Hello Ms. Mc, Hello Parents!
“Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.”
“You don’t learn from experience; you learn from reflecting on experience.” – John Dewey.
Grade 11, the most important year for high school. The turning point for deciding which careers to go into and the future after high school. Overall, it was a great year that involved me breaking out of my comfort zone, and pushing for more.
Vision Mission Values (VMV)
During my mPOL, I reflected on how successful the year had been, and honestly considered the work I had put out. My success has been attributed to utilizing effective work habits and strategies, like working in a great study group. I mention that I wanted to keep working as hard as possible, aiming to make sure that I don’t burn out over the last portion of the year.
Helping others and being helped has been a really positive impact to my life, and would suggest this strategy for anyone struggling/wanting to improve their work overall. I believe that I have been successful in keeping consistent in these areas, and has allowed for me to be able to put out the same quality work over the year.
However, I discovered an area that I felt like I needed to improve on after the mPOL. I always had this lingering fear that my work isn’t as good as it can be.
We all have a competitive nature to try to outdo each other, and I feared falling behind the others. This constant competition leads me to always try to find things that I am doing wrong, and try to make sure it is either the same, or better work than my peers. This fear may not be a bad thing, but it leads to a constant uncomfortable situation where I am worried that my work isn’t reaching the high standard that I want to achieve. I know that I am smart and I feel confident saying it, but will always aim to be the best in a group.
The way that I addressed this issue, I just need to know when to step back and be satisfied with the work that I put out. I need to understand that there will always be something that I can add, nothing will ever be perfect and my work may have already achieved the high standard that I want. I have really learnt to be satisfied with what I have done, and be able to let go on things that don’t matter.
Though it has been a really successful year overall, there will always be gaps and things that I can improve on. Life is a never ending journey of learning.
So how does this reflection play into my VMV? How does it connect to all my values?
Understanding myself is something that I need to put first before I can help others. This goal to be able to help others will be ineffective if I don’t understand myself, and I feel like I have really matured in this area. Connecting back to my values:
I have really engaged with this tPOL and opened up about weaknesses that I feel like I have.
I am communicating areas that I feel like I need to improve on and want advice in.
I am being honest and taking ownership of the areas that I lack.
So why do I feel ready to move onto the new school year?
This school year has been really fun overall! It was full of maturing, understanding, and learning to become a better person! Building confidence and being proud of the things that I create is vital to my future (especially for PLP)!
Thanks for listening!
–Chrissy