Learnings, however wise

Abstract

I wrote this chapter during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. How coincidental it is to be writing a reflective memoir at a time when it is hard to avoid reflecting. I had not thought I could tackle this project until well into the year, but sequestration at a rented house in South Carolina gave me time and so the pages multiplied in a different way. With this said, what is omitted is often the most important material for reflection - the emotional moments of childhood and the feelings that come with each turn of event. This is to be an account of things I may have learned, however “wise,” for graduate students or others who would have careers in education and psychology, so it lacks a colorful narrative. The chapter is organized as much by experience as chronology, with six key sections. Readers can find one-sentence lessons signaled by underlined material located at the start of some paragraphs within each key section.