School of Forever - Lesson on Five Senses
When I was attending elementary school in El Paso, Texas in the 1950's.
I remember getting into trouble with my teacher one day. That was the day that she was teaching
a lesson on the five senses. The five senses were the ability to see with our eyes, to hear with our
ears, taste with our mouths, smell with our nose and feel with our hands. The teacher said that these
were the only senses the human beings possess.
I told her she was wrong, that there were twice as many senses as that. She looked at me as if I were crazy and tried to be kind. Again, she explained what the senses were and that there were only five. I told her she was wrong again and then she asked me what the other senses were that I knew about. I told her about our sense of knowing what was going to happen in the future. I told her about knowing what was happening in the sky and in space, even though we could not see that far. I told her about being able to talk with someone without using words. I kept talking and she got angry.
My teacher told me that there must be something wrong with me and wanted to know where I got all these ideas. She told me that what I was saying could not possibly be true. She said she was the teacher and I was the student and that day, I had to learn the lesson that there were only five senses. I felt sad, that none of the other students mentioned that they were aware of the senses that I had mentioned. So, I kept quiet for the rest ofthe day. The lesson I did learn, was that although I was only a child, I knew more that she. I realized it would be wise not to learn all the lessons taught in school, or I would be a very "dumb" person by the time I grew up. My teacher was an adult, with a college education, but even as a child, I understood that my education came trom a higher authority ... from the school of ... forever.
I told her she was wrong, that there were twice as many senses as that. She looked at me as if I were crazy and tried to be kind. Again, she explained what the senses were and that there were only five. I told her she was wrong again and then she asked me what the other senses were that I knew about. I told her about our sense of knowing what was going to happen in the future. I told her about knowing what was happening in the sky and in space, even though we could not see that far. I told her about being able to talk with someone without using words. I kept talking and she got angry.
My teacher told me that there must be something wrong with me and wanted to know where I got all these ideas. She told me that what I was saying could not possibly be true. She said she was the teacher and I was the student and that day, I had to learn the lesson that there were only five senses. I felt sad, that none of the other students mentioned that they were aware of the senses that I had mentioned. So, I kept quiet for the rest ofthe day. The lesson I did learn, was that although I was only a child, I knew more that she. I realized it would be wise not to learn all the lessons taught in school, or I would be a very "dumb" person by the time I grew up. My teacher was an adult, with a college education, but even as a child, I understood that my education came trom a higher authority ... from the school of ... forever.
