What are paradigms? What is a paradigm shift? Have you had one? Why is it important for teachers to experience paradigm change?

A paradigm is the “lens” through which you view the world. They are like invisible glasses. Everything that you see through them is tainted with your beliefs, ideals, and experiences. Paradigms let you see the world as only you would be able to, representing your reality in a way that is understood by you. A paradigm shift arises when a person is no longer happy with or has changed the way they see themselves, others, or situations. During a paradigm shift you are taking your old lenses, or invisible glasses, and having the prescription changed. You no longer see the world through that paradigm, and decide it is time for a fresh look. You are shifting the way you see the world, and creating another lens in which to look through that better fulfills your needs. Fortunately, I can truly appreciate the assigned reading because I am currently going through a paradigm shift myself. I wasn’t necessarily unhappy with my life, but I grew restless with my existence. There are so many things I pictured for myself and began to think, “What am I waiting for?” I came to the understanding that all of my dreams weren’t going to magically happen, that if there is something I wanted I would need to go out there and get it. I want to create a healthier, more positive self image, I want to be financially stable, and I want to live a more creative life. I want all those things and more. Does that make me greedy? No, because I know that to achieve all of those things it is going to take me a lot of time and dedication. But that is a reasonable price to pay when learning to live the life I have always wanted to lead. When reading the portion on the personal paradigm shift, I was fully aware of what was being discussed. I saw myself in those passages. This strengthened the belief I have in myself to change, and made it all the more clear that this change will happen for me. As a teacher, this paradigm change is very important because you need to be able to see the broader scope of things, even if that means changing your own lenses every once in a while. And through your own ability of being able to see the big picture, students, especially the young ones, will want to share in your vision of the world. Students, I believe, go through the most paradigm shifts of all the people that make up this world. Every day they learn something new that adds or changes the way they see the world. As a teacher, we must understand the way their paradigms function. Knowing how our students envision the world is an extremely important skill to have. Being able to understand what they see can help us better understand how to teach them.