Okay, so a lot has gone on since that day when school started. I met many new people, I learned new things, and a bunch of normal, boring stuff happened and small changes in my life have occured. But the way I learn has changed, and thats what I think this blog is about.
In the beginning of the year, I came to school with a collection of vivid memories from the summer, and a collection of memories of friends and school from freshman year, with the school memories covered in cobwebs. Then the year began, with the usual dusting off of the freshman year education. The methods of my thinking were also brought back to the surface. I was a very methodical thinker, and I still am today. I love logic, and I also think very logically. That's a big problem when it comes to English class, because English has rules, but it requires you to be creative, and while I'm good at thinking creatively, I'm much better at thinking logically. When I encountered a discussion question at the beginning of the year, my answers usually came from my perspective. But when we read Sophie's World and we read about how Kant said that what we percieve is filtered through various "lenses" or cultural/social/gender limitations that cause us to view things only from our perspective or standpoint. Since this discovery, I have tried to remove some of these "lenses" when I think and learn so that I can better understand other people's points of view. While I primarily use this in English, I have found it useful in other areas of school and life. So basically, my thought process has been opened up to new perspectives, and this has allowed me to be a more creative thinker.
As for learning, I have found that voicing your opinon never hurts, because opinons always add value, and talking gets you participation points. I've begun to take English class into serious consideration as the most interesting part of the day because we always wind up in a heated discussion about whatever the lesson plan wasn't. Also by participating, I've realized that the way I think has changed because others' views become apparent and then they are easier to understand. It is quite surprising that two seemingly small adaptations can transform the way I think and learn, but they did. I can't wait to see how second semester unfolds.
