Our
morning meeting consisted of presenting the Habits of Mind to the first years.
Inspired by this morning meeting, I have decided to list all of the Habits of
Mind and describe what I have been doing wrong and how I am going to apply them
to my life and to the MPC from now on.
Persisting: “Efficacious people stick to a task until it is completed.” Most of
the times when I find that something is too hard, I tend to do it quickly and
in a mediocre way. I have the most trouble with this in things outside of the
MPC, things that I don’t have a deadline for. I also tend to give up on things
after a couple of tries. Now I will stick to what the plans I have and see them
through. I will, as the habit says, develop a theory, system or structure to
attack the problems. I think that the plan I did with Ingrid will help me
improve this.
Managing
Impulsivity: I have noticed that sometimes, when I
have an idea, I interrupt someone or start talking when someone else is about
to. I think I need to pay more attention to my surrounding and take some time
to reflect on my answer before I give it, which is probably one of the reasons
why I give half made thoughts half of the time.
Listening
with understanding and empathy: Sometimes I make the common mistake of rehearsing what I am going to say
or think about my reasoning while someone else in the group is speaking. To
improve on this I will have to monitor my thoughts and suspend my thought and
assumptions while the other person is speaking. By doing this I think I will be
able to understand my classmates opinions and comments much better.
Thinking
flexibly: I don’t think that this habit is that
much of a problem for me. I consider myself someone who already thinks of many
alternatives when presented with something and who is able to change her mind.
I have always enjoyed exploring new alternatives.
Thinking
about thinking: This habit of mind
is about analyzing what we know and what we don’t know, how we are thinking and
evaluating our thoughts. I think a great way to keep exercising this habit is
by my daily reflections and to have some time each day for metacognition.
Striving
for accuracy: This is a matter of
striving for excellence, something which I think I have to work on. I’m going
to start applying this to everything I do, outside of the MPC and at the MPC.
Each time I finish a work or a project, I’ll take time to check over my work.
Questioning
and posing problems: I think this is
something that I have to start applying to my readings. While I read I think
that I should pose questions about the topic, ask what would happen in a
different scenario, what does something means, and so on. Once I have come up
with these questions, I believe it is a good idea to share them in our
dialogues.
Applying
past knowledge to new situations: Finding
connections between what I am learning and what I have learned, I think I do
this often enough. I think that my only problem is that I don’t communicate it
with the group.
Thinking
and communicating with clarity and precision: I think
that this is one of my biggest challenges. I do think that I am a little vague
when explaining concepts; I do use words like weird, nice and things to
describe what I am trying to say. I have to start using precise language in my
thinking, my writing and my speaking.
Gathering
data through all the senses: This was a hard one
for me to decide how to apply, but basically this one says that to know
something we must use our senses. What occurs to me is to do more experiments
for newton, to create diagrams for my readings and to observe more in
dialogues. This way I will be able to ‘absorb information through my senses’.
One of the things I liked the most about the description of this habit is one
of the examples it gives: “to know a goal, it must be envisioned.”
Creating,
imagining and innovating: With this habit I
have to keep in mind that I am capable of doing anything I want, and even if I
don't do good, I can improve. So it is useless to say ‘I cant to this’. I
should strive for novelty, elaboration, craftsmanship and beauty with
everything I do.
Responding
with wonderment and awe: I think this is
something that I do, but just don't to often enough. I should be more like a
kid who wants to know everything and wants to know an explanation for
everything. And I don't think that finding the beauty in all of the things I
learn is such a hard thing to do, but I should be more curious about more
things in order to have this feeling more often.
Taking
responsible risks: I think that we already took this step a
great deal when we decided to be the pioneers of the MPC, but this still
applies to my work now. I have to take risks by drawing on past knowledge and
by thinking about the consequences that could come along; this basically means
that I should know what risks are worth taking and which aren’t. The important
part of this habit is that I should risk failure, because if I don't try I will
probably miss opportunities, plus I will learn a lot from the experience of
taking risks.
Finding
humor: two main reasons why I should apply humor: 1)
laughing is enjoyable. 2) it liberates creativity. I laugh too much as it is,
so I don't think I will have that much trouble applying this habit.
Thinking
interdependently: Now this one is
going to be a hard one, since I enjoy very much my time in solitude, but maybe
I like this because it is just easier to work alone. But here are some great
advantages of working in a group: 1) more ideas can come up 2) more data for a
work 3) it can help me justify my ideas, and probably help me with my
communication problems 4) it develops openness and willingness. In order to
apply this, I will start trying to work with people in my chosen work time.
Remaining
open to continuous learning: I think this is
something that I already do a lot; all I would have to do is just continue to
do it. I am constantly interested in new topics and I am always buying books,
investigating, taking courses or talking to people in order to know something.
