Slow but Steady Wins the Race
When
I was in the third grade, my teacher, Miss Begeman, made reading Aesop’s
Fables into a game. Each student would take turns reading a fable out
loud from our Open Court reading textbook, and then the rest of the class would
be asked to weigh in on what the moral of the story was. I was recently
reminded of a famous fable by Aesop – “The Tortoise and the Hare” – when I
received a thoughtful and clever gift: a stand magnifier, designed for use on a
desktop, with the round magnifier being surrounded by the metallic body, limbs,
and head of a skillfully crafted turtle. It occupies a place of honor on my
desk at home. J
The
fable about the persistent tortoise and the overconfident hare was of special
relevance to my classmates at school because many of the students would try to
complete their in-class assignments as quickly as possible so they could start
working on their homework, play an edutaining game in the far corner of the
classroom, or draw and color at their desks. I was tempted to go along with
that hasty mindset for a while, but then my mother reminded me of her favorite
fable from Aesop, which was also (by coincidence) “The Tortoise and the Hare.”
From that fable, and Mother’s exposition of its meaning, I learned to take my
time with preparing assignments and double-check my work before turning it in.
Miss Begeman reinforced this message by reminding us several times a week that
“There’s no prize for finishing first!”
Realizing
that “slow but steady wins the race” is an important lesson for leaders to
internalize. We may have many noble goals and worthy projects to shepherd
through committees and hierarchies, but patient endurance and careful
preparation are superior leadership strategies that usually win out in the end.
“Slow but steady wins the race” is a lesson that I strive to impart to the ACES
James Scholars whom I interact with on a daily basis, and I’m delighted to tell
you that 45 seniors took that message to heart and graduated with James Scholar
Distinction this May – among whom were ten Bronze Tablet Scholars! Yay! :)
Above: Bronze Tablet alumna Maria Pauls (right) receives her
ACES James Scholar graduation certificate from me on May 15th in the
“Honors Corner” of 128 Mumford Hall. (Photo by Amanda Lehner, ACES James
Scholar Class of 2014.)
Insights
of this type can be traced back to the sages of ancient times, including Aesop
himself, who learned from his own life experiences that “slow but steady wins
the race.” Born a slave on the coast of Thrace (modern Bulgaria) around 620
BCE, Aesop patiently used his wits and wisdom to buy his freedom. He journeyed
through mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and the Greek cities in Ionia
(western Turkey), sharing his insights with other people by telling his
edutaining fables, which illustrated various aspects of human nature and the human
condition while showing people how to live wisely on a day-to-day basis. Aesop
supposedly died around 560 BCE at Delphi (a famous shrine in Greece) by jumping
off a cliff – he was being pursued by an angry mob of Delphic citizens who had
taken offense at some of his fables!
Despite
the legendary character of many stories about his life, Aesop is regarded as
the fountainhead of the fable tradition in the Western world. Over 600 fables
attributed to him have been passed down through the centuries in Greek, Latin,
and other European languages. Each new generation finds nuggets of insight in
these timeless tales of animals and people who learn their lessons about life
in the easy way or the hard way. And now, to conclude this article, here is the
original fable of the tortoise and the hare, along with its moral, as told by
Aesop, one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece.
“The Tortoise and
the Hare” by Aesop
Archived @ http://aesopfables.com
A
Hare one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who
replied, laughing: “Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a
race.” The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to
the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the
goal.
On
the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for
a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of
the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking
up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal,
and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.
Slow but steady wins the race.
