Hello!
After going to class on Tuesday and after reading the text
(and getting a lot out of it I must say), I am truly excited to embark on this
journey to truly examine and find out who I am as a person. Chapter 1’s title is the first thing that
struck and made an impact on me. It is
simply entitled “Invitation to
Personal Learning and Growth.” The
choice is up to us to accept the
invitation or not. What this means is
that we will get out of this course/text exactly what we are willing to put
in. On page 32, the authors write, “to a
large degree, what you get from this course will depend on what you are willing
to invest in yourself.” If you really
set out to examine one’s self and being, you will find that at the end of the
spring semester that this will truly be a fulfilling experience. One of my favorite quotes from the first
chapter was by Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” This stuck with me in the back of my mind the
whole chapter as I was reading, because I believe this quote is the essence of
what this course will be for us as students.
There were two things that I really enjoyed reading this
past week. The first was reading about
the key figures in Development of the Humanistic Approach. These individuals emphasized the positive
side of human experience. This idea of
humanistic psychology is based on the premise that the striving for growth
exists in each of us but is not an automatic process. By reading each one of these individual’s
short biographies, it gave me insight into the pain and turmoil that most of
them experienced. Not one of these
people lived ‘perfect life’ where
every day was sunshine and rainbows. What I gathered from this reading is that when
times of trouble and turmoil present itself to us, it is really an opportunity
for us to grow and flourish as individuals.
When I think back on my life and try to identify the turmoil I have gone
through, I now am asking myself, “Did I handle that the right way? Could I have done something differently and
actually turned it into a positive
learning experience?” In the article on
D2L I commended the students who admitted in having a negative critical
incident but still found the positive light that was in that situation. This is now something I believe is important
to do, and I look forward to practicing this throughout my life.
The second thing I really enjoyed reading was about the
multiple learning styles. During this
section of the chapter, I found myself really taking time to reflect on who I
am as an individual. I got to take a
look at some of my strengths and where my interests lie. I also got to examine some of my weaknesses
as well. In the text on page 31, it
read, “In a course such as this, it can benefit you if you look for ways to
blend the emotional domain with the other forms of intelligence and learning
styles.” This is something I will also
try to work on within this course. Now I truly believe that I will learn best
by integrating many pathways, rather than by depending exclusively on one avenue
in my life’s journey.
I look forward to next class, and the many that follow!
Bryan Stovall
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