Multi Genre Project Home
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“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”---Albert Einstein
Introduction
It can seem daunting to reflect and solidify one's whole career and it is. Yet, in many ways it is the easiest thing in the world. A adulthood full of research and interaction with children and peers can distill a lifetime of assumptions and reflection in action, fact and fiction, practice and research, transactions and actions, into a belief system with a solid history that is always open to refinement and change.
One, my intention was to not only use family as my theme but also to include my family as my collaborators on my project. There have been many influences in my life but few have been as instrumental as my family. My initial response to this was to utilize a Cartesian Model to rationally further a conciousness of self. "The assumption being that self-awareness can generate valid knowledge." (Fendler, 2003). This may be a useful means to understand family dynamics, or to improve teaching through knowledge of the self, but may provide little for the students in my classroom. I would further caution any researcher who would assume that they are able to detach themselves completely from their own schemas in an assumption that they are capable of doing so.
Two, I then pursued a framework utilizing the work of Kazimierz Dabrowski in order to make my own journey more relevant for children in my care. The use of Dabrowski has helped me tremendously in my self-reflection. Childhood is a struggle under the best of circumstances. If you are a child at either end of the spectrum there are additional obstacles that make maturation a feat in and of itself. So, my application of his Theories of Positive Disintegration (TPD) has allowed a more meaningful and rich look back, and forward.
Third, my goal to involve my family also mandated that I find a way to include my favorite collaborators; my two children. In this way, I can learn more about my family and our dynamics, they can learn how to collaborate with other gifted children, and the theme and philosophy of this project are both honored. We have many similarities and differences. For example, we all have had to negotiate childhood as gifted children, we all have experienced the education system of Germany (they as students, and me as a parent), and we all have difficulties working with others. We are all completely different in that we are all completely different and yet so much the same. All three of us worked, scrapped projects, started them again, remodeled them, decided what we could and couldn't do, what would work and what wouldn't, argued, asked each other questions, and finally we all were able to clearly define to each other, and within this project, what education and growth means to each one of us alone, and together.
One, my intention was to not only use family as my theme but also to include my family as my collaborators on my project. There have been many influences in my life but few have been as instrumental as my family. My initial response to this was to utilize a Cartesian Model to rationally further a conciousness of self. "The assumption being that self-awareness can generate valid knowledge." (Fendler, 2003). This may be a useful means to understand family dynamics, or to improve teaching through knowledge of the self, but may provide little for the students in my classroom. I would further caution any researcher who would assume that they are able to detach themselves completely from their own schemas in an assumption that they are capable of doing so.
Two, I then pursued a framework utilizing the work of Kazimierz Dabrowski in order to make my own journey more relevant for children in my care. The use of Dabrowski has helped me tremendously in my self-reflection. Childhood is a struggle under the best of circumstances. If you are a child at either end of the spectrum there are additional obstacles that make maturation a feat in and of itself. So, my application of his Theories of Positive Disintegration (TPD) has allowed a more meaningful and rich look back, and forward.
Third, my goal to involve my family also mandated that I find a way to include my favorite collaborators; my two children. In this way, I can learn more about my family and our dynamics, they can learn how to collaborate with other gifted children, and the theme and philosophy of this project are both honored. We have many similarities and differences. For example, we all have had to negotiate childhood as gifted children, we all have experienced the education system of Germany (they as students, and me as a parent), and we all have difficulties working with others. We are all completely different in that we are all completely different and yet so much the same. All three of us worked, scrapped projects, started them again, remodeled them, decided what we could and couldn't do, what would work and what wouldn't, argued, asked each other questions, and finally we all were able to clearly define to each other, and within this project, what education and growth means to each one of us alone, and together.