Reflections on Chapters 1 – 3
Going through the three first chapters of Zwiers’s book was an enlightening re-visit to my own educational experiences. Chapter 1 made me realize the contribution of the social context in which I was raised to the development of my academic knowledge. It was certainly revealing to find out that the stage of academic thinking I have reached is only possible because of the social, cultural, knowledge, and linguistic capital that I acquired outside of the school environment. In turn, by precisely defining what academic language is, Chapter 2 allowed me to identify my academic capacity amongst other personal traits, and so recall which were the influences of my schooling in shaping them. Finally, Chapter 3 enabled me to recognize which strategies my educators used to stimulate my development.
The information provided in the chapters empowered me to look back to my past critically and understand the purposes and implications of many situations I have lived. Thus, I was able to attribute meaning to these situations, and hence resuscitate numerous memories that were in the “useless data sector” of my brain, such as some old teacher’s explanation or some family games we used to play. These memories will be important guidance to my professional practice, since they constitute significant references that I can either emulate or avoid throughout my teaching career.
Vitor Giberti