Reflective Journal 5: Reflect on SES. You may want to consider the curriculum, the learning process, the assessment, difficulties you faced, how you overcame them, and how might SES be applicable in time to come.
Time flies, and now, nearing the end of my short yet fruitful SES journey, I would like to express my feelings about this module.
I am impressed by the scope of SES because it seeks to explore pertinent issues present in Chinese and/or American societies. Some of the thought-provoking issues discussed include Confucian ideology, the 'dichotomy' between China and America, and the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the commencement of SES, I only had a cursory understanding of these topics and thought they were poles apart. Once, I even considered some issues obsolete because they occurred in the past. Fortunately, SES proved me wrong.
Through SES, I was able to draw implicit links among issues which exist in Chinese and Western societies, and most importantly uncover their relevance to my life. For example, I discovered that my mannerism has always been influenced by the coalesce of the American and Chinese perceptions of self in cosmopolitan Singapore. The progressive nature of SES curriculum also enabled me to utilise the knowledge gleaned in previous tutorials and apply them by incorporating them into answers to questions in following tutorials. For instance, one can cite the Western perception of rights to account for factory operations in America. This prevented me from naively considering all issues as mutually exclusive. On top of that, I liked the way in which discussion questions were phrased because it encouraged us to delve into and analyse both sides of issues to get a clearer picture of them, and by evaluating their pros and cons, eventually reach a balanced conclusion. This has evidently served me well as I developed critical thinking skills and unique perspectives, which granted me with a more comprehensive understanding of the world.
However, this learning process was not smooth-sailing because I encountered many difficulties along the way. At times, I struggled to comprehend readings and identify key concepts. Thankfully, my doubts would always be quelled after listening to presentations and ruminating on insights generated by presenters. Through these experiences, I recognised the necessity of SES presentations as they could accurately assess an individual's perspicacity and the amount of effort he had invested into conducting background research, hence I staunchly believe the assessment format is justified. In addition, the 'reflective journal' component allowed me to reflect upon issues discussed in class in commendable depth and expound my views, and facilitated the frank exchange of viewpoints via comments. In general, I took into account both positive and negative comments within my discretion and this certainly enriched my intellect over time.
However, this learning process was not smooth-sailing because I encountered many difficulties along the way. At times, I struggled to comprehend readings and identify key concepts. Thankfully, my doubts would always be quelled after listening to presentations and ruminating on insights generated by presenters. Through these experiences, I recognised the necessity of SES presentations as they could accurately assess an individual's perspicacity and the amount of effort he had invested into conducting background research, hence I staunchly believe the assessment format is justified. In addition, the 'reflective journal' component allowed me to reflect upon issues discussed in class in commendable depth and expound my views, and facilitated the frank exchange of viewpoints via comments. In general, I took into account both positive and negative comments within my discretion and this certainly enriched my intellect over time.
Personally, I am pleased with the pedagogical framework of SES, especially the 'class discussion' component, mainly because it succeeded in facilitating the interaction among peers and subsequently the exchange of a plethora of ideas. More often than not, valid points raised by classmates opened new avenues for discussion, honed my faculty of reasoning and broadened my perspectives. In addition, this segment would boost my confidence and improve my presentation skills. To me, though, the main aim of class discussion should be to foster an open mindset in me. This is absolutely paramount because I will have to interact with people from all walks of life in the future, hence if I were to confine ourselves to a solitary point of view and not be receptive to the opinions of others, I will struggle to thrive, or worse still, attract unnecessary ire which can potentially sour human relations. Therefore, only when the objective aforementioned is achieved will I truly benefit from this pedagogical approach in the long run.
As construed by Confucius, the essence of knowledge lies in its application. Similarly, besides supplying me with factual knowledge, SES can be applied too. In this dynamic and globalised world, I will definitely have to venture out of my comfort zone and interact with people hailing from the East and the West, all with different cultural backgrounds. In order to foster our interaction and avoid unnecessary disputes, I must first understand the cultural differences and aim to transcend cultural boundaries so as to collaborate with my foreign counterparts effectively. This will indirectly improve my employability amid the stiff competition for job vacancies around the world. However, pragmatic reason is secondary and it does not constitute the main driving force behind my thirst for knowledge. The prospect of broadening my global perspective is what truly ignited my passion for SES.
Reminiscing my arduous SES journey, I am glad to say that I have grown.
Without the help of SES, I will perpetually languish in superficiality and not perceive the world in a brand new light.
Having benefited from SES, I will be more cognizant of my surroundings and more optimistic about my future prospects.
Therefore, I will never forget about SES and the positive impact that it has made on my life.
Without the help of SES, I will perpetually languish in superficiality and not perceive the world in a brand new light.
Having benefited from SES, I will be more cognizant of my surroundings and more optimistic about my future prospects.
Therefore, I will never forget about SES and the positive impact that it has made on my life.
(800 words)
Hi Dewei,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with most of your points, which display evidence of thought and introspection.
Yes, most of the topics and content brought up in SES are very relevant to the world we live in now. However, I think you may want to expound on how the Industrial Revolution is pertinent to the societal context of today, because it is not immediately apparent how it is pertinent. You could explain this with regards to China’s industrial and technological advancements in the past years (or lack thereof) and its prospects of undergoing a very overdue Industrial Revolution.
Indeed, I also enjoyed the pedagogy of progressive learning. Most of our other subjects are actually very compartmentalised, which tend to be things like IHC, Math and the three sciences. They split up the curriculum into topics and categories, and sometimes this makes it very difficult to see the areas of overlap. The SES pedagogy, on the other hand, shows a high degree of cohesiveness, in that all the tutorials build on what has been discussed in past tutorials. We’ve undoubtedly been taught to approach each topic in a more holistic manner as well, considering many different factors and their role in creating situations, like the lack of technological advancement in China in the 19th and early 20th century was due to war and political turmoil, amongst others. But what are some of the unique perspectives you acquired through SES? Perhaps you could explain this with reference to one of your earlier examples, factory operations in America.
Of course, everybody faced some difficulties throughout their learning journey in SES. You did mention that presentations served the purpose of clarification for you, but how so? Did they explain concepts in simpler, layman terms? Did they offer insights on how to interpret certain statistics or information? Or did you simply receive some form of inspiration when you listened to their presentations? It is also not quite apparent how that allowed you to assess the perceptiveness and interpretative skills of the presenter; is this point related to the one preceding it or is it a new point?
Indubitably, class discussions can help to foster an open mindset in students and establish a platform for the sharing of ideas and opinions. More importantly for me, the process of observing somebody else’s process of reasoning and examining it in closer detail is one that seldom goes unrewarded, which is the reason why I love to raise my green stick in class. I often get the chance to explore alternative pathways of reasoning and logic, and this broadens my perspectives as well.
Reading your reflective journal, I can tell how much you have grown since you started taking SES. There is now a certain depth to your perception of things that was not there in your earliest reflective journals, and I also think you have learnt to consider many factors. Also, I see a nice balance between the breadth and depth of your arguments, and you have evolved in your critical thinking capacity.
Regards,
Daniel 3S105
Hi Dewei,
ReplyDeleteI feel that this is a well written reflective journal and I can see that you have put in effort and you have exhibited mature thinking in your journal.
Regarding your reflection on your learning process, I find that you have reflected well in this area as you have managed to draw the links on how the Americans and Chinese have similarities and differences to the cosmopolitan Singapore. I also like that you have identified what you enjoyed the most and how it has benefited you.
Also, I agree with your points on how the mode of assessment for SES has benefited you by helping you understand certain key concepts as it had helped me in that manner too. In addition, I also agree with you that SES helps to broaden global perspective and I have also learnt much about the America’s and Chinese’s differing perspective and solutions to a common problem.
In conclusion, I find that your journal is a well written one and I particularly like your ending as by ending in that manner, I can see how SES has impacted you and you have really benefited much from it. Keep up the good work.
Regards,
Zhaofeng
Hi Dewei,
ReplyDeleteI can feel that you have really learnt alot from SES just by reading your reflective journal. You have shown that you are able to draw out links between issues and apply previous knowledge to the reflective journal.
I believe that most of the students who have went through SES would have learnt to analyse issues from different perspectives, such as evaluating the Chinese factories from both moral and economic perspectives. You could talk about how you were able to gain a new insight into issues by looking from a different perspective instead of just saying that you were able to link the issues to one another.
I also believe that SES has taught us more than factual knowledge. You could talk about how having to search for additional resources have helped you in your researching skills that would definitely benefit you in the future. You have been able to identify most of the benefits SES have brought for you, which is good.
Having seen your reflective journals, you have certainly progressed since the start of the year. Remember never to let others extinguish your passion for knowledge and keep up the effort!
Regards,
Guan Hong