Blog 6
Meeting your goals or getting the grades
Coming from a very strong Indian background, making the grade is a big thing as it gives you status and hierarchy in the system.
This is something I’ve always struggled with as it was more important for me to achieve my goals. The biggest mentor for me is my mum. As I mentioned in one of the other blogs my passion is how to cook, my mum had taught me this skill at the age of 7. She did not have an education so does not know how to read or write but has this skill of speaking five different languages and cooking the nutritious dishes.
When I reflect on this, it’s like my first apprenticeship from a master teaching the apprentice how to use spices, vegetables, and sauces to create the most amazing curry’s, each ingredient must complement each other, said my mum. This method is something I use when demonstrating and constructing garments for workshops in the order of make-to-outcome, which is reflected by Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) “In academic settings, specific targets, criteria, standards and other external reference points… help define goals” and “Self-regulated learners also actively interpret external feedback…from teachers and other students”.
This process has set very deeply into my life as I view things more about the goals than the grades, as our goals can bring more pleasure to others than ourselves.
In the education system we are now having to question this, as goals are just important as getting the grades, but grades can push us to achieving our goals.
Reference List
Nicole, D., and Macfarlane-Dick, D., (2006) ‘Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles to good feedback practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 32:2, 199-218