Young Thomas Edison showed his mother a damning note from the teacher. How she reacted rewrote his future

Words have the power to lift someone or drag them down. Renato Patricio (@renato.p.patricio), a "Life Mastery Philosopher" who shares inspiring messages and important life lessons on Instagram, posted a video about how Thomas Edison became the man who pioneered modern inventions.

Edison's story is proof that words have the ability to transform your life in ways you can never imagine. But the majority of the praise goes to his mother, who did not let her son's spirit crumble under harsh circumstances.

Edison's story began when he was just a schoolboy. One day, he came back from school with a note from his teacher that was supposed to be just for his mother's eyes. When his mother read what was written on the note, tears started streaming down her face, and she told her son that the teacher said he was a genius, and the school was not well-equipped to teach him anymore. She began homeschooling Thomas, and he grew up to become one of the greatest inventors in the world. 

Years later, after his mother passed, Thomas was going through some of his family's things when he found the old note. He was shocked when he read it. The note actually said that Edison was "mentally deficient" and was expelled from his school. Edison realized what his mother had done — she took out his notebook and wrote, "Thomas A. Edison was a mentally deficient child whose mother turned him into the genius of the century."

Edison's belief in himself was rooted in his mother's encouraging words. She protected him from doubting himself, and he grew up to invent the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, an electric power distribution system, a kinetograph, and more.

A study done by the American Psychological Association (APA) revealed that a student's interest in learning can depend on how they view themselves. It found that "having the mindset that you are either smart or not smart has serious negative consequences for learning." This can be improved by helping them have a "constructive mindset." To do that, teachers must "praise students' efforts and specific work strategies and outcomes when they do well, rather than praising them for their intelligence." They should also "discourage students from attributing successes and failures to things over which they have no control."

Additionally, findings that were published in the Research in Higher Education journal revealed, "Students who reported encouragement from teachers continued their education after they turned 16 at a rate of 74%. Students who said they did not receive encouragement continued school at a rate of 66%."

The comments were full of praise for Thomas Edison's mother. Without her kind and encouraging words, Thomas may not have grown up to become one of the best inventors the world has known. @deestumbo17763756 shared their story in the comments, "I love this, and am trying to encourage a grandchild who has been wrongly labeled and discouraged. He is actually brilliant, too. So sad what adults do to children who don’t fit their very limited molds." @monkeyminds_sel added, "I agree, the inverse is just as important to realize. We all need someone somewhere to step up for us and take care of us while we figure out how to take care of ourselves."

You can follow Renato Patricio (@renato.p.patricio) for more self-help content.

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