A year ago, my son and daughter (9 and 7 years old) asked me, daddy is there any portal in this world for us to go to another dimension?\u00a0Then the next question that surprised me quite a bit was, daddy, is there any portal in the world for us to go to heaven and meet Jesus?\u00a0I was amazed and did not expect they would ask me those questions.\u00a0I am just wondering what made them think of asking that question.\u00a0I guess that was because they frequently watch shows on the internet and today’s games that show that there is a process of human movement from one place (dimensional?) to another in the twinkling of an eye so that this movement brings people completely new experiences and knowledge.<\/p>\n
When I read Meyer and Land’s book, I was surprised at how they compared the threshold concept to a portal that transforms the way a person sees, understands, and interprets something toward a new understanding that was previously difficult to access (Meyer and Land, 3).\u00a0There are five characteristics of the threshold concept described by Meyer and Land. I will mention two of it. The first character is transformative (Meyer and Land, 7). Once a person understands something will bring himself to a significant change in the way he sees, understands, and does something. A good example Coven provides in this regard is learning to drive a car. Someone who initially cannot drive a vehicle and when he learns he must understand many technical things related to how to drive a car as well as understand the situation on the road where he is. Someone must learn to bring himself above all ignorance, fear, and anxiety. Once someone understands and masters how to drive a car on the road, there will be a transformation within him. The next character is irreversible (Meyer and Land, 7). Someone who already understands and masters how to drive a car on the road will not be able to return to a position of understanding where he does not know anything about it. That is what Coven also said, a teacher has difficulty empathizing with his students who still haven’t crossed the concept threshold.<\/p>\n
Reading Meyer and Land’s writings and watching Coven then brought me to a fundamental question, am I still in a cave and enjoying being in it without wanting to find a “portal” to get out of there? To some degree, I admit that I am there! This can be seen when I first formulated my NPO, I was stuck to provide solutions right away rather than learning to understand what the real problem was and what my stakeholders needed. My passion is to help husbands and wives to strengthen their marriages. But on the other hand, my knowledge is still limited.\u00a0 I think I’m the one who is just about to learn how to drive a car on the highway.<\/p>\n
I do have to learn a lot and also learn fast to achieve the target I want for my NPO. However, I also have to be aware of the ‘psychological vertigo’ syndrome so that it will only make me trapped to do ‘mimicry’ and experience a ‘lack of authenticity’ (Jennifer Booth in Meyer and Land, 177). Of course, there is anxiety in me at this time. I am still trying to reach the portal and pass it. I have to do it. It is a commitment. For that, I learned from this book some important things from the perspective of a student. For example, not only learn to understand how other people think about something but think as that person thinks. (Land, et al, in Meyer and Land, 199). Regarding the whole process in this study program and the topic of NPOs, I also need to listen using the ‘third ear’ to understand well (Land, et al, in Meyer and Land, 199-200). During my study in this program and during my NPO project which discussed marital enrichment, I also learned a lot and heard a lot. The important thing that I also learned is understanding the threshold concept not only talking about cognitive shift but also repositioning oneself concerning the subject (Land, et al, in Meyer and Land, 200). As said by Meyer and Land: “as students acquire threshold concepts, and extend their use of language concerning these concepts, there also occurs a shift in the learner’s subjectivity, a repositioning of the self. [. . .] What is being emphasized here is the interrelatedness of the learner’s identity with thinking and language. The threshold concept leads not only to transformed thoughts but to a transformation of identity and adoption of an extended discourse” (Land, et al, in Meyer and Land, 200).<\/p>\n
Language, culture, and the educational system differences I’m facing in this study might be barriers for me to pass through the portal. I should motivate and push myself to the limits of my abilities to overcome those barriers and through the portal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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