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Thomas Jefferson at Ten Years Old

220px-Thomas_Jefferson_by_Rembrandt_Peale,_1800

  • It wasn’t that long ago if you were old enough to work, you were an adult. That means by the time we were getting our Learner’s Permit, George Washington had already completed surveying the territory we now know as Virginia and Thomas Jefferson was several years removed from proving himself capable of surviving in the woods, thanks to a challenge presented by his father when Thomas was ten.
  • History echoes Scripture as far as how young people are far more capable than our culture gives them credit for
  • As adults we do well to process these realities as our cue to be more diligent in encouraging the young people in our charge as well as “sucking it up” when confronted with challenges that pale in comparison to those that our younger historical counterparts had to face.

Thomas Jefferson. He’s ten years old and his father sends him into the woods alone. The assignment is to demonstrate his ability to survive in the wild. All he’s got is a gun and his wits.1

10 year old Thomas is able to prove himself and he would go on to accomplish some extraordinary things as a statesman and as the third President of, what at the time was a very young and unsteady nation.

I’m wondering what would happen if such a thing were attempted today. What if a father handed his ten year old son a shotgun and told him that he had the afternoon to find and kill his supper. Given today’s culture, I’m thinking that would be considered abusive and Family Services would be called upon to help the Dad better understand how to properly raise a boy.

And who’s to say that Family Services wouldn’t have a point? We don’t expect that kind of capacity in a youngster, but my question is: Should we? Should we expect a ten year old to be capable with a shotgun? And why stop there? Should we expect more out of kids than we do? Read more