Elizabeth Robin
Life is an Essay Test
Elizabeth Robin was a high school English teacher who only gave essay tests. “That way students had to convey what they thought,” she said. A deep thinker herself, multiple choice was probably just too cut-and-dry. Looking back, it all makes sense. Being a budding poet, unbeknownst at the time to even herself, pushed her to seek answers that explored the full range of possibilities far beyond a, b, c or all of the above. She loved teaching and excelled at it.
Elizabeth lived the world over as a “Navy brat” with parents who not only insisted she could be anything she wanted to be and do anything she wanted to do, but they were also living examples of this no-ceiling mantra. She was fluent in four languages by the age of 10. Her father, a NATO Liaison, carried on adult conversations with her when she was just a young girl, encouraging her early on to think, find her voice and speak her convictions. Her mother, whose life was cut short when Elizabeth was a mere 15-years-old, gave her books, took her to plays, movies and every museum in Europe. “I feel like my mother knew she wasn’t going to be around. She packed a wallop in 15 years!” Elizabeth said.