Education

There's an Education Carnival going on at Blog Village. Kilroy, known for his promot- ional and success- ful abilities in the world of blogging, has started a meme, called, with much creativity, Kilroy's Education Meme.

The questions led me back to my youth...all morning I thought about the most influential teacher I had in Grade School. Each teacher, each year, had something to teach me I remember to this day.

The first question..."What was the name of the teacher that was most influential in your life from Grades K through 6?"....had me naming one teacher after another. Miss Daily, in first grade, taught me independence. Miss Daubney taught me to read, Mrs. Bjune taught me to tell stories...and Mr. Ruttan taught me, finally, in the sixth grade, what arithmetic was all about.

It strikes me we did mostly crafts for Art, in grade school. The art teacher that was to show me my love of drawing and painting would not appear for a couple of years. And there were other teachers, too, during these years...teachers who had never seen the inside of a classroom, some who could barely write their names...who taught me about the natural rhythms of Nature. These teachings formed my path in life.

The next question..."What subject did you favor in high school?"...wasn't difficult. It was always Art, under whatever name the curriculum called it that year. One year it was silk screening, not one of my favourites. Another year, I took pottery, and loved it intensely, looking forward to it as I dressed in the morning. The slippy, slidy feel of the clay was immensely satisfying to me. Mostly, we had to use the wheel. But I loved to sculpt free form figures...beings that were born with the help of my hands.

English formed a close second. These were my favourites, these teachers who taught High School English. I want to tell them, now, that I must have learned, I must have taken in the lessons these so very strong teachers had to give me. It may not have felt or looked like it at the time, but I utilize those tools, those lessons, every day.

It was the sixties. Free-thinking times...times that were not to include any University, but times that threw lessons at me, much the same as a teacher who threw constant quizzes. Unending quizzes, ongoing, one after another. As I look back I see how one decision led to another in my life, how one crises taught me how to deal with the next. It showcases my belief in the Ultimate Plan in my life. Kilroy's question..."Did you attend a university and if so, did you attain a degree?" ...brought me to an accept- ance of not going to uni- versity, finally. The times were what they were, I fell into a few deep holes...and it's okay. I was destined to learn what I could through living...learning acceptance and peace on another path.

Kilroy's next question..."Do you learn best through books, by watching or hands-on?"...again had me pondering. I've come to the conclusion that I learn both by watching and hands-on. I have learned to read beings by watching; I have also learned just by doing a thing...the teaching in the process.

"Has education been an ongoing process for you? How do you feel about that?"...is the next query. And of course, it has. I would not have believed it in my twenties, but I have actually acquired more knowledge than I had back then, in those sure years of youth.

I have taken university courses in both Painting and Creative Writing, and I expect, when life settles down, I will continue doing so. Both these subjects have a lilt and a song to them that I love.

And Mother Earth and her beings, of all natures, combine to create the biggest teacher of them all, for me.

Kilroy asks for seven people to continue this meme. I have named just three...Jackie from The Vegan Diet and Herbs and Oils; Goatman from pretty moonbeams, and The Artist from Winsome Gunning Art Walk and A Green Earth.

This was a great trip into the past... these questions bring up all sorts of memories, both good and bad. Who would have thought an Education meme could produce so much inner searching?