One of the cornerstones of the Honors experiences is the reflection that happens along the way. We talk about reflection all the time, but for those who are perhaps not familiar with the idea in connection with learning - what does reflection mean? I mean, we know what a reflection is because we look in mirrors everyday and we comment on things like how beautiful it is when the sun reflects on the surface of a rippling lake. But what does it really mean?
If we look back in time, we can learn that the word reflection comes from the Latin reflectere, which means "to bend backwards, turn away." We can see this in our sun on the lake, for the light is bent back upwards from the water; however, that doesn't much help when we think about learning. It becomes interesting to note that in the 1640's, reflection was understood to mean "remark made after turning back one's thought on some subject" (Read more at the Online Etymology Dictionary). Now we are getting somewhere!
I've said in a number of Honors Studies talks that we seem to spend a lot of time in academia with disciplines firmly in place - you learn biology over here, and mathematics over there, and then you have English here, and sociology over there. We are trying, at FLCC, to remove some of these barriers, by showing the interconnectedness of disciplines. The college challenges students to make connections and Honors is part of that.
Reflection in Honors is about seeing connections in all sorts of ways. It is the connection between different classes - from those in your program to the electives you chose. It is the connection between yourself and your classmates and your instructor. It's the connections between your college experiences and those in other arenas of your life. It connections between your past, your present, and even your future. It's thinking about how all of the facets of your life interact at any given moment. It's turning back your glance to look at yourself and how you learn. It's about appreciating the powers of your mind and what it can do. It's about seeing where you fit into your world and where you want to fit. It's about seeing what your limitations and obstacles are and how you can work on removing those. In short, it's about better understanding yourself so that you can better understand the world around you.
If this seems like a daunting task, that is because it is. Honors is not about throwing you into the deep end of the pool and hoping you learn to swim, however. We want to help you start to make those connections and learn about who you are. There are so many ways to do this and you'll find the approach to be a little bit different in every Honors class you take. What you can always expect, however, is writing. Sometimes at home, sometimes in class, sometimes in a combination activity that spans time spent in the classroom and some time spent elsewhere. Sometimes you will be asked to go find another place to write and think. Changing your environment can make a big difference in how you view the class and its content.
To show you what I mean, the following is an activity I use in my Perspectives on Tolkien class. As you can see, it takes quotes from a shared reading and asks students to think about it - first in connection with the class content and then in relation to their journey as a learner in a larger context. It makes the suggestion that how readers interact with a text is connected to events in the world around them and the frame of mind with which they approach the text.
What ways have YOU reflected on your learning and your place in the world?
***
First, read these four
excerpts from Fuller’s essay:
·
“This is meaning…that the reader translates into
appropriate analogies for his own life, if he is so minded: as in the fact that courage and integrity,
seen in any context, are enhancements and encouragements of those qualities
wherever we have need of them” (19).
·
“[W]e are confronted basically by a raw struggle
between good and evil. This contest
offers a challenge and demands decisions of several kinds. The power of evil is formidable and ruthless. The initial decision, in which many of the
characters participate, is whether or not to attempt to resist it at all” (19).
·
“The intricacy of Tolkien’s web of cause and
effect, of the interactions of motives and wills, natural and supernatural, is
extraordinary and – notwithstanding the frame of fantasy – profoundly
realistic” (24).
·
“It gives joy, excitement, a lift of spirits,
and it contains the kind of wisdom and insight which, if applied to the world
we inhabit, might help our sore-beset race to hang on through the present
shadows of modern Mordor into yet another age” (30).
Now consider this:
Each of you came to this course with a love of Tolkien’s
world, regardless of how you came to encounter it. Though you have a shared love of the work, it
is also true that you are each reading for something different and exploring
with your own perspectives, interests, and experiences. Whether this is your first reading or your
hundredth, you are discovering new things and focusing on different aspects right
along with celebrating old favorites. In
short, there is something new to be found for each of you.
Finally, write:
Choose a prompt that speaks to your place in the world right
now and the frame of mind with which you are reading The Lord of the Rings. Write
a response in which you tie the quote you chose directly to a specific
character or event in The Fellowship of
the Ring or the first half of The Two
Towers. Then, push it one step
further: find where you fit in. Why did you pick this quote? What drew you to that character or scene in Fellowship / Towers? How does this quote inform your reading
of this first half of the trilogy? How might this quote reflect you, your mindset,
and the world in which you find yourself as you read the texts (this time)?
Article:
Fuller, Edmund. "The Lord of the Hobbits: J.R.R. Tolkien." Understanding the Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism. Ed. Rose A, Zimbardo and Neil D. Isaacs. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. 16-30. Print.
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