A Sample letter to your father conveying the news of passing the post­graduate examination

My dear father,

By the grace of God and blessings of you all I have passed M. Sc. in 1st division. The news of my success has been conveyed to me by my friend who went to the university to see the result.

Please advise me as to what I should do now. Should I take admission in M. Sc. (Tech) or should I go in for some job ? I am of the opinion that it is not use doing M. Sc. in technology because of the heavy unemployment among engineers. Some of my teachers suggest that I should joint research. I shall get scholarship for doing research. So I shall earn while I learn. After my research is completed, I shall get some suitable job of a lecturer in some post-graduate college.

I very much want to be a teacher. The profession of a teacher is the most honest and noblest of all professions. There is no question of dishonesty, no accepting of bribes, and no fear of incurring God’s displeasure. A teacher has the greatest opportunity of serving the society. He guides his pupils on the right path.

Besides, a teacher on an average keeps healthier than other people of his age. He lives with young boys and girls and feels young. He gets time to play games with his students. A teacher is a nation builder in the true sense. His own example of simple and honest living exercises a healthy influence on the character of his pupils.

No doubt, a teacher is not financially a well-paid worker. But a true scholar never cares for the worldly riches. Moreover, he has got ample opportunities for supplementing income by writing books. What is needed in a teacher is the spirit for hard work. If he is hard working, he will never be in want.

For all these reasons I prefer to be a teacher to becoming an engineer or an advocate. People want to be engineers only to earn as much wealth as they want by dishonest means. There is corruption and nepotism in all the departments of government. Teaching profession is the only profession where a man can lead an honest and noble life. I hope you will appreciate my point of view.

Yours affectionately,

Name

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Reply letter from Father

Dear Son,

We are highly delighted to hear of your passing M. Sc. in 1st division. Success for those who break their nerves for it is a foregone conclusion. We thank God that he blessed your efforts with excellent reward.

Now to your seeking advice on future course of action. Your liking for a teaching profession, which you have indicated in the letter and have so elaborately defended deserves appreciation. Really it is the noblest profession and one has ample opportunities to contribute to the character formation of the nation.

But your arguments seem to be purely one-sides. You have hardly given any thought to openings galore in other areas. As regards honesty, sincerity and other virtues, one can practice them in any station in life. It is the man who plays the role, not the job. Engineers, scientists, administrators, doctors and others all contribute to the nation building in the same measure as a teacher does. What is really desirable is the spirit of service and dedication..

I would be the last man to stand in the way of your plants for future life, as you are now quite grown up and wise. But as your father, I would risk my personal opinion about your future progress.

I wish you to sit for competitive examination for IAS. A boy of your caliber is sure to succeed. As an administrator one can not only raise one’s social position, one gets chances enough to exercise one’s discretion in many matters which affect the well-being of the society. At every step one has to take policy decisions, a task which lifts up one’s personality. The bigger and wider the responsibilities, the greater the opportunities for widening the mental horizon. I believe that your wise capacities and abilities will come into full play and be put to the best use in the interest of the nation as also in your personal interest if you go in for the post of an administrator. In the position of a profession encompassing a limited area your capabilities and capacities are likely to rot and ultimately die away. As an I.A.S. you will have wider field for your worth to come into full play in.

I suppose you appreciate my point of view. By no means do I want to impose my choice on you. Ultimately you are to decide things for yourself.

With the best love to you from us all.

Your loving father