May 4, 2016

No post yesterday because we were celebrating!

Yesterday, our Golden Egg was a student, last night she became a Doctor. It’s funny how we define this transition as a moment that takes place as a student traverses from one side of a stage to another. We all know it is a course of events, not a single moment, that characterizes this change, but there is something very special about the culmination of tears and smiles that surround these beautiful occasions.

The history of conferring degrees dates back to the thirteenth century: the first degrees were Scholar, Bachelor, and Masters. We’ve come a long way, adding Doctorate and Doctorate of Philosophy to the echelons. To me, it’s important that we not lose, in the hum drum of academia, the meaning of these conferred degrees. Scholars began their climb as individuals attending lectures, debating issues as they strove to develop their knowledge. The Bachelor was a student-teacher training to take the next step to Masters. The Masters represented the highest level of achievement in the thirteenth century and carried an obligation to lecture for a set period of time. Later the degree of Doctor was added to indicate individuals with education that exceeded that of Masters and was designated within a specific field, such as medicine or law. It conferred with it not only the knowledge to teach, but also the knowledge to practice, essentially manipulate knowledge, within that field. Finally, the Doctorate of Philosophy degree was developed and originated from the Latin meaning of the word “love of wisdom”. This degree requires the student to confer original content to the field.

Regardless of degree the consistent issue is you begin each step as a learner, then pay it forward as a teacher. Life is a similar process. Those who succeed are those that learn and move to the next level. It doesn’t have to be a degree that is achieved, but there is growth. One of the easiest things to identify a need for and most difficult things to do is to evaluate yourself. You can’t change other people so you have to focus on your own improvement. In any given situation—what is your role in the outcome? If you don’t like the outcome, try again and make a different choice.

Our Golden Egg has made some excellent choices and I am extremely proud of her. Congratulations on a job well done.