After I was old enough to work full time on the farm, I was unable to keep going to school. But I continued to study on my own with the books that Mr. Heinrich let me borrow.

I read all that I could, including the works of Newton and Plato. I enjoyed finding out about things. I studied and taught myself algebra and science. As soon as I finished reading his books, I would return them. Mr. Heinrich seemed to enjoy discussing them with me to see what all I was learning from them.

It was during those discussions with him that he suggested that I spell my name as "Banneker." We had spelled our last name Banneka and sometimes Banneky. But Mr. Heinrich felt that "Banneker" was more in the style of mainstream upscale Americans.