[sinsofsolarempirefan]

I suspect that George Washington and particularly Thomas Jefferson received educations of far more breadth and depth than the average American public school is even capable of providing...

[afraidfortherepublic]

Indeed. And when (because of his father's death) Washington was denied the education in England that he desired, he educated himself -- diligently -- with the help of his older brother who had been educated in England.

The canard that he couldn't spell comes from the fact that there was no standardized spelling rubric in place in the day. I wonder what they will be saying about our citizens educated after 2000 in the future? Very few, it seems, know proper grammar and spelling -- especially those who are facile with texting and spell check.

By the time he was 16, he was surveying land for his neighbor and by the time he was 21 he had saved enough from his pay to acquire 1200 acres for himself. Not too shabby, I'd say.