Dear Solomon - My Education IS My Life. How'd you know?

Dear Solomon,

Proverbs 4:13 Always remember what you have learned. Your education is your life – guard it well.

For a long time I’ve been contemplating education. What is education? What is the BEST education? How would I describe MY EDUCATION? How can I GUARD my education? You would think that a person who has spent most of her life working in education, would have well-formulated answers for these questions. Think again.

Formative Years

Experts say that I learned more in my first five years than the sum total of everything else learned for the rest of my life. In that case, my education began when I was born. As the fifth child, I was privileged to have four built in tutors. Barry’s specialty was teasing. His ribbing gave me the tools to stand up to any smart mouthed playground bully. Tim’s specialty was language arts. He taught me to listen to stories and appreciate puns and jokes. Rebecca taught me about compromise and getting along. Instead of emulating her example, however, I used her peace-making tendencies to my advantage, often accompanied by the plea “Don’t tell Mom.” Through Val’s example I learned how to organize, delegate, and make things happen. I also credit my siblings with teaching me many of the “tricks” I learned by the time I was 18 months old. According to family history, I could say my ABC’s, quote memory verses, recite nursery rhymes, and rattle off the Pledge of Allegiance.

School Years

My formal education began in the fall of 1970. I recall my excitement – I was finally going to school like the big kids. My sense of self-importance was amplified when I learned of the official kindergarten supply list provided by the school. Shopping for those materials – a box of crayons, a nap mat, a chunky pencil, a smock – is one my earliest and most vivid memories. My plans were sidetracked by the USMC, when Dad received orders to return to California. Thankfully, California had kindergarten allowing me to experience the joy of blocks, fingerpaints, carpet squares, bee stings, scraped knees, swings, and the bars. I was terrible on the bars.
My early years of formal education included some struggles. In first grade my teacher invited my mother to a conference early in the year. Her concerns included “Mary doesn’t listen or follow directions,” and “Mary ignores me.” My mom figured out the root of the matter quickly and explained to my teacher that I did not know my name was Mary. When she came home she asked, “Does your teacher call you Mary?”

“No,” I replied, “She (Mary) sits right behind me.” I wondered how Mom had found out about this troublesome student who appeared to exasperate Miss Kelly.

Reading was not a struggle for me. I grew up a household full of bibliophiles. Making friends with peers, however, was a challenge. In third grade the report from school was that I was sad, preferring to spend time in the janitor’s closet over the playground. Fourth grade was a mixed bag. I struggled with my times tables and had a couple of scraps with bullies. The highlight of that year was donning white pants and a white shirt and serving on the “crossing guard,” a highly esteemed position.

Fifth grade brought the biggest change. My parents took me out of the public school system and enrolled me in a small, Christian school. There were many adjustments to make. I wore a dress every day, struggled with a challenging Abeka curriculum, finally mastered my multiplication tables, and participated in my first speech meet. The best part of the year was forming friendships – some that will last a lifetime.

The school was sponsored by and located at our church campus. From 5th grade until I graduated in 1983, I spent 6 days a week (during the school year) on the CCS campus. My mother and sister drove busses. My brother married my little sister’s teacher. I participated in dramas, speech meets, World’s Finest Chocolate sales, newspaper drives, carnivals, student council, ACSI conventions, and a plethora of activities and events. School was a huge part of my life, and I loved it!

College

I enrolled in San Diego Mesa College for summer school immediately after graduating. I spent the following summer at the Universidad de Madrid in a Spanish immersion program. I returned to Mesa College, married, moved, and resumed my education at American River College, followed by CSU Sacramento, and eventually CSU, Chico. At the same time that I was enrolled in each of these schools, I was enrolled in the school of becoming a wife and mother. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend taking both courses at once, but it lent itself to many adventures.

My first semester of college was fun. I loved school. I thought college was easier than high school, and I always scored near the top in every class (except for swimming). I did make it out of the little end of the pool though and considered that a success too.

My second full semester of college I learned what it was like to be swept off my feet by a young romantic transplant from Sacramento. I experienced wanderlust on dates built around long drives through the countryside. He schooled me in college basketball, the Raider Nation, indoor soccer, and football. I thought I already knew about baseball, but his insight was expansive. I attended romantic dinners, composed love notes, read up on body language, and accidentally discovered the formula for motivating someone into considering marriage. So absorbed was I in this course of study that I got a C in one of my college classes.

This romantic offshoot was interrupted by a summer abroad. This was my first opportunity to apply much of what I’d been learning in life up to this point. I used my Spanish skills to communicate, but I also used the language arts tricks that Tim taught me along with years of spelling and vocabulary tests to decipher roots and translate signs in French, German, and Italian. I used the organization tips that Val demonstrated to make things happen and plan excursions. I used the interpersonal skills that Becky taught me to get along with people from other cultures, age groups, and socioeconomic statuses. And I’m pretty sure I can thank Barry for giving me the backbone to stand up to peer pressure. Despite my youth and distance from my family, I didn’t feel pressured by anyone to party or do anything unseemly. I also learned that love can grow deeper through absence, and an engagement followed on the heels of my return to the states.

During the rest of my college career I learned how to juggle the responsibilities of work, school, and family. I learned that you don’t have to take out student loans, and that it is possible to stretch your life out of shape in order to accomplish a goal. I began college at 18 with no idea what I was doing or where I was going. I graduated at 23 with a toddler, another baby on the way, and an offer on a house in Marysville, CA. For the next 10 years I learned how to cook, sew, clean, homeschool, and what not to do as a parent. I didn’t master any of these pursuits except for the how-not-to-parent one, but I learned a lot. I returned to work and school in 1999 and finished my credential is 2000 when I left the academic portion of my education behind!

Post Graduate

But I didn’t stop learning. For several years I examined the charter school, independent study, distance learning side of California public education. Through repeated exposure to the terminology and the state standards I’ve learned how to talk educratic gibberish with the best. I’ve also learned that people homeschool for dozens of reasons and the best way to serve students and families is to care deeply about them. While on a detour from being an employee I started a small consulting business and took a crash course in feast and famine freelancing. I launched a ceremonial dove release business on a whim and became an amateur avian veterinarian as well as somewhat of a pigeon expert. And through it all, the life lesson of family and friends continue to shape my understanding and comprehension of life.

Last year, I took a position at a juvenile correction facility and was shocked to learn firsthand how jails and prisons succeed and fail. One position led to another and my work with inmates has taught me to appreciate the opportunities that I have been afforded. I have a close and personal look to scrutinize scars and examine deep emotional wounds. I’m learning about the sensitivity that is required to help people who are hurting. I added more words and phrases to my lifelong list of “What Not to Say,” and even made a few entries on my list of “Say This, Not That.”

So, Solomon, when I started this post way back in February, I shelved it because it seemed so “me focused” and pretentious. I couldn’t seem to tie enough of it to academia and the all the stuff I thought I learned in school. I felt like there was nothing clever, insightful, or interesting to say. (I might have been right about that.) And then, I discovered that I could not move on until I finished this post and published it. You win! Once again, you knew the truth a long time ago. My education IS my life. The two are intertwined and inseparable. Thank you for causing the teacher in me to reflect.