Dr. Benjamin Carson spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Washington, and his life story has inspired many. The Blaze published an article Feb.8 with some basic facts about Dr. Carson's life that may surprise most readers.
Dr. Benjamin Carson is the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, focusing on traumatic brain injury and brain and spinal cord tumors, among other dire health issues. He has written over 100 publications about neurosurgery, written several books, and received over 50 honorary doctorate degrees. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush.
The part that may be especially surprising to the reader is that Dr. Benjamin Carson was raised in poverty by a single mother. She was married when she was 13 years old, according to his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, and she only had a 3rd grade education. She was divorced soon after her marriage when she discovered her husband was a bigamist. So, it is certain that there was no prep school or country club for young Benjamin Carson. Yet, Benjamin Carson credits his mother's belief in him as the reason for his success.
What did Dr. Carson's mother do that made a difference in his life? Of course, there was hard work on her part, according to The Blaze, which involved long hours and frugal living. There was more, though, and Dr. Carson shared that in his speech yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Dr. Carson's poor mother, almost illiterate, wanted her two sons to be well-educated, and she prayed to that end. She decided to require them to read two books a week from the Detroit Public Library and prepare written book reports. They were only allowed to watch a limited amount of television each week. His mother could barely read their reports, but he humorously told the crowd that he and his brother didn't know that! He said she used a red pen to mark on the papers with checks, etc...
Dr. Benjamin Carson claims that the education on which his mother insisted made all the difference in his life. She believed in him, encouraged his reading, and discouraged him vegetating in front of a television.
He described how his mother never allowed any excuses. She would ask them if they had a brain, and she expected them to use it to figure out how to accomplish whatever needed to be done.
These are not complicated principles, but Dr.Benjamin Carson has caught the avid attention of the country with these simple facts of his life. You can read more about the National Prayer Breakfast here.
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