Hey guys, it’s close to two years since I’ve had to do a mPOL and yet the nerves that come with them are still exactly the same. This year has been interesting to say the least, with everyone still getting used to the semester system and the two hours classes most of the projects we did were experiments. Off kilter and with many things that could be built on for years after us. However, as with all of PLP, I’ve had many fails as well and hopefully I’ll be able to talk about them today and use them to improve myself going forward. And like I used to do with my previous mPols I’m going to be looking at both the good and bad, it’s important to be transparent right.
The first thing I’d like to talk about is probably what my teachers most likely want to see which is my Zettlekasten. Zettlekasten is supposed to be a way to organize your thoughts in a way that you can ok back at them and use them to build onto each other. As they put it at the start of the project, we were building a second brain. However, while we used it throughout our projects about the election and our project surrounding Hiroshima I’ve realized a few things when it comes to using this Zettlekasten. The main thing being that the way it is set up now just does not work for me. I’ve tried to use it the way it is intended, to make the fleeting notes then make the literature notes then to the actual Zettlekasten, it is just too many steps. I understand what the point of it is, how it is supposed to help me in the long run but as of right now I’ve practically given up on using it as a legit way to organize my thoughts. That doesn’t mean that I won’t still try to use it, I’ve started to figure out a way to simplify doing these Zettlekasten notes so that I can still reap the benefits of this system. What I’m thinking right now is to just omit using literature notes as an in between, their good for school and that but if I want to make sure I won’t stop using this system, that is the easiest way to simplify it.
The second thing I’d like to talk about is a little more about my successes than where I still need to grow, even though there are many places for me to improve still. What I’m going on about is my work with others during this year. Even though individually, I still need to work on time management and regulation, I’ve noticed that when it comes to working in a group I’ve really stepped up my game when it comes to managing everything and everyone. In both the election project and the Hiroshima project I’ve ended up in a leadership/management role and compared to previous years, I am a changed person. One specific example that I am quite proud of that I think really shows my growth as a learner not just this year but throughout my time in PLP is the stark difference between when I was the DRI in grade 9 for the winter exhibition and when I was one of the DRIs this year in the winter exhibition. Where I used shrink back and nod when the grade 12s did something during the set up that I didn’t think would work, I now was able to stand my ground and voice my concerns. I problem solved when it came to our room layout as Zoe was unavailable, remaking her art piece that had been broken. My proudest moment was standing up to Alex and holding my ground as he questioned and tried to break apart my art and ideas, coming away unsuccessful. I have grown as a learner and a leader and I am extremely proud of myself for that.
Finally, as was written for what I had to talk about in my mPOL, I am going to be explaining how I will sharpen my learning plan. The main thing I think that would help me reach my goal of a 90% in Humanities this year is to make a habit of specific times of when I work on school and when I let myself relax. Recently I’ve had a bit of trouble when it comes to putting as much thought and effort into my work as I know that I can. The most recent example of this was during our Sounds of Poetry project, although my final product was at an accomplished level, I know that if I had just put in an extra hour of work I could have written so much more about the effects f the actual music on the message of the song, to go to an above and beyond level of comprehension that I know I’m capable of. The way I’m going to do that is to make a habit of either using the library or office space in our home as a space to work in so that when I am there I know subconsciously, that it is time to do some work. I want to do better and building this habit would be a great place to start.