People are constantly changing and developing, and every day they become entirely different. A new day brings a lot of fascinating and exciting events that shape a person’s personality to one degree or another. As a rule, the acquired knowledge and accumulated experience are based on specific concepts and elements that build individuality into a single whole. In fact, the ideas related to knowledge, representation, and power helped me to a large extent to understand myself, realize my inner self, and evaluate my role as a high school learner.
The following three ideas have resonated in my soul and deepened my thinking about how I position myself as a learner. The first concept that influenced me to a large extent is an essay by Jack Meiland about the difference between schools and colleges. Meilland’s work is reasoning concerning two different levels of education. There, the author of the paper compares the system and the learning process in college and school. Together with a reader, he reflects on particular educational institutions’ views, perceptions, and expectations. Certainly, high school learners get in-depth knowledge of the topics covered, complying with specific requirements and installations, and, in college, people learn to think broader over the same materials passed in school (Meiland 80-81). They are not burdened with various restrictions and rules, but this taste of freedom may later seem false, subjective, and somewhat confusing (Meiland 80-81). Anyway, I like Meilland’s essay because it gave me more profound and more complex ideas about the current state of affairs and what could presumably await me in the future. The work provides abundant food for thought about what a person can imagine about specific moments and what they express in reality.
On the other hand, the work by C. Staley made a relatively favorable impression on me and a spiritual resonance as well. The main idea of this essay is the relationship between cognitive and educational activities between the formation and development of the personality. According to Staley, the cognitive activity depends on the learning style, as an individual component of a learner, in which, as a rule, all five basic human feelings are involved (Staley 83). In addition, personal qualities form a single basis of the educator’s portrait, which can be made up for a particular adaptive environment. Constance Stanley’s work seemed interesting because it gave me a better understanding of myself, my inner world, and my motives. Thanks to this essay, I can quickly and easily identify and realize my strengths and weaknesses, learn to control them, and direct them in the right direction in the learning process.
The third and final idea in this list, which touched me to the core, is based on the documentary “The Social Dilemma” by the company “Netflix.” The plot of the film is unpretentious and straightforward due to the specifics of the genre, but its message accurately reflects the actual, acute, and topical problem of modernity. In fact, social networks manipulate many people, making them victims of misinformation and deception (The Social Dilemma). Undoubtedly, social networks have positive sides, but by and large, they use some vulnerable parts of human psychology and perception functions, seducing and controlling the consciousness of several personalities (The Social Dilemma). This film is one of my favorites, and I like it because it is not afraid to speak boldly and in detail about pressing social problems. The Netflix movie talks about the dark sides of the Internet and the adverse situations while exposing the perpetrators and victims.
Summing up, the ideas and concepts listed above related to knowledge, power, and representation made a strong impression on me and understood me as an educator and learner. The essays and the film are scattered mosaic pieces consisting of new knowledge, experience, impressions, and emotions. However, the concepts in these works and creations, forming and coming together, make up my personal image, thinking style, and vision of the world and specific elements.
Works Cited
Meiland, Jack W. “Chapter 2 Colleges: How Are They Different from High Schools.” College Thinking: How to Get the Best Out of College, edited by Jack W. Meiland, Berkley, 1981, pp. 80-82.
Staley, Constance. “Chapter 3–Learning Styles and Studying.” FOCUS on College and Career Success, edited by Constance Staley and Steve Staley, Cengage Learning, 2016, pp. 69-98.
The Social Dilemma. Directed by Jeff Orlowski, performance by Tristan Harris, Exposure Labs, Argent Pictures, The Space Program, 2020. Netflix, Web.