Education
Young "Teedie", as he was nicknamed as a child, was mostly home schooled by tutors and his parents. A leading biographer says: "The most obvious drawback to the home schooling Roosevelt received was uneven coverage of the various areas of human knowledge." He was solid in geography (thanks to his careful observations on all his travels) and well read in history, strong in biology, French, and German, but deficient in mathematics, Latin and Greek.
He matriculated at Harvard College in 1876. His father's death in 1878 was a tremendous blow, but Roosevelt redoubled his activities. He did well in science, philosophy and rhetoric courses but fared poorly in Latin and Greek. He studied biology with considerable interest and was already an accomplished naturalist and published ornithologist. He had a photographic memory and developed a lifelong habit of devouring books, memorizing every detail. He was an eloquent conversationalist who, throughout his life, sought out the company of the smartest people. He could multitask in impressive fashion, dictating letters to one secretary and memoranda to another, while browsing through a new book. While at Harvard, Roosevelt was active in rowing, boxing, the Alpha Delta Phi literary society, the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and was a member of the Porcellian Club. He also edited The Harvard Advocate. He was runner-up in the Harvard boxing championship.
Upon graduating, Roosevelt underwent a physical examination, and his doctor advised him that because of serious heart problems, he should find a desk job and avoid strenuous activity. He chose to embrace strenuous life instead. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa (22nd of 177) from Harvard with an A.B. magna cum laude in 1880. He entered Columbia Law School, where he was a diligent student but showed little interest in a legal career; he spent much of his time writing a book on the War of 1812. When offered a chance to run for the New York Assembly as a Republican in 1881, he dropped out of law school to pursue his new goal: "I intended to be one of the governing class." He was elected and overnight became a prominent player in state politics, and a rising star in the Republican Party (the "GOP").
Read more about this topic: Theodore Roosevelt
Famous quotes containing the word education:
“In England, I was quite struck to see how forward the girls are made—a child of 10 years old, will chat and keep you company, while her parents are busy or out etc.—with the ease of a woman of 26. But then, how does this education go on?—Not at all: it absolutely stops short.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)
“Toward education marriage nervous breakdown, operation, teaching
school, and learning to be mad, in a dream—what is this
life?”
—Allen Ginsberg (b. 1926)
“A two-year-old can be taught to curb his aggressions completely if the parents employ strong enough methods, but the achievement of such control at an early age may be bought at a price which few parents today would be willing to pay. The slow education for control demands much more parental time and patience at the beginning, but the child who learns control in this way will be the child who acquires healthy self-discipline later.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)