I do home schooling. I went to regular school until fifth grade

Miranda Cosgrove once spoke with candor of her path: “I do home schooling. I went to regular school until fifth grade, and then I started doing home schooling, which is completely different. I have a teacher on set with me and I just work with her, one-on-one.” At first these words may seem simple, a reflection of circumstance, yet beneath them lies a profound truth: that learning is not bound to walls of stone, nor to the march of crowds, but can flourish wherever the mind is nourished. Education is not a place, but a way of being.

The origin of this quote comes from the life of an actress whose calling drew her from the ordinary classroom into a world of lights, scripts, and performance. To walk such a road is to stand apart, to live in two worlds — one of art, and one of study. And so, the familiar rhythm of regular schooling gave way to home schooling, a more personal journey, guided not by the chatter of many voices, but by the focused presence of a single mentor. Here we see an ancient truth reborn: the most enduring learning often comes not from crowds, but from the closeness of one soul guiding another.

The ancients knew this well. Did not Alexander the Great learn at the feet of Aristotle, one-on-one, his mind sharpened by the questions of a single master rather than drowned in the noise of many? Did not Socrates walk the streets of Athens, not lecturing vast assemblies, but conversing directly with one disciple at a time? This is the essence of Cosgrove’s experience: the intimate fire of focused teaching, where the student is not lost in the multitude, but seen, challenged, and lifted as an individual.

And yet, there is also sacrifice. To step away from regular school is to leave behind the camaraderie of peers, the competitions, the friendships born in the shared labor of lessons. Such is the price of a unique calling. Great endeavors often demand unusual paths, and Cosgrove’s choice reminds us that one cannot follow both the ordinary and the extraordinary at once. The garden of the spirit must sometimes be tended in a different soil, that the fruit may ripen in its own season.

But there is strength here as well. To learn with a teacher on set, in the midst of work and travel, is to learn adaptability — to realize that education is not confined to a single place or time. It follows you, like a loyal companion, whether in a schoolroom or behind the scenes of a studio. This is a wisdom for all: that true education is not a building but a flame carried within. Wherever you go, it may be lit again, provided there is discipline, guidance, and will.

The lesson, then, is twofold. First, do not despise the nontraditional path. Whether through home schooling, apprenticeships, mentorships, or self-study, what matters is not the form but the substance — the pursuit of knowledge and the shaping of character. Second, remember the power of one-on-one teaching. Seek mentors who know you, who can see your strengths and weaknesses clearly, and who will tailor truth to your measure. For what the crowd cannot give, the personal guide can.

What must we do? If you are a student, embrace whatever path is yours with diligence, whether common or uncommon. If you are a parent or mentor, remember that the soul before you is unique, and your task is not to mold it to the masses, but to draw out its singular light. And if you are a seeker, learn to carry the spirit of education wherever you go — in the quiet of home, in the noise of work, in the solitude of travel. For education, like fire, lives not in the hearth, but in the flame itself.

Thus, let Miranda Cosgrove’s words remind us: whether in schoolrooms or on sets, whether among many or with one, the essence of learning is the same. It is the meeting of mind and spirit, the discipline of curiosity, the shaping of character through knowledge. And this truth, older than time, shall outlast every wall, every system, every fleeting age — for education belongs not to a place, but to the soul.