All That You Think But Cannot Say

The Power of Knowledge and its Facets and Connotations

Most of us students think that Knowledge is fundamentally based on the concept of agreeing or disagreeing of two ideas. It is an agreed fact among students that Knowledge is built as a result of interactions with the world. This knowledge is organized in a distinct manner in our individual minds .It is through knowledge that we are able to equip ourselves with   framed experience, contextual information, values and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information.

We agree with our teacher that knowledge has to have content and a purpose both working in harmony.  The content aspect of knowledge includes framed experience, contextual information, values and expert insight that we often acquire inside our classroom and through various activities outside the classrooms. Our teacher  concurs with this fact because he thinks that content part of knowledge is composed of the things that we posses within ourselves for instance experiences, values, believes, motivation, information and how we feel. It is an agreed fact between the students and the teacher that knowledge must have a function.  Most students think that the   function of knowledge is to put in place a frame work within ourselves that is employed in evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information.

The teacher also agrees to a great extend to this fact; having worked with indigenous communities here in Australia, he thinks that knowledge can be defined as the information that is meant to change somebody or something he thinks has not been realized because of barriers and various bureaucracies that have hindered student form making a difference or changing something using the knowledge that they acquire. The teacher thinks that knowledge can act as machinery that we students can employ   as a basis through which actions will unfold or and enhance our potential as individuals or an institution in executing various actions. Bu he thinks that this will be met by many challenges culture and bureaucracies that have been in play for along time and that have always dictated how knowledge should be imparted or utilized.

Regarding to the types of knowledge, there two major ones major ones that are identified by most students. These are; are explicit and tacit. We agree with the teacher when he says that explicit knowledge can be easily passed on to others.  We students also think that it is also easy to process this type of knowledge using computers and therefore can be stored in databases or can be transmitted electronically. The second type of knowledge we students concur that it is rooted in ones experience and entails factors that are not tangible for instance personal perspectives, beliefs and values. Also regarding to this type of knowledge this type of knowledge, the teacher thinks that it consists of intuitions, subjective insights and hunches. We all agree with the teacher when he says that these two forms of knowledge can be converted from one form to another through internalization, socialization, combination and externalization

Having worked with indigenous Australian for over 30 years, the teacher says through his rich experience he has come to realize that most students can be thinking about something but they cannot say it .He thinks this happens because one of the fundamental aspects of knowledge has always been suppressed for so long in our learning institutions and the society at large. All students agree with this fact because they think that it is because of lack of this aspect for that has made most students feel that they are just products of their society. To explain this fact, the teacher says that through experience he has learnt that humanity is characterized by individual nature and that the capabilities of  us student in acquiring effective knowledge that will make a difference to their lives and the whole society at large greatly depend on the degree of self expression.

Student agree with this fact because they also think that in the process of acquiring knowledge self-expression provides one with a room to improve in applying the knowledge they gain including providing solutions to problems that they may introduce. Throughout his experience with indigenous communities here in Australia, the teacher says he has come to realize that suppressing or controlling the degree of self-expression in action and thought in the process of imparting knowledge especially among students will affect creation of the very knowledge among students. We agree with this fact because we think we students at times we are forced to take in any information we are given without being given a chance to evaluate it and express our ideas.

To prevent this for instance in the class room set up, all students concur that teachers should ensure availability of a free and diversified environment  that encourages students to question any information, idea, concepts and also to express their own ideas to the knowledge they are acquiring. A teacher can do this for instance by giving the students enough time and encouraging them to ask questions concerning what they have learnt. This will help the students synthesize the information in a way that they can utilize it to bring changes to their lives society and not to feel as if they are being compelled to absorb everything without questioning its validity. The teacher agrees to this remedy, because he thinks that this can form a good basis from which we can bring transformations in the process of imparting knowledge.

We concur with the teacher on this fact because we also think that the identification of one with collective, imagery identities is always a big problem to us students. This is because we students are not given any chance to bring in new ideas or develop or question the ideas we are getting from others. The students concur with the teacher that Individuality is an important aspect that should be incorporated when imparting knowledge. From his experience the teacher says he has come to learn that different students evaluate ideas and information differently in a way that will help them realizes their personal interests. As a remedy to this problems, we all agree that this call for all stake holders especially teachers and parents  to ensure that appropriate premises are put in place in learning institutions and the society  to ensure that individuality is incorporated while imparting knowledge.

In the process of acquiring knowledge we students often come across many compounded illusions established in our institutions especially learning and political institutions. For instance the teacher says that most people tend to believe that their ideas and perspectives are objectively better and that they should extend to everyone. This means for us student we are supposed to live for others and accept their ideas and perspectives not because we desire to but because we are told to, something that the teacher says should not be allowed to happen because it undermines the very purpose of knowledge (that is, making a difference or changing something).

All students agree that this has been a great challenge to them because they are given no room to critically evaluate and question the knowledge they are gaining in a way that suits their personal interests and endeavors. This leaves us students with a lot of sentiments because we feel as if we are being controlled and fooled. The teacher thinks that this challenge has been facing student because the knowledge we students acquire is greatly shaped by the society (culture, beliefs) and the bureaucracies in play. The teacher says that through his experience he has come to realize that this limits the students' capability in acquiring knowledge and making them to live less alive according to their potential and nature of who they are. He further explains that this makes us students to feel as if we are objects which are meant to hold any information without questioning or evaluating it.

We concur with the teacher because us students also think when we are not allowed to question evaluate the information or knowledge we are acquiring according our  considered self interest, our capabilities become stunted and can always lead to problems.  The teacher tries to explain this, by saying that it is because the process of acquiring and evaluating information or knowledge is an intricate balance between different forces all which want to express themselves in our brains and if expression is limited or suppressed, it will find a way of coming out even if it is ignored or forced back.  He says from his experience with indigenous communities here in Australia he has learnt that this can be very unhealthy, destructive, and unproductive and ultimately serves to weaken an individual's potential in both acquiring and making use of the knowledge.  This also undermines the very fundamental purpose of knowledge of making a difference to one live and to the society at large.

Therefore we all think that   this unit has challenged us students to rise above these constraints and ensure that we are acquiring knowledge in away that suits our personal interest and that we can use the knowledge gained to better our lives and those of others. The students are also encouraged to uphold self-expression when learning. It is through this that we will be in a position to question the validity of the information and  the knowledge we are acquiring and incorporate new ideas. Therefore we should not absorb everything because we are told, but because we want to.  This means that students should rise to the occasion and question every information or knowledge they acquire to establish its validity and become assertive to barriers and bureaucracies that have negatively affected the process of acquiring knowledge.

Conclusion    

The process of imparting knowledge that will make difference to live is intricate more than we can think. Since each individual posses a distinct frame wok to evaluate information, ideas, concepts individuality and self expression should be uphold. This will make us students not to feel as if they are products of their societies but to feel that we are products of ourselves. This calls for all stakeholders in learning institutions to set up the appropriate premises and to ensure that the right environment is set up for students to acquire knowledge in a way that satisfies curiosities in their minds and that ensure we are given enough room to bring in our own new ideas to the information we are acquiring.