Every time I look at the calendar it shocks me to see how fast the year has passed and how the end of the year is getting closer and closer. There is only about one month and a half left of school and this is when I start to look back and reflect into a year full of new experiences. It all started back in August 2nd. 2015, it wasn’t only my first day of being a sophomore but it was the beginning of a new way of life. It was the beginning of a different academic experience, I was staring Innovation Academy. I can still recall when my older sister Andrea entered the program and watching her being so passionate and into what she was working on while I was constantly overwhelmed and disliking school. This is the main reason why I decided to apply in the first place, I realised that the MYP system wasn't the most effective system of learning for me. At first I didnt know excatly what IA was about. But soon I learn that it was a different and challenging approach to learning. There where new terms and ideas that I discovered. For example, I didn’t know what autonomy really meant since I had never experienced it before but after the first month I was able to see what it really meant and definitely changed the way I saw learning. During our first project, photo exhibition I believe it is a perfect example of what hands on learning is all about. This project was all about reaching and going beyond our comfort zone or knowledge, so to do this we chose a current issue in Lima and delve deep into it so later we could document the issue through photography. So what does hands on learning mean? I believe this quote says it all; “From the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” what it means is that we learn from experiences and actually doing things rather than just sitting down in a class and staring at a book. For instance while learning about photography we went to Barranco and learned to use a DSLR digital camera by going out and taking the pictures instead of staying in school and learning by looking at videos or something else. For me that was one of the had on learning experience that really are valuable and show what this program is a about. By going out there and taking pictures I remembered walking through the aisles of the market and talking to people to get to know them and later ask if we could take pictures. I have discovered that a picture is not just clicking the shutter but telling a story. This is something I had never done before. Another new concept I have learned during this year is Experiential Learning, which is the idea of immersing oneself in a subject and experience the ideas in real world activities or issues, in other words learn through experiences. I have found that for me is the most effective way to not only gain deep knowledge on a subject but enjoy what I am doing. For instance, last semester in our deep dive project I was able to learn and experience so many aspects about real life well beyond what I thought I could learn from school. During the project we didn't only have to investigate about our issue and capture pictures with our camera, but we also had the challenge to plan a public exhibition to show our work. I was part of the organising committee and although it was extra work at the end I was so amazed at seeing how a group of students were able to organize and put together a whole photography exhibition. This unique experience is one out of many that I have had throughout this year and even currently we are working on creating a magazine which is a total different challenge but the same experimental learning that will stay and benefit us in the future.
I believe that in this new age of information and technology, the way we learn must also change so that we can adapt to the multiple sources of information and ideas that come around. I think is useless to learn by memorising or by only studying theory. In this new world where knowledge is stored and ideas are advancing at an accelerated pace you must be able to develop research skills, work with multiple groups and experience concepts in real life. This is the real power behind the IA Program.
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While reading through an article my dad shared with me the other day, there was one phrase that stucked with me and kept me thinking, "Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated". When I first read it, I didn’t pay much attention to it but as I advanced through the text I realised that one important idea started to sink in. Why? I don’t know but it kept on coming to my mind. Why was it so hard for me to understand what it really meant? After reading it again one more time I realised that the phrase was basically talking to me. We are so used to see people saying “life is hard”, “you will suffer, it’s tough not easy” and we come into believing that life is hard and no matter how smart, rich, popular or great person you are, you will always find a reason to be unhappy or to create a problem where there is none. It’s not that life is hard but it’s us who complicate our lives and decide to make our lives harder and lose the fun of living. Its true that there is pressure to be a good student, getting admission to a good university, having the best job, but we don’t realise that getting those things will not guarantee our happiness. Even worse, by trying to get those things we make our life miserable and take away everything that really matters to become happy. This is exactly why my head was so attached to this sentence, it’s because I’m so connect to it. Right now I am in a stage of my life where I am finishing high school and staring to think about my future, honestly am staring to get scared and stressed out. Naturally I am already a nervous person so you can imagine how this added pressure is starting to get to me. So times the pressure is so high trying to make the right decisions that I get emotionally blocked and physically sick. Later on, I begin to question myself weather I took the right decision so vicious cycle starts and I feel I’m falling into a hole. This is when I came to realise how the true meaning of this article which says that at some point you should let go because you can not control every situation or outcome you seek. The important thing is to do things where you feel comfortable but always build a plan, set priorities and develop an attitude that you should always give your best effort. To achieve this I will use a planer app which I will have in my laptop, room and phone called "Planner -Calendar & Organizer”. In this app I will annotate all of the work I have to get done and all the due dates in a more specific way but also I will put a date in which I have to finish the work before the due date, this way I have extra time to check it or work on it better. Also by doing this I will allow during things last minute and avoiding getting stressed.
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