Educating Edison - Liahona Academy

Educating Edison

By Marti Pieper
Homeschooling Today – July/Aug 2005,
Vol. 14 Issue 3, pp. 11-13

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God
and not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:7, NASB)

“Mom!” My daughter bounced eagerly down the stairs, excitedly telling me about a book she’d just
finished reading. “Thomas Edison was so funny! Do you know what he did one time?” she giggled.
“He knew geese sat on their eggs to hatch them, so he decided to sit on a nest himself – and the eggs
broke! He got egg all over his pants! Isn’t that silly?” Karissa smiled companionably as she awaited
my response.

Over the next few days, my thoughts kept returning to Thomas Edison and the story of the
eggs. Yes, his actions were childish, perhaps even “silly,” but weren’t they also very characteristic of
the true experimenter? He had a clear hypothesis (eggs would hatch when sat upon) and decided
to test it, albeit in an unorthodox manner.

Undoubtedly, the egg on the seat of his pants guided both his conclusion and future
scientific practice. Anyone who has studied Edison’s life knows of his willingness to try – and even
to fail – with unfading vigor. Anyone who has studied Edison’s life also knows of the revolutionary
inventions that his often unconventional approach produced. By the end of his career, Thomas
Edison had received 1,093 U.S. patents and accompanying credit for inventions including the
electric light bulb, celluloid film, the movie projector, the alkaline battery, and the microphone. He
also failed much more often than he succeeded, becoming known for investing large amounts of
time and money in successive tries focused on a specific result. His research on the light bulb alone
encompassed years of trials and over 6,000 potential filaments!

Homeschoolers enjoy pointing out that Edison, among many other historical figures,
belongs to the ranks of successfully home-educated students. When his teachers criticized and
rejected him, one even calling him “addled,” Edison’s mother wisely decided to remove him from
public school and continue his education at home. She taught sweetly, he experimented smoothly,
and they lived happily ever after.

Or not. To borrow a popular radio commentator’s catch phrase, this homeschooler wonders
about the rest of the story. Surely, Nancy Edison must have had days where she doubted the
wisdom of her decision. Undeniably, she must have questioned how her son could overcome the
handicap of his hearing loss. Certainly, she faced frustration as she sought to provide a firm
foundation for her challenging original thinker whose approach to life confounded and confused
even his father. Unmistakable, she struggled, as his classroom teachers had, with his
inattentiveness, seeming inability to focus on an assigned task, and nearly incessant chattering.
Almost assuredly, she also faced the criticism of friends, and perhaps relatives, who failed to
understand the choice she made in what she believed was her son’s best interest.

Perhaps some of Nancy Edison’s purported struggles are yours. No doubt you, too, have
moments, possibly extended ones, in which you question the wisdom of your educational decisions.
The homeschooled children who appear in the headlines, winning geography or spelling bees and
attaining college status at age eleven, certainly don’t resemble the ones you know best. You’re not
sure your son will ever memorize his addition facts. Your daughter doesn’t seem to care a bit about
writing a descriptive paragraph. Your third-grader sits pouting at the table for an hour rather than
completing his math assignment. Your youngest child won’t sit still long enough for you to
determine his learning style, much less adapt your teaching to meet it. A child struggles with a

suspected learning disability that, for various reasons, remains undiagnosed. A son has a physical,
mental, or emotional handicap that dominates your family life. A daughter has suffered a hurt that
remains unhealed. You care for an older relative, and your schooling fits around that demanding
task. You work from home or perhaps outside the home to help support your family financially.
You have personal challenges, temporary or not, that make homeschooling especially complicated.
Your marriage hangs from a gossamer thread. That thread has already broken.

As a pastor’s wife and veteran homeschooling mother, I fear the expert mentality that sends
a message of inadequacy to those whose lives differ from ours. I fear the one-size-fits-all approach
that assumes if we plug curriculum “A” into child “B” we will achieve desired result “C.” I fear the
concern of the mother who thinks she must be doing something wrong, that God is punishing her,
or that no one else has struggles or doubts. I fear the home-school group where members with
these challenges hesitate to discuss them because of the raised eyebrows, unkind comments or
subtle distancing that can result from simple honesty.

No one knows exactly how Nancy Edison solved her homeschool struggles, and in spite of
well-intentioned publicity for various products, manuals, and seminars, no one has a quick fix for
the problems we face today. Especially during extended times of trial, we may not listen well to
stories of homeschool success or have the capacity to implement the steps toward a perfect
lifestyle. Sometimes the most needed encouragement is also the simplest: hold tight and hang on.

Hold Tight
Surround yourself with others who travel your road and to whom you can hold tight in

times of trials. In our local homeschool group, we have two women who provide care for their
mothers, each battling Alzheimer’s disease. The bittersweet connection they share blesses us all.
Certainly, you will want to place your fellowship in a scripturally sound, emotionally encouraging
church family that implements the “one anothers” of Scripture and provides the wise counsel of
spiritual leaders to hold you tight regardless of your struggles. However, you cannot hold tight and
remain unconnected. Seek help. Have support systems in place ahead of time for seasons of trial,
and intentionally avoid groups or other resources that destroy rather than build. Condemnation
destroys. Constructive criticism affirms. Godly counsel encourages.

Hang On
In the midst of homeschool struggles, we may lose the normal disciplines of an intimate

Christ-connection. Sadly, we often allow trouble to distract us from preserving this vital
relationship more easily than we overlook the maintenance of healthy family relationships.
Although extended prayer times and intensive Bible study may give way to more pressing needs,
God will provide small ways to help you hang on to your faith. An international missions
organization with which my two older daughters have served instructs their volunteers to observe
and record “divine encounters” each day. This focus helped both girls, in the midst of heavy travel
schedules, regularly take note of God’s amazing, inspiring work that otherwise might have
remained unnoticed. Consider establishing the discipline of divine encounters by watching for
those moments when God unmistakably intersects your life. The rewards of remembering to hang
on to the Creator of the universe, who is also your loving heavenly Father, far outweighs any efforts
you may expend.

Years from now, when others examine the homeschooled adults we release into the world,
we trust they will see an assembly of Edisons – unflaggingly unafraid, unquestionably inventive,
and undeniably individual. These positive results will stem from the grace-filled environment that
surrounds our children, regardless of the broken eggs they experience along the way.

Even if our homes fail to yield the world’s next great inventors, poets, statesmen, or
Geography Bee winners, Scripture tells us that proven character will certainly stem from our
patience and perseverance in doing the daily work of homeschool. Proven character marks a far

greater success than even a multitude of inventions because it points others not to a homeschool
curriculum or expert formula, but toward the hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:1-4). Such
success makes any amount of egg on the pants (or face) more than worthwhile. Hold tight and hang
on. The rewards are eternal.