Nancy’s son was in trouble. At nine, Al had already been kicked out of two different schools, and now his new teacher was saying that he was “unteachable” and “slow.” She knew that her son was smart, but the teachers had no patience for his boundless energy and endless questions. So she did what she felt she must: she pulled him out of school and taught him at home.
Believing firmly in his potential for greatness, Nancy encouraged Al to explore the laws of physics, nature, and chemistry and to figure things out for himself. She let him set up a laboratory in their basement, and he had full access to all the books in their home. When he exhausted all the reading material there by age eleven – including an extensive collection of classic literature and the works of Shakespeare – Nancy took him to the public library. Al decided to begin with the last book on the bottom shelf and systematically read his way through the entire library. By age 12, Al had read Sears' History Of The World, Burton's Anatomy Of Melancholy, The World Dictionary of Science, and a everything he could find on chemistry and physics.
Even though she had six older children to care for, Nancy didn’t give up on her son. That fateful day in 1854 when she decided to homeschool Al quite literally changed the world. Although he had special educational needs, probably ADHD, and was hard of hearing, Al – short for his middle name, Alva – went on to invent the light bulb, the phonograph, and dozens of other important electrical components that laid the technological foundation for the computer you’re reading this on today. Of course, by now you’ve guessed it – Nancy Edison was the mother of Thomas Alva Edison, The Wizard of Menlo Park, and she was essential to his success.
As an adult, Edison would recall, "My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had someone to live for, someone I must not disappoint."
Was your Mom a Nancy Edison? Did she teach you lessons that shaped your future career? Tell us in the comments!
Sources:
http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventors/a/Thomas_Edison.htm
http://borntoexplore.org/edison.htm
http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html
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