Thursday, August 7, 2014

Final stage of M.A. Mama


This blog has been inactive since the last post in March: I’ve been through one of the most critical phases of my life. The good news is it’s been educational and rewarding in terms of my personal and professional development.

Personally, I have had a breakthrough or a Eureka moment as a mum. As my daughter, Momo decided to go to a public school from her private school, my role as one of the decision-makers of her life to a financial sponsor of her project, called life. This radical shift was more nerve-wracking and challenging than I’ve imagined. I have no idea how many times I bite my tongue, literally. Whenever she looked disturbed, I had to look away to make myself zip this interfering mouth. Whenever she says her troubles aloud, I needed to tell myself not to give her any responses in my own perspectives before she reaches her won response to the issue at hand. Oh, how simple my motherhood was a few years ago in Momo’s pre-teen era. Her troubles mean her demands for my help. Within this asymmetrical relationship I can always feel powerful queen of justice and compassion. I can indulge in the role, feeling like a VIP of the entire universe.
But as soon as the little girl entered self-realizing phase of her life, she started developing critical thinking skill, which denies any interferences of her own thinking process. It was so fast development that I couldn’t follow and because of the mental gap between the mum and the daughter, constant conflicts occurred. It was the daughter who brought the concord within the conflict by stating the declaration of her independence. She even clearly stated the obligations as a parent, I must follow, including the human rights to be protected and cared physically and mentally in terms of the UN convention (http://www.unicef.org.uk/UNICEFs-Work/Our-mission/UN-Convention/). “Who told you this?” was my question to the statement and her answer was, of course, “You did.” Indeed, I learn things in a hard way.

Professionally, I finally reached the last stage of my MA course: Dissertation. Luckily, I had enough time and supports to complete the first draft of my dissertation in the first week of August 2014. I started to feel hopeful to turn in the paper in November 2014 instead of April 2015, which is much earlier than the plan I’ve made in the first module. It depends on the meeting I will have with my tutor at the end of this summer: She might suggest so many revisions.
This thesis is a portfolio of my work in the MA course and a gateway of my life as a teacher/ researcher in the field of TEYL.

The parallel personal and professional development in the couple of months transformed and empowered me as a member of “World society” (http://www.e-ir.info/2013/05/14/world-society-as-humankind/)