Level 4

Very often I've thought "to what end should a student (and a person) grow?" Chapter six delineates four categories of what a student's progressions can sometimes be. "Contextual knowing" is an idea I feel as the best goal for a student and a classroom, but have never seen so astutely written or been able to explain. That this level involves weighing "facts and opinions against what they already know, judging the degree to which others can support their stance and making adjustments as they encounter new information" (p. 105) are goals I cherish as a student. This level allows for active participation in a classroom; not for believing everything a professor or textbook states as an absolute truth but merely as a point of view, however educated it might be, and comparing it to one's own truths. This being my pinnacle of what a classroom environment should to be, I think it's necessary for teachers and professors to ease students into developing an awareness about the importance of one's own viewpoints, while not discarding others', and definitely not looking as instructors as holding absolute truths when it comes to writing and analyzing literature. And these are concepts I'm learning more about in this class as being important to growth as a writer. The opinions offered by my fellow students are equally as helpful as reading the text and listening to Dr. Cauthen. Level 4, or category four, as Magolda puts it, is the Level I feel most comfortable at. What about you guys?