In 1855, when he was eight years old, Thomas Edison enrolled in school for the first time. After 12 weeks, his teacher, Reverend G. Engle, called him "addled," or unable to think clearly. Edison apparently hated school and its heavy focus on sitting, memorizing, and repeating. As biographer, Louise Egan, explains: "Tom was confused by Reverend Engle's way of teaching. He could not learn through fear. Nor could he just sit and memorize. He liked to see things for himself and ask questions."[1]

Edison's mother, Nancy Edison, approached Reverend Engle about her son but found his ways too rigid. She felt that he forced things on the children. His mother quickly decided to pull Tom from school and allow him to learn at home, where he developed a passion for books and knowledge. Edison's education was largely self-directed, with his mother avoiding most top-down instruction and instead allowing Edison to learn naturally. Edison's biographer, Matthew Josephson, writes: "She avoided forcing or prodding and made an effort to engage his interest by reading him works of good literature and history that she had learned to love..."[2]