Dad and Education:
July 28, 2011
by Sara
Dad values education and has promoted it to me all my life. I suppose it started with reading. Dad loves to read, and when I was in 2nd grade or so, he read Nancy Drew books with me (simultaneously, not out loud to me). Maybe he just did it to have something in common with me. But I think he actually liked those books. I also remember him reading Tom Clancy and biographies of Church leaders. I'm neglecting lots of other things, but those are the genres of books
that I remember Dad reading. Myself, I read almost every Nancy Drew book ever printed by 3rd grade. I love reading, and it has blessed my life and now the lives of my children in many ways.
Dad worked to give an education to Daniel in particular. He taught him to read so that he could learn on his own, and then fought tooth and nail to make sure the school would give him a decent education as well. I will let Daniel say more about that.
Dad stayed up late with me working on homework. Mr. Lee (10th grade English) did not teach me how to write an essay. Mrs. Stephens (insert your own memory/comment here) did not teach me either. Dad taught me during late nights of typing and working. Much earlier, he taught us the bones in the body. When he talks to my children, he is always teaching them. I imagine it was the same with us. He tells them (and he told us) scripture stories in order to teach us. He explains little things about the way things work. Can you believe I actually told my kids how an engine works? (Admittedly, not the most detailed explanation.) I learned that from Dad.
The story of Dad's dad is the story of education lifting him to a better temporal existence. Dad had the conviction from that family/personal experience that education empowers people and is the
key to success in life. I have used the story of my Canadian shepherd-turned-professor Grandpa on my children, to inspire them, and to remind them that their ancestors did not make sacrifices to get an education so that they (my children) could be lazy students.
Whenever I hear some hard-luck story on the radio (NPR, no surprise there) about a laid-off factory worker with no career options, I think, "didn't his dad tell him that he needed to get an education to get a good job and provide for his family?" Doesn't everyone have a dad who tells him there is no future in menial labor? Doesn't everyone have a dad who explains that you have to get an education? I guess not. I'm glad I had a dad who did make that completely clear.
Dad always told me that I could be whatever I wanted, and study whatever I wanted if I would work hard. I cringe when I hear some friend or acquaintance (and it has happened more than once) tell me that he doesn't think his daughters need to go to college, or to a good college (but his sons do). I have a real problem with those guys. Dad always made me feel like I needed to get the most and best education I could, and that I was worth and worthy of the best schooling out there. By implication, he taught me that stay-at-home mothers need the best education that can be had. I never felt like I was in the "class of '92." I knew I would be going to college, so it was more like "class of '96" for me. (It actually turned out to be "class of '98" -- in December). He had high expectations for us in school. He taught me not to fear education and learning (evolution; dinosaurs), but to remember the counsels of God (2 Nephi 9:28-29). And that is the most important lesson of all of my education.
Thanks for the legacy, Dad.
Dad and Education:
First Responder Award goes to Regent
July 19, 2011
I know that education has been very important to you. While in Huntsville, this was most evident through our visits to SHSU's campus and our discussions about the improvements made at SHSU. You were helping to lay a strong foundation for the students there. I remember "new plans" for this or that on my first visit to SHSU. With each subsequent visit, there also seemed to be some old dormitory being torn down or a new academic building being constructed. I don't know how many new buildings or housing developments have been developed since my first visit, but I know it's A LOT. You've helped fill these buildings with better tenured faculty, a better freshman class, a better group of graduates. I think it's just great that you have been able to transfer your vision of education into a reality at the school. I know other people feel that way since they have a Hall named after you.
I know you (and with the help of Grettle) have cultivated a love of being self-educated in James. His interests are as varied and deep as yours. Wether it be in the gospel, gardening, poetry, literature, music, history, medicine, and you can't forget science-fiction, James is able to diligently set goals to learn for himself things that interest him. Thank you for helping him with his personal statement. I know that will help him continue his professional training. I know he's appreciated that advice at other times when it has been stressful in his graduate program.
As for your personal influence on me, I think I've had received many personal nuggets of wisdom here and there. I think most of all, I think I've just learned how to be more of a team player. Thank you!
Love,
Regent
Dad and Education:
July 27, 2011
by Samuel
Education is ingrained in my father. He is not just a formal educator, but teaching and helping others learn is part of who he is. One classic example of the informal promotion of education is his teaching the bones of the body to all his children at a very young age. Before we were in school, we could all name most of the 206 bones in the human body. Another example is how he would constantly point out the names of trees whenever we took walks, and tell us about how the bark or leaves were distinct. As a father, I find myself instinctively teaching stuff to my kids. This instinct comes, I believe, from being raised in a teaching home.
When I was in high school, many of my friends had jobs during the school year. I had a summer job, but during the school year, the emphasis from my dad was on school. He said, “you can work a job now to get money to pay for college. Or if you get good grades, someone else will pay you to go to college.” This was great advice, and turned out to be true. I was able get an academic scholarship for college which paid for half of my tuition costs. Keeping the same model during college, I studied hard during semesters and kept my scholarship, and worked during the summer to earn the rest of my tuition.
The financial assistance I got for college from my parents was very clear and known to me pretty early. They would pay for my rent to keep me at college. I was to pay for tuition to keep me in college. Looking back, this was a wise gift. It kept me focused and provided real feedback as to my standing.
As a child, I remember my dad watching medical drama TV shows and loving the medical part (and changing the channel during the drama part). He told me several times that he would have really enjoyed being a doctor. That influenced my choices during my last few years of college when I noticed that my degree (computer science) would not necessarily land me in an exciting job. Most of the jobs my friends were taking sounded boring. And so I searched for a fun application for my computer skills, and ended up with bioinformatics.
For these lessons and many more, THANKS DAD.
Dad and Education
July 26, 2011
by David
I am my father’s son. I am currently in a Ph.D. program, and to be honest, one of the reasons is because that’s what Dad did. It always just seemed like the right thing to do, and the best way to be more like the man I admire most.
Education has been important to Dad for as long as I can remember. When we were kids, the rule was always “no TV on school nights.” Even though the rule wasn’t always kept, and the exceptions are often what we remember, it was the vast majority of nights spent reading and doing homework that made us the intelligent, educated people we are today.
When I did well, Dad was excited and proud of me. When I did poorly, he was ready to help and teach. I remember spending many long nights at the kitchen table with Dad reviewing draft after draft of essays. For years I thought that the purpose of all that was to make those essays better, but I have come to see that the real purpose was to make all my future writing better. Dad taught me how to think and analyze my writing, which has benefitted me greatly and will continue to so for years to come.
There was never a question in our home whether or not we would go to college. We would. And we would do well. Because that’s just how it works. When I went to BYU I worked to make my Dad proud.
Not only has Dad dedicated his life to educating his own children, but he has dedicated his career to making education more available and more beneficial to thousands upon thousands of young people. Dad has fought to bring better advising, better facilities, and better instruction to students across the country. His influence has been felt not only at the institutions where he personally has worked, but to countless others as administrators from other universities have seen and followed his example.
The love and respect that his colleagues have shown to him throughout his career – and especially in recent months – demonstrate the effect he has had on them and on the system as a whole. These people recognize the debt that higher education owes to David Payne.
And I recognize the debt that my education owes him as well.
I love you, Dad.
Dad and Education:
July 30, 2011
by James
I remember dad writing a hand written letter to my 7th grade health teacher (I was getting a C on a progress report) apologizing for my poor performance and requesting the opportunity for me to work for a better grade. I was so embarrassed at the time, but he really showed how important it was to him that I did well in school.
I think of hours that he spent with me on weeknights helping me with algebra and geometry and me telling him with tears in my eyes that I could not do it. I then remember dad reading the section of the textbook I was in and helping me with each problem. I remember dad editing my papers and teaching me the process of editing and going through drafts and crossing out lines and thinking of better ways to say things.
All of these memories really show 2 elements of dad. The first is his expectation that we work hard and get good grades. The second is his willingness to nurture us and give us the skills to meet the first expectation. For that I will always be grateful.
Love,
James
Dad and Education:
July 30, 2011
by John
Here are some lessons Dad has taught me about education:
1. Home is at least as important to education as school is. After Dad's first teachers said he might never be able to read, Dad learned from his mother. And lots of what I learned about the world, and about the gospel, I learned at home from my parents (and siblings) instead of in a classroom with a teacher. I learned some things because Dad taught me on purpose-- scripture stories, the bones, Marxism, etc. And I learned a lot of other things that Dad taught just be being who he was-- kindness, diligence, sacrifice.
2. It's easier to learn when we're positively motivated. Dad's mother used the Hardy Boys to teach him, because he loved those books. I never would have made it through high school without debate. This was not just because nothing but the threat of staying home from tournaments could have persuaded me to do my consumer ed homework. I also learned a lot about government and history from debate. And I learned how to research, write, communicate, and bounce back from difficulties and setbacks.
3. Education is not just about mastering any one subject, but about preparing to be a husband, father, and disciple of Christ. Dad had a music scholarship at BYU, but he set it aside because he thought that he would not be able to live up to his more important responsibilities with the musician's lifestyle. I had the chance to pursue debate in college, but like Dad I knew that this would not help me to be the man I want to be.
4. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Dad always expected me to get good grades. In part, I think this was instrumental. Having good grades, and good test scores, made my life easier (and my college education cheaper). But Dad also just wanted me to do thing right–whether writing a paper, building a deck, or earning a merit badge. Because doing something badly, or doing it wrong, is a special kind of pointless. Do it right, or don't do it at all.
5. Learn from everyone and everything. When Dad and I were home teachers together, I enjoyed showing off and giving elaborate (and lengthy) lessons. Dad did less talking and more listening. I have tried to follow his example by learning from the people I am supposed to be teaching. Dad also paid better attention to our popular entertainments, because everything we hear and see is part of our education. Dad hated Berenstein Bears and loved Karate Kid because he picked up on the lessons they were teaching us. I used to find that funny. Now I think about what books, movies, and music I will share with my children, and what I hope they will learn from it.
6. True education is uplifting. Dad and Mom both taught me a lot about music. But maybe the most important thing they taught me about it is that music is beautiful. When Dad was a missionary in London, he was in one of the world's great centers of culture and art, so he spent much of his free time going to see shows. All my life I heard him talk about the beautiful music he heard there, and this Christmas I got to sit down and listen to all of Robert and Elizabeth with him. It was glorious. I'm thankful that Dad taught me to educate myself by partaking of music and art that fans the divine spark inside me.
There's so much more I could talk about, and should talk about, but I need to get back to my dissertation writing. Hooray for education!
Love,
John
Dad and Education:
August 2, 2011
by Daniel
Apologies for my brevity and tardiness, but I do not have a wide range of specific experiences where I learned the value of education, rather, day to day life taught me the importance dad saw in it, with one exception.
When asked to speak to the prisoners on the their "graduation" from prison education (but remaining incarcerated) he was challenged to discover the value in their education. They were not able to leave and get jobs. They were not able to support their families. Many of them were in prison for life - they would never use their degrees. The importance of their education was personal improvement.
I suppose lessons from my father were based on "see what I do, not what I say." Chores were a part of our life, but the way out was homework. There were dishes to clean and weeds to pull. But so long as there was homework, an excuse was accepted.
"And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." D/C 130:19
Love,
Daniel
Dr. David Payne and Education
August 3, 2011
by Frau Professor Doktor Payne
I remember watching David descend the stairs at Auntie Bis’s house the day of our first date. It was the first time I had seen him, as my brother Richard suggested he meet me. I thought he looked like a Walt Disney caricature of a young professor. All he needed was the robe and mortarboard. (As I checked with Webster to be sure I spelled that right, I found out that this term comes from the board on which masons carry mortar. Cool.)
So my life as Frau Professor Doktor Payne began. We’ve lived in university towns, ranging in size from 35,000 to 50,000. The universities were major life blood in those towns. Our life has always been punctuated by the first day of classes for a new school year, Christmas holidays, commencement, and summer school.
Everyone at our house over the age of 5 went to school, including Dad. And, when Dad’s health was uncertain, Mom went, too. Teaching and learning were our bread and butter. There was little money in the teaching profession, but we never thought about doing something else.
In the Payne family, education was expected without differentiating between the boys and the girls. In fact, the women on both sides of the families led the way, being degreed before their husbands, from Sara Harris Payne and Grettle Owen Shaw Haglund, back a generation to Eva Forsberg Haglund. We’re from a line of education mothers.
Without saying anything, the expectations in our home were clear - we were an A kind of family. We worked at education at home as much as any home school family. That education took the form of not only homework, but also museums, music lessons, concerts, maps, the alphabet game and travels both long and short distances to see and do things. In Minneapolis, where the kids were participating in a Suzuki fest at the University of Minnesota, we found a science museum with a wonderful museum store. There was a Vietnam vet in a wheelchair who ran a trading post for nature objects. Kids could bring in things like birds’ nests and trade them in for rocks or feathers or other trinkets. He would talk with the children to see what they knew about their prize. The value of the prize was not only dependent on the object itself but also upon how much the child knew about it. The more they knew, the greater the value for trade in his shop. Those kinds of places were perfect for the Paynes.
Summers were filled with reading programs at the library as well as learning and doing projects at home. One summer in Cape Girardeau, we organized a mother’s summer school. Several families participated with each mother hosting a week’s worth of activities on a rotating basis. At the Payne house, we printed fabrics and then made jams (nondescript boxer style shorts) from the fabric each child printed. They printed on the fabric with paints using carved potato stamps, toothbrushes, and even running shoes - anything to print patterns on the cloth.
But, this is supposed to be about Dad and education. Dad valued my doing things with the children instead of working outside the home. Though we could have easily needed another income, we always wanted to have the kind of home where mom was busy doing things with and for the children. What a gift to me and to the children.
As for Dad and education, he has been a national and international leader in higher education for decades. His influence has been felt from the Middle East to China, from Peru to Canada, from Mexican slums to the Black Sea. He has promoted high quality, ethical, moral, and meaningful education whose product is engaged citizens who reach out to serve and bless others formally and informally, as a job and as a volunteer.
There are thousands of lives on which he has put his mark. The accolades received in the past few months at Sam Houston State University have provided fitting closure to his career. Except for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our family, nothing has been more significant than working to make the world of education a better, brighter, broader, and more meaningful experience for everyone involved at the eight universities at which he has worked. Mortarboards off to you, Herr Professor Doktor Payne. From Iowa to Iceland, from North Dakota to Texas, you HAVE made a difference for all of us.
Love, Grettle
