"…beautiful thing about writing is it has no real respect for credentialism. You can get various degrees in writing. (…my initial plan was to get MFA.) But a degree can't make you a writer in the way that JD can make you a lawyer.

Great writing comes from all classes people…all kinds of experience. Edith Wharton was raised rich. EL Doctorow was not. 

When I visit schools around country I consistently repeat this—not because I think school is worthless, but b/c, very often, there are kids in audience who are lost, just as I once was. I don't come there to contravene their education…to tell them to drop out. On the contrary, I try to reinforce the ethic of hard work. But they need to know that a grade in a class, is not who they are—and I would say that whether the grade is an A or F. I failed English in HS…then failed British Literature in college. For whatever reason, it simply wasn't my time. But had I taken those grades as an eternal mark, I doubt I would be talking to you now."

"putting the right book in the right kid’s hands is kind of like giving that kid superpowers. Because one book leads to the next book and the next book and the next book and that is how a world-view grows. That is how you nourish thought."<br />
<br />
[via: ªªhttp://berglondon.com/blog/2011/06/16/superpowers/ ]ºº

"And the truth is, my grandpa's right; my education is spotty. Up until a year ago, I could barely spell. It was my own fault, because I was reluctant to take on the daunting task. Most parents would have intervened in this situation, but my mom says there's a cost to that.<br />
<br />
"When you force someone to do something, especially when they're a child and there's an imbalance and a power relationship anyway, they lose part of their will and their confidence that they know what's right for them," she says. "And I think that's a pretty high cost for being a good speller."<br />
<br />
A few months ago my mom bought a book and we started working on my spelling. And I've also enrolled in my first community college class, with the plan of transferring my credits to a four-year college.<br />
<br />
And although I acknowledge that school does work for some people, I'm incredibly grateful my parents decided to unschool me."

"As long as nobody had assigned the book, I could stick with it. I didn’t know what I was reading. I didn’t really know how to read. Reading messed with my brain in an unaccountable way. It made me happy; or something. I copied out the first paragraph of Annie Dillard’s “An American Childhood” on my bedroom’s dormer wall. The book was a present from an ace teacher, a literary evangelist in classy shoes, who also flunked me, of course, with good reason. Even to myself I was a lost cause."<br />
<br />
[Salvatore Scibona's summer reading list: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2011/06/what-im-reading-this-summer-salvatore-scibona-1.html ]

"…the student seeks out the master & their tutelage. More than tips, tricks, & practices, the understanding is that the thing of enduring value that is being transmitted is knowledge & wisdom, which opens a way to method. The student arrives & the master questions their abilities. Often, the student gets turned away. The purpose of the master turning away the student or questioning their intentions is to underline the importance of readiness."

"The lesson of the master is that if one isn’t ready to face a large task (say, a wall of text), they should not even try. “Go away,” the master usually says. Come back later, when you have more presence and mindfulness, Frank. Readiness may be in 20 minutes, later in the week, in a few months, possibly never."

"We should allow ourselves to leave behind the things we are not ready for; we may come back to it later. Instead, we should read hard on the things to which we are ready. It is then that we may be better students."

“In order to survive & thrive in college, students must have a stake in their own education & know how to walk toward problems. This requires an ability & willingness to approach faculty, navigate bureaucracy, tap into resources, & ask for help. In other words, it requires maturity. If students don’t possess sufficient self-discipline, resilience, impulse-control, & a keen desire to learn, the college experience can have expensive & devastating long-term consequences."

[via: http://stevemiranda.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/the-answer-lies-in-recognizing-that-the-real-goal-of-childhood-is-maturity/ ]

"As Dr. Raymond Moore noted in his work in the seventies and eighties, and as Dr. Alan Thomas noted in his work in 2007, homeschooled children who are late readers learn to read quite well when they eventually do learn to read. Once they decide to learn to read, they learn quickly, catching up to their age-mates reading abilities in months, not years. Further, children who haven’t been forced to read by 3rd grade also appear to read more for personal pleasure and information as they get older than do those who were forced to learn to read at a particular age."