Learning is constant.

I was asked the question, what did you learn about yourself this year. I was surprised by the question. I never thought any other “school”, other than the private school I attended, would ask that. It is not even a question of growth but a question of understanding. Have you learned something about yourself? It is such an interesting question. Many people have told me that young people do not know ‘who they are’ but the question I would like to pose is does anyone really know everything about them self? Are we not continuously changing? Do we not have to constantly re-evaluate ourselves?
This made me think of what that particular class has taught me about myself in the last year. I realized that I have such a different opinion and experience of schooling. I have always been told that I am missing out on the true high school experience. Maybe that is so, but was it such a bad thing? When discussing how the “normal” way of teaching is, I cannot agree with the students who have been to a “normal” high school. My school did not teach things the normal way. We were self directed teaching, which has been shown useful in post secondary schooling. I have the opportunity to make learning fun and interesting. Most of my friends from other schools were shocked and confused why I would do extra things for my classes. I like learning, especially if you have some input on how you want to learn. I do not believe sitting and listening to someone talk at you, letting information pass in one side and out the other is learning. Learning needs passion, you need to want to learn. I have learned this year that the way I have been brought up in my school have helped me instead of making me the kid from the weird school. Maybe I missed out of some of the things in a “normal” high school, but I am happy with who I am. I would be afraid to see who I could have been from going to a “normal” high school. It was nice to see that I could bring a different view of education to the class. It also made me realize that there is hope for the education system. Learning is something schools should actually do and not just promote. Learning, in the sense of self development, will hopefully make students more engaged in what they are learning. It would also make classes more enjoyable, I believe. If a student wants to learn and is actively participating in their class, I think the student and teacher would be able to learn more. Have you ever learned something about yourself from a class? Have you ever stopped to think that you might be growing as a person? Will you ever stop learning and changing?

Please take the time and ask yourself...what have I learned today?