The Monthly Newsletter
Issue 121 | December, 2015 | www.ei-india.com
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Student’s Zone
COVER Story Self-Awareness in a World of Constant Chatter Technology and self-awareness can seem incompatible. In fact, mobile devices often prevent us from seeing what’s right before us.
Self-awareness helps us to see ourselves as uniquely different from other people. It involves knowing our own minds, feelings, bodies, and sensations enough to promote and sustain physical, social, and emotional health. Through reflection, we gain self-awareness and make meaning from our experiences.
On a recent trip to a shopping mall, I watched a group of eight teenage friends, each silently using their cell phones. Suddenly, one of the boys embarrassingly collided with a girl, as he was texting while walking. The teens laughed and returned to their At adolescence, the young need private conversations. moments of silence to reflect on their experiences - to discover who It’s mind boggling to imagine how they are as individuals, what kind of many conversations were happening relationships they desire, and what while those eight teens walked they value and believe about life. through the shopping mall. When do Tuning out the noisy world would young people find time to develop help develop the ability to reflect and self-awareness, to silently reflect on grow. who they are in a world of constant chatter?” How to Foster Self-Awareness in Childhood and Adolescence Why Silence can be Golden Taken from Dewey’s work on We should encourage children to learning, here are four ways to explore silent spaces as selfencourage a child’s ability to make awareness is vital to human meaning from their experiences: development and learning. John Dewey, a renowned psychologist and 1. Invite conversations that ask kids education reformer, claimed that the to go deeper, rather than talking only about the surface of experiences. ability to perceive and then weave How did that experience make you meaning from our experiences is feel? What were you feeling in your critical.
body? Anxiety? Fear? Exhilaration? What does that say to you? 2. Explore a child’s attitudes and self-awareness that resulted from a particular experience. When adults challenge young people’s assumptions, it encourages them to think more deeply about their choices.
awareness! 4. Talk about self-responsibility. Dewey examined the link between how we think, feel, and act. Being responsible implies that we are acting on meaning that is fully our own, not someone else’s.
When we engage the young in conversations encompassing the 3. Honor the validity of young above suggestions, they become people’s thoughts and feelings rather curious and desire growth, which will than judging them. Dewey says, lead them to times for silence and accepting ideas open-mindedly is not introspection. They will ignore the blind acceptance of another person’s noise of text messages, social media, way of experiencing the world, but is and nonstop activity and realize that self-awareness has a willingness to listen to different perspectives. When an adult accepts become an internal strength that will help and listens to a child’s feelings, it them navigate through allows the child to explore deeper life. meaning and increase self-
By Marilyn Price-Mitchell - Source: http://www.rootsofaction.com/self-awareness-in-world-of-chatter/(edited)