Assignment one: a spot of navel gazing

It would not be fair to say that I am not a fan of reflection. In fact, I probably suffer from as little ‘paralysis by analysis’ at times.

However, engaging with the assignment for first taught module and its emphasis on self and professional reflection is building within me a sense of dread. It’s not that I am worried about what this reflection will uncover, rather that I am not good at documenting my reflection and clearly this is going to become a much needed task in the months and years ahead. To a large extent this blog has stemmed from my need to capture thoughts and reflections along this journey in a more structured and organised way.

Progressing through the assignment has been challenging but ‘good challenging’. I have been able to grapple with greater self-awareness and understanding. This of course it but a work in progress.

Positioning of self, attempting to catch all

But even at this early stage I have no doubt within me but I have a strong interpretivist, constructivist, sociocuturalist leaning.

Each of these I hope to explore in more depth later to better position myself however for not its safe to say 'I am not good with black and white'. For me it has always been a matter of perspective and context. Indeed, within my classroom in the Middle East my students mock me as my standard response to a question is that it depends! It depends on the situation, it depends on the context, it depends on the resources and it depends above all on my perspective and experience.

The assignment has given me time to try to pull all of this together, into a visualisation of what I see 'me' as. How my life history, work experience, the ups and downs of life, my education, community, society, politics, structures all interact to shape and make me who I am.

How good a job society has done I won’t at this stage reflect on, however I am what I am because of all of these factors...... I think!