103 — GRADUATION

GRADUATION

13 x 9 inches

(Entrance of Teachers College)

During my college days, most parents hoped their daughters would be able to financially support themselves, especially if they chose not to marry. I gladly secured a teaching degree to satisfy my parents’ concerns.

This is the front door of Teachers College, where I first learned about teaching. Symbolically, the small windows above the entrance door represent our five physical senses. Hidden is a sixth window signifying our sixth sense: intuition. Our sixth sense can remain in the dark unless we change our perspective. Limited religious viewpoints of my childhood often kept my perspective inflexible.

After completing my senior student teaching class, my advisor gave me a book I soon came to treasure: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It was my first introduction to a deeper way of thinking. The Prophet drew my mind far beyond rigid religious rules. Inside the front cover he wrote, “Where as a teacher I have been weak, this little volume may help to bridge the gap.”

Graduating to higher-level lessons was timely.