Higher Education
Paterson's first language was Chinese, and she initially experienced difficulty reading and writing English. She overcame these challenges and, in 1954, graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English from King College in Bristol, Tennessee. She then spent a year teaching at a rural elementary school in Virginia before going to graduate school. She received a Master's degree from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (Richmond, VA), where she studied Bible and Christian education. Paterson had hoped to be a missionary in China, but its borders were closed to western citizens. A Japanese friend pushed her to go to Japan instead, where she worked as a missionary and Christian education assistant. While in Japan, Paterson studied both Japanese and Chinese culture, which influenced much of her subsequent writing.
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Famous quotes by higher education:
“The lesson learned here is a costly one: If you stand up for your principles, follow the law, and win massively, you lose totally.”
—Linda J. Carpenter, U.S. educator. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A38 (July 15, 1992)