Introduction
Since the start of my semester, June this year, I have been finding a solution to some assumptions that I have held for a very long time. As this has come true to me, I believe I have become a better person with a high understanding of things. This paper discusses two assumptions that I held at the beginning and the way they have come clear to me. I will discuss them in parts;
Errors are necessarily a part of the learning process; they are the expected and even desired, for they contain information essential for further learning
In most cases, human beings fear making errors as they go along with their daily businesses. One of the reasons that are set for this belief is because generally, the way human beings are made is that they are on a mission to minimize their sore and maximize their happiness. When one makes an error he is then likely to suffer some sore, and, thus we act to avoid making errors. It is at this point that the issue of social dissonance comes into the picture. Cognitive dissonance is the feeling that a person gets when he or she is confronted with two opposing ideas at the same time. It happens when one is persuaded to do something contrary to his or her beliefs. It can be explained as embarrassment, guilt, or an uncomfortable feeling.
The strength of the feeling is increased with the increase in the importance of the conflicting matter and the inability to make a rational decision on the best way of doing something. The nature of human beings is that they would go the extra mile to avoid any error. During my study, I have learned something interesting about setting myself free and accepting to engage in things that I am not sure are the right ones. This is at the risk of making mistakes. It has come clear to me that great inventions were, as a result of people engaging in risk at the expense of making errors in the process their projects become successful, and they made great breakthroughs in life. When making decisions, there are instances that people have shied away from making decisions but they end up making the bad decision because not making a decision is a decision in itself. Great managers and leaders have something that I learned to be very interesting; they encourage their subordinates to make decisions when the time requires, instead of not making one. They have recognized that it is only through this that they will learn and become better assets to the company (Kellough, 1974).
When I was reading the course, the concept of pessimists and opportunists came clear to my mind. I realized that great people in the universe were opportunists; they see a glass half full instead of seeing it half empty. They are people who take risks and don’t fear making errors. I thus learned that errors are a necessary part of learning in our day-to-day life. When one makes an error, he learns one way of not doing what he was doing, he thus becomes wiser since he understands the way that he should not follow if he was to be successful in life.
The best way of evaluating the effect of the school experience on the child is to observe him over a long period
At birth the mind of a child is perceived as “blank”; this is to mean that other than the biological aspects that the child has the development and the character that the child will hold is dependent on the external environment that he will get into. The first people that a child interacts with are the parents; this starts at the least age and goes further in the life of the child – probably until adolescence or adulthood. It is the desire of every parent to bring up morally upright children at all times, but the time that the parent spends with his child is shortened by school-going time. When the child starts going to school, then he finds another setting that other than the things that he is going to learn from class then he is exposed to other socialization factors.
It is appreciated that human beings develop a certain mode of behavior from factors arising from socialization right from childhood, and these follow him to adulthood. Our values, beliefs, and morals are largely influenced by the society we live in. Societies have different mechanisms that are geared to re-enforcing certain behavior deemed acceptable. However, as human beings interact with each other, they change their lifestyle or are compelled to change their mode of belief, whether consciously or not, a behavior modification, which in most cases conflicts with previously instilled values occurs. The conflict is brought about by the different personalities that we all have. We find that there are conflicting situations when we are forced to do what our inner being feels not just. Sometimes, we may be forced to bend our personalities to fit a certain situation.
As a child advances with education, his behavior also changes and adjusts according to the kind of socialization that he has gotten. His shaped personality starts to manifests itself in the child. He starts to be wise and make decisions that affect his or her life. He starts to prioritize the things that he is going to do first and what can wait. The more he lives and the more people he interacts with, the more he develops a picture for the world. How he can see the world from a different angle and various aspects of life start making more sense to him.
The numerous changes that appear in a child’s life are not a one-time thing, but it spans for a long period. There are different stages in life, and certain behavioral traits are generally expected in the life of the child. But the most important thing is to observe them over a long period, and keeping the trend of the behavior of the child is the most important thing to evaluate how the school is influencing his life, behavior, and personality (Kellough, 1974).
Human life spans for a long time, being in school is one of the stages that one has to undergo through; on its side, it affects the behavior and shapes the personality of a child, however, to note the effect of school then the behavior should be observed for many years and the observed behavior compared with the expected one.
Reference List
Kellough, D. (1974). Developing priorities and a style: selected readings in education for teachers and parents. New York: Ardent Media.