You may think you know it but...
Today was a rather slow day for me. I was pretty sluggish and I wondered whether I would get to Friday. (Yes, yesterday was Monday). I even had myself mix up my classes, but thank God, I missed none of them.
Every Tuesday, I dread going for one class that will remain unmentioned because I am still taking it, and I do not want to mention names and class hours, lest something happens to me or my grade. Every time before this class, (well, I have noticed since the beginning of the semester) my mood is not very good. I am quiet and reserved, I do not want to talk as much as i do, and I am to some extent quite irritable.
Last week but one, I had a test for this class. It was TERRIBLE. (Pardon my shouting). We were supposed to identify a couple of things and give some information about them and I was failing! I decided not to feel too bad about it, so immediately the test time came to an end, I handed in the paper and let whatever happen happen.
This week, we were getting the papers back. The grade I got was not as bad as I thought it would be so I was a bit encouraged by that. However, that is not why I was writing this.
We had to write a paper before we took the mid term exam that most of us did not-so-well in. I struggled writing it because the writing style here is different from back home. The format at home is the APA format of writing while here it is the MLA format. (I am still trying to grasp the difference between the two therefore I will not explain it right now.) Anyway, I wrote the paper and handed it in. When I got it back today, I got a grade that was...well, lets just say, I have never received a grade like that whenever I wrote a paper.
Class went on as usual, and in the back of my mind I kept wondering why I got that grade...
'I mean! I know how to talk, and I write in my journal, and I can communicate my ideas well on a paper.'
It turned out that I was not the only one thinking that way. The lady next to me turned to me and said,
" You know what is strange?"
"What?" I replied
"I am a published writer and that means I can write really well, and all I could get was this grade?" (grade withheld for security reasons)
"Really?!" I replied, trying to get in sync with her emotions, and trying to hide the surprise on my face at the fact that she was a published writer.
After we whispered for a bit, I thought to myself,
"So much for my journal writing. She is a published writer and she got that grade!!!Ah well, maybe I can repeat this paper and get a better grade. I should ask the teacher about that."
When class was done, I walked up to the teacher, but before I got to him/her,(gender withheld for security reasons) there was someone who was ten times more furious than my side desk mate and I combined!
This person had a great case to present: they had written many papers before and aced all of them, written lots of literal materials and gotten great evaluations on them and most of all, this person knew( not the word knew) that he/she was a good writer, and they got that grade?!!!(grade withheld for security reasons)
This person was so mad! They wanted an answer there and then! No sooner, no later! It was like as though they wanted to bang the table just to emphasize the emotions that they felt. I felt the anger blaring out of them as they had their hands akimbo and they looked at the lecturer right in the eye. The lecturer was really nice about it, replied in a kind way and the person stormed off. That was the lesson for me right there!
I am reading a book by the name 'The Music Lesson' by Victor Wooten, and today I read a chapter where Victor is taught about timing by a young 11 year old boy. Those who have heard of Victor Wooten know that he is a phenomenal bass guitar player, and the thought of being taught by an 11 year old is kind of embarrassing to mention. He even mentions feeling a bit strange at first. (Get the book. Its great!) However, the child gets to teach him something that he needed to learn-timing.
As I walked from class to the dorm, it hit me that at times we may think that we know something so well, that we either
However, good you and I think we may be at whatever we think we are good at, everyone has their own opinion, and that is something worth learning from.
I am not saying that everything that people say is correct, but there is something that you and I can get out of what people say. We can get to see the way they reason, or actually get a point that will change our lives forever. (Hopefully in a good way). Sometimes, we may think we know, but do we really have that much knowledge that there is no space for more?..hmmm. Am learning...
Ama Kweli.
Mwalimu.
Every Tuesday, I dread going for one class that will remain unmentioned because I am still taking it, and I do not want to mention names and class hours, lest something happens to me or my grade. Every time before this class, (well, I have noticed since the beginning of the semester) my mood is not very good. I am quiet and reserved, I do not want to talk as much as i do, and I am to some extent quite irritable.
Last week but one, I had a test for this class. It was TERRIBLE. (Pardon my shouting). We were supposed to identify a couple of things and give some information about them and I was failing! I decided not to feel too bad about it, so immediately the test time came to an end, I handed in the paper and let whatever happen happen.
This week, we were getting the papers back. The grade I got was not as bad as I thought it would be so I was a bit encouraged by that. However, that is not why I was writing this.
We had to write a paper before we took the mid term exam that most of us did not-so-well in. I struggled writing it because the writing style here is different from back home. The format at home is the APA format of writing while here it is the MLA format. (I am still trying to grasp the difference between the two therefore I will not explain it right now.) Anyway, I wrote the paper and handed it in. When I got it back today, I got a grade that was...well, lets just say, I have never received a grade like that whenever I wrote a paper.
Class went on as usual, and in the back of my mind I kept wondering why I got that grade...
'I mean! I know how to talk, and I write in my journal, and I can communicate my ideas well on a paper.'
It turned out that I was not the only one thinking that way. The lady next to me turned to me and said,
" You know what is strange?"
"What?" I replied
"I am a published writer and that means I can write really well, and all I could get was this grade?" (grade withheld for security reasons)
"Really?!" I replied, trying to get in sync with her emotions, and trying to hide the surprise on my face at the fact that she was a published writer.
After we whispered for a bit, I thought to myself,
"So much for my journal writing. She is a published writer and she got that grade!!!Ah well, maybe I can repeat this paper and get a better grade. I should ask the teacher about that."
When class was done, I walked up to the teacher, but before I got to him/her,(gender withheld for security reasons) there was someone who was ten times more furious than my side desk mate and I combined!
This person had a great case to present: they had written many papers before and aced all of them, written lots of literal materials and gotten great evaluations on them and most of all, this person knew( not the word knew) that he/she was a good writer, and they got that grade?!!!(grade withheld for security reasons)
This person was so mad! They wanted an answer there and then! No sooner, no later! It was like as though they wanted to bang the table just to emphasize the emotions that they felt. I felt the anger blaring out of them as they had their hands akimbo and they looked at the lecturer right in the eye. The lecturer was really nice about it, replied in a kind way and the person stormed off. That was the lesson for me right there!
I am reading a book by the name 'The Music Lesson' by Victor Wooten, and today I read a chapter where Victor is taught about timing by a young 11 year old boy. Those who have heard of Victor Wooten know that he is a phenomenal bass guitar player, and the thought of being taught by an 11 year old is kind of embarrassing to mention. He even mentions feeling a bit strange at first. (Get the book. Its great!) However, the child gets to teach him something that he needed to learn-timing.
As I walked from class to the dorm, it hit me that at times we may think that we know something so well, that we either
- do not want to get better at it,
- do not feel the need to get negative feedback about it or,
- do not need to know from someone else what we can do to improve it, because we already 'know' we are good!
However, good you and I think we may be at whatever we think we are good at, everyone has their own opinion, and that is something worth learning from.
I am not saying that everything that people say is correct, but there is something that you and I can get out of what people say. We can get to see the way they reason, or actually get a point that will change our lives forever. (Hopefully in a good way). Sometimes, we may think we know, but do we really have that much knowledge that there is no space for more?..hmmm. Am learning...
Ama Kweli.
Mwalimu.
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