To what extent does the educational paradigm you have been placed into effect what you know

and how you know it? Depending on the school paradigm in which an individual is part of, ones outlook and understanding on life can vary. Different curriculums offer diverse courses and depending on which level of schooling one is in, their teachers may teach a slightly limited syllabus so that the students are able to comprehend. We often take these facts that are taught to us as truth, with little contemplation or further prodding. As students, we take in an abundance of knowledge on a daily basis, yet due to this quantity we have little time to process, refine and discover in our own time. Without this deeper understanding we are unable to refute our teachers and contend with the nature of the facts they are force-feeding us. Similarly to students, teachers are the authority figures indiscriminately dispensing knowledge, and, as psychologist Stanley Milgram discovered, many sane people will follow authority figures blindly, despite recognizing ethical or knowledgeable wrong-doings. This may also be the reason few students will point out incorrect phrases or answers that teachers may utter, especially in the beginning of the year in a new environment. Of course these will soon start to be pointed out to the teacher if, for example in math, the teacher states 4 yet the answer is -4. For this reason I think it is important that as students mature they are seen on a more parallel level as the teachers; it allows thought-provoking discussions and lessens the fear of contradiction to a theory one does not support or a statement one disagrees with. (This is done effectively in UWCSEA with the privilege of first name basis we earn as white shirts). Individuals all have different internal opinions (after all thats what qualifies us as individuals) so it is entirely unrealistic that every person would see all things said by teachers as correct; yet the occurrence of a contradiction is close to minimal. This means that the teachers instruct in a way that reflects their own bias on the topics. In Spanish class words may be learned differently from class to class even in the same school, as one teacher may be from Argentina and have one way to say phrases which is different from another teacher explaining how to say them in the Catalonian dialect. Somehow as humans, we tend to be trusting to an almost nave level where we believe too much. The phrase dont believe everything you read and hear is not bad advice. I think we often need to take a more critical and proactive approach where we test out the knowledge we are given, rather than being forced to regurgitate, word for word, answers to a board of judgers who dont even know us. If the tone of the previous sentence was not indicative enough, the education paradigm that UWCSEA teaches us allows me to recognize the things about schooling that I do not necessarily agree with. If in our school mission statement the board has explicitly expressed that their alumni should posses personal responsibility and integrity, then how exactly does the exam system that International Baccalaureate mandates, work to produce these type of students if the exams are based on a virtually black and white, either correct or incorrect grading system? On the other hand, the harshness of the educational system we belong to allows us to come to the realization that Plus est en vous There is more in you than you think, words said by Kurt Hahn, the founder of the UWC movement. I think that without this constant pressure implanted in us because of the commotion of education and extra curriculars, despite the stress and manic days that we sometimes have, its those days where personal development occurs. This is one trait that is transferrable to many tasks we should expect to face in upcoming years, and contributes to our Emotional Quotient (EQ). To add to the EQ part of the college, the service emphasis is crucial, as it not only helps us to be considerate and charitable but it also opens our eyes to the privileged lifestyle that we lead in comparison to others, and how we can use this to our advantage to help those less unfortunate.

In the educational paradigm I belong to there are things I don't like, (the abundant stress, the mock exam for the mock exam, the regurgitation), and previously in my iGCSE years I was incredibly resentful of the system as a whole and felt oppressed, with the heat too, with even the fact of living in Singapore anymore. However, coming out on the other end of this bitter indignation, I feel the school has made me a more resilient person because of the tribulations I have endured. I now know that I am able to persevere through any difficulties that life may fling at me. As for how this allows me to know what I know, this self discovery may seem trivial to some. But being a 16 year old, my life is concentric around school and I have yet to know what I know about life, as my journey is still in its early stages.