Paying It Forward

[stoutfellow]

By the time I was in eighth grade, I had already learned such mathematics as the local junior high and high schools were equipped to teach me. I was fortunate; a professor from San Diego State University, by the name of Henry Bray, took me under his wing. For the next five years, he was my mentor, teaching me a sizable chunk of college-level mathematics. I owe him a great deal.

Today was the day of the annual county-wide math contest, in which teams from the local high schools meet in various competitions. As often before, I was a judge in one of the events. Afterwards, I fell to talking with one of the team coaches. He told me of a student, a junior, who had learned what his school had to offer and needed more, and he asked if I would be willing to help.

[Y]ou don't pay back your parents. You can't. The debt you owe them gets collected by your children, who hand it down in turn. It's a sort of entailment. Or if you don't have children of the body, it's left as a debt to your common humanity. Or to your God, if you possess or are possessed by one. (Lois McMaster Bujold, A Civil Campaign)

It's not just parents.

Comments

[sunlizzard.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is sweet. I'd forgotten that particular quote--how fitting it is! And you're right, Jim and Meg. It's not just parents....