
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*[[Matthew Henry]] (1662-1714), "nonconformist" Presbyterian minister in England, and author of ''Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible'', perhaps the most esteemed devotional commentary of all time. Under State persecution, Henry was homeschooled by his father, and for a time by a tutor, before moving on to a Christian school in 1680.
 
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*Zac, Taylor, and Isaac Hanson, of the band [[Hanson]].  Educated at home by their mother, and later by a tutor.  <ref>Hanson:  The All American Boys[http://www.drdrew.com/DrewLive/article.asp?id=1112]</ref><ref>Hangin With Presents
 
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Hanson[http://www.agirlsworld.com/rachel/hangin-with/hanson.html]</ref> 
 
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*[[Fred Hoyle]] (1915-2001), the greatest British physicist of the 20th century, received a "homespun" education in which he sneaked away from his school for 60% of the time between ages 5 and 9.<ref>"My earliest research work was in truancy from school, in which I was successful enough to whittle down the time I spent mewed up in classrooms to something like forty percent of what it was supposed to be between the ages of five and nine."  Fred Hoyle, ''Mathematics of Evolution'' at p. 1 (Acorn Enterprises 1999).  Note, however, that Hoyle's parents were also apparently unaware of his [[truancy]].</ref>
 
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*[[Julia Ward Howe]] (1819–1910), abolitionist, writer, and women's rights activist. Julia was educated by tutors at home and in girls' schools until age 16. <ref>Open Connections Program, Women Working 1800-1930, Harvard University Library:  Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910)[http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/people_howe.html]</ref>
 
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*[[Carl Jacobi]] (1804-1851), a prominent and prolific German mathematician, was taught at home until the age of 12 and was taught the classics and [[mathematics]] by a maternal uncle.<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 327 (1937).</ref>
 
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*[[Joan of Arc]] (1412-1431), one of the greatest military leaders ever. Taught domestic skills and religion by her mother. <ref>"As a child she was taught domestic skills as well as her religion by her mother. ... It was my mother alone who taught me the 'Our Father' and 'Hail Mary' and the 'Creed;' and from none other was I taught my faith."[http://www.stjoan-center.com/#bio A Short Biography of Saint Joan of Arc][http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08409c.htm New Advent - Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Joan of Arc][http://joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_biography.html Biography of Joan of Arc]</ref>
 
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*[[John the Apostle]] (c. A.D. 20-100), the author of the [[Gospel of John]], considered by many to be the greatest written work ever.  He also wrote several other books in the [[New Testament]].  His parents placed him, most likely as a child, under the homeschool-like teaching of [[Jesus]] rather than a more traditional school setting.<ref>In an approach common among homeschoolers, John's parents placed ''both'' their sons under the homeschool-like teaching of Jesus.</ref>  John became the first to develop [[Christian]] [[faith]] and his work has since spread Christianity to billions.<ref>For growing evidence that John was a child, see [[Mystery:Was John a Child?]].</ref>
 
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*[[C.S. Lewis]] (1898-1963), the author of the ''Chronicles of Narnia'' and other famous works, was taught at home  by his mother and a governess until age 10, and later sent to be taught by a tutor to prepare him for [[Oxford]].<ref>'''Lewis, C. S.''', ''Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life'', London: Harvest Books (1955) ISBN 0-1568-7011-8</ref>
 
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*[[Abraham Lincoln]] (1809-1865), American president. "Though his [formal] education was limited to a few months in a 1-teacher school, Lincoln avidly read books such as the Bible, ''Pilgrim's Progress'' and Weemss ''Life of Washington''."<ref>http://www.civilwarhome.com/lincolnbio.htm</ref>
 
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*Countess Augusta [[Ada Lovelace]] (1815-1852), a visionary programmer and namesake of the [[ADA]] programming language, was homeschooled by governesses and tutors hired by her mother.
 
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*General [[Douglas MacArthur]], the leading [[American]] general of the 20th century, both in [[World War II]] against [[Japan]] and in the [[Korean War]]. His mother homeschooled him until the age of 13, at which point he attended West Texas Military Academy.
 
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*[[Marcus Aurelius]], Stoic philosopher and last of the "five good Emperors" of Rome.  In his Meditations, he says that he learned from his "great-grandfather, not to have frequented public schools, and to have had good teachers at home, and to know that on such things a man should spend liberally."
 
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*[[Benoit Mandelbrot]], a [[Yale]] mathematics professor known as the "father of fractals" and the person who coined the term,<ref>http://www.creativitysoftware.com/fractals-images/pages-hs/mandelbrot.htm</ref> received no extended formal schooling and was taught at home by his uncle beginning at the age of 12.<ref>http://www.fractalwisdom.com/FractalWisdom/fractal.html</ref>
 
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*[[Yehudi Menuhin]] (1916-1999), noted violinist and conductor, never attended school, and was taught Mathematics, History and Hebrew by his father, and French, German, Italian and Spanish by his mother.<ref>Slater, Elinor and Slater, Robert ''Great Jewish Men'' (Jonathon David Publishers; 1996) ISBN 0-8246-0381-8</ref>
 
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*[[John Stuart Mill]] (1806-1873), influential 19th century political and economic philosopher, was home-schooled by his father, James Mill.  He learned Greek at age 3, Latin at age 8, studied economics, history, science, etc. before age 10.
 
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*[[James Monroe]] (1758-1831), highly successful U.S. President, homeschooled until age 11.<ref>http://www.presidentialavenue.com/jam.cfm</ref>
 
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*[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] (1756-1791), German composer. "He was educated by his father, Leopold Mozart, a violinist of high repute in the service of the archbishop of Salzburg."<ref>[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica]</ref>
 
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*[[Isaac Newton]] (1643-1727), considered the greatest physicist of all time.  He was homeschooled until age ten, and then was an underachiever at school until he lodged with the headmaster.<ref>http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Newton.html</ref>
 
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* [[Christopher Paolini]] (1983-), the author of the best-selling [[Inheritance Trilogy]] ([[Eragon]], [[Eldest]], and [[Brisingr]]). He was homeschooled by his parents, through an accredited correspondence course from the American School in Chicago, Illinois, from which he graduated with his high school diploma at 15 years of age. <ref>Book Browse Author Biography: Christopher Paolini[http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=934]</ref>
 
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* [[Blaise Pascal]] (1623-1662), one of the greatest mathematicians and philosophers of all time, was homeschooled by his father.<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 74-76 (1937).</ref>
 
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* [[George Patton]] (1885–1945), one of America's greatest generals.  He was taught at home until age 11 based on his "father's theory of education" that "youthful mind should be led along a path that parallels the development of the mind of the race" by being read to by elders.<ref>http://www.pattonhq.com/unknown/chap01.html The Patton Society ("The Early Years")]</ref><ref>;http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=517</ref>
 
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* [[Henri Poincaré]] (1854-1912), one of the greatest mathematicians ever and an original developer of the [[Theory of Relativity]].  Poincaré, who had diphtheria as a child, received special instruction from his gifted mother and excelled in written composition while still in elementary school.  He entered the Lycée in Nancy (now renamed the Lycée Henri Poincaré in his honor), in 1862 and spent eleven years there.  He entered the École Polytechnique in 1873, graduating in 1875. After graduating from the École Polytechnique, Poincaré continued his studies at the École des Mines.  <ref>Jules Henri Poincaré[http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Poincare.html]</ref>
 
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* [[Alexander Pope]] (1688-1744), one of the greatest and most-often quoted [[English]] poets and essayists.  "From Twyford School he was expelled after writing a satire on one of the teachers. At home, Pope's aunt taught him to read. Latin and Greek he learned from a local priest and later he acquired knowledge of French and Italian poetry."<ref>http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/apope.htm</ref>
 
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*[[Ferdinand Porsche]] (1875-1951), designer of the [[German]] Porsche automobile.  He was homeschooled and self-taught during his formative years,<ref>http://famousbrandnames.blogspot.com/2007/02/porsche.html</ref> which is ironic given that homeschooling is illegal in [[Germany]] today.
 
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* [[Eleanor H. Porter]] (1868-1920), author of the classic 1913 novel ''[[Pollyanna]]'' and its sequel ''Pollyanna Grows Up'', about an eternally optimistic missionary child who, by playing the "glad game", transforms an entire community.  Porter, a Christian and a member of the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]], was "educated in public schools during her childhood until illness caused her to turn to private tutors. She then attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts."<ref>Bestsellers,
 
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Graduate School of Library and Information Science,  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ''Pollyanna'' [http://www3.isrl.illinois.edu/~unsworth/courses/bestsellers/search.cgi?title=Pollyanna]</ref> <ref>Bestsellers,
 
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Graduate School of Library and Information Science,  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' [http://www3.isrl.illinois.edu/~unsworth/courses/bestsellers/search.cgi?title=Pollyanna+Grows+Up]</ref>
 
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*[[Joseph Priestley]] (1733-1804), the father of modern chemistry and the discoverer of oxygen, dropped out of school as a teenager and privately learned geometry, algebra and numerous languages.<ref>Robert E. Schofield, ''The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley.''</ref>
 
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*[[Bernhard Riemann]] (1826-1866), a German recognized as the greatest modern mathematician.  He was taught at home by his father, a Lutheran minister, until he was ten.  After that he was tutored by a teacher from a local school until he entered the Lyceum in Hannover at 14.  <ref>School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland -- Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson[http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Riemann.html]</ref><ref>http://www.andrews.edu/~calkins/math/biograph/199899/bioriema.htm</ref>
 
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*[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (1882-1945), U.S. President.  He was educated by private tutors at home through age 14, then entered Groton, an elite private school in Massachusetts, in 1896. <ref>The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers.  "Franklin D. Roosevelt." Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt, ed. by Allida Black, June Hopkins, et. al. (Hyde Park, New York: Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, 2003).
 
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[http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/roosevelt-franklin.htm]</ref>
 
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*[[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1858–1919), U.S. President.  "Roosevelt never enrolled in a public school. He was mostly instructed by private tutors until he entered Harvard College in 1876."<ref>http://law.enotes.com/presidential-biography/theodore-roosevelt-administrations/education</ref>
 
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*[[Erwin Schrodinger]] (1887-1961), was one of the developers of the theory of [[quantum mechanics]] in physics.  "He was not sent to elementary school, but received lessons at home from a private tutor up to the age of ten ...."<ref>http://bdaugherty.tripod.com/berlin/schrodinger.html</ref>
 
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*[[George Bernard Shaw]] (1856-1950), author.  Tutored in the classics by a clerical uncle until he entered school at age 10.  Left school by age 15.  <ref>Encyclopedia of World Biography on George Bernard Shaw[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/george-bernard-shaw/]</ref> <ref>Dictionary of Literary Biography on George Bernard Shaw[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/george-bernard-shaw-dlb/]</ref><ref>George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950 Biographical Sketch[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/shaw.gb.bio.html]</ref>
 
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*[[Mark Twain]] (real name was Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910), American author and satirist who said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."  Attended school through the 5th grade, where he "excelled only in spelling" and was frequently truant, then worked as a printer's apprentice for a local newspaper.  His mother said, "He was always a great boy for history, and could never get tired of that kind of reading; but he hadn't any use for schoolhouses and text books."  <ref>The Mark Twain House and Museum:  Biography of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain [http://www.marktwainhouse.org/theman/bio.shtml]</ref><ref>The Project Gutenberg E-Book of Mark Twain, by Archibald Henderson
 
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[http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/8/7/6873/6873.txt]</ref>
 
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* [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519), Italian artist, inventor, and all-around "Renaissance man".  Leonardo went to school in Vinci, where he learned to write, to read and to calculate, and was taught geometry and Latin. At 14, Leonardo moved to Florence where he began an apprenticeship in the workshop of Verrocchio.  <ref>Leonardo da Vinci[http://www.kausal.com/leonardo/childhood.html]</ref>
 
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*[[Laura Ingalls Wilder]], the author of the Little House on the Prairie.<ref>http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
 
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*[[Andrew Wyeth]] (1917- ), American artist, was tutored at home until he was 18.  <ref>The Homeschooling of Andrew Wyeth, A Conversation with the Artist, Gifted Children Monthly, May 1986, Vol 7 No. 5.[http://www.nfgcc.org/51.htm] </ref>
 
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*[[Frank Lloyd Wright]] (1867-1959), considered the finest architect ever, was taught at home by his mother who dreamed that he would become an architect.  She used "Froebel's geometric blocks to entertain and educate her son" as his father led the family among various Baptist churches, where he preached.<ref>http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/a/archs/wright/bio/index.html</ref>  Wright then attended high school but dropped out of college.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0942394/bio</ref>
 
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*[[Brigham Young]], the leader of the [[Mormon Church]] and founder of 200 towns and villages.  He was homeschooled and had only "11 days of formal education."<ref>http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
 
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In addition, a number of prominent people have chosen to homeschool their children.  [[David Guterson]], author of the novel ''Snow Falling on Cedars'' (1994), which won the 1995 [[PEN/Faulkner Award]], also wrote ''Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense'' (1992), an account of his family's homeschooling journey.  <ref>www.randomhouse.com:  David Guterson [http://www.randomhouse.com/vintage/read/snow/guterson.html]</ref>  Actor and recording artist Will Smith and his wife actress Jada Pinkett Smith homeschool their children. <ref>Reader's Digest:  Will Power:  Will Smith is One Driven Guy[http://www.rd.com/content/will-smith-interview/1/]</ref>.  Roseanne Barr stated in an interview that she has started to homeschool her 11-year-old son.<ref>Reuters Interview - Roseanne Barr says age gives her a louder voice [http://in.news.yahoo.com/070322/137/6dlba.html]</ref>  Jimmy Wales, co-founder of [[Wikipedia]], also homeschools.<ref>http://reason.com/news/show/119689.html</ref>  Kristin Maguire, head of the [[South Carolina]] board of education, which governs all its [[public schools]], homeschools all four of her children.<ref>http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/01/09/17stjour.h27.html</ref>  Elizabeth Edwards, wife of the [[Democratic]] vice-presidential nominee (2004) and presidential candidate (2008) [[John Edwards]], homeschools both of their youngest children.<ref>http://momocrats.typepad.com/momocrats/2007/11/elizabeth-edwar.html</ref>
 
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Others were taught to read at home prior to any school.  For example, [[Ronald Reagan]] was taught to read by his mother before attending school.<ref>http://americanhistory.about.com/od/ronaldreagan/p/preagan.htm</ref>
 
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==See Also==
 
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*[[People Who Arguably Were Homeschooled]]
 
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*[[List of homeschool curriculums]]
 
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*[[Previous Breaking News/Homeschooling|Articles about '''Homeschooling''' from previous "In the news"]]
 
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*[[Homeschool Legal Defense Association]]
 
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*[[Homeschooling in England and Wales]]
 
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*[http://www.homeschoolcentral.com/ Homeschool Central - Free Online Resources for Homeschooling]
 
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===External links===
 
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*[http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/view/rc/s31p54.htm Christian Children Must Have More Than A Fighting Chance] - Four reasons to homeschool your children, by [[Art Robinson]]
 
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*[http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/famoushomeschoolers.htm] - List of homeschooled achievers.
 
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*[http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-294.html Isabel Lyman, ''Homeschooling: Back to the Future?''] The Cato Institute (January 7, 1998)
 
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===Further reading===
 
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* Gaither, Milton. ''Homeschool: An American History'' (2008) 273 pp. The standard scholarly history
 
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==References==
 
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{{reflist|2}}
 
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[[Category:Homeschooling|*]]
 

Revision as of 21:09, June 21, 2010

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