Toms Gelpers, Grade 11
UWC Mahindra
My first English class at MUWCI started off with a bold statement: as we embark on this learning journey, we should be ready to unlearn. I knew I should have an open mind towards diverse perspectives and opinions I might face, but this was the first time when learning was connected to something so deeply buried in the mind. How is it possible to unlearn? Isn't it a tediously lengthy process?
Inevitably, our knowledge, beliefs, values and attitudes are shaped by the information we have been exposed throughout our life. We look for something that explains the complicated nature of the world. Perhaps, this is a way we as humans seek comfort: the Covid-19 pandemic has shown just how much humans dislike and get stressed by uncertainty. Even for skills or knowledge, we say we feel confident in something when we feel we have learned enough to understand how it functions. By this logic, unlearning could be a position of discomfort, a process where one has to confront their beliefs or knowledge acquired in the past, a process by which one becomes more aware and develops a better understanding of the world.
Being at a UWC puts students in a great position for unlearning. UWC is not only ethnically diverse; it houses an exceptional diversity of worldviews, political and religious beliefs, and opinions. It provides magnificent opportunities to explore this diversity, mostly by conversations and direct interactions. Those could include sharing spaces, taking part in mutual activities and discussing topics during classes, even chatting by cafeteria tables. This reveals the more human side of unlearning – humans often absorb knowledge in their specific information space, and by removing the social barrier, emotionally deeper connections can be achieved along with fresh and novel insights and opinions.
As it turned out, English classes at MUWCI were just and exactly that. MUWCI (or the bigger UWC movement for that matter) is by no means a liberal brainwashing institution; it is one where students have the chance to shape and evaluate their own and others' beliefs, to challenge themselves by synthesizing new ideas and connections, and to get to know the world better. I grew eager to listen to discussions during English, whether they were about 1950s America, protest art, persuasive advertisements and toxic characteristics in all kinds of texts. Sometimes, I even built up the courage to share my own thoughts and insights. Once, I talked about female dependency on painkillers during periods, trying to make a logical point quickly enough. Did my statement get some backlash from the nearly all-female class? A little. Did it push me to test my statement, considering points I still wanted to defend and new things I found out? Yes, absolutely.
Influences of our identity on our beliefs and opinions ring true in many situations where people exchange thoughts, and this is something my takeaways from MUWCI English classes have taught me. Just like there is an importance to the emotional background when analyzing authors of literary texts, not every statement in public can be categorically judged "white or black". Say, I no longer question why my mum doesn't trust the media. I think of her having grown up in the totalitarian Soviet Union, where she faced spurious propaganda from state media every day. Just like with people afraid of dogs, for example, it takes energy to confront the beliefs that have been there for many years, based on experience in the past. It takes a lot to push for personal beliefs to change, but it is a rewarding experience.
And this is also where the UWC mission statement holds up. By making UWC have these conversations and transformative experiences, it gives many of us the push to approach, question, understand and evaluate the beliefs we hold in our daily lives. These beliefs often change by understanding others, and they truly contribute to a better world by promoting mutual understanding and compassion.
For me, the English classes at MUWCI will remind me not only about intriguing discussions on authors, texts and society at large; they will always keep reminding how important it is to be ready to let go of certain beliefs. Heliocentrism didn't rise at an instant; neither is riding a backwards bicycle easy to get used to. After all, the less one is held back by the past or stereotypes, the fewer preconceptions or expectations one has, the easier it is to adjust. However, it is all about us being ready to face conflicting narratives, getting used to something new. We should be the ones to decide what to do with all the information we get. And at times, nothing is better than a spontaneous ride on a Trans-Siberian Express to discover something new, face new beginnings and, perhaps, hit restart.
Inevitably, our knowledge, beliefs, values and attitudes are shaped by the information we have been exposed throughout our life. We look for something that explains the complicated nature of the world. Perhaps, this is a way we as humans seek comfort: the Covid-19 pandemic has shown just how much humans dislike and get stressed by uncertainty. Even for skills or knowledge, we say we feel confident in something when we feel we have learned enough to understand how it functions. By this logic, unlearning could be a position of discomfort, a process where one has to confront their beliefs or knowledge acquired in the past, a process by which one becomes more aware and develops a better understanding of the world.
Being at a UWC puts students in a great position for unlearning. UWC is not only ethnically diverse; it houses an exceptional diversity of worldviews, political and religious beliefs, and opinions. It provides magnificent opportunities to explore this diversity, mostly by conversations and direct interactions. Those could include sharing spaces, taking part in mutual activities and discussing topics during classes, even chatting by cafeteria tables. This reveals the more human side of unlearning – humans often absorb knowledge in their specific information space, and by removing the social barrier, emotionally deeper connections can be achieved along with fresh and novel insights and opinions.
As it turned out, English classes at MUWCI were just and exactly that. MUWCI (or the bigger UWC movement for that matter) is by no means a liberal brainwashing institution; it is one where students have the chance to shape and evaluate their own and others' beliefs, to challenge themselves by synthesizing new ideas and connections, and to get to know the world better. I grew eager to listen to discussions during English, whether they were about 1950s America, protest art, persuasive advertisements and toxic characteristics in all kinds of texts. Sometimes, I even built up the courage to share my own thoughts and insights. Once, I talked about female dependency on painkillers during periods, trying to make a logical point quickly enough. Did my statement get some backlash from the nearly all-female class? A little. Did it push me to test my statement, considering points I still wanted to defend and new things I found out? Yes, absolutely.
Influences of our identity on our beliefs and opinions ring true in many situations where people exchange thoughts, and this is something my takeaways from MUWCI English classes have taught me. Just like there is an importance to the emotional background when analyzing authors of literary texts, not every statement in public can be categorically judged "white or black". Say, I no longer question why my mum doesn't trust the media. I think of her having grown up in the totalitarian Soviet Union, where she faced spurious propaganda from state media every day. Just like with people afraid of dogs, for example, it takes energy to confront the beliefs that have been there for many years, based on experience in the past. It takes a lot to push for personal beliefs to change, but it is a rewarding experience.
And this is also where the UWC mission statement holds up. By making UWC have these conversations and transformative experiences, it gives many of us the push to approach, question, understand and evaluate the beliefs we hold in our daily lives. These beliefs often change by understanding others, and they truly contribute to a better world by promoting mutual understanding and compassion.
For me, the English classes at MUWCI will remind me not only about intriguing discussions on authors, texts and society at large; they will always keep reminding how important it is to be ready to let go of certain beliefs. Heliocentrism didn't rise at an instant; neither is riding a backwards bicycle easy to get used to. After all, the less one is held back by the past or stereotypes, the fewer preconceptions or expectations one has, the easier it is to adjust. However, it is all about us being ready to face conflicting narratives, getting used to something new. We should be the ones to decide what to do with all the information we get. And at times, nothing is better than a spontaneous ride on a Trans-Siberian Express to discover something new, face new beginnings and, perhaps, hit restart.
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