This a personal reflection paper in relation to the theories of learning and my own learning journey
This assignment gives a narrative of a substantial part of my learning life, and, how I evolved as a learner, with particular focus on the emotional aspects in the learning and teaching journey by exploring various theories and theorists. I have especially focussed on emotions as with one or two exceptions my early learning journey was bereft of emotions and feelings except for anxiety and fear. From the mini-project are some of the places I gained balm, knowledge and independence of the system I was in as a child and young person.
Having a school teacher I really enjoyed at school is probably limited to a handful that I can remember. There was Miss King my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs Clay and Miss Harlow both taught English and a vibrant art teacher called Miss Myers. The one thing they all had in common was warmth, and, communication with them found the good, they saw ability in me and others and they emanated belief and possibilities. They were not jaded and when they interacted with a student and it felt like being involved in the task in hand with both encouragement and gentle steering. As Carl Jung (1943) expressed, "An understanding heart is everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” (p. 249).
For me they inspired me to do well, the topic came alive, I felt I could do it and I felt valued. Apart from these teachers it was a barren desert of thirteen years schooling in which insult and ridicule were often the lingua franca from teachers and subsequently between pupils.
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