Holons

A grew up in a small industrial town in eastern Pennsylvania. The year I entered high school most of the teachers were nearing retirement...and appeared uninspired. Except for one. Lucky for me, the same year I entered high school, so did Mr. Kingsley (a.k.a. Kingsley) - a young, curly haired, spirited art teacher. Whereas all of the other teachers seemed slow and gray, Kingsley was vibrant and radiated color. He liked to stand on top of his desk to make a point, spoke loudly, walked fast with a wide gait, and pushed us beyond what we thought we were ever capable of doing. He cared deeply about our lives and our future. Three of us from this blue-collar high school were all accepted to the Rhode Island School of Design because of his passion for teaching and faith in our abilities. He is my hero...but why?

Kingsley was my first encounter with someone who was truly in service to others. Despite having a wife and two small children, he dedicated a great deal of his time outside of school driving several of us to local sites to paint and draw. He personally sacrificed his time and energy for our benefit! Heroism can take many forms, in actions both big and small, but for me, Kingsley's tireless dedication to a group of goofy high school kids gave me a future and the confidence that I could have the same positive effect on others.

I imagine that most of you have parents or teachers who have sacrificed time and energy for you. If you have, I'm sure that you are grateful for this and hope that you are able to pay it forward sometime in your lifetime. I'm not able to pay forward Kingsley's gift in exactly the same way he gave to me. My dream was to be a university art professor like Kingsley is now, but this didn't happen for me. Instead, I decided to remain in education in a supporting role, and give back in the ways that I could. I never became Superman, I never became Batman...maybe I'm a bit more like Robin (but he can also be someone's hero).

20 May 2017