Doctor Ruth Goes Away

By Elton Camp

It seems like only yesterday she was hired

I hear that she already wants to be retired
After all her work to get the doctor’s degree,
It seems sort of like a waste of talent to me

Without her, concepts of id, ego and superego

How will Northwest students come to know?
They must learn all about operant conditioning
Or an important part of education is missing

Know William James, John Dewey, Harvey Carr

Or in the academic world, students can’t go far
How Ivan Pavlov caused his dogs to salivate
To fail to learn would be a most horrible fate

Or how one might rear a child in a Skinner Box

Without student sensibilities too much to shock
And how a valid experiment must have a control
So many years of students Doctor Ruth has told

So thank you for all the years of service you gave

But it is wise not to become some academic slave
In retirement, new fields you have time to explore
You can do things you didn’t have time for before

Dr. Ruth

A quality education for students