# Your Son — Some Thoughts Concerning Education character guide

> Your Son in Some Thoughts Concerning Education by John Locke.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** your son, himself

**First appearance:** 0001-some-thoughts-concerning-education

## Snapshot

The reader's own boy, invoked directly as Locke argues against Latin themes and verses — a stand-in for every gentleman's heir sent off to grammar school.

## Who they are

Locke addresses the father through this son, urging him to insist that the boy not be set to making declamations or verses, since the design is merely to understand a Latin author, not to breed an orator or poet. The son's fate at school is the father's to negotiate, and Locke presses the point that a thousand to one the boy will never deliver a Latin speech once he leaves. He matters because he makes the argument personal: this is not abstract pedagogy but your child, your choice.

## Relationships

### [Children](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/children)

_family_

Your son is a specific child among the general group of children, often used as an example for parental concern.

### [A Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/a_child)

_family_

A child is compared or contrasted with your son to illustrate general principles of child-rearing.

### [The Great Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/the_great_masters)

_professional_

The great masters are responsible for teaching your son, often with mixed results according to the narrator.

### [The Great Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/the_great_masters)

_professional_

The great masters are responsible for teaching your son, often with mixed results according to the narrator.

### [A Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/a_child)

_family_

A child is compared or contrasted with your son to illustrate general principles of child-rearing.

## In the story

### [Dedication](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/chapters/dedication)

The gentleman's son who benefited from the educational method described, showing a love for learning and desire for more instruction.

### [Some Thoughts Concerning Education](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/chapters/some-thoughts-concerning-education)

Locke advises parents to give their son few rules and to enforce them consistently, using gentle reminders rather than harsh rebukes.

### [When Grammar Should Be Taught?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/chapters/when-grammar-should-be-taught)

Your son is the intended pupil who should study Latin history, Tully's Offices, and civil law to become a virtuous and well-behaved young man.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters/your_son
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/some_thoughts_concerning_education_se/characters