Thoughts on Reader 2

Before reading reader 2 I wasn't sure how to go about writing the journal in a professional sense. I have kept journals sporadically through school but they just ended up being about the latest drama, so I wasn't sure how to keep it professional and use it as a reflective tool. The Reader has made me feel a lot more confident with how to go about starting my reflective journal.

I really liked the question it posed to us on pg10 'What ideas do you like? Think about why?' I thought I would share mine with you and see what you think?

The idea of tacit knowledge that is touched on briefly at the end of the previous section intrigued me. I think this idea applies to more artists over scholars as there are movements and deeper ideas that can be harder to put in to words but for a dancer/artist can be portrayed easier though movement, drawings etc. I like this idea because I often find that I struggle to explain ideas or thoughts and so use movement to help. I find not having the correct word to explain what I am trying to say very aggravating, however, I think that comes from being a perfectionist as I won't be happy until I find the right way of explaining myself. I think I have to learn that using the exact word or phrase is is not always important as long as the idea or concept is put across clearly so the other person understands. From reading in to the next section of the reader my view changed from being satisfied with using movement as an explanation as I came to understand and agree that it is important to be able to 'articulate tacit knowledge'  as well as being able to put it in to artistic form. This comes from knowing that different interpretations can be taken from the art form which is great as it can be the start form for new ideas or concepts but as the sole creator we need to be able to verbalise our starting point and how the idea grew for us. 

The one thing I didn't understand in the section under 'Articulation of Reflective Practice' was the concept that the idea was only 'real' when put into word from. It is an still an idea no matter what form it is in, yes, verbalising it helps others to understand the concept but the idea is still real. Please correct me if you think I am wrong or help me to understand why it is written this way?

I did find the chapter taken from 'Promoting Journal Writing in Adult Education' (English and Gillen, 2001) very helpful as it seemed to condense and lay out clearly how journal writing is beneficial stating what we could put in our journal to help our personal critical reflection. I liked that it pinpointed that 'the conditions under which journal writing takes place can have a powerful influence on what is produced and the extent to which writers can engage in critical reflection.' Personally, I find it difficult to write my true thoughts if i know some one is going to read it, I tend to censor what I write and think about what they would want to see written rather than how i truly see a situation. This gave me the confidence just to write everything so i can get a true reflection of ho wi feel and then if i need to use extracts for other purposes I can censor it after if need be.