A
LETTER TO SON’S TEACHER
This is a condensed heading of
Abraham Lincoln’s Letter to His Son’s
Teacher.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the 16th President of the United States from 1861 until
his death by assassination in 1865. He became famous for leading his country through the Civil War,
preserving the union, and abolishing slavery. He is also known all over world
for his faith in democracy and providing its exact definition as“ a government
of the people, by the people, for the people.”
It is rare for great men like
Abraham Lincoln to take a deep interest in their son’s education and tell their
teacher through a letter how to deal with the innocent child to make him a
perfect gentleman.
Whereas Lincoln is famous for several
quotes like :”A house divided against itself cannot stand”, the contents of his
letter to the son’s teacher have eternal guidelines for educationists at the
elementary stage.
Given below is the full text of the
letter:-
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 tells 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 filter 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.
*******
G.R.Kanwal
11 February 2026
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