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Remember Dustin Hoffman as
“The Graduate,” floating aimlessly—and not very relaxed—in his parents’
swimming pool? He has just successfully completed his undergraduate
education—he has been “processed” through a prestigious university system
and has come through with flying colors. One small detail has been
overlooked and which he has only just realized. He has no real idea why he
went to college, having never questioned or internalized the expectation,
and now having no further system to be “processed” through, he has no idea
where he’s going.
One way to save students from
this gut clenching too-late realization is to encourage them to ask
themselves where they are going at the outset of a college career or at
the end of a high school career. The Life Vision Portfolio is
designed just for this purpose. Activities and writing prompts encourage
students to reflect on who they are and where they’ve been; appraise their
strengths, talents and desires; and set realizable goals for improvement,
leading to a realization of the vision. These self-defined goals can then
serve as the criteria used during periodic self-assessments, so not only
does the portfolio help students construct for themselves a sense of
direction, but it also encourages their development as self-growers by
providing occasions to habitually self-assess.
Significant portions of the Life
Vision Portfolio are also woven throughout
Foundations of
Learning.
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