Stream of Consciousness

I came across this quote when I was watching a lecture by Sir Ken Robinson about creativity and learning. This resonated with me because of the social realities regarding the depths and importance of learning hidden beneath it.

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During my freshman year in this program, I only had a vague understanding of the value of education. I knew little of the principles that make it, and even less about the inner machinations of the education system and processes of learning. This might be due to the reason that education studies weren’t my first choice with regards to my academic career. To be honest, I had this shallow perspective on how I would go about learning. Instead of utilizing my privilege of having access to the university’s offered in-depth materials and resources to broaden my knowledge and gain new perspectives, I was under the guise of learning for the sake of completion. I’d take on the activities and assignments with a certain degree of rush. I believe the reason behind this was because I didn’t know how to learn. I have no grasp of the true concept of learning and its importance for me as a future educator. Which is why the lesson that resonated with me the most was from the module of learning and intelligence. I have come to understand that learning is sacred, as much as it is a continuous process. The pursuit of knowledge and wisdom has long been regarded as a noble endeavor, deserving of respect and reverence. Through learning, we allow ourselves to transform our lives. It gives us the opportunity to understand the world we live in and look for solutions to problems that may hinder our development. 

By learning about the nature of intelligence, I have come to realize that each and every one of us differ from one another. We learn in many ways, and thus develop our cognitive wirings differently. There is no definite set of steps to teach and to learn. Which is why we as educators must strive to be knowledgeable about many learning theories for us to provide equal learning opportunities for students. This was the exact thought process that led me to fully be aware of the crucial role that educators play in honing individuals that can function and serve in a society.  The role of a teacher is a multifaceted profession. We have the duty to nurture healthy curiosity among young minds and mentor learners towards progress. Although the  culture of education today is slowly becoming more and more industrialized, we must progress not only from what the society demands from us but also provide what it truly needs. Students are not merely consumers of facts, but rather an active contributor to knowledge. Academic institutions are not merely places to earn a degree but are ultimately centers for lifelong learning.

 As partial fulfillment in our work immersion course, we were tasked to create a musical play that aimed to showcase the different and unique strengths and talents of artists from the Arts and Design Track. Different art majors joined hands and minds with great purpose  to deliver the culture of arts to the community. It wasn’t an easy task, considering that it was a time amidst the pandemic. But with consistent effort and enthusiasm, we were able to reach our goal.

Being the overall supervisor of the play, I was able to have a general overview of the whole production. I witnessed how each of the artists complimented each other and made work easier through cooperation. The diverse backgrounds that each of my colleagues had was what I thought to be the most helpful in this endeavor. We took on the tasks where we did best and always took initiative whenever an opportunity arose.

Aside from that, I really treasured being one of the great minds behind the story. I could say that writing the script, other than coming up with the narrative, was what took most of the time in the production. We had to consider a lot of factors before deciding what to include in the play. We shared our perspectives and utilized it to gradually design the backbone of the story. Indeed that the more minds that are present working together, the more creativity can be fostered.

Vygotsky’s (1934) Sociocultural Theory made me realize the importance of a more knowledgeable other in a child’s learning. This implies that the environment of where the child grew up in together with their built social connections and interactions plays a huge part in shaping their cognitive development. On my part, I have witnessed how the environment played shaped my beliefs and learning. Our cultural upbringing makes us learn differently than others but it doesn’t mean that we are more or less knowledgeable. 

In a recent interview that I conducted with my senior high school teacher, he stated that utilizing the student’s culture, upbringing, and environment is essential in order to bring the learning process closer and understand that learning is deeply rooted from culture. This statement is in line with the nature of Vygotsky’s theory where he highlighted the contributions of social factors to cognitive development and how it varies across cultures. 

Piaget’s (1936) Stage Theory on the other hand focused more on the stages of childhood where prominent learning and cognitive development occurs. He argued that the way the child learns is a consequence of interactions between biological factors and environment. His theory tackled both, but mainly on, nature and the nurture sides of cognitive development.

This concept of learning made me remember moments where my parents are trying to teach me something but I fail to understand them. For example, when I was being tutored, no matter how much they repeated the lesson for me I still couldn't seem to grasp it. There was also a time where they told us to get and aim for high grades during elementary but I couldn’t comprehend that information and just really liked to go to school. I didn’t really pay much attention to it until I entered my first year of high school. 

During my childhood days, I was always fond of playing various physical games with either my cousins or other kids. We’d play traditional Filipino games like patintero, tumbang preso, sekyu base, tagu-taguan, and many more. I also took taekwondo lessons for a short time during grade school. Looking back, these physical activities really did help me develop my body strength, reflexes, and motor skills. I also loved biking around our neighborhood. Having engagement in physical activities when I was a kid was a really great help for me. It also helped me relieve stress and uplift my mood. By the time I reach puberty, I don’t find myself with shortness of breath or getting tired easily, thus allowing me to have more time to study. Every time I get to play outside, I feel more energized rather than tired and have more motivation to do my assignments. I realized that physical activity and development contributes a lot to our cognitive processes. It also has a significant effect on our psycho-social skills and plays a role on how our socialization skills are shaped. Physical activity improves actual brain function by helping nerve cells to multiply, creating more connections for learning (Cotman, 2002; Ferris, 2007). The way our body develops also influences our psychological well-being. For instance, puberty involves drastic changes in our body which may cause us to be self-conscious and anxious, which can develop into having low self-esteem. 

WHY AM I WHO I AM?

When I was five years old, I was an enthusiastic child. Always participating in activities, joining school-based contests, doing speeches, and confident in performances. My pre-school years were loaded with fun. I was eager to learn what I’m good at, my skills and talents, and to make friends from time to time. At the end of my junior high school year, I was someone who rarely interacted with classmates and new people, I was either with my friends or by myself. I’m more aware of my true self, ambitions, and goals. During my first day of class in senior high school, I never talked to anyone, it took me one whole week before I started communicating with my classmates. Still, I know to myself that I have more confidence in my mental capacity, skills, and other different attributes.

Looking back, there was a big contrast between my personality as a child and as an adolescent. As I grew up, my confidence to present myself in front of people lowered and lowered. This might be due to the fact that I wasn’t really raised or encouraged to perform in front of a crowd. We were also raised to always be humble. During my junior high school, I was content about knowing that I have talents and skills without having to share/talk about it with others or post it on social media.

I couldn’t really find that many similarities between me and my parents. One of my closest friends even said that I don’t look like them that much. The only thing I can think of was my handwriting. It resembles my mom’s small cursive handwriting and sometimes, it would look like my dad’s rigid-looking handwriting. But one thing that I learned/adapted to them was the love for movies. My dad watched a lot of movies and bought/collected DVDs. I grew up watching movies every day.

The environment I grew up in contributed a lot to my development. I am a very observant and curious person. I learned a lot through others perspectives, experiences, and ways.

HOW OLD AM I?

Age is determined by a lot of factors. You may be 32 but still think and act like a 25-year old, you may be 15 but appear to be 20-year old. I asked my friends about how they perceive my age from a biological and social perspective. Biologically, they think I’m just like my chronological age which is 19. I disagree a bit with this. Since the pandemic, I’ve lost a lot of weight due to stress, anxiety, and other factors. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other so they’re not much aware of how I look. This affected me greatly with my strength. I feel like a 15-year old can lift more weights than me. 

Socially they perceive me as a 13-year old during casual times and a 30-year old when I give them advice. Honestly speaking, I agree with them. The way I socialize depends a lot on the situation and who I’m talking to. I’m well relaxed to talk with my friends, anxious to strangers, and formal around teachers or any work staff. Psychologically, I would say that I’m around 23. I have noticed that I am a bit more mature among my peers but still have the tendency to be a bit childish. It’s really hard to say, it’s not consistent.

After going through the reading materials, I began to understand and know more about the factors that affect the way we learn. On an article of Kendra Cherry (2021), she emphasized how educational psychology involves social, emotional, and cognitive processes of our entire lifespan contributes in our learning, in addition to the learning processes we acquired during our early childhood and adolescence.

On the perspectives she listed, one resonated with me the most. Contructivist perspective highlighted how a person’s existing knowledge influence how they understand new information. A situation that came to my mind while reading this is the “generational gap”. Most of the times, the norms of the present appear somehow inappropriate for older generation. Like wearing revealing clothes, piercings, same-sex marriage, and other issues in the society. Even if we explain that it is the norm today, it won’t be easy to change a person’s belief because that is how they grew up.

On a similar note, Baltes’ Lifespan Perspective also stated that “development is influenced by contextual and socio-cultural influences.” Our beliefs, characteristics, and the way we act are the result of the environment surrounding us. He also emphasized that development is a lifelong journey. I deeply relate to this statement. As an artist, I never stopped learning and improving. The skills I have in the present are still being enhanced by learning from others.