Kate and Deli

I inherited from my mother several stacks of typewritten pages she fondly referred to as her 'book.' The task fell to me to gather and edit her life’s collected musings, which included poignant children's stories that reflected her views on empathy education and the impact of racial segregation. In the process, I discovered a trove of small but vivid life experiences, like the one shared here. Some I remembered her telling us as children; others would have been lost entirely had she not taken the time to write them down. ROBERT

Katherine (Kate) Clark, a Kentucky native, found herself re-rooted in the flatlands of Florida during the land boom of the 1920s. Raised by educators and coming from a lineage of teachers, she grew up alongside two sharp-minded older brothers in a household where learning was not just a value but a way of life. This emphasis on education fostered her understanding of empathy education, which would later influence her story telling.

For over forty years she shared her music and values with her children and many others. Teaching came naturally to her, and music was her medium.

This true children's story from 1928 may mark the beginning of that path. It speaks, with quiet clarity, to the truth that education does not begin in schools. It begins at home, in the rhythms of daily life, in the way we are spoken to, listened to, and guided. In this small, remembered moment, we glimpse the early seeds of empathy education and the impact of racial segregation from which a lifelong educator grew.