THE TRANSITION TO HIGHER EDUCATION
Amilkar A. Brunal[1]
Dear
student who is in[2]
or finishing[3]
the last grade of middle education,
collective situations such as; "Compulsive dispersion" and in some
people, "The obsession of the fixed point,
THE COMPULSIVE DISPERSION.
It is a
phenomenon that can be vulgarly described as “the rat race” on a sinking ship.
At the end of the academic cycle of closing secondary education (intermediate
step towards higher education) or the completion of high school, everyone tends
to run to the next place that provides security (whatever it may be) some
(those who do not they are forced to serve in the military), they choose to
form a new family, others run towards the academic options that are apparently
easily accessible and less demanding, /the most “cheap” and shortest), perhaps
“for not staying at home without doing nothing”, or because their classmates
opted for those alternatives. From this
experience we know that close to 50% of them drop out in the first semesters.
Remember that it is not wise to run, just because everyone else is doing it.
THE
OBSESSION OF THE FIXED POINT
Some others, remain
trapped in "The obsession of the fixed point”. (Manfred Max-Neef), that
is, they refuse to rethink possible alternatives or life trajectories despite
their evident deficiencies in the options they have initially chosen. It is a
socio-cognitive and emotional process that consists of overvaluing a single
possible life trajectory, while other equally possible and viable alternatives
are devalued or ignored in an extreme, systematic and subjective way. Due to a
sense of security derived from guaranteed schooling and automatic promotion has
been experienced, which ends in the transition to higher education. We hope
that you will be able to rethink these initial decisions in a timely manner and
not get caught up in these possible but avoidable situations.
1.1 Pospone is also a Valid Option. Active
breaks
Perhaps you have not
yet identified those academic fields that you are passionate about. (Which is
understandable given your age). When you are not sure which way to go, or you
do not want to follow the crowd in a thoughtless or compulsive way, when you
see no meaning or purpose in any option, surely the most prudent thing to do is
to wait, to take an active pause that allows you to mature your vocational /
professional or occupational decisions.
If you want to
improve your communication skills, you can take short courses in languages,
audiovisual media, computers, etc; to explore other potentialities that you have
not had time to develop, or simply to take a temporary job as an apprentice,
may be good options for someones6.
Temporary Jobs or
Voluntary Social Service.
In other cases, even
if you have a good vocational maturity or clarity regarding a career choice,
not everyone can dedicate themselves to what they are passionate about full
time at the precise moment they want it. Some of us have had to look for paid
occupations that are not necessarily related to our vocation. Taking a
temporary or simultaneous job to cover basic expenses or even pay our
educational costs can also serve to develop skills for working life such as
meeting schedules, presenting personal, subjection to authority and/or
following instructions, which implies a space for the significant improvement
of communication skills: oral and written critical comprehension, oral and
written critical expression.
In other cases, you
can opt for a volunteer program or social service to the community that may
interest you and allow you to develop social awareness.
It is important to
understand that any honest occupation can help us develop certain disciplines,
acquire technical-practical knowledge and develop social-communicative skills,
subjection to authority, compliance with schedules and useful tasks for working
life in any field in which we find ourselves.
However, the risk of
"temporary" jobs or work projects consists of staying in this
"temporary" occupation, giving up our vocational projects in search
of a "stable job" but unsatisfactory in relation to the construction
of life projects. self determined.
1.2 THE ROAD TO
HIGHER EDUCATION
If you still persist
in moving by conviction, vocation (attitude) and aptitude, towards a field of
academic knowledge in higher education, (at the technical, technological or
university levels8), what follows may interest you.
2.
Questions about the "BEING"
What
do you want to be when you grow up?,
Who
do you need to be?
BE:
Have + Do + Be (Belong)
"Be
where you need to be, with the necessary resources at the right time and with
the best attitude, to honestly get what you need, making the necessary
effort"
A.Brunal
Since you were a
child you have heard the question: What do you want to “BE” when you grow up9?,
an apparently simple question, to which many of us naively answered: “doctor,
policeman or firefighter”. The professions that are still popular around the world.
However, when you are close to adulthood, you begin to understand that, in
order to properly answer this question, you need as a prerequisite, to answer
other questions such as: What kind of experiences do I want to have, what
exciting and useful things for the world do I want to do? ?,Where in the world
do I want to be, live or where do I want to travel11?, or What attitudes and
aptitudes do I need to have to achieve my goals?,Which people do I want and
need to interact with to develop my potential.
¿Have you taken the
time to reflect on these questions?
This is the moment to
let your imagination fly without being restricted by the economic costs that
this may imply. There are many examples of people who developed important
projects without initially having the necessary resources. The key to this
section is imagination or ingenuity (the basic principle of engineering).
Considering financial resources as an essential requirement to develop life
projects can be an imprecise and demotivating materialistic interpretation.
2.2 THE “SOCIAL DUTY”.
Seven (7) highly desirable characteristics of life projects with social
commitment
But, even if you
haven't taken that time, it turns out that the people around you: family,
friends, teachers and even the neighbors, if they rush to give their opinion
about what you should do with your life, what you should have and where you are
supposed to be at certain times in your life. [It must be].
Society as a whole
(Government, family, school, friends, etc.) expects you to build life projects,
above all:Society as a whole (Government, family, school, friends, etc.)
expects you to build life projects, above all:
I. Ethical: In
accordance with high moral performances (Summarized in the principles of
traditional Amerindian ethics: Do not lie, do not steal and do not be idle)
that are of vital importance both in the daily circumstances of interpersonal
relationships, and in situations labor mediated by professional ethics,
evidenced in honesty in professional-commercial relations with the community.
Ethics
is the concern for the consequences that our actions
have
on others, is a phenomenon that has to do with the acceptance of the other and
belongs to the domain of love.”
"The
sense of the human .Humberto Maturana
On the other hand, your
projects are also expected to be:
II.
Aesthetic projects. "Life as a work of art", unique and unrepeatable
projects that maintain a certain harmony with the social context in which they
are developed) and
III.
Economically Sustainable Projects, understood as those that are developed based
on having a high level of socially recognized aptitude (skills, aptitudes,
learning) and proactive attitudinal DOING (positive attitudes towards an
established field of performance) in a social space (work environment). that
recognizes the economic and social value that this implies, so that you can
dedicate yourself to them for a reasonable time.
The
Washington Post experiment in 2017[4]
with the famous violinist Joshua Bell, demonstrates, among other things, the
great importance of the context in which human actions of a labor type (ESTAR)
are carried out.
On
a cold morning in the Washington subway station, a violinist played six Bach
pieces for an hour. In that time approximately 2,000 people passed by him. Some
gave the musician money, many others ignored him.
No
one knew it, not even the subway authorities, but the inconspicuously dressed
violinist was Joshua Bell, considered one of the best violinists in the world,
who performed in that place one of the most complex pieces ever written, with a
violin of $3.5 million…
It is not enough to have high
aptitude and attitude levels, but it is also necessary to "Be" in the
place where these abilities and attitudes are valued in the best way.
IV.
Projects determined by yourself, by your own convictions and not to satisfy
your family, school, friends or neighbors. In some cases we find students who,
in order to satisfy the interests of their relatives (who generally finance
said projects), they pursue professional careers that finally, when they become
independent from their families, leave them unfinished or even after
graduating, they do not practice said professions, generating some degree of
“vocational frustration[5]”.
It
is also desirable that your projects could be:
V.
Synergic Projects, this means that they allow you to simultaneously fulfill the
needs of Identity (Who I can be), Personal understanding and of the social
world, Subsistence-Social Protection, Affection, Freedom, Participation in the
different areas of the social world, Creation ( Artistic, Scientific-technical,
Literary, etc.) Recreation and Communication). Obviously it doesn't seem like
an easy process, but it is much more difficult to distribute valuable and
scarce vital time in different and sometimes incompatible projects.
It
is also highly desirable that your life projects could be:
VI.
Solidarity Projects (that take into account that we always live in a community
and depend on it just as it depends on us:
«Not
Man, but men inhabit this planet.
Plurality
is the law of the Earth»
Hanna
Arendt The Life of the Spirit
and also VII.
Ecological Projects considering that it is fundamental to give priority to
respect for the environment and life itself, in all human actions of
"commercial production" These should consider as a priority the
effects of said production on the ecosystems essential for the production and
life, without forgetting the conditions that the next generations will have to
face.
In such a way that
what others expect of you does not always coincide with what you want to be.
This is known as the existential conflict [Should Be-Want to Be] which can be
resolved in the "Can be".
The power to be
social. Construction of Meaning of Life
Being an artist,
scientist, athlete, economist, electrician, builder, educator, social
communicator, etc.; They are possible ways of building identity and giving
meaning to existence through what we do on a daily basis, serving the
communities to which we decide to belong.
Between “doing what
you want” (desire) and “doing what you should” (moral), there is the
alternative of “doing what you can” (need). The need is of the order of power
and production.
Ballester
A great master
(Nicolás Buenaventura in his book: "He must" and "He can"),
reminds us that between "He must and he can" it is always better to
choose "He can", that is, understand the need as "Power” and not
as lack.
3. “Attitudinal/Vocational Awareness”
Questions About Existential Needs
What do you need to be,to have,to do,
Where do you need to be ,to live,to travel, to bulid meaning of life?
"Maybe I never
got what I wanted, but I almost always got what I needed"
Attitudinal Awareness
"Maybe I
never got what I wanted,
but I almost
always got what I needed"
Continuing with the
theme of what you need to HAVE, one of the questions that you cannot avoid in
this decision-making process has to do with attitudes towards life and towards
yourself. This is called having “Attitudinal Awareness”.
Perhaps questions
like: What do you need to have? What do you need to do? or where do you need to
be? or where do you need to move?; can help you to become the person you need
to be.
It may be precisely
this alternative of "doing what is necessary" ethically, the step to
follow in this process of building life projects.
3.1 Worldviews
(General attitudes towards life)
What attitudes
towards life itself and towards society do you need to assume? (Worldviews).
Surely throughout
your life, you will be able to assume different attitudes that go from
understanding life, as something very ordinary, to understanding it from the
pessimistic (nihilistic) non-sense, as something It has no purpose or meaning,
even the most sublime and idealistic or positive conceptions and even positions
that could be described as utopian17 or very difficult to achieve, going
through an aesthetic conception, which can be translated as, understanding your
life as a "work of art unique and unrepeatable” in a permanent process of
elaboration.
3.2 Idealism Vs
Materialism
Some people think
that life is a sacred, sublime, transcendental, miraculous, artistic
phenomenon. It is also possible that you think that we are, in addition to
matter, soul, consciousness or mind, with a transcendent meaning for our lives,
a mystery that keeps us curious and respectful of the phenomenon of life.
(Rodolfo Llinás).
Others consider that
it is, on the contrary, a vulgar and ordinary inconsequential phenomenon
(vulgarization) or that we are simply matter and are the result of evolutionary
chance (materialism).
We know well that
some people stay in the defeatist18[3] or nihilist19 or fatalistic20 way of
seeing life when they affirm that "it is not even worth the effort"
to live, others assume a materialistic21 thought, affirming that "without
money, it is totally impossible to achieve your goals”, on the other hand,
hedonists22 (who mainly seek pleasure) quickly give up on their dreams when
they realize the effort that this implies or look for projects that require
less effort.
Others assume the
situation with apparent disinterest or frivolity (evading this type of
transcendental reflections), so that only you can choose how you want to see
life and therefore you will have to decide if it is worth the effort to live it
and assume the effort necessary.
This will determine
the quality and quantity of effort that you will dedicate to fulfill your
plans, goals and life projects.
4.
Emotional/Vocational Awareness. Questions about to “Do”
What
activities are you passionate about, do they generate peace, harmony or a
feeling of freedom?
Another
topic that you need to review in your process of answering the question in
question. "Who I Need to Be" has to do with emotions such as: the
degree of passion, peace, love, that certain fields of knowledge of humanity
can generate in you.
What
activities do you love to do in a prolonged way that even make you lose track
of time?
Are
you passionate about fields of knowledge such as: Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and music, Mathematics (STEAM) the study of ecosystems,
enough to dedicate much of your time, your energy, your life?
5.
Aptitude/Vocational Awareness
The questions about
to “Have” What general and specific skills do I need to have?
BE: Have + Do + Be
Characteristics of
successful students.
“Being successful
does not mean,
that you have no
right to be wrong…”
But
surely what you are most interested in knowing now are the characteristics of
academically successful, efficient or effective students (those who do well),
those of the other 50% who do not drop out of higher education, seek additional
support when they recognize their short comings academic or psychosocial and/or
reconsider their professional interests in time because they timely understand
that there may be better ways to build themselves as a person through a
profession.
These
students make the options that they consider consistent with their social
conscience, their vocations (passions), aptitudes (academic abilities) and
coherent with respect to their attitudes towards life, consciously facing
self-imposed efforts and restrictions (self-regulation) in view of to achieve
the goals that have been set.
At
this moment, surely you have already realized that in order to "BE"
what you want to be, you require a good development of social, attitudinal and
emotional awareness. In addition to this, we finally recommend that you develop
"Aptitude/Vocational Awareness", understood as the ability to
self-assess personal academic skills in relation to the fields of knowledge of
interest.
5.1
GENERAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS. The general aptitudes or abilities that you will
need to perform in any field of study in higher education are of a
communicative nature and are the same ones that you have been working on since
your preschool education (Oral and written comprehension and oral and written
expression) but obviously with a best level of performance.
If
we contrast these abilities with the requirements of the fields of knowledge of
interest, we will surely find (including adults) the academic strengths and also
the weaknesses that we need to overcome, in order to access certain fields if
we are really interested in making the efforts. necessary to qualify these
skills.
Are
you willing to improve your communication skills? (Aptitudes)
Improving
these communication practices will surely significantly increase your academic
performance. You will easily remember them with the following acronym :L.R.W.T
LISTEN carefully : Increase your
attention and concentration time by listening to lectures, classes or sermons
available online. (see annex) Probably the experiences of some young people who
have recently gone through that stage of vocational decision can inspire you at
this time. We recommend you listen to some current biographical testimonies.
READ critically and purposefully:
Significantly improve your level of discipline in critical reading in the four
reading levels (Literal, Inferential, Critical and Purposeful.)
• WRITE, draw and diagram: Writing in a
creative way, making summaries complemented with all kinds of diagrams or
schemes acquired, will greatly improve your comprehension capacity30.
Telling
(The Joy of Sharing): It is important that the knowledge really apprehended is
evidenced through coherent stories that present the fundamental ideas and concepts
of what has been studied.
Telling (The Joy of Sharing): It is
important that the knowledge really apprehended is evidenced through coherent
stories that present the fundamental ideas and concepts of what has been
studied.
If
do you want to intensify these moments of learning, actively participate in
teams made up of people who have “Vocational Awareness, resilience32,
discipline and your same interests to dedicate time systematically to study.
Although it is very true that we can learn alone, do not forget, that learning is better shared and
much better when you have the enormous privilege of having the support of
teachers specifically trained and highly experienced in each area.
When
you discuss topics of common interest with someone, you can always learn more
and in a better way than just reading a text or watching a video alone. This
will not only allow you to improve your academic skills, but also your
social-emotional skills to work as a team. That is why it is very convenient to
join and/or form study groups that encourage and motivate you to advance in any
subject instead of keeping the information that you can simply incorporate in a
class, talk or reading.
5.2
Specific Skills or Aptitudes (Multiple Intelligences)
Another
of the characteristics of successful students (in addition to developing social
awareness, attitudinal and emotional awareness), is that they have been able to
identify the levels of their Multiple Intelligences in relation to their fields
of academic interest (Aptitudinal Awareness).
FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
If you have come this
far, surely you are willing to make an even greater effort35 to overcome the
difficulties that you will surely encounter along the way and turn your
dreams36 into achievable projects.
We want to leave you
with the following recommendations so that you do not abandon the race in
difficult times or reconsider your choices in time, which would also be a valid
option.
6.2 Consult with
professional Counselors who may be available Online or in person in your city
or region,
In principle, we
recommend you consult a Directory of Guidance Professionals, which brings
together professional counselors in We can also recommend other highly
qualified counselors in your city or region.
[1] Mg. S.C. Ps. Amilkar A. Brunal,is a psychologist
graduated from the "Konrad Lorenz" University of Bogotá, specialist
in Educational Guidance and Human Development, from the "El Bosque"
University of Bogotá (2001), Educational Counselor in schools attached to the
Secretary of Education from Bogotá since 1994 and a Master's in
Interdisciplinary Social Research from the "Francisco José de Caldas"
District University (2008). Author of books Transitional Guidance 1.0 (2014).
"When Men Speak" and co-author of: "Role and Sense of
Educational Guidance in Colombia." Co-editor of the Latin American
magazine of Orientation and Human Development: "OrientAcción" of the
Latin American Network of Guidance Professionals (Relapro) of which he is the
general director for the period [2018-2021]amilkarbrunal@gmail.com . https://amilkarbrunal.blogspot.com/ , Amilkar Brunal - YouTubeAgenda Orientación Vocacional :
Carta abierta de Orientación Vocacional/Profesional y Ocupacional.2021 (agendavocacional.blogspot.com)
[2] ACTIVITY 1.1 Vocational/Occupational Stories.If you
have not yet finished high school (11th grade), write a paragraph about what
you feel and think at this moment about your short-term academic or
occupational future.
[3] Activity. 1.2 I.If you have already finished high
school, tell in a paragraph what your experience has been like at the end of
high school, what decisions some of your classmates have made, what things you
have thought about doing, how were the results you obtained from State tests ?
Have you applied for admission to any higher education institution?
[5] La frustración Vocacional. Luis Alejandro Núñez (Costa Rica). La frustración Vocacional. Luis Alejandro Nuñez(Costa Rica) -
YouTube
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