Great Quotes About Homeschooling, Self-Education, and School

Is formal education necessary for success in the twenty-first century? A growing number of homeschooling families around the world argue that it isn't, especially for children. In fact, many would say that institutionalized learning could actually be harmful to a child's development. It strips the child's love of learning, sense of self, confidence, and ability to think creatively. Homeschooling is not for everyone, but many children are able thrive in such an environment where true learning is valued above rote memorization.

Many of history's greatest thinkers did poorly in school or shunned public education entirely for their own forms of homeschooling, and today's homeschooling parents also have some insightful things to say about the subject. These quotes will be helpful to families seeking support for their beliefs, as well as to introduce ideas about school, education, childhood, different ways to learn, etc., to those who aren't familiar with homeschooling.

How do children learn two very difficult skills, walking and talking, without anyone's making a self-conscious effort to teach them? Could children learn other things, even "school" subjects like reading and math, in the same way, by imitating other people's behavior, making mistakes, correcting them on their own, and asking for help when they need it? --Larry and Susan Kaseman, in Taking Charge Through Homeschooling

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. --Mark Twain

Our entire school system is based on the notion of passive students that must be "taught" if they are to learn. . . . Our country spends tens of billions of dollars each year not just giving students a second-rate education, but at the same time actively preventing them from getting an education on their own. And I'm angry at how school produces submissive students with battered egos. Most students have no idea of the true joys of learning, and of how much they can actually achieve on their own. --Adam Robinson, co-founder of The Princeton Review