Learning Log No. 9

The assignment over Christmas was to find a scholarly article in relation to an interesting topic for teaching. It can be anything about writing or other topics that we may want to use for the future. The article I chose is written by Raymond Gerson; Helping Students Find a Purpose in Education.

The main points outlined in the article are:

·         The belief that students would focus more on doing well in college when knowing which path to take for their careers

·         Discovering what our purposes are. What good can we do with the things we enjoy from studying?

·         Asking students to self-reflect on their career purposes.

How do these ideas connect to my own learning experiences?

·         As a final year student, I am still lost with what I want to do. Which career do I want to take? Education? Writing? Journalism? Novelist? I often wonder what my talents really are sometimes and then think back to the purposes I can give to this community/society. How do I make the most of my future writing career? There is always an uncertainty with my decisions as it has always been very difficult for me to make concrete ones. I think this has to do with my character; being someone who is afraid of commitment. Towards the end of first term in second year, it became clear to me that I am more interested in keeping my options open. From writing to being a freelancer and to being perhaps…even an interior designer?

How do these ideas develop your own opinions on teaching in general?

·         Something as simple as knowing what you’d want to do for your own future. It’s crucial to have that kind of guidance, for others as well as for yourself. We need to learn to have a purpose for what we want to do. Everyone is different so it’s important to fully understand an individual’s talent and help bring it out in them to discover that. For example, it’s easier for students to find a purpose from learning Education or Health or Engineering. What about the art courses? It would be more subjective in that area of expertise.

How will you implement these ideas and thoughts in to your own teaching?

·         Use the article as rough draft for one lesson. Use the questions listed on the article and apply them to the students. With this technique, it can hopefully give them a sense of what they want for their future. At least it starts from somewhere and help give them an idea. Following back from the previous answer, I also need to distinguish the boundaries between guiding them and leaving them to decide independently.

(The article can be found here: www.collegereadinesstraining.com)