16/11/2025
This Monday’s quote is from Thomas Edison who once said, “My mother was the making of me.”
Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, didn’t fit the classroom. In a later interview, he recalled his teacher calling him “addled”: basically ‘not right in the head’ and not worth keeping in school. His mum refused to accept that and chose to teach him at home instead.
Over the years, people have shared a (likely embellished) story that when the school sent home a harsh letter, his mother read it out as if it said something completely different – that he was bright and that the school couldn’t meet his needs. Whether or not the letter story is exact, the idea fits: her words helped him see himself as capable, not broken, and that belief shaped the way he approached learning.
Many children who are labelled “lazy,” “naughty,” or “slow” are often overwhelmed, under-supported, or being asked to learn in a way that doesn’t match how their brain works.
Of course, we don’t have to raise ‘geniuses’, but we can be the adult who says:
“I see you. I believe in you. Your brain is still growing.”
This is the heart of a growth mindset, and on its own, can change a child’s whole story 💡
