Homeschoolers' Success Stories : 15 Adults and 12 Young People Share the Impact That Homeschooling Has Made on Their Lives (Paperback)

by Linda Dobson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Despite their growing numbers, many homeschoolers still find their experience somewhat isolating. This collection of short biographies aims to alleviate some of that loneliness. While the stories profile modern-day homeschool grads and students, famous homeschooled personalities from the past are offered up early in the book for historical inspiration. John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, photographer Ansel Adams, poet Robert Frost, and songwriter Irving Berlin join the long list dug up by author Linda Dobson. And just in case there were any doubts that fame has eluded today's homeschooled, Dobson throws in actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Love Hewitt, the Hanson singer siblings, and conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. The people whose stories are told here are successful entrepreneurs, Ivy League students, and athletes, such as Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor and U.S. ski team member Todd Lodwick. But to Dobson's credit, she unearths a healthy array of "regular folk" as well. Their stories are no less interesting and, most importantly, they dispel the notion that homeschooled children are over-the-top achievers and freaks of nature. Among the subjects here are an Arkansas state trooper, a private chef, an art gallery owner, and a Cost Guard Reserve seaman.

Each chapter begins with a photo and yearbook-style sketch of the personality, complete with favorite areas of study and a memorable quote. The biographies are short and insightful, with the author often injecting her own thoughts. Dobson, the mother of three homeschooled children, has written numerous books on the topic (The Homeschooling Book of Answers and Homeschooling: The Early Years, among them) and is a news editor and columnist for Home Education Magazine. In her casual, succinct writing style, she brings to life personalities that have little in common beyond their method of education. Some were taught at home completely; others for only a few years. They offer advice, warnings, and fond memories. And their overriding message is that homeschooled people are just as diverse and interesting as the students found in traditional schools. "We are not alone," is the cry heard from these pages. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

Product Description

Pro football player, bestselling author, entrepreneurial millionaire . . . these successful people all have one thing in common: They were all homeschooled as children. Inside, you'll discover their inspiring stories, along with the stories of a dozen other homeschooling "graduates" who have achieved success on many levels. In addition, you'll meet 12 younger people already well on their way to personal success.

Inside you'll find:

Robin Lee Graham, at 16, became the youngest person to sail around the world
Jedediah Purdy, Yale law student and author of For Common Things
Kitty Gilmore, Arkansas State Trooper and U.S. Marshal
Rikki Scandora, homeschooling student and naturalist

"This beautiful book resonates with a feeling for how things really happen. It will make you smile, stimulate your spirit, chase away your fears. Read it today! Then read it as often as you need to to revive your courage. What a gift!"—John Taylor Gatto, former New York State Teacher of the Year and author of The Underground History of American Education

"Once again, Linda Dobson has blazed a trail for us all. This book confirms that honoring children, families, and communities is, in the end, the greatest testament to homeschooling's overall success."—Richard J. Prystowsky, professor of English and Humanities, Irvine Valley College, and editor of Paths of Learning

"This is not a how-to book. It's better. It's a 'how-it-was-done book.' These exclusive profiles of incredible, homeschooled teens and young adults prove to the world that homeschooling works!"—Elizabeth Kanna, editor of Homeschool.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761522557
• ISBN-13: 978-0761522553
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,140,700 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books in homeschooling, July 25, 2000

By	Lillian Jones (CA) - See all my reviews

As a book reviewer with Home Education Magazine, I think this is one of the most important books ever written about homeschooling. When considering homeschooling, people want to know how homeschooling will impact their kids. The homeschooling movement is coming of age, and we finally have a body of graduates to look to for answers. The answers those graduates provide in this book will surprise and enlighten even seasoned homeschoolers.

In reading this book, I was surprised again and again. The surprises come with the fresh realization of how fulfilling and unique the fruit of anyone's personal passions can be when they're not being run through a mill. The theme of this particular mind banquet was diversity and individuality in full bloom. The important message these graduates deliver is that homeschooling provided them with the opportunity to follow their own dreams and find their unique fulfillment and happiness in ways that might have been completely closed off to them otherwise.

This book isn't about getting into an Ivy League college and getting a professional title that denotes success--this book is about the incredible processes people can go through to find their personal satisfaction and success in any number of imaginative ways, Ivy League education among them. You can't read these stories without stretching your mind and questioning a whole lot of cultural assumptions about what "success" is. You'll find more than just success stories, however; the book includes moving and intimate personal responses to questions about how homeschooling impacted their lives.

The variety of successful people and stories in this book is amazing. There isn't a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker in the crowd, but there's a Broadway performer, a multi-millionaire internet entrepreneur, a firefighter--and a building contractor who sailed solo around the world in his teens, went to Stanford on a scholarship and quit because he didn't want to waste precious time in college.

After reading Homeschoolers' Success Stories, I reread Linda Dobson's Introduction. Some words that had puzzled me on first reading took on much clearer meaning the second time around: "Some of what the people featured in this book have to say about education may make you uncomfortable; it's better you know it right from the start rather than discover it halfway through the book. If you don't want to hear any more, put the book back on the shelf and don't buy it. I have no desire to deliver anything you don't want to hear. I'm sure it has something to do with humans' predisposition to kill the messenger." Powerful warning, huh? It's because Homeschoolers' Success Stories gets into some pretty unusual territory, and it will definitely make you rethink some deeply ingrained ideas. The book had a profound impact on my some of my own perceptions, or maybe I should say preconceptions--and I'm sure it will have a similar impact on other readers.

Even the most seasoned homeschoolers will find something here to stretch and refresh their minds, and the beginning homeschooler will find provocative testimony encouraging openness to more unorthodox paths than they might have considered. -Lillian Jones

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging and Exciting!, December 7, 2000

By	"s-seaborne" (Woodbridge, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Linda Dobson's "Homeschoolers' Success Stories" offers an exciting and encouraging picture of the possibile paths and futures of today's homeschoolers. These young people have created hand-made lives; they are carving their own niches in the world. Reading their stories reinforces the hope that homeschooling my children will feed their uniqueness and enable them to make their own, custom, satisfying paths in life. This book would make a great gift for homeschooled teens, as a preview to the places their lives can lead. It would also make a great gift for any homeschooling parent, or even those pesky critical in-laws!