Harvard Letters: Bedtime Reading for a Harvard Visiting Scholar's Child

Author: Huang Xuqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: Harvard University is renowned for cultivating elite talents. In the history of U.S. Presidents, seven have graduated from Harvard. Among Nobel laureates, Harvard graduates account for 34%. Outstanding entrepreneurs and top-tier management talents from Harvard are countless. In terms of graduates' future prospects and achievements, Harvard is undoubtedly a leading world-class university. The reputation of Harvard is so great that many renowned global companies and institutions offer high salaries even before its students graduate. It's no wonder some say that entering Harvard is like buying a success insurance policy. People are fond of describing Harvard as a magical talent manufacturing machine, but the university itself has debunked this myth. S.G. Lorentz, a psychology professor at Harvard, wrote an article pointing out that no university can transform mediocre individuals into true outstanding talents in just a few years. The exceptional achievements of Harvard graduates largely stem from the university's extremely high admission standards, as the young people who make it into Harvard already possess a clear "success orientation." Lorentz believes that this "success orientation" primarily comes from strong family traditions, a seemingly invisible yet profoundly influential form of education. "In terms of effectiveness, no school education, including Harvard, can match it." To help students recognize the value of strong family traditions, Lorentz initiated the "Letters from Home" program, encouraging students to communicate with their families through traditional letter writing in the age of the internet. At first, students showed little interest, and participation was sparse. However, a man named Harold Wick helped Lorentz out of this predicament. Harold was the uncle of a student and was born without arms, but this never posed a problem for him. From a young age, his father had told him, "No one is perfect, everyone has some flaws. Use whatever works for you." So, Harold grew up completing tasks others did with their hands using his feet. He was self-sufficient and happy, capable of doing almost everything others could—bathing, eating, dressing, even typing. He had almost everything others had—jobs, wealth, a wife, and happiness—except arms. After learning about Harold's story, Lorentz immediately invited him as a guest speaker for the "Letters from Home" program to give a talk at Harvard University. Harold happily accepted the invitation. To the students' surprise, "Uncle Harold" did not dwell on his hardships. Instead, his speech was light-hearted and humorous, making his life without arms amusingly entertaining. To prove his point, Harold even demonstrated dressing and typing skills using his feet. What excited the students was that after the speech, Harold ran to the football field and started playing soccer, his juggling-like footwork once again amazed the audience. Harold's optimism and resilience won over the rebellious college students, turning what was originally scheduled as a single speech into three. As a result, Lorentz's "Letters from Home" program also gained enthusiastic support from the students. During my time as a visiting scholar at Harvard from Taipei, I came across a short article about "Letters from Home" in an old university newsletter at the Harvard Library. Based on my years of experience in education, I believed in the value behind these letters, so I made a great effort to find the then-editor of the newsletter, Ms. Davies. This passionate professional woman warmly welcomed me. When she learned about my visit, she enthusiastically shared the details of the program. Through her, I learned that these letters were later archived in Harvard's treasure trove. Upon returning to Harvard, I selected successful student letters from millions of others that had graduated and remained accomplished, organizing and compiling them. After returning to Taipei, I gave this collection of letters to my wife, asking her to use these parental approaches to educate our three children. My wife often writes separate letters to our three children on special occasions, and the addresses of these letters are always—Letters from the Land of Fairy Tales. Whenever the children receive these letters from this unfamiliar world, they become extremely excited. They pass the letters around among themselves and take them very seriously, writing thoughtful replies. All the letters are then collected by my wife to be sent out on their behalf. From our three children, we have indeed seen the brilliance of these letters, so I decided to publish this collection of family education letters to benefit more people.