Intodetion schools esental for children to learn to unetion a citizens in twen= tieth ry society So much were schools assumed tobe necessary for children's education that, while there was much debate over the omuch were: schools assumed fo.be necessary for chi dren's education that, while here wos much debate aver the form chooks should toke cond the content they should teach, there was ‘lmast ne discussion of whether they were in ‘ruth the indispensable Insitutions they op- peared tobe. form schools should take and the content they should tech, there was almost no discussion of ‘whether they were in truth the indispensable in- stiutions they appeared tobe. Those few cildeen \who somehow acquired their education mainly by other means, of whom Margaret Mead and "Thomas Edison were notible examples, were viewed as eccentric exceptions But those exceptions nevertheless existed, lesening. Meads quip was, “My grandmother wanted me to have an education, so she kept me out of chook.” ‘These unconventional learners took a vaiety of paths for thei education. Some had formal ‘ors co present material ther fails thought necessary fr their education, Some read widely snd voraconly. Others accompanied their parents in their work or on that the kindof child-centered educational reforms he belived were rnecesstry would not—indeed, coud not—happen within a compal~