I like truth...the following is the story Thomas Edison revealed
in an interview 11/29/1902.
The veracity of this version of events, however, is belied by
the actual account given by Thomas Edison himself in a rare interview to a
long-extinct newspaper and literary journal called T.P’s Weekly that was
published on 29 November 1907. This interview is the earliest documented
account of the story of his leaving school, and is therefore likely to be the
source of the historical fiction regarding his early education:
One day I overheard the teacher tell the inspector that I was
“addled” and it would not be worthwhile keeping me in school any longer. I was
so hurt by this last straw that I burst out crying and went home and told my
mother about it. Then I found out what a good thing a good mother is. She came
out as my strong defender. Mother love was aroused, mother pride wounded to the
quick. She brought me back to the school and angrily told the teacher that he
didn’t know what he was talking about, that I had more brains than he himself,
and a lot more talk like that. In fact, she was the most enthusiastic champion
a boy ever had, and I determined right then that I would be worthy of her and
show her that her confidence was not misplaced.
As his first-person account clearly states, no letter was
involved, and Edison was never kept out of the loop of the story for the sake
of his already hurt feelings. Edison, one of the most prolific and ingenious
inventors of all time, would be homeschooled until he set out on his own at the
age of sixteen, openly grateful for his mother’s support and education
throughout his life.
There never was a letter that his mother lied about as is posted
on facebook from time to time. What is true is that he loved his mother and she
loved him very much.
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