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What does this say to you? Abraham Lincoln had only about a year of formal schooling. George Washington was schooled by his father, until the latter died when Washington was eleven years old. His schooling ended then.
Our two greatest presidents – who led the country through its two most treacherous times – were both enormously learned, voracious readers and bibliophiles, yet with almost no formal education. What’s that say to you?
To me it says, “Shut up!” I mean this, in the young folks’ vernacular of, “No way!”
I also mean it to give us pause about our privilege and possibilities.
With the extraordinary resources of the internet, of libraries, and bookstores, we are so blessed. What CAN’T we learn? What new career, language, skill, knowledge, trade, or business lies beyond the fingertips of any of us? None, unless we think it so, or unless we lack the drive and the discipline and the overarching purpose to improve ourselves to become better-for-others.
If you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than Washington and Lincoln to encourage you to
Lead with your best self.
Dan
Awe inspiring and true, this definitely gives motivation!
This message is motivational. I work in higher education, have four children (two grown and out of school and two in high school), and struggle with the way K-12 educates youth. To me, we do not value literature and read a lot of books/novels as a part of academic ed in K-12.. Yet, educators still expect kids to recognize proper punctuation and word usage. How can they? Students text most of the time and do not write papers on a regular basis. The message on our presidents illustrates to me, the value of reading and research and also that a persons success is not always predicated by the grades earned or the years in school.
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.