ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON EDUCATION

 ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON EDUCATION

Abraham Lincoln (12 Feb 1809-15 Apr 1865) was the 16^th president of the United States. He was in the chair from 4 March 1861 to 15 April 1865 when he was assassinated.

According to historians :“His actions, particularly the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 led to the end of slavery in the Confederate states and paved the way for the 13^th Amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide.”

Lincoln was an eminent legislator and lawyer, though he was mostly self-educated and had only intermittent schooling for about a year. He never attended any college. However, his interest in self-learning was life-long.

The letter which is given below was addressed by him to his son’s first school teacher. It is an eternal document on the man-making philosophy of education.  Let us read it thoroughly.

“My son starts school today. It is all going to be strange and new to him for a while and I wish you would treat him gently. It is an adventure that might take him across continents. All adventures that probably include wars, tragedy and sorrow. To live this life will require faith, love and courage.

 

“So dear Teacher, will you please take him by his hand and teach him things he will have to know, teaching him – but gently, if you can. Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero, that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader.

 

“Teach him if you can that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar found. In school, teacher, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win.

         

“Teach him to be gentle with people, tough with tough people. Steer him away from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Teach him if you can – how to laugh when he is sad, teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him there can be glory in failure and despair in success. Teach him to scoff at cynics.

“Teach him if you can the wonders of books, but also give time to ponder the extreme mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hill. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tell him they are wrong.

 

“Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is doing it. Teach him to listen to every one, but teach him also to filters all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

 

“Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patient to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind, in God.

 

“This is the order, teacher but see what best you can do. He is such a nice little boy and he is my son.”

 

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G.R.Kanwal

31^st March 2025