Contact with great professors during my postdoctorate studies at the Harvard University gifted me with a vision of how I would like to grow old, eventually—sharp, productive, provoca- tive, well-read, well-versed, well-conversed, interested and interesting, yet compassionate. Our idea of old people is usually someone, if lucky enough to have good health, on the rocking chair knitting, watching soap operas, talking on subjects and manner like their grandchildren. In his class, Dr. Howard Gardner showed me how he could out-argue any student. Dr. Kurt Fischer was as excited as his students over the slightest sign of new discoveries in child development. Dr. Robert Kegan valued each of our stories of joys and pains in adult develop- ment. They taught me more than the subjects of studies. I have been fortunate to be noticed as a good teacher, albeit a demanding one. Through the years, I have sought to be one valued and recognized because I read widely, think deeply, organize efficiently, lecture clearly, express creatively, love learning, respect my students, and give justice to my work; and that I have effectively used my head, hands and heart in my profession of learning and teaching. I hope to be a part of that quiet circle of inspiration.
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Grace Shangkuan Koo, PhD, is associate professor of educational psychology at the University of the Philippines, where as a student she was recipient of both the Most Outstanding Thesis in 1990 and Most Outstanding Dissertation in 1994, and as a professor was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Most Outstanding Teacher in 2000. She has also been contributing feature articles to Philippine Daily Inquirer since 2000.
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