Some of my core values are - kindness, respect and trying to see things from another’s perspective.
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” - Dalai Lama
Explain a situation where you have had an ethical decision to make. Discuss how you weighed up the values involved in that decision, the decision you made and the consequences of the action you took.
Before coming to Dev Academy I was an English teacher in a language school. One morning at the start of the class a student walks in, stumbles and then a bag of weed falls out of his bag. His eyes were red and he smelt and acted like he had just been smoking. Now there were a few things I could do; ignore it, take him to the head of the school, confiscate it or speak to him and educate him about it. I chose the last one and privately told him to stay back after class to have a chat. I told him about the legal/illegal status of it in New Zealand and how it can be very counter productive to smoke it before class because clearly it wasn’t helping him focus. Two of my core values are kindness and respect and I interacted with him keeping both those things in mind. He understood what I said, listened and changed his behaviour. So it worked out all well.
Describe how your culture has influenced your values and identity.
My culture hasn’t influenced my identity that much but it has with my values. Treating elders with respect irrespective of their views is something that is important in the Indian culture. One must understand that they come from a different time and changing at that age is not easy. That has had a strong influence on me and I believe that we must always treat each other with respect no matter what background the other person has or their views.
Evaluate your strengths and limitations in terms of your learning and career development
I’ve just completed the Myers-Briggs test and I have been given the title of “Protagonist” with an ENFJ personality type. I pretty much agree with it, especially the strengths and weaknesses. One thing that I don’t agree with is that it says Protagonists are natural-born leaders. I don’t actually like to be a leader in a group and I never volunteer to be one. But then it does say that because we are leaders, we are good teachers. And I have always enjoyed teaching. So maybe it is true in some way.
According to the test, the strengths that I definitely agree with are -
- Tolerant
- Reliable
- Altruistic
- Overly Idealistic
- Too selfless
- Too sensitive
- Fluctuating self-esteem
Being tolerant and reliable will definitely help me achieve the learning outcomes in the course and in this career because I think teamwork is very important. Listening to other people’s opinions, even if they contradict your own is probably helpful as well. I also hate letting other people down, so when I do say that something will be done, I will try my utmost best to make sure it is done within the timeframe.
Something that I probably need to be careful of is the fluctuating self-esteem. This is what the test says about it - “Protagonists define their self-esteem by whether they are able to live up to their ideals, and sometimes ask for criticism more out of insecurity than out of confidence, always wondering what they could do better. If they fail to meet a goal or to help someone they said they’d help, their self-confidence will undoubtedly plummet.” I definitely need to watch out for this and try to keep myself motivated throughout the ups and downs of this learning journey.