Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Temple of Literature
There is a temple in the middle of Ha Noi dedicated to literature. Flanking it are giant marble sculptures of turtles, a symbol of long life here. http://www.terragalleria.com/images/vietnam/viet8214.jpeg These stone turtles bear the names of all the people who earned a doctorate at the Royal University. The university was housed next door.
I can't help but wonder how the children I work with fit in. They could never be inscribed on a stone turtle, yet perhaps they ride its back. One boy points at himself and then the outside world. I do the same thing and he laughs with joy. He is a part of the world, and I think he senses it even though he cannot abstract that into language. A doctor I spoke to said that people here have a hard time understanding developmental disabilities. They confuse it with mental illness. I think we all need to learn that the path to wisdom does not necessarily involve scholarship.
I can't help but wonder how the children I work with fit in. They could never be inscribed on a stone turtle, yet perhaps they ride its back. One boy points at himself and then the outside world. I do the same thing and he laughs with joy. He is a part of the world, and I think he senses it even though he cannot abstract that into language. A doctor I spoke to said that people here have a hard time understanding developmental disabilities. They confuse it with mental illness. I think we all need to learn that the path to wisdom does not necessarily involve scholarship.
