Category
2:
Quote: “An educated person is
one who has learned how to learn ...how to adapt to a change.”
Objective: What have you learned from
reflecting on this particular quote? What has caught your attention?
I was
really impressed when I read this quote by Carl Rogers. It caught my attention,
while I was reading and doing my research on Humanism Theory of learning for my
essay of Trends and Roles assignment. He wrote this quote approximately forty
years ago in his book “Freedom to learn” (1969), and then revised
and republished in 1983 as Freedom to learn for the 80s (1983). He emphasized on
the process of seeking knowledge. He said, that because of the continually
changing atmosphere in which we live, we are faced with an entirely new
situation in education where the goal of education, if we are to survive, is
the facilitation of change and learning. The only man who is educated is the
man who has learned how to adapt and change; the man who has realized that no
knowledge is secure, that only the process of seeking knowledge gives a basis
for security. Changingness, reliance on process rather than upon static
knowledge, is the only thing that makes any sense as a goal for education in
the modern world (p. 104 Freedom to learn for the 80s (1983)
Reflective: What did you realize about teaching as a result of this quote?
I
realized as a teacher, when I look at myself today after reading this quote and
what I was doing 25 years ago; I need to “change” my role from a rigid educator
of dispenser of static knowledge in a science classroom to a facilitator where
the learners feel encouraged to learn themselves in the fast changing
environment. After reading this quote, “An educated
person is one who has learned how to learn ...” I feel, at least for the
adult learners in post secondary environment, it will be highly rewarding for
me as a facilitator, if I could help them in the process of their learning to
access the resources according to their abilities and requirements to achieve
their goals. I seem to go in full
agreement with Rogers (1983), where he further explains the role of facilitator,
that is to help the learner to achieve education and in the end there is a learned
individual. And also, it is important to recognize the way an individual learns
to live in the process of learning. He
sees the facilitation of learning as the function which may hold constructive,
tentative, changing, process answers to some of the deepest perplexities which
beset man today.
Interpretative: What was your “Aha!” moment
when you read this quote? In what way this quote changed your mind about being
an adult educator. What was one key in-sight that you now have as a result of
this quote?
My “Aha!” moment was when I connected my own
journey as a lifelong learner with this quote “An educated Person is one who
has learned how to learn” what a powerful statement, indeed! Yes, first of all
I reflected on myself when for the first time in my life I took an on-line
course and I learned how to set-up Skype meetings by creating a virtual
class-room, how to create a blog, how to interact with my instructor and study
partner when I am not in a regular class-room setting. I created a process of
learning and then out of all different learning theories, I picked humanism
theory for my essay. Continuously, there were some conflict and barriers going
on in my head, who I am? Whether I am a learner myself or I am preparing myself
to become an educator? At one angle I see myself learning new skills and on
another angle I see myself becoming a facilitator or an educator. The purpose
of me taking this course is to become an instructor in a post secondary
institution, to become a facilitator to self-learners in a community setting or
in my supervisory role in conducting research projects in the University. This
quote has really changed my mind putting me on a three step ladder, and the end
result is that I want to see myself an effective educator. First step is my own
learning experience and my learning relationship with my instructor, second
step is my learning process and my transformation from a behaviourist to a
humanist due to changing trend of adult learning behaviours and evolution of
technology, and the third step is me evolving as an affective facilitator who
will be best suited to my role as an educator. One very powerful key in-sight
which I have experienced after reading this quote is that the static classroom
teaching and dispensing knowledge from the text books only is bit outdated in
this e-world. To make our teaching meaningful, we need to use multiple tools
and equip ourselves with multiple skills according to the demographic interests
of the learners; we need to understand the humanistic psychology by using all
the three major principles of learning, that is, andragogy, self-directed
learning and transformative learning.
Decisional: How has this quote and the insight that you have gained from the reflecting upon it, influenced your notion of teaching or how you will teach in the future?
I have deeply gained an in-sight from this quote that I will change my teaching and behaviour towards the learners in future as Rogers has explained, “How to achieve this goal”?
We know that the initiation of such learning rests
not upon the teaching skills of the leader, not upon his scholarly knowledge of
the field, not upon his curricular planning, not upon his use of audio-visual
aids, not upon the programmed learning he utilizes, not upon his lectures and
presentations, not upon an abundance of books, although each of these might at
one time or another be utilized as an important resource. Facilitator’s role in
significant learning rests upon certain attitudinal qualities which exist in
the personal relationship between the facilitator and the learner. Perhaps the
most basic of these essential attitudes is realness or genuineness.
I will focus on my three basic attitudes as an
educator: firstly I will be real and genuine in my personality and in my
relationship with the learners. When the facilitator is a real person being
what he/she is, entering into a relationship with the learner without
presenting a front or facade, he is much more likely to be effective. Secondly I
would think of prizing the learner, prizing his feelings, his opinions, and him
as a person. It is a caring for the learner, but a non-possessive, caring. It
is accepting him as an individual, having worth in his/her own right. It is a
basic trust and a belief that this other person is somehow fundamentally
trustworthy. And thirdly, I will establish an atmosphere of empathetic
understanding; which means, an atmosphere of self-initiated, experiential
learning. When the teacher has the ability to understand the student’s reaction
from the inside, has a sensitive awareness of the way the process of education
and learning seems to the student, then again the likelihood of significant
learning is increased. This kind of understanding is sharply different from the
usual evaluative understanding which follows the pattern of ‘I understand what
is wrong with you’. When there is a sensitive empathy, however, the reaction in
the learner follows something of this pattern, ‘at last someone understands how
it feels and seems to be me without wanting to analyze me or judge me. Now I
can blossom and grow and learn.’ This attitude of standing in the other’s
shoes, of viewing the world through the student’s eyes, is almost unheard of in
the classroom. One could listen to thousands of ordinary classroom interactions
without coming across one instance of clearly communicated, sensitively
accurate, empathic understanding. But it has a tremendously releasing effect
when it occurs and in the end a learner learns better how to learn. (Rogers, 1983)
References:
Rogers, C. (1969): Freedom
to learn. Columbus, OH. Charles E., Merrill
Rogers, C. (1983):
Freedom to learn for the 80’s. Columbus, OH. Charles E., Merrill
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