One thing that always remained my principle as an individual is that truth is found in the natural world. The things we, people are capable of understanding are just the extent of our minds which is yet to be developed into a mass of technology that operates under the program of understanding the environment surrounding us. For this reason, comparable to my poor understanding of learning growing up as a child who values a persona that can please the people I deemed as higher and more powerful than me, is that having the knowledge about the facts, being able to remember them, recit them when needed, and keep them when alsk needed. Application of what I learn is not necessary, so long as I receive the results, particularly inclined to having reached an approval from spectators, I am knowledgeable, I have learned my lesson. Looking at this mantra for learning now, I see it as a misleading definition of the concept itself but more likely a “manual” of learning to be an agent of conformity. “The opposite of courage in society is not cowardice but conformity” - Rollo May. Such unfortunate beliefs were held by the younger version of a student writing this reflection, but, as the arrival of experiences that questioned my trust upon traditions, an urge to discover what lies beyond concepts, what shapes the things I knew and what my mind and body can create that would contribute for change on the problems I cannot proudly talk about, I sought out a learning environment where different perspectives cross to find conclusions on what the world as it is. That is what I continuously aim to discover here, in the Social Studies program. As defined by the current version of myself, learning for me is an experimentation of life. In experiments, trial and error is a reasonable process conducted to finally discover and conclude an answer from the questions we also form by ourselves. That learning can only take place when it is felt by the senses of our physical body, when such theories are seen, into tangible actions that are continuously examined over time, not to find faults but for the sole sake of its development. In the education context, I perceive learning in a classroom as a process to make the students curious and challenged about the topic we're talking about, as well as myself in the process.
Although facilitation of learning in a constructivist approach does not necessarily prepare students to be an all-knowing facade of a textbook in the subject matter they take, with engagement, setting up a classroom where everyone felt included in a conversation would be possible. The inevitable challenges in teaching, particularly under the problems faced by the administering policies of the education institution in the country, may contradict the potential of what aspiring educators and learners can do to apply this kind of learning process. Yet, similar to a rock on a roadside, the far distance we can go is based on how much we can react to being hit by these bumps. The presence of intensive pain from stumbling in these hurdles is only defined through the ways we react upon it. Pointing fingers to what we can hardly control, which was the character of the figureheads managing the space in this institution is nothing but an expression of wasted hatred. But pointing out what needs to be done instead, is now having to suggest a remedy of the incompetence that the current system offers. A successful teaching practice as I intended to do is to be a transpirer of progress, not just towards my students but also to the teaching community I belong to. With this, the realizations I had about learning can be finally realized and thus be inferred by my students as one of the “choices” they have in seeking their own principles and identity in this society.
Seemingly, my idea of what learning and teaching should be when compared to practical goals in education may be considered as “idealistic”. For which the current system itself declared one of its main goals was to prepare a “manpower” for working the riches of our economy. However, not all ideas remain unheard thus becoming idealistic by nature, recognizing self-potential among learners lets them to discover the free will of the mind bug not the world. The freedom to think may be given to them, but not all chances to express such is possible, having discovered the unknown by being critical, as I aspired them to become, anxieties over the unknown can turn into fear of breaking from conventions. But, as cited from Kafka, us individuals are constantly faced with struggle caused by a hostile world, it is a conflict that can never be won, but should be fought nonetheless. Overcoming the anxieties of knowing the subjects my students learn indicates their maturity and development. Having to struggle in knowing is better than to struggle without knowing anything at all. As I nurture my students, I want them to develop critical thinking skills, a problematized approach of analyzing phenomenons in their communities and incorporating historical thinking in making a well-defined value of knowledge.
More specifically, my goal is to develop learners who have their own set of values, and principles they use in making a reason out of their choices. Their claims are that of their own accord, making them accountable and responsible with handling information - this also lets them realize that they are free to express their creativity without expected restraint or inflexible standards, letting them create their own craft and be the judge of their own selves. I want them to be a generation of youths who “think” regardless of the affiliation of their beliefs, the most valid evaluation of their learning for me is that they are capable of providing reasons why they did and chose a course of action. By doing such, a great practice of my academic freedom as an educator should be used as the process of shaping such qualities on learners in the schools of the country won't be an easy task. Thus, the activities that I would offer are crucial. The exercises I intend to implement for my students mainly involve two activities, (1) is field research and (2) are reflection papers that they will report occasionally in our sessions. Being out in the field is being part of the study itself, having the firsthand experiences from the problems or concerns we discuss in Social Studies or maybe even to other subjects like English, Filipino and even Values education complements the needed immersion I sought for my students to have. And thus, the reflection papers, expressing their own opinions on relevant topics of our lessons or even by their own choice or interest comes later. And also by simple activities such as discussion type of lectures, film reviews and notified recitation (assuming they do their own research beforehand) to examine and form a ground where a tangible exchange of ideas can commence in the Classroom.
However, by simply incorporating these kinds of experiential and empirically designed activities are not enough to fully realize the goals of my philosophy in education. As such, this is the significant challenge an educator such as myself must conquer in order to be fitted into leading young minds into becoming free thinkers who know the appropriate grounds of radicalism. Besides incorporating my objectives in my lesson plans and set of activities, I want my students to also have the privilege to achieve a “break.” Just as how much I personally am a person who functions well after having a good time of sleeping and even daydreaming, I want my students tk have longer hours of breaks than work itself. Longer hours for rest and preparation by not having them tk expect that the reasons of tiredness and overloaded tasks hindered their capabilities into creating a more refined output. As such, as a teacher, my principles and objectives are pretty obvious, and that is to let my students realize the individual person they are in the society. That whether becoming a leader or simply a contributing member of society as they want to be are all valid, so long as it is a path they have chosen of their own accord. The accomplishment of these values that I declared may seem unfeasible, but, a hope to have an idea to b realized especially by starting to exercise it with oneself first is the start of a new standard I wanted to find, ever since the time realized that, I was a learner deprived of much courage to think for myself- a learner that I want to nurture in the future.
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