Hey readers!

As I settle into my first few weeks at the beautiful University of British Columbia, I can feel myself beginning to lose my high school learning mentality. For all the first years reading this, I hope you can relate. Up until this point, my learning career consisted of teachers who knew exactly who I was and where I came from. They understood my weaknesses and aided me in developing my strengths. However, once I arrived to my first lecture at UBC I realized that I was in very unfamiliar territory. My teachers have turned into Professors and my high school has turned into a world class university. Rather than being surrounded by teenagers who only showed up because their parents dropped them off, I am surrounded by some of the most intelligent minds in the world. If that’s not intimidating then I don’t know what is.

Currently in my ASTU course we are looking at an academic essay written by Farhat Shahzad from the University of Ottawa. Shahzad’s essay demonstrates the integral role that “interpretive communities” play in the process of how we remember and learn. Shahzad discusses that learning is not just limited to the classroom but rather it happens “within a highly diverse network of communities.” These communities can include religious organizations, cultural groups, friends and family. Shahzad, being a scholar in education, is interested in exploring the stance that educators must take to better aid their students ability to learn considering each and every one of them come with a different perspective. Originally, upon reading this article, I believed that educators should attempt to cater to their students previous beliefs and perspectives due to the interpretive communities in which they originate. I then recalled what my Sociology Professor told my class the very first day: “if you are not unsettled, you are not learning.” This one statement has lead me on an adventure of thoughts. As a student, I desire that each of my classrooms is a safe space for learning, but I do not believe that atmosphere necessarily entails having my perspectives catered. This is because I don’t consider my learning experience to be enhanced by my professor affirming ‘facts’ that I have acquired through other interpretive communities. There is nothing more engaging than being respectfully challenged, this process allows one to stand up for what they believe in and, if they are lucky enough, have their opinion changed.

I trust that all of us first years have come to the University of British Columbia with open minds that are waiting to be confronted. To me, that idea is thrilling and daunting. I cannot wait to indulge in debates and hear concepts that will unsettle my innermost thoughts and cause me to reflect on the influences that have held essential roles in my life. I did not come here to have my hand held; I came to be stimulated and shut down, I came to alter my personal perspectives and become more aware of the authentic world around me. I came to be changed.

Cheers!

Devon Coady