I am not one for using words I would never use in ordinary conversations, but metacognition is a word that captures so much meaning in five syallables that it is worth weaving into any conversation about how and why kids—and adults— learn. Metacognition is the way we know more about ourselves: how we learn, why we learn; why we dream what we dream; why we respond the way we respond, and how we face the challenges of every day. Through metacognition we are able to know and understand our limitations (sorry, but we are limited) and our possibilities. As a teacher young teenage boys, this is pretty fascinating because so much of education tries to bypass the meta cognitive to focus on the accumulation of content and the mastery of limited and specific skills. In doing so, we separate the bird from the wing, and at least from my seat, we never get to see the bird fly. We only get to see what is on the table, not what is in the sky. We live palpably in the sea of our senses, but we are expected to shut off the better part of those senses when we learn. We attempt to bring order and symmetry to a living stream of action, and in doing so, we deplete the oxygen that keeps us alive; we accept what other people say we are, and we end up being something far removed from our dreams. Metacognition is a fancier name for a a true and honest reflection.
See what you are. See through who you are.
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