I knew one boy who passed through several schools a dunce and a laughing-stock; the National Board and the Intermediate Board had sat in judgment upon him and had damned him as a failure before men and angels. Yet a friend and fellow-worker of mine discovered that he was gifted with a wondrous sympathy for nature, that he loved and understood the ways of plants, that he had a strange minuteness and subtlety of observation–that, in short, he was the sort of boy likely to become an accomplished botanist.Anonymous
About This Quote
The boy in the sapling was known for being a dunce. He failed in his classes, was laughed at by his peers, and was labelled as stupid. Often, when you are labelled as an idiot, you are supposed to feel ashamed of who you are, but instead this boy took pride in being stupid and decided to make the best of it. He became an avid gardener and learned all there was to know about plants and their uses.
He connected with nature and understood its ways. He was an intelligent person who had a great gift for science and botany.
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