The I's Have Spoken

Separating the "I's" in my life are not so easy. After all, it is the lens with which I view everything around me and it is with these views that the world makes sense. However, it is with these same lenses my thoughts are subjected to only see through a narrowed tunnel.


Recently, I started thinking about tunnel vision and how it inhibits an educator's ability to progress from one school of thought to another. In this light, educators become complacent within their comfort zones and see education through a narrowed view. I never thought about my own tunnel vision as I believed that I was far removed from it all. This was until sitting down and truly self examining my motives and thought processes. My views are subjected to my past experiences.


The experential I is one of the I's I have recently identified. It clouds my judgement and causes me to limitly see my path as I connect to those who have similar experiences. For instance, I make connections to people who have gone through similar education experiences and to those who may have had similar upbringings. I identify with them because I can relate to their lives.


The experential I is not a simple I, for it is broken down into sub-groups. The sub-groups are cultural identity, religion affliation and community. They all live under the umbrella of experential as I am digging deeper into people's lives once I know that there is some kind of bond. My lens gets focused on a group rather than the whole and I miss out on the bigger picture becuase I have narrowed my focus.


It is through the initial identification and its continuance that the veil will be lifted to see not only through the specific lens, but to dig deeper into the lives of people who do not have the same experiences as I do.