VietNamNet Bridge – After a literature question for the university entrance exam was praised by educators as being ‘creative’, doubts are being raised about the authenticity of the quote used.

The website abrahamlincolnassociation.org

The quote in question is taken from a letter written by a man to his child’s teacher. This letter has been published in literature textbooks in Vietnam and ascribed to Lincoln.

In an article published on the forum, Nam related that he accessed the website of an agency in charge of the preservation of history of Illinois, the home state of Lincoln. He found an article by Dr Thomas F. Schwartzon abrahamlincolnassociation.org, which says that the letter is one of 10 pieces ascribed to Lincoln but that cannot be proven as actually having been written by the president.

The doctor wrote that the letter has no exact date and there is no information that can help find the name of ‘Lincoln’s son’s teacher’ and the name of Lincoln’s son. Of President Lincoln’s four sons, Robert studied at Illinois University and Phillips Exeter Academy. However, there is no cause to believe that Lincoln ever wrote letters to the university about Robert’s behaviour.

Thomas F. Schwartz, who specialises in research about Lincoln, is the director of the library and museum named after the former US president. He has published a lot of books about Lincoln in the last 16 years.

Professor Phan Trong Luan, chief author of the 10^th grade literature textbook, which contains the above letter, said that the authors of the textbook, when writing the textbook, referred to the book “Nhung cau chuyen ve thay giao” (stories about teachers) published by Tre Publishing House in 2004.

“We had to refer to different sources when we compiled books. We will check the information,” Luan said.

If the said document is found to not have been written by Lincoln, the information about Lincoln in the textbook will be corrected.

However, the information will not lead to any changes in the method of marking university exam papers, Luan said.

Kieu Oanh