Our journeys require time for assimilation
LISTEN TO AND RESPECT THE INNDER SELF
"Thought of the Week" for
The inner self requires ample time to pass through each of the
steps it takes to assimilate experiences, memories, former
irritations or addictions into the not-yet formed behavior. Rushing
headlong into some pre-conceived, intellectual notion of what we
"should" be not only implies disrespect for the self, but we then
wrongly assume to know what we need better than the inner self.
Marsha Sinetar. (1987). Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow. New York: Dell. (p. 49)
Comment:
Respecting the Self:
Taking time for assimilation
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2000 by Reg Harris. All rights reserved. Updated October 7, 2007. All rights reserved. Apart from properly cited quotes and short excerpts, no part of this article can be copied or used in any form without written permission from the author. For permission to use, please contact me.
This, to me, seems an argument for a more open
curriculum in schools, a less rigid "stage" process of learning. To
assume that each of our students will assimilate experience and
knowledge at the same rate is not only foolish, but disrespectful of
the student and their needs. Standards and standardized tests reduce
the process of human growth to a series of predictable, controllable
"shoulds," which ignores the reality of the human experience and the
individual Heroic Journey.
When I was in sales, we learned that we might
have to approach a prospective client or customer at least three
times (flyers, phone calls, and visits, etc.) before we could make a
sale. We learned that the chances that the person would be in a
position to be receptive to our message on a single visit were very
low. We needed to keep letting them know about our message until
their perception of their needs matched our presentation of a
solution.
If the same is true of education, that true
learning will occur when the students' perceived needs coincide with
our presentation of a solution, then we may need to present
something many times in many different ways. No pre-determined
timetable can predict or account for this variable. In fact,
predetermined schedules and outcomes may actually hinder the
process, especially now, when students are bombarded with so many
stimuli and decisions.
There is a great risk involved in learning, and
we must acknowledge that. To agree to learn something which
contradicts what one has believed means giving up the security of
the known for the promise of the unknown. It also means admitting
that a part of the structure of our own narrative story (personal
myth) was wrong or ineffective and having the courage to adapt or
replace it. This kind of "leap of faith" can only be accomplished in
steps, even when the revelation is sudden.
To acknowledge the truth in Sinetar's words is
to acknowledge individual differences in growth, assimilation and
understanding. To continue to function out of the mechanistic
paradigm, which is not just outdated but pathogenic, is to
disrespect the both individual and the learning process.