Mrs. Tan modeled that to us decades ago in our classes. She shared with us the importance of preparation and thought. A veteran teacher, every morning she still reviewed for the lec- tures in the afternoon, even when she had taught the same text for many years. Many times I wondered why she had continued teaching, unfazed by the disappointment she must have felt by us “philistines” who did not care about Confucius or ancient Chinese history. I did look forward to her relating ancient thoughts to our more current events and advice on life lessons. She knew her attitude and efforts were not so much about the pages but our minds. Now that I have lived long enough to appreciate life, history and Chinese culture, I wish I could go back to those years to be a better student and learn the Chinese language perfectly! In the ’70s I was a music education major at UP. Music pedago- gy was a course that required us to play sonatinas and sonatas, at least well enough to teach piano lessons to kids enrolled in the extension classes. Knowing I would not get a perfect score, I played the best I could. After the music stopped, the professor took out his pipe and said something that still moves me today. He said: “If we did not look, we would not have known that there was a problem with Grace’s hand.” You see, I was stricken with polio at age 9 that attacked my left hand. Except for the index finger, the other four fingers on my left hand are not straight. I give honor to Dr. Johnny Ramos, a kind gentleman who shared his positive attitude toward life. I studied in Hong Kong, at the China Graduate School of Theology, in the early ’80s. For two semesters, Dr. Alexander, an American theologian who was our professor in both ecclesiol- ogy and eschatology classes, greeted us with a big smile. He was never absent, never late, considering that he had to travel by ferry from Cheung Chau Island to Tsim Sha Tsui terminal,
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