Reflection 1

I have found this class and its content to be very relatable thus far. This class has revealed to me the importance of differing approaches to knowledge. As we read in the article “Land as a Pedagogy” it is critical to independently think, and come to our own conclusions before coming together to discuss and hear other approaches to the subject.  Reflecting (as I am doing in this paper) is critical to the development of knowledge. The Land as a Pedagogy discussed through a story, the importance of diverse and independent thinking. It also conveyed the significance of coming together once you have gained your own knowledge and opinion, and to share it with others to gain a stronger understanding and a new knowledge. But the most important part of this story was to first gain your own thoughts and come to your own conclusion independently. In life this is a very important aspect that I find sometimes gets brushed under the rug. Not to say that disciplinary learning isn’t important, because it is extremely important, but there will be no growth in learning without the use of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary studies.

So far in this class we have not had many guest speakers, but I found that Lindsay McIntyre was a very interesting guest speaker. She shone light on how important it is to do what you love, and not always what will create the biggest conversations, and bring you the most money. She is a perfect example of how perseverance can bring you success, not only around you but within you. She worked for years to uncover a technique that no one would help her to discover. Once she uncovered what she was wanting to, she did not stop there, she continued to use her individual and gathered knowledge to come up with something even more creative. She used different understandings and different areas of study to continue growing in her own area of expertise. I find that liberal studies 100 thus far has showed me how critical it is to have differing knowledge’s to succeed. Not only did she persevere to get to where she wanted to and discover what she wanted to discover, she is an indigenous woman. As an Indigenous woman, she also has the ability to give us knowledge on the Indigenous people and the struggles they have gone through to be where they are today. Bringing her love of film work and production into connection with her culture of Indigenous.

The idea of differing opinions and uses of knowledge has always existed, but it is something that I have never put much focus on. For example, as we read in class, the creation of the field of acoustic archaeology. It was created when different fields of studies; a computer music specialist, an anthropologist, and an electrical engineer, came together. They are all from very different fields of studies that would not normally be connected, but by connecting these things a really cool new innovation was created that would not have been created otherwise. I am sure there are numerous examples of innovations that would never have been created if it weren’t for differing knowledge’s and differing approaches to that knowledge.

Personally, this class has begun to shape my perspective about knowledge in other aspects of life such as work. I work as a server at Cactus Club, important necessary knowledge would be the basics of how to do my job and be a server. What I have started to think about more, is the importance of taking into consideration how the other aspects of the restaurant work, for efficiency for myself and those around me. For example, if I know how things are done in the kitchen, and my table had an issue with the way something was cooked, I would be much more ready to handle the situation if I had knowledge on how the kitchen generally cooks this item. This may seem very small, which it is, but when all of these different aspects of the restaurant work coherently it is much more effective for everyone involved.

Biography

I was born in 1998 at Lions gate hospital. I have lived my whole life up until now in North Vancouver and I am hoping to continue with that, although living here seems to be becoming less and less affordable. I went to public school at Brooksbank Elementary and then Sutherland Secondary school. Up until the end of high school I felt like things came to me quite easily and I had it pretty good. I have always been more on the shy side of things, but I have never had an issue with making friends.

Sports have always been a passion of mine, and it has been something I have excelled at. I used to play soccer, softball, volleyball, hockey, and I used to love going dirt biking whenever I could. I never cared much for school, and although I didn’t get bad grades I was a very average student.

At the beginning of my grade 11 year I was playing for my soccer at a high level and hoping for a scholarship when I tore my ACL. I had never been injured before and I had no idea what tearing your ACL meant and what kind of recovery it would entail. I went to my physio to see what the next steps would be and I was told that surgery was necessary if I wanted to be anywhere near as mobile as I was before my injury. A month later I underwent surgery feeling optimistic. It was a solid month before I even had the ability to walk. I began going to physio 5-6 times a week to speed up my recovery, hoping to be able to play my last year of soccer with my team. Eleven months later I was given the go ahead to go back to my first practise. Halfway through my first practise back I slipped and fully re-tore my ACL which put me back to square one.

I realize that this does not seem like the end of the world, but to me, at this point in my life, it was. This experience was a huge learning curve for me in more ways than one. I was forced to find happiness in other ways, and to keep myself busy in other ways. Sports was my passion and kept me very busy. Nothing in school had really caught my interest but after this I had no choice but to focus on school. My first semester at Capilano University was definitely a struggle to say the least, but by the second semester I had caught the hang of things. I discovered sociology, which is a subject that has sparked my interest, from the versatility of the courses to the relatability of the subject material. I am in my third year of university, with the plan of getting a bachelor of arts. Hopefully after my bachelors I will head to SFU to finish the PDP program with the goal of being an elementary school teacher.

During my journey through university I believe my worldview has broadened as I become more educated to other people’s beliefs, cultures and world events. Worldview is a set of fundamental beliefs, values, etc. determining or constituting a comprehensive outlook on the world; a perspective on life; (oxford). For example, I have heard so many individuals discuss technology in a negative way, but I have a different viewpoint on the subject. Technology gives us an opportunity to be so much more successful than we could have been before. Everyday I see examples of how technology has improved our way of living. For instance, I work at cactus club as a server, we recently got iPads for every server to use, so while we are at the table we can ring in everything that the table orders. There are modifications already inputted on the iPad making it easier for us as servers and making it more clear and consistent for the kitchen staff. Technology is used in every aspect of my day to day life. This e-portfolio is a perfect example of how technology is so important and can be used to assist in further education and employment.
As for interdisciplinary studies I have no previous experience. I think it will definitely be a challenge for myself because I like to follow strict guidelines and very clear instructions. Due to this fact I have always struggled with independent self based projects. I hope that this course can help me to expand my studies and open up my creative side because I think that it is a really interesting concept to be able to specify and study exactly what interests you the most. Although I am in third year university, I feel that I am still in early stages of learning what interests me scholastically. I am hoping that this this course helps me to develop ideas of what are most relatable and interesting to me.