Like Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ I begin at the end, ruminating on conclusions and trying to locate the subject for the first case study. The others came more easily because they are subjects that have already had an effect at the core of my educational sensibilities. This first PGCert module, like the film, has been a non linear process, the larger challenges having had a voice in me that found suitable homes in case studies two and three. Asked what this module was like in our final session, I thought of the embers of many scattered fires as the subjects we have touched upon, not knowing which ones will cool or which ones will ignite into longer and more sustained pursuits of learning. Much of it is important in growing as a practitioner, but can in the end, be encapsulated by one of the first quotes we received in class, that ‘education is an act of love and thus an act of courage’ (Friere, 2005). These kinds of messages have been the most helpful for me, as they can often be lost in the pressures of a results based system. The experience has been a supportive one, a relief to know that the work of others can be used to help in the challenges we face as practitioners. Seeing behind the curtain to be shown that others critique current systems as much as we do, in alternative modalities suggested by Vygotsky and Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), gives confidence to be the ‘maverick’, Annamarie Mckie suggests in her lecture ‘Reflect on This and That’ (Mckie, 2024). Not as an agitator mind you, but as a professional committed to challenging and supporting the core dimensions of ‘value, knowledge and activities’ (HE, 2023). The module brought about some surprisingly existential realisations, namely that we are part of a continuum of conscious human experience of which learning and teaching make up some of the richest and most critical currencies.
‘to learn is to accept… that life did not begin at my birth. Others have been here before me and I walk in their footsteps’ (Wiesel, 2001)
References
- Friere, P., 2005. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York City: The continuum international publishing group plc.
- HE, A., 2023. Professional standards framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education 2023, s.l.: Advance HE.
- Mckie, A., 2024. Reflect on this and that, enabling space for meaningful reflectivity in the creative arts. PGcert creative practice. [online lecture] (UAL 14TH February ).
- Wiesel, E., 2001. Faith and doubt: The divine beauty in learning. Harvard : Commencement speech.