Dr. Conan Doyle on the True Education of Boys
Dr. Conan Doyle on the True Education of Boys is a letter written by Arthur Conan Doyle published in The Montgomery County Times on 24 october 1896.
Editions
- in The Montgomery County Times (24 october 1896 [UK]) as Dr. Conan Doyle on the True Education of Boys
- in The Hull Daily Mail (23 october 1896 [UK]) as Are Our Boys Becoming "Soft"?
Dr. Conan Doyle on the True Education of Boys
In a letter addressed to the Headmaster of Clayesmore School, Enfield, Middlesex, Dr. Conan Doyle, referring to the holiday camp tour of the School (during which the boys travelled over a route of 600 miles in the West of England), writes as follows:— "The struggle for existence applies to nations and to races as well as to individuals, and, if young England is to hold its own, it must be by preserving the qualities which made her fathers great. I confess that I fear that we are becoming soft with the increasing comforts of civilization. We seem to shun pain more, and we are not ashamed to show it when we feel it. I hate to see a young fellow wringing his hand because he has got a crack on the knuckles at cricket, or hopping about because he is hacked at football. It ought to be and used to be, part of a gentleman's traditions not to show pain, and the same applies to discomfort of every sort, to teach our youngsters to adapt themselves to whatever may come, and to lead a natural open-air life is to teach something even more valuable than dead languages. — Wishing you all success, I remain, yours faithfully, A. CONAN DOYLE."
